Regular battery replacement

[skynet600]

Hello all,

Is it normal for a vehicle battery to need replacing every year?

My A5 is a March 2019 model.  Clearly it came with a new battery.  I bought the car from Audi in July 2020 and shortly after there was an alternator recall so it was replaced.  Then in September 2020 my battery became "faulty" so I got it replaced.  Granted I got a discount but this is battery #2.  A few weeks ago I got a battery low warning after a long run.  It has struggled to start since.  Audi reckons it is under-use this time and want to charge me £481!  This is battery #3.  Granted I don't put a lot of miles on and most of my trips are under four miles a day but it is used regularly daily.  No one can tell me how many miles I need to do and is it really acceptable to have to drive your car just to keep it drivable and functioning? 

The manual mentions bringing it into Audi to get charged monthly or get a trickle charger for home.  None of these are practical.  So going on this usage I might be back here soon for battery #4!  They say I can call Audi UK to appeal which I will do.  

Anyone had similar experiences?  Got any advise how to proceed here?  I must say this is unexpected from a company like Audi and really has taken the sine off this car.

Thanks,

Russ.

[Stevey Y]

Hi I would agree that four miles a day is not a lot but for an AGM battery to need replacing every year is ridiculous  and you certainly should not be getting a low voltage warning after a run, a good rule of thumb is 15-25 miles driven per day but in saying that has anyone read the car for codes as it could be the battery energy module playing about, I might be tempting fate here but my 16 plate Avant is still running on the same battery but in all fairness I use it as a cab so it gets around 800 miles a week thrown at it.

Steve.

[skynet600]

23 minutes ago, Stevey Y said:

Hi I would agree that four miles a day is not a lot but for an AGM battery to need replacing every year is ridiculous  and you certainly should not be getting a low voltage warning after a run, a good rule of thumb is 15-25 miles driven per day but in saying that has anyone read the car for codes as it could be the battery energy module playing about, I might be tempting fate here but my 16 plate Avant is still running on the same battery but in all fairness I use it as a cab so it gets around 800 miles a week thrown at it.

Steve.

Well they did an audit of usage yes.  They said 10+ miles or 30 mins a day but for me that is BS.   I have had the car 506 days and done over 7000 miles in that time.  So over time I pass that unwritten rule.  Is 20 miles or 60 mins on the second day acceptable?  It can get really silly really quickly.  I appreciate long runs are needed from time to time.  My wifes I10 is older and on same battery and has done far less mileage than me.  Granted the car is wayyyyy different but still.

Even the sales manager bulked at a) the cost and b) the frequency!  He couldn't do anything for me though.

Going to Audi UK but don't expect much from them.  Maybe a snogogramme on social media would get a better response.

[Stevey Y]

Hi as I said you may be better served getting the car read for codes, there is definitely something adrift here 20 miles and an hour is more than acceptable if you take into consideration that during the lockdown I was doing 40 miles a week if lucky and it still did not KILL the battery over three months, you have a serious power drain on your batteries and best the thieving  gits sort that first.

Regards Steve.

[geoffrey]

interesting problem.

it is also questionable that the battery is at fault.

you did mention you had a replacement alternator and it would appear your problem arose after this part was replaced.

i had an alternator problem on a FORD (sorry didn't mean to swear) which i put down to faulty batteries.

after it stopped on an outing ,opposite a garage.

i did all checks on the electrics and eventually had to swallow my pride and push the car onto the garage forecourt and ask the help of the mechanic.

 electrical checks were made voltage on battery when engine running o.k (slave battery)

next he checked the alternator from under the car.

on checking the cable from the alternator  the lug snapped off.

he renewed the lug and started the car o.k

on inspection of the lug it was apparent where the lug had snapped that the lug was crystallized and had from the day of manufacture presented a high resistance to the flow of current.

from that day i never had another problem with the battery.

after that car i always bought Audi's that was 30 years ago , best thing i ever did.

[skynet600]

More frustrating than interesting. The alternator was replaced before the first battery replacement so shouldn’t be the cause of this latest failure. In fact the charging system should be in tip top form. This is my frustration. A year old battery and a year old alternator so I shouldn’t be having another battery issue. 
 

I have given up on Audi now and got a Halfords fitting, they came to me and it was over 50% cheaper than the discounted Audi price. 

[geoffrey]

glad to hear you got a good deal from Halfords for your replacement battery.

my experience with my local Halfords has been positive cost wise, service has been good.

apart from the voltage checks taken on the battery whilst running have you checked the current flow with a DC clamp meter?

the two tests will give a good indication as to the health of the charging system.

voltage check will NOT show any high resistance problems  on its own.

DC clamp meter on the other hand is good for checking drain on the  system also to prove current flow on charge,

 

[Magnet]

Hello Russell,

No one has mentioned the possibility of a parasitic drain here. If it were mine, I would be investing in the services of a trusted local auto electrician to check for any discharge - as Ken points out. 
Doing this (again as Ken says) requires a specialised meter and experience of its use and the testing method.

This would be my recommendation if it were mine.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. Can we take it that Halfords coded the new battery to your car? 

[geoffrey]

in which year and model did the battery first have to be coded ?

i am aware that not coding can/will cause problems.

knowing this information would probably help skynet600

ken

[Magnet]

Thanks Ken, 

Apologies, but all I can suggest is that I would be very surprised if a two year old vehicle didn’t need a replacement battery coded to the vehicle. 
Perhaps Stevey might be able to help out with more definite experience than mine. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Stevey Y]

41 minutes ago, geoffrey said:

in which year and model did the battery first have to be coded ?

i am aware that not coding can/will cause problems.

knowing this information would probably help skynet600

ken

Hi BEM systems were fitted from 2004 on most models except on some entry level A2s and have to be coded, if it was fitted by Halfords it should have been coded except at the two local Halfords in my area when I enquired about my daughters Q3they were perfectly happy to sell us a battery and fit it for an extra £20 but when I enquired about coding they went a bit sheepish and said we don't have the equipment to do that, buyer beware. 

[geoffrey]

so as my audi is 2008 a3 2tdi when i replace the battery i need to code it in ?

any pointer as to where i can get help in doing this myself would be most appreciated.

ken

[Stevey Y]

48 minutes ago, geoffrey said:

so as my audi is 2008 a3 2tdi when i replace the battery i need to code it in ?

any pointer as to where i can get help in doing this myself would be most appreciated.

ken

Hi Ken I am pretty sure you don't have to recode if your car is an 8P 2003 - 2012 according to my Auto Data system, why I don't know because it recommends it for just about every other model from 2004 I would check this just in case they have been known to be wrong, go wind up Halfords they will confirm /deny.

Steve,

 

[skynet600]

Appreciate all the responses. I haven’t had an independent check done on the charging system. I wouldn’t know where to go honestly. As for coding the battery I have no idea what that is. A new battery has been fitted and for now it appears to be working fine. All I had to do was reset my auto window setting. 

[Magnet]

Hello Russell, 

‘….knowing where to go….’ .? 
I would say that it’s reasonable to think that there is something wrong with your car if you consider the number of batteries you have renewed within the warranty period. 

OK, replacing the battery again, and all seems well at the moment - no doubt you’ve been there before. Do you have confidence that all will now be well going forward? 

Back to not knowing where to go…. If it were mine, I would be booking this car into either a trusted local Audi independent, it a trusted local auto electrician - both can be found via. a search. Objective - checking the charging and possible discharging, and enquiring about coding the battery. 

If you don’t, then you run the risk of this car being out of warranty, and a big bill biting you in the bum.

Kind regards,

Gareth, 

[skynet600]

Thanks Gareth.  I do t have confidence so I will certainly look for an electrician. My local Audi has been the one diagnosing all this. I would have hoped they had checked the system during that process. As for coding, I really have no idea what that means. 

[Magnet]

Hello Russell,

Many thanks. Not quite sure what you actually mean ‘I do t have confidence so will certainly look for an (auto) electrician’.

Re. ‘coding’. This is a computer programming action which ensures the car ‘recognises’ the new battery as being a replacement, so that the charging system etc. doesn’t continue to treat it as if it was the old one. Possibly an auto electrician might be able to do that, but a local Audi independent specialist would be able to - and that would be my chosen route for subsequently checking the whole charging/possible discharging situation. 
Kind regards,

Gareth.