MAMOHT

Hello

I have an SQ5 that I bought in September 2013. I am in South Florida and the rule of thumb here that batteries last about 3 years. Mine is well past that now.
Do you have any stats on the life expectance of a factory battery? I am starting to feel uneasy and itching to just get it replaced and be done with that.

uncleiggy

shokhead

14 sq5 and just had to get a new one a few months back. Warr covered it.

Redd

Three to eight years from various folks in general. If you have MMI, I think there's a menu to show you battery voltage. VagCom definitely will. Basically, if the battery reads 12.7 volts after a good run, so it is fully charged, and a wait of a couple of hours to knock off the "float charge", or turning on the radio or lights for two minutes, then it is a brand new fresh battery it top shape. 12.6 is more common. As that goes down, each tenth of a volt lost is 10% of useful battery capacity. So 12.2 volts means the battery is half gone. At which point some of the dealers will swear it needs to be replaced. By 12.0 volts, everyone will agree it should be replaced.

You can't reliably use a Harbor Freight free multimeter to test this, because some of them ship 0.4 volts off. With a better multimeter, you can read the voltage right off the battery terminals and get a reasonable number. Ideally you want a calibrated voltmeter (i.e. Fluke) but that's not cheap. Some of the digital battery testers that you plug into the cigarette lighter outlet may be reasonably cheap and accurate too.

Of course there's also an old fashioned test: Turn on the headlights, walk around in front of the car, have someone hit the horn. If that dims the lights--then the battery is getting weak.

A lot of the auto chains will come out and check your battery for free, but I've no idea how reliable any of them are on that. Some of them use an automated battery tester that actually prints out a test and receipt. If they can use that (and they'll need to access your battery) that's a really simple way to get a good number fast. Most of the AAA tow shops that do battery service should also be willing to do a quick check that way.

scrmorling

My 14 SQ5 was just over 3 years old when it needed a new battery. Warranty covered it. My drives are pretty short and our summers (Desert Southwest) are pretty brutal.

Steve

Warhead

most vehicles I have owned have gone anywhere from 6 years to 9 years on there original battery.

shokhead

Never ever had a battery last 9 years, ever! I think 6 is the most. 4-5 seems to be the norm.

Redd

Shokhead, you're forgetting he's probably talking about Canadian Years. Once you apply the same conversion factor that we use to compare dollars and loonies, that's only about 4 US years. And that's before you convert again from metric.(G)

shokhead

Let me hold my head while it spins! lol

MurrayA4

Canadian years are metric and they're better !
What we're likely seeing here is most people think cold climates are tough on batteries,but in fact it's the opposite.Most battery deaths occur in the summer.so I suspect that if you live where it's always summer (like in Quebec) battery longevity is likely less ?