[nickyt]

I agree. Why the default location was not in the boot (trunk) is beyond me.

VW could have at least moved the battery one foot closer to the engine. I would rather had the car battery under the front floor mat then under the front seat. Slide the front seat as far backwards as it can go, remove front floor mat, find and remove bolts holding the battery cover down... Sounds a lot easier.

Even under the rear seat would have been a lot easier to access location.

Don't even get me started on where VW put the AdBlue tank. >

 

[nickyt]

I swapped my battery this morning in my 2013 V6 Sport. The battery installed by VW was Size H7, 640 CCA. I replaced it with an AutoCraft Platinum AGM H7 with 850 CCA from Advance Auto. The battery box is bigger than the H7 size but the cables to the terminals had no extra length to fit a bigger (longer) size.

Thanks to the OP and additional tips, the install went without a hitch. The only setting my T3 lost was the clock. It rememberd all the radio presets, mated phones though Bluetooth, garage door codes in Homelink, etc.

We feel your pain. There is a fix.

www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f43/positive-battery-cable-too-short-05-v8-239993.html

 

[nickyt]

^^Good info above.

Always be sure to re-code for the T3, or you will lose battery life.

With the above said...

Re-coding for the T3 is needed, but overall (the big picture) it is a waste of time and resources. Remember, we are dealing with lead acid batteries that are basically a century old technology. The batteries are designed to be used and abused. Computerized chargers did not exists for most of the time that you could buy a lead acid battery.

What I am saying is that I would be willing to bet you that in the big picture, this battery coding system does very little to make your new battery last longer.

The chargers in the CTEK and Battery Minder needs none of this info. They just do a battery diagnostic, compute health info directly from the battery, and charge correctly based on the current capacity (health) of that battery.

Now, if you do not code your T3, you kill off you new battery much much quicker.

So, being generous, I will give this system a possibility of adding 3% to the life of a battery when properly coded.

I will also propose that we can lose 20% life of that battery when not coded. Now, human beings being what humans are, many many batteries will not be coded. Therefore the net result of this system will be negative battery life over the entire fleet.

Yes, I am saying that overall, this system will cause more, not less, early battery failures.

But, it is a great additional profit center for the dealer and therefore indirectly for the manufacturer. Viva la profits!

tldr: A self contained system that did not require coding could produce equal results to this coding setup.

 

[nickyt]

^^ TLDR: I would go with flooded cell currently, perhaps even a dealer battery.

The trick to recoding is just to read the current battery serial number and to change the last digit. The BEM then believes you put in a new battery of the exact same specs as the battery you are removing.

See that white pad that is the roof of the battery cover?

My understanding is that is loaded with an acid neutralizer, just in case the vehicle ends up wheels up.

Lead Acid batteries are for all purposes a worldwide monopoly, with just a handful of players. Prices have went up and quality has went down.

I was an early AGM adopter. Early AGM were high quality. Current AGM quality has really went to heck. I started having routine AGM failures with aftermarket batteries, so I went back to flooded cells.

The flooded cell batteries are also made a with a lot less quality, but at least they are not going into full failure mode. So far, the biggest problem is the seals around the battery posts all eventually leak. The acid then attacks the battery connector.

I have had both Johnson Controls and Exide batteries leak around the terminals in the last few years.

Just save yourself some trouble and no matter what you buy, get the $3 set of battery post washers. These oil filled felt washers will protect you from the lower quality batteries. Good insurance.

Ten years ago I would have said that an aftermarket battery was just as good as a dealer battery.

Today, you might just want to stick with a VW battery. As far as I know, those batteries are still built to the higher quality standard.

If anyone knows anything different, please let me know.

 

[nickyt]

In practice, my last several AGM batteries are lasting shorter, not longer.

My last AGM developed a tumor (swelled case) around a single point. That of course indicates that one single cell short circuited and during that process, it got hot enough to cause damage to the plastic case the AGM was installed in.

Since it was inside a 100% sealed case, I consider that a manufacturer fault. Alas, it was just a few months past any warranty. I would have liked to got my $3.60 credit for being in the last 3 months of a pro-rated battery warranty claim.

You didn't do anything wrong with an AGM (I have used several) but I doubt that you gained any additional lifespan.

A CTEK battery charger is imo the best and what I normally use. They are AGM rated.

FWIW, last year I retired an 11 year old flooded cell battery. That was one heck of a good battery. I replaced it with another flooded cell. They are just lasting longer.