Best Battery For My Tdi And Why?

Does your TDI have a VW Battery or not?


  • Total voters
    423

HoneyBeetle

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Location
Massachusetts
TDI
2001 VW NB TDI
IndigoBlueWagon said:
Wow, that's a lot of posts on a battery question. So many opinions. Maybe it's good I don't sell them.

My vote was for OE replacement, from the dealer (that's what I mean by OE). The NB battery is a bit smaller and less powerful than the Golf/Jetta because of space considerations, but it still seems to work fine for people. If you have the OE battery in the car make sure they match the number, including any suffix.

I've had tremendous luck with OE batterys. In fact the original battery is still in IBW, 8 years and 220K later. What's not to like?
8 yrs and 220 miles later......good deal!
 

HoneyBeetle

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Location
Massachusetts
TDI
2001 VW NB TDI
JB05 said:
HB, bear in mind that heat is more destructive to a battery than the cold. If distilled water is not added periodically, your battery life will be shortened even further. Are you aware of the fact that our OEM Varta's are not maintenance free. Pull back the plastic tape atop your battery and you will see the cell caps. Add enough distilled water to reach the bottom of the cell cavities. DBW has a pretty good write-up in regards to our TDI batteries if you care to do some further research.
My battery is no maintenance....thanks anyway. I checked this a long time ago. This is good info for those who need to check.
 

niteman9

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Location
Ann Arbor MI
TDI
2006 Jetta
Most batteries in the US are made by one of three company's.

1. Excide
2. Delco
3. Johnson Controls

Its hard to say who makes what brands as the contracts change all the time. Some times it will say on the battery who it is made by.

Stay away from anything made by Excide. Johnson Controls are good batteries as are Delco.

There are a few others to
Deka - Good batteries just not gonna find them in to many places.
Wonch - Very good but more of a commercial battery
Optima - Good but very over priced

When I needed two new batteries for my F-350 I found Sam's club selling batteries made by Johnson Controls. They were under $75 each.

Most of the private label batteries are made by Excide, STAY AWAY from these batteries. If the manufacture in not on the label of the batteries stay away it is more than likely an Excide battery.


EDIT: The last place I would ever buy a battery is the dealer.
 
Last edited:

dogdots

Vendor
Joined
Sep 4, 2002
Location
Kansas City
TDI
None
niteman9 said:
EDIT: The last place I would ever buy a battery is the dealer.
Why? They sell the exact battery for your car at a good price without all the guessing. There are some parts better purchased at the dealer, like crush washers for injectors for example, and that money does trickle down into your local economy.
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
niteman9 said:
There are a few others to
Deka - Good batteries just not gonna find them in to many places.
Wonch - Very good but more of a commercial battery
Optima - Good but very over priced
The Johnson Controls website says that they make the Optima batteries.
 

HoneyBeetle

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Location
Massachusetts
TDI
2001 VW NB TDI
niteman9 said:
Most batteries in the US are made by one of three company's.

1. Excide
2. Delco
3. Johnson Controls

Its hard to say who makes what brands as the contracts change all the time. Some times it will say on the battery who it is made by.

Stay away from anything made by Excide. Johnson Controls are good batteries as are Delco.

There are a few others to
Deka - Good batteries just not gonna find them in to many places.
Wonch - Very good but more of a commercial battery
Optima - Good but very over priced

When I needed two new batteries for my F-350 I found Sam's club selling batteries made by Johnson Controls. They were under $75 each.

Most of the private label batteries are made by Excide, STAY AWAY from these batteries. If the manufacture in not on the label of the batteries stay away it is more than likely an Excide battery.


EDIT: The last place I would ever buy a battery is the dealer.
Good info niteman.....I've heard this before, just didn't know which companies they are. Thanks
 

niteman9

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2008
Location
Ann Arbor MI
TDI
2006 Jetta
dogdots said:
Why? They sell the exact battery for your car at a good price without all the guessing. There are some parts better purchased at the dealer, like crush washers for injectors for example, and that money does trickle down into your local economy.
I paid $75 each for the batteries for my truck. The dealer was $120 each. I guess if you have an uncommon or hard to find battery the dealer would be OK as long as they were not Excide batteries.
 

T_D_I_POWER

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Location
Savannah. GA. USA - Toronto. ON. CANADA
TDI
'04 VW PASSAT GLS TDI '06 Audi A4 q Avant 6-Spd Sport Pkg
IndigoBlueWagon said:
Pay an arm and a leg? When my daughter's MKII needed a battery the dealer was one of the more reasonable options. I got a cheap one from Autozone because she plans to have the car for as short a period of time as possible. But the dealer battery wasn't that much more expensive. And the last battery I bought for a TDI was for my MKIII and I think it was about $110.
Well I paid mine, Enegizer E48 875 CA 700 CCA, at Sams for peanuts, $65 - $10 core, 3-yrs free replacement and 8-yrs pro-rated warranty vs your's $110 80Ah 380 A DIN 640 A SAE, warranty? 1-yr free replacement and 5-yrs pro-rated - info from Vaden. That's $55 in my pocket, and extra warranty.

The OEM battery cost $/Amp is a mere $0.0629/A vs dealership OE battery $5.82/A.

Btw, 1stvwparts battery for 01-05 B5 price is $148.20.
 

TornadoRed

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Location
West Des Moines (formerly St Paul)
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI wagon, silver; 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, indigo blue; 2003 Golf GL 5-spd, red (PARTED); 2003 Golf GLS 5-spd, indigo blue (SOLD); 2003 Jetta TDI wagon, Candy White (SOLD)
IndigoBlueWagon said:
Ah, but I don't go to Wal-Mart or its affiliates.
I suppose back in the 1880's and 1890's there were people who refused to buy from the Sears & Roebuck catalog because it was putting general stores out of business.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
In truth, my avoidance of Wal-Mart is much more personal. I find the stores very depressing. It occured to me a couple of years ago that there wasn't anything there I wanted badly enough to put up with the experience of being in the store. So I stopped. Destroying small downtowns, exploiting workers, locking people in at night, no health care, misrepresenting products, incompetent workers, all that was a bit of a side point.

You have to draw the line somewhere.
 

Dimitri16V

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Location
DE
TDI
01 Golf, 04 Golf
IndigoBlueWagon said:
In truth, my avoidance of Wal-Mart is much more personal. I find the stores very depressing. It occured to me a couple of years ago that there wasn't anything there I wanted badly enough to put up with the experience of being in the store. So I stopped. Destroying small downtowns, exploiting workers, locking people in at night, no health care, misrepresenting products, incompetent workers, all that was a bit of a side point.

You have to draw the line somewhere.
hey , it sounds like what the two parties are doing to the US :rolleyes:
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
IndigoBlueWagon said:
It's a New England thing.
I was in Connecticut three weeks ago. Walmart was knocking down a smaller store and expanding into a super WM. This was in my home town which only had a few discount retailers years ago. They are all gone now. New England is starting to look a little like the deep south with it's share of "new" minorities. Pretty soon the signs will be in Spanish in some areas.
 

jamesandruth

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Location
Excelsior, MN, USA
TDI
Golf, 2003, Blue
Any Interstate fans out there?

I've used Interstate batteries with very good results in Minnesota. Here is their recommendation for the NB. You may want to make sure it fits, as I understand the NB battery compartment is smaller than the other MKIVs. I would recommend a Frost Heater for really cold weather (<10 F). The fit and installation of the Frost Heater was perfect. You get a timer, have turn it on at 4am, and by 8 it is toasty, starts right up w/o glowplugs, and is blowing warm air!
 

boertje

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2002
Location
Coeur d'Alene, ID
TDI
'01, '01, '03, ‘06 NB - TDIs all.
Went to AutoZone and bought a duralast for both my 03 NB and my 02 jetta. Great batteries as they are made by Johnson Control. AutoZone is 5 miles from my house and the dealer is 40 miles. No brainer.
 

jamesandruth

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Location
Excelsior, MN, USA
TDI
Golf, 2003, Blue
T_D_I_POWER said:
Another SAE CCA over DIN Ah battery. Way to go guys.

IS MTP-91 looks very much like the Energizer E48. Same specs too.
If Energizer is made by Johnson Control, it may very well be the same battery.

I have the H7 in my Golf. Paid nowhere near MSRP. It is a monster, but probably wouldn't fit in the NB. We take no chances in cold country.
 

T_D_I_POWER

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Location
Savannah. GA. USA - Toronto. ON. CANADA
TDI
'04 VW PASSAT GLS TDI '06 Audi A4 q Avant 6-Spd Sport Pkg
jamesandruth said:
If Energizer is made by Johnson Control, it may very well be the same battery.

I have the H7 in my Golf. Paid nowhere near MSRP. It is a monster, but probably wouldn't fit in the NB. We take no chances in cold country.
Yes, my Energizer is made by JCI, and very much identical to the MTP-91

My experience living in the cold country when I was working in Toronto, & Montreal Canada. It was pretty cold for me but I wouldn't say it's much colder than where you live. I learned few things from the Canadians like buy the biggest battery that will fit w/i the battery compartment. Just like you said, can't take chances...

That H7 battery is a monster, and 880 CCA. You'll need all those Amps in the coldest MN morning to start the TDI ;)
 

HoneyBeetle

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Location
Massachusetts
TDI
2001 VW NB TDI
Who makes my Interstate battery? I couldn't find anthing on it. Also, couldn't find anthing on the VW OEM battery. I think it's Chinese or Korean.
 

webdog

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Location
Lost Angeles, CA
TDI
y2k Golf GLS TDI
HoneyBeetle said:
Who makes my Interstate battery? I couldn't find anthing on it. Also, couldn't find anthing on the VW OEM battery. I think it's Chinese or Korean.
I believe Interstate Batteries manufacturers there own batteries, I have had good luck with them and had them in all 3 jeeps and never had one go dead on me. If the TDI battery needs replacing I am sure it will be replaced with an Interstate...
 

MOGolf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 27, 2001
Location
underneath something
TDI
2001 Golf GLS TDI Reflex silver, rough road suspension and steel skid plate, 2004 Passat Variant, Candy White, rough road suspension and geared balanced shaft module, and much, much more. 2016 LR RR HSE TD6, 2019 Jaguar I-PACE
Interstate is a brand of Johnson Controls.

The VW battery I put in my Passat is labeled Enertec (not Varta). There are a lot of companies around the world that lay claim to that name. But for automotive batteries it is a Mexican company Grupo IMSA.

Here's an interesting document from 2005:
http://xj900diversion.free.fr/yuasa/Battery/batbrand.htm

Note: mergers, bankruptcies, etc., have probably dated some of the information.
 
Top