Looking for best battery for cold weather starts 2012 touareg

handweanie

Active member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Location
south east, mi
TDI
2012 touareg tdi
sorry long story. clueless driver here

I've had my 1 year old (25k miles) 2012 touareg fail to start twice now in cold weather. both times it was single digits or colder (-16 F second time).

First time i drove about 0.1 miles I know the short drive wasn't ideal and the radio on with engine off didn't help . ran home got the other car and it jumped immediately. Getting jumped in the kids school parking lot is a little embarrassing to say the least.

didn't learn my lesson cause one month later, i pulled the car back in the garage to see if i could block the grill/radiator. again radio on and engine off. (idiot)
next morning (-16 F) car would not crank. dug out the neighbors driveway so he could give a jump and that worked. ( the treg is a ***** to push btw!)

the whole experience is really souring the whole tdi thing for me. :(

battery has since been tested and is fine according to dealer.

looking at dropping a better battery in to avoid future problems in addition to avoiding short trips and turning all electronics off minutes before the ignition. and even cycling the glow plugs which i shouldn't have to do.

any suggestions on a replacement battery. done some research and i'm sold on getting the highest CCA rated battery i can get. the factory battery is rated around 750 so i'm thinking at least 900 cca should do it. I've looked at interstates site and a and they just give the battery recommended for my model.

looking for a specific model and CCA rating.

thanks in advance
 

NoobyT

Veteran Member
Joined
May 29, 2013
Location
N/A
TDI
N/A
You car will not fully recharge any battery unless you drive it about 15 miles especially if you have the heater on, the lights, the wipers, the radio, etc, etc.

Short journies in the cold are the enemy of any car but especially a T3 Tdi such as yours.

It uses an electric heater to warm things up more quickly from cold first thing for your comfort and to reduce emissions and wear on the engine so there's an even bigger drain on the alternator than you realise.

And please don't start it and leave it ticking over to warm it up - that is the worst thing you can do to the Tdi!

If you garage your car or it is close to the house then I'd put it on a charger like a C-Tek overnight to keep the battery in tip top condition if you are persisting with short runs you could walk!

Other T3 Tdi owners are putting additives in the fuel to stop it gelling in these very cold times.

Visit www.clubtouareg.com
 

Yeti35

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2009
Location
SL, UT
TDI
2010 Touareg V6 TDI
I think that Odyssey makes a great AGM battery. http://www.odysseybattery.com/battspecs.html
They cost a bit more than your standard lead acid battery but mine lasted 8 years & you don't have to worry about sulfate buildup corroding ground connections under the battery.
It comes with that type of battery already and you have to get a specific one since it fits in a space under the drivers seat. You can't just throw any battery in a Touareg.
OP, you just need to drive it more and keep the radio off unless the motor is running. I'm going out on random drives to get the heat built up for the oil as well as charge my battery now since it has been way colder this winter. Not sure why you are trying to block the grill/radiator. It will not get you heat any faster then the electric heater already in it to warm up the water in the heater core only. Just need to set the temp to HI to kick it on and warm things up.
 
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handweanie

Active member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Location
south east, mi
TDI
2012 touareg tdi
treg battery

You car will not fully recharge any battery unless you drive it about 15 miles especially if you have the heater on, the lights, the wipers, the radio, etc, etc.

Short journies in the cold are the enemy of any car but especially a T3 Tdi such as yours.

It uses an electric heater to warm things up more quickly from cold first thing for your comfort and to reduce emissions and wear on the engine so there's an even bigger drain on the alternator than you realise.

And please don't start it and leave it ticking over to warm it up - that is the worst thing you can do to the Tdi!

If you garage your car or it is close to the house then I'd put it on a charger like a C-Tek overnight to keep the battery in tip top condition if you are persisting with short runs you could walk!

Other T3 Tdi owners are putting additives in the fuel to stop it gelling in these very cold times.

Visit www.clubtouareg.com
i normally don't let the engine idle except now that I've been having these issues. I'm afraid to just run in somewhere unless I've been driving at least 20 minutes.

my kids go to 2 different schools with drop off times only 5 minutes apart and walking with . one school is about a mile away and i have walked it couple of times in good weather and that was enough.

my garage has a shelf over the hood so charging is not an option. i have to open the garage door and back the car up the length of the hood to open it. (one of the main reasons i went with the greg was it fit in the garage. unlike an explorer.

am i wrong to think a battery with higher c/a rating would at least help?

also looked at odyssey but the group 49 battery was only 770 c/a. there was one around 1100 but it measures a couple inches taller
 

handweanie

Active member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Location
south east, mi
TDI
2012 touareg tdi
Get a battery tender jr and leave the harness hanging out the grill.



Rings go on battery terminals and the plug connects to the charger. No need to open the hood. I use this on my Grand, along with a block heater, as I drive only 4 miles to work.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000CITK8S
thanks for the reply.

battery is under the driver's seat and only a positive terminal under the hood.

would that still work?
 

NoobyT

Veteran Member
Joined
May 29, 2013
Location
N/A
TDI
N/A
thanks for the reply.

battery is under the driver's seat and only a positive terminal under the hood.

would that still work?
Touaregs have a positive AND a negative terminal under the hood.

They are separated by the fluid container with the green top.

The terminal with the red top is easy to spot of course - you've already seen it - but the other has no cover and is by the inner wing if I recall correctly.
 
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handweanie

Active member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Location
south east, mi
TDI
2012 touareg tdi
glow plug indicator came on after start today. stayed on (flashing) for full 30 min drive.

of course it was off by the time i got it to the dealer after a second start and they were unable to retrieve a code.

could a glow plug, the harness or relay have caused my symptoms of no start with successful jump?

did consider getting a multi meter but my skills end at washing, tire pressure and fueling and i'm not learning on the treg nor do i have the facilities. zero here now and i'd have to open the garage door to get the hood open

should i post in 101?:confused:
 

Nick-Vdub

New member
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Location
Kenosha, wi
TDI
06' Jetta & 12' Touareg
For what it's worth, I just had a warranty claim on the battery of our 2012 T-Reg.

It wasn't starting one morning and the dealer said it could be the cold weather....I then called to the vw hotline. Long story short, the dealer towed the vehicle and figured out it was a bad battery. It would have been $500 if out of warranty. FYI- batteries are only under warranty for 2 yrs.
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
glow plug indicator came on after start today. stayed on (flashing) for full 30 min drive.
A flashing glow plug light is VW's version of a "fix me right now" Check Engine light...strangely enough having *nothing* to do with the glow plugs themselves. :rolleyes::)

should i post in 101?:confused:
Probably best to start your own thread, yup. :)
 

handweanie

Active member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Location
south east, mi
TDI
2012 touareg tdi
glow plug light is off and things are running well. so i'll have to way for it to happen again.

i've been avoiding short trips and letting in idle if i do have to run in some where quickly. (hopefully i don't get jacked but at least i get a new car right?)

i know idling isn't great but that's my plan until i drop a new battery in (of course i'm about 1k over warranty and it checked okay by the dealer so it's my dime)

dealer is quoting me $200 on service to install a battery so i'll figure it out

thanks for the input
 

ihatespeed

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Location
holbrook, ma
TDI
11 tdi wagon 6mt 15 golf 6mt (Wife's) 2000 Ford 350 7.3l 6mt 4x4 (technically a TDI)
batteries are simple, disconnect the negative first, connect it last on the new one. make sure you go off the stamped in +- on the battery. coworker went by the stupid red and green felt washers the auto parts store threw on the battery. you can guess what happened.

For bonus points choose a wrench that is too short to span the terminals.. Clean the terminals inside and out with a wire brush and coat with dielectric grease after you tighten them. did I mention make sure the polarity is right?
 

handweanie

Active member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Location
south east, mi
TDI
2012 touareg tdi
battery warranty

For what it's worth, I just had a warranty claim on the battery of our 2012 T-Reg.

It wasn't starting one morning and the dealer said it could be the cold weather....I then called to the vw hotline. Long story short, the dealer towed the vehicle and figured out it was a bad battery. It would have been $500 if out of warranty. FYI- batteries are only under warranty for 2 yrs.

just found that out the hard way. called vwoa trying to get them to kick in for new battery(currently i'm just over 25k). sorry we can't help you. the warranty has expired (24k). no documentation on the milage when this started 6 wks ago but i was probably some where around 24k.:mad:

gonna try to drop the new battery in tomorrow weather permitting

if anyone from vw is listening " put in a better stock battery !"
i was loving the greg and looking and replacing my wifes volvo with a vw or audi.
now, not so much!
 
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