Rubbish Battery Quality!

[Teflon]

What sort of rubbish is VW fitting on cars nowadays?

Last year, my wife's Eos (10k miles, always garaged) needed a new battery at less than 4 years old. Cost me £70. I put it down to maybe the demands of the electric roof mechanism, but to be honest, I was pretty miffed.

This morning, my Passat (3.5 years old, 20k miles) needed the RAC to jump start it. I didn't flatten the battery, it had discharged overnight so it looks like another £70 is going to be down the drain. Strangely, they were both Varta, whereas the Bosch on my Golf is still going strong.

[gingernut352000]

£70 is a cheap battery now adays mine was over £100 and the same on my iwfes beetle and that wasnt from ********* a recommended motor factors. who only supply top notch. did come with a 5 year warranty though.

[ToMBoY_C]

I bought a Varta Platinum or something, over £100!

[jmm86]

at those milages are you doing lots of short journeys?

[Quatrelle]

My Passat, just over 5 years old, 42,000kms (25k miles approx) has a Varta battery, and no problems (famous last words), so I doubt if it's because the car isn't used very much. Do you have any after-market accessories that might be draining them?

Either I'm lucky or you're very unlucky!

Edit - I don't use mine for journeys of less than 20kms - I use the Laguna for short trips which incidentally starts fine on a 6-year-old cheap battery.

[passa]

Yesterday I put on a new Bosch battery to replace the existing Varta on my 07 B6 because it was starting to get a sluggish turning over in cold weather and it's absolutely fine now. That's not to say it will be for ever, but I got the Bosch from Costco, £72 inc VAT and a 4 year replacement warranty.

[Stuart W2]

My battery was well on the way out before the warranty ran out.

When my fuel pump packed in I flattened the battery trying to turn it over just two or three times.

They replaced the pump under warranty OK, but said it was my taximeter that had flattened the battery, because they noticed it was switched on when they recovered the vehicle.

That was drivel because the meter shouldn't pull the battery down even with the car stationary a few hours and I always switched it off at the end of the night anyway, and failing that it switches off automatically after it's been inactive for half an hour or so. There had been absolutely no problem when the battery was new.

Anyway, the battery just got worse and when I took it in for the next service they managed to flatten it while doing the service so it wouldn't start!

But by that time the warranty had run out so I had to pay £100 for a replacement.

The replacement has been fine, and there was obviously a problem with the original, but of course it was all my fault!!

Ironically my auto electrician has since told me that the reason the meter had been switched on when VW recovered the car with the flat battery was because the low voltage switches the meter back on. Which seems illogical to my mind, but I don't know much about auto-electrics!!

Having said all that I suspect my duff battery was just a rogue rather than a wider problem, or the B6 forum would have been full of similar complaints over the years, but I can't really recall anyone complaining.

[Teflon]

Just looked up a replacement for the Passat. Bosch

£70 is a cheap battery now adays mine was over £100 and the same on my iwfes beetle and that wasnt from ********* a recommended motor factors. who only supply top notch. did come with a 5 year warranty though.

Just looked up a replacement for the Passat. Could get Bosch as cheap as £64 (3 year guarantee), but a real beast of a battery was £74 delivered. Exide £69. I'll not be buying any more Varta. I've got a mate with a little garage, so £70 was for the biggest that would fit in the wife's car, fitted, using his trade discount.

The queer thing is that the battery is a scrawny little thing, only 61Ah and 510A. Much smaller (physically and in terms of capacity) than my Golf. It just doesn't seem right for a diesel!

I wouldn't mind if I'd had all short journeys, but it gets a reasonably mixed regime. The problem was the day after a 3 mile journey in daylight with the heated seats on. The alternator tested fine, so it's definately the box of volts.

[Crasher]

To be honest I think you have been misdiagnosed or just unlucky as I find VAG genuine batteries are excellent and they typically last around six years which is very good. Genuine replacement batteries are my preferred choice, they are surprisingly affordable and fit properly, the number of cars I see with poor fitting non genuine batteries is depressing.

[Europa25]

My Passat is 6 years old this month, and the start turnover is very slow at times, though it starts in a second or so.

Haven't used the car in less than 5c yet this winter, but think it needs to be changed.
Going for a express diagnostic on the battery this week.

However, VW quoting £182 for a replacement (2.0 TDi) . Seems high to me, and could do without it post christmas ! (Incl fitting)
Guess it comes with standard 2 year guarantee.

See Halfords do 3 types, with the Bosch Platinum coming in at £130. 5 year guarantee. £7 fitting.

Is the Passat battery change just standard like any other car - and would you trust the Halfords guys not to blow a / the circuit ?!!

Beginning to think a new VW battery should last 5 years anyhow (80% motorway use), and is another £45 just worth it for peace of mind ?!

Just seems alot of cash, I remember when car batteries were expensive at 20 quid !!