$109 is a deal for a battery, especially compared to the dealer. Having the battery inside makes more sense than you realize.

 

$109 is a deal for a battery, especially compared to the dealer.

What he said, even Interstate is ~$130 (same as many other models for VW/Audi vehicles)

 

From poster Tourrig in another thread:

"My battery was replaced under warranty. Before warranty replaced it, I did some digging and here is what I found:

1. The original OEM battery for the Touareg is by Varta
2. Interstate, and Varta are brands manufactured by Johnson Control.
3. Johnson Controls also makes batteries for Walmart
4. Walmart has a replacement battery with a 2 year full replacement warranty for $87.00. This is better then the Varta 1year warranty that is followed by proration for each month past the 12 months.
5. I visually inspected the Walmart battery and it appears to be the same size, CCA, and all, and list the battery on their charts for the Touareg v10. It is the same battery as the Interstate and Varta.
6. My Varta battery was roughly a 860 cold cranking amp rating. The Walmart by Johnson Controls battery has a higher rated cold cranking amps optionally. I don't remember the exact rating but I know it was well over 920.

My next battery will (unfortunately) be purchased from Walmart.
Tourrig"

http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f...om/forums/f73/how-to-replace-your-stock-touareg-battery-16318-9.html#post256030

$87, that's about as inexpensive as you can get when it comes to Touareg batteries.

 

Thanks a ton for the help. do you remember what model number the battery from wal-mart was? i think there is a "post" or something that if it's to large the seat will not go on?

 

Balanced vehicle weight, battery not exposed to the elements (corrosion), warmer environment (better cold starts), theft prevention, leaves more room for the engine, leaves more room in the cargo area.

 

Nope, that was all the information that Touarrig provided. Maybe PM him for the model number? Or failing that, go down to Wal-Mart, usually they have compatibility charts that let you find the right battery for your vehicle. I didn't get a chance to take advantage of this info personally, I had already bought and installed a battery from an independent VW shop in my area (at almost $200).

Edit: Yeah, what everyone else already said. I thought it was a little silly at first too, but now I love it. The only real con is that it takes a few minutes longer to swap out the battery, but who cares? It's a once every few years thing, no big deal.

 

It's easy enough to change the battery.

Take the tools, go to Walmart, undo the two front bolts of the seat carrier, tip it back, take out the old battery, get the info, walk in and buy the new one.

Walk out, fit the new battery, bolt down the seat, drive off. [Leave the old battery in their car park for them to dispose. No, that last bit is naughty unless they have a bin for them]!

 

Thanks for the replies everyone... i'll just do the $109 battery and not have to deal with the Wal-Mart craziness...
as far as putting the battery under the seat, those are valid points. still seems like a stupid place for a battery... it seems like the engineers decided to put in a big engine, make all of this fancy stuff on the car the decided, "oh crap, we forgot the battery"... i can see one looking at the other one and saying... "hey, lets just put it under the seat". i'll probably get in trouble for bashing the Touareg but this has been the absolute worst car i have ever owned. just ordered my new jeep grand cherokee summit edition. headed back the american route

 

Good luck with the Jeep since their reliability is top notch as well!! Battery is in the same place reguardless of motor and in the instance of a V10, they have two, one under the seat and they other in the spare tire compartment.

 

Also, make sure to attach a trickle charger or use jumper cables and another car when you do the switch. If the vehicle loses all power at any point it will throw a bunch of codes and give you an additional headache.

Good luck with the Jeep. What additional options does the Summit have over the Overland? It looks like a pretty awesome vehicle, be sure to post some pics and a review when you get it.

 

Also, make sure to attach a trickle charger or use jumper cables and another car when you do the switch. If the vehicle loses all power at any point it will throw a bunch of codes and give you an additional headache.

.

I didn't. Power off for about 5 minutes maximum. No codes, and the car was fine.

 

The Summit is the Overland on steroids. I tried to order and overland loaded, but couldnt get the saddle interior (think football color). Jeep started pushing the demand for the saddle (very high demand) into the summit edition. it's basically a fully loaded overland with added leather (on the dash), chrome grill, chrome bezels on the fog lights, and a few other nice items.

adaptive cruise is standard and an upgraded GPS system.

i'm happy with the purchase but it will not get here until early May. huge backlog.

 

Wow, I love that interior, I'm a huge fan of that color scheme. Reminds me of the teak in my Touareg. I think I would order the Summit instead of the regular Overland for that interior alone... and the adaptive cruise control doesn't hurt.

I'm seriously considering getting one of these in a year or so to replace my T1, seeing as how VW decided to go and neuter the range in North America. The new GC has all the features and equipment that made the first gen Touareg unique, and then some. I would really appreciate some pics and a review when it gets delivered, if you don't mind.

Sorry to hear about your trouble with the Touareg, mine has been pretty good to me or I would be in the same boat as you right now. But I'm sure you will love the new Jeep, it looks awesome in every way and IMO it's the best 2011 SUV available.

 

Thanks Voodoo... the one i ordered is exactly like the one in the video. our touareg has that color interior too. we love it.
the jeep does have a cool quadra-trac suspension. raises a few 5-6 iches based on your travel conditions. i hear it's pretty cool.
i'll try to remember to post some picts. given i have to wait until may, i might forget. i cant believe i have to wait that long... oh well.

 

Yeah the Jeep is pretty much a 2004 Touareg with the air suspension and all..only took Chrysler 7 years to copy the Touareg -not bad.

 

There are some similarities between the VW and the Jeep... close to the same size, color interior, and engine power but the jeep actually works... j/k, i'm so fed up with my torareg i have to take it out somewhere. gonna take me over 3,500 to get it fixed enough to just sell... and this is my wife's car which is just around town driving. it's just been a sore spot for me...

 

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Jeeps. I've owned a couple of them. We actually looked at a GC's when we were looking at Touaregs. That being said, as nice as the new ones are, they are still American made and the fit / finish and quality of materials just isn't there. I've never worked on anything that is so tightly put together. It's no wonder these things (Touaregs) are like tanks! Good luck with your new Jeep. Hopefully they don't have the same growing pains VW did when they first released the new Touareg with all the goodies. You know, there is so much that can go wrong on these things, sometimes it does. If they all had crank windows and manual doorlocks, with a crank for suspension adjustment, they would go forever!

 

I got the "lifetime" warranty. $100 deductable for anything that goes wrong with the car for the lifetime. that's a lot of piece of mind for me...