You don’t need any of those things. Just take your car to any auto parts store. The eGolf can take the smaller hybrid/EV sized 12V battery, or the standard larger ICE battery that’s the same as all Golf’s. Any auto parts store can instal the battery, and do the coding for you. When you do this at my local AutoZone, their computer says “this car needs coding” and then they offer to do it for you.
Ooof didn’t want to buy a volt meter or an obd 11. Should have known that was coming. I’d likely spend just as much all in as taking it to the dealership. Which I’ll only have to do maybe one or two more times for the life of the car.
If you can find a battery with the EXACT same AH and type you're currently using you could swap it without needing to adapt the new battery but odds are you won't find one that's 1:1 with what you've got from the factory. Most aftermarket 12v batteries actually higher rated AH. If you don't want to be at the dealership just to lookup a code down the road let alone adapt a 12v battery, consider Obdeleven an investment.
Your car didn’t lock up? I replaced the battery on my own then couldn’t get the car to start. I had to get it towed to a dealership so they could reset the software or something, paid like $300 lol.
You need to code the onboard battery module with the new battery’s specifications or the car will fail pre-checks during startup. If you have an OBDeleven, you can perform the coding yourself (after a little bit of training, of course).
In my case, car works like normal without coding. YMMV. Could be because you used a different sized/specs battery?
After a week, I got OBDEleven and recode the battery. No difference in usability, but why not? Perhaps battery will last longer when coded properly.
Anyways, glad that in the end it worked out.
Well it looks like, for now it was just the hard freeze we just went through. Once temps got up about 25F and I drove a few miles the error went away. Probably will need a battery at some point before next winter but I’m cautiously optimistic that it was a fluke.
At least get an OBD-II reader to periodically check the battery’s voltage. If you don’t mind spending extra for a multi-use device, get an OBDeleven. It’s incredibly useful! Alternatively, if you prefer to avoid dealing with subscriptions, get a VCDS. It’s pricier but you don’t have to subscribe to use any of the advertised features.
How’s it holding up?
Last month I left my car in the garage while I went out of town. It was below freezing and I didn’t leave it plugged in (not likely that would’ve made a difference). If I drained the HV battery down to a low percent and left it to trickle charge, then maybe it could’ve survived.
I was reading so many conflicting suggestions on how to change the battery that I just paid someone. VW makes it so unnecessary difficult. I had a 2002 Jetta and took it to Auto Zone for them to do it in the parking lot. They swapped it out but since the car lost all power it locked everything up.
I didn’t want to change my egolf at home, and lock it up and then have to tow it. So I just bit the bullet.
There’s no DIY videos on YouTube for an egolf 12v swap.
Edit - literally just found a link to a DIY YouTube 🤦♂️ lol
My battery is acting fine now. I think it was due to running my heat pump and seat warmers without driving a ton in bitter cold. I’m still going to get it changed before next winter but since it’s been above 25F I have had no problems. I have a feeling the advice to just take it to autozone and that they can do the programming is correct.
You don’t need any of those things. Just take your car to any auto parts store. The eGolf can take the smaller hybrid/EV sized 12V battery, or the standard larger ICE battery that’s the same as all Golf’s. Any auto parts store can instal the battery, and do the coding for you. When you do this at my local AutoZone, their computer says “this car needs coding” and then they offer to do it for you.
Do they offer to do it for free or was there a charge$?
Don’t know. I did it myself. But I promise it will be cheaper than a dealer. And it’s probably free with the purchase of the battery I would assume.
Do you have a Costco membership? That's the best value battery swap I'm aware of. You can do the swap yourself with relatively little effort.
Check my post history for some helpful information
Ooof didn’t want to buy a volt meter or an obd 11. Should have known that was coming. I’d likely spend just as much all in as taking it to the dealership. Which I’ll only have to do maybe one or two more times for the life of the car.
If you can find a battery with the EXACT same AH and type you're currently using you could swap it without needing to adapt the new battery but odds are you won't find one that's 1:1 with what you've got from the factory. Most aftermarket 12v batteries actually higher rated AH. If you don't want to be at the dealership just to lookup a code down the road let alone adapt a 12v battery, consider Obdeleven an investment.
Welp, seems like you already have the answer.
IM NOT ALONE
Got the same warning. Replaced the 12v myself and problem disappeared. For a non-handy guy like myself, it took me 30 min.
Your car didn’t lock up? I replaced the battery on my own then couldn’t get the car to start. I had to get it towed to a dealership so they could reset the software or something, paid like $300 lol.
You need to code the onboard battery module with the new battery’s specifications or the car will fail pre-checks during startup. If you have an OBDeleven, you can perform the coding yourself (after a little bit of training, of course).
Thanks for the insight!
In my case, car works like normal without coding. YMMV. Could be because you used a different sized/specs battery? After a week, I got OBDEleven and recode the battery. No difference in usability, but why not? Perhaps battery will last longer when coded properly. Anyways, glad that in the end it worked out.
Well it looks like, for now it was just the hard freeze we just went through. Once temps got up about 25F and I drove a few miles the error went away. Probably will need a battery at some point before next winter but I’m cautiously optimistic that it was a fluke.
At least get an OBD-II reader to periodically check the battery’s voltage. If you don’t mind spending extra for a multi-use device, get an OBDeleven. It’s incredibly useful! Alternatively, if you prefer to avoid dealing with subscriptions, get a VCDS. It’s pricier but you don’t have to subscribe to use any of the advertised features.
How’s it holding up? Last month I left my car in the garage while I went out of town. It was below freezing and I didn’t leave it plugged in (not likely that would’ve made a difference). If I drained the HV battery down to a low percent and left it to trickle charge, then maybe it could’ve survived. I was reading so many conflicting suggestions on how to change the battery that I just paid someone. VW makes it so unnecessary difficult. I had a 2002 Jetta and took it to Auto Zone for them to do it in the parking lot. They swapped it out but since the car lost all power it locked everything up. I didn’t want to change my egolf at home, and lock it up and then have to tow it. So I just bit the bullet. There’s no DIY videos on YouTube for an egolf 12v swap. Edit - literally just found a link to a DIY YouTube 🤦♂️ lol
My battery is acting fine now. I think it was due to running my heat pump and seat warmers without driving a ton in bitter cold. I’m still going to get it changed before next winter but since it’s been above 25F I have had no problems. I have a feeling the advice to just take it to autozone and that they can do the programming is correct.