Battery is at the end of it's useful life at 4 years old assuming it's never been changed. At that age a fully drained battery you usually will not come back to full cranking amps when charged. The Touareg needs as close to 14 amps as possible for a healthy electrical system, without havoc insues. Change out your battery and my guess is all will be fine.

 

OK, so I took the battery to Autozone who checked it twice and said the battery was OK. So I returned the battery to my Touareg and tried to start the car, nothing. After a few tries it attempted to start but no luck. Eventually it started. I drove it to my local VW service and await the diagnosis. I'm hoping it not too crazy. I've only had the car for 3.5 years with 42K miles. Crazy.

 

VW are sensitive to correct amperage and voltage. a new battery will have about 12.9v .

Every time a battery dies, it never fully revives.

Get one that exceeds manufacture amps or replace with same.

 

Well I'll be surprised if VW says it's the battery after AutoZone said it was OK at 950CCA. I was going to purchase a new battery anyway but decided their machine may be correct. SO, my car is at VW service. I will give any update once the verdict is in.

 

UPDATE: OK, so the dealer service manager called and stated that the battery checked out fine. They have identified the starter, "they believe" as the problem. Of course this is no longer covered by warranty since the car is beyond the 3yr/36K. The charges will be $800+ for part & labor.

I, however, made a call into VW Customer Care to file a complaint that a 3.5yr old car with 42K miles should not have a faulty starter. I'm awaiting a call back to see if they make good on this factory defect.

Will post once the verdict is in......

 

When I look up battery reset for my years Touareg , 2004 - 2009 in my repair manual, it states where reset button is on battery and has a caution stating to check starter wire for damage before resetting battery. Might be worth looking at before replacing starter.

 

I phone VW service today and mentioned the starter wire. I was told that was the first thing they checked. Thanks for mentioning the possible issue. I guess they will replace the starter and see if that was the problem. Modern auto mechanics "keep replacing parts until we find the answer". Hopefully their first guess is correct!!

 

It's funny, because a NEW/REBUILT starter will have less resistance and will help for a few months. Do you see where I'am going with this?

A 4+ year old battery that just took a deep discharge, will need replacement soon, anyhow...

 

VW service said the battery checked out OK. The battery never went dead. I charged it due to the courtesy light having been left on. Also, the battery is 3 1/2 years old which should still have some life. I will replace it once they get to the root of the problem based on their knowledge.

On another note, I was on the phone for 1 hour with VW customer care trying to get some relief from the cost to repair even though the 3yr-36K has passed. Initial verdict was "sorry". I asked to speak with the person's supervisor to escalate my concern. They promised to call the dealership today and get back to me. The saga continues........

 

Good luck, keep us posted

 

UPDATE: OK, just received a call from my local VW service. Good news, VW is going to cover the cost to replace my starter!! I'm hoping the starter is the cause of my problems. Tomorrow the part arrives and install will occur. I will follow-up after tomorrow.

 

That's great news ?, persistence pays off, again keep us posted

 

UPDATE: OK, so I went to the VW dealership service yesterday to pick up my car. They removed the starter and said the armature was bad. They replaced the starter and all was fine. I picked up the car and we're back. Glad to have my Touareg back and running fine.

I was told the only reason they covered the starter under warranty was due to the fact that I'm a long time VW owner. We currently have an 08 R32, 05 GTI, 15 Golf TDI in addition to the Touareg. I'm very pleased VW graciously covered the cost to replace my starter.

BTW, battery seems fine.

 

Happy all worked out, thanks for the update