Battery Replacement

I need to replace my battery on my 2002 Jetta TDI. This will be the third battery which I guess is pretty normal. Is there any battery that really stands out as being much better than the rest?

How about a battery from Autozone. The one I found was 520 CCA and costs @ $135.

Plenty of battery threads covering this already. I'd go to the dealer for this. Make sure to get the 94R, 80Ah version.

This is the only time I would EVER go to the dealer... The VW Batt is a good one. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or even 9 years on a stock Batt those odds are ones I would go the the "track
" with, so to speak.

This is the only time I would EVER go to the dealer... The VW Batt is a good one. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or even 9 years on a stock Batt those odds are ones I would go the the "track
" with, so to speak.

PeterV said:

This is the only time I would EVER go to the dealer... The VW Batt is a good one. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or even 9 years on a stock Batt those odds are ones I would go the the "track
" with, so to speak.

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+1, had the oem in my mk4 for 9 strong years with a little maitenance and trickle charge a couple of times a year

tditom said:

Plenty of battery threads covering this already.

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To quote the late great Carl Sagan: there are "billions and billions" of threads on this... and they all end with either a huge pissing match over CCA vs Ah ratings, or "get the OEM and be done with it"... or both.

My OE VW battery lasted almost 6 years. Every Walmart battery I have purchased has lasted 4+ years.

With the price difference between the Dealer vs. Walmart. I'm not thinking there is a strong benefit to giving a VW dealer any $. Plus.. the battery I replaced my OE battery with from Wallyworld was an EXACT match. Size, shape, little notches here and there...

Pretty sure that battery came out of the same battery factory... just got different stickers.

Paid less than $100 and have a 3 year warranty. What does VW give you for a warranty? Oh yea... thats right too... VW doesn't honor their warranties...

Just replaced the battery in my '03 wagon, the code on it is August 2001 manufacture, so it's the original battery! Over 9 years in the car, 388K miles, getting slow to crank when it's cold out. I just got another one at the dealer, $125.

May want to think twice about pushing a battery's life span. Preventative replacement may save an altenator.

A family member just recently had an expensive lesson. Battery was probably 5 or more years old. He left his lights on. Got a jump start and everything was good for a couple days, then he went to start it and nothing. Replaced the battery and it made it another 100 miles and it died. Tow, dealer altenator and labor later he learned that a stressed battery can kill an altenator in no time.

Moral of the story... Don't try to set records on the number of winters you can get by before you replace it. As soon as you start noticing sluggish starts... it's time. Otherwise your altenator is going to burn itself out trying to fully charge a battery that just won't hold it.

Got 7 years from the OEM battery in my jetta. Replaced it with an autozone one which is going on year 3. So far so good. Reason I went with autozone this time is that the dealer is an hour away in another state and they are not known for good pricing.

FWIW, I replaced my 7 year old OEM with a group 6, AGM from Sears. I've only had it a few months so this does not answer the OP's question, but it feels a whole lot more powerful than the original.

Go to the dealer the oem replacement can't be beat....my bmw and vw both use the same battery...i just replaced both because i got them on sale for $125 each

Dunno513 said:

May want to think twice about pushing a battery's life span. Preventative replacement may save an altenator.

A family member just recently had an expensive lesson. Battery was probably 5 or more years old. He left his lights on. Got a jump start and everything was good for a couple days, then he went to start it and nothing. Replaced the battery and it made it another 100 miles and it died. Tow, dealer altenator and labor later he learned that a stressed battery can kill an altenator in no time.

Moral of the story... Don't try to set records on the number of winters you can get by before you replace it. As soon as you start noticing sluggish starts... it's time. Otherwise your altenator is going to burn itself out trying to fully charge a battery that just won't hold it.

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I agree with the above. After 5 years my batteries get changed out. I've heard good stuff about the VW OEM ones.

afmeyer9 said:

I need to replace my battery on my 2002 Jetta TDI. This will be the third battery which I guess is pretty normal. Is there any battery that really stands out as being much better than the rest?

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I can't tell you which one is best, but I have been very happy with the ones I have gotten from Sam's club. I have replaced the battery twice (now I am on the third battery) I bought a good one and the warranty paid for two replacements. BTW, I did not even have to ask for the warranty deal. I had forgotten it even had a warranty but they called me over and told me it was under warranty without me even asking. So I have paid for only one battery since 2002.

Replaced my oem battery with a Interstate MTP 48/H6 just before winter. 965 cranking amps 770 cold cranking amps. Has cranked great on the coldest days happy so far. The price was around 100 bucks but i do have an account with interstate(im a mechanic on heavy equipment and trucks) idk what list price would be.

the project car that i picked up with the timing belt gone had a walmart battery in it.
the battery had a bad cell so it was trash,, i didnt have a receipt for it but there
was a sticker on the top that showed the date on it. it was only a year and a half
old so i took it back to walmart and they looked at it, said " yep thats one of ours
no need for paperwork" they gave me a new one no problem
would i get another walmart battery? YES!
so far it seems great!

I replaced my battery with a Walmart brand. I called the dealer and told them the car I had, told them the battery that I needed, and they still would not sell me a battery without bringing in the car for them to check it over. Screw Appleway Dealership. The dealer in Spokane is total garbage. I am hoping that my battery will last long enough, plus I only paid $85 for it.

I had, told them the battery that I needed, and they still would not sell me a battery without bringing in the car for them to check it over.

I can understand that. I bet they have had more than one driver with a bad charging system buy a battery and not had the system checked, battery failed and they expected a new battery at no cost.

So was I supposed to make an appointment, wait 2-3 days with a dead battery, and then have them charge me $30 to check out my charging system? I dont think so. And yes, that is how they wanted to do it as they do not take drive ins. I got to my local Schucks, now O'Reillys, had them check the system for free, found they do not carry the battery I needed so I went home and started researching. Found Walmart had it in stock, and for a pprice I could not argue with.

I am not trying to argue with you, but this is just how the dealer here in Spokane operates. I am sure some have gotten screwed by selling batteries and having them returned bad because the charging system was bad.

does going to the dealer to replace your battery "erase or mess with your tune"
I am at the dealer and they said they were going to messing with settings" and such i was gonna have them replace it but after they said they were going to mess with my comp i had second thoughts. btw my battery is OE and has gone 180k miles ish and lasted almost 9 years

nuga said:

does going to the dealer to replace your battery "erase or mess with your tune"
I am at the dealer and they said they were going to messing with settings" and such i was gonna have them replace it but after they said they were going to mess with my comp i had second thoughts. btw my battery is OE and has gone 180k miles ish and lasted almost 9 years

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Your tune is on a flashROM, if I'm not mistaken. If so, then it is impervious to loss of voltage.

If you want a manly battery, get a group 31 battery. They feature 950 CCA and won't leave you in the dark.

They're used in backhoes and bulldozers. Fits right into the battery tray in my car, minus the cover.

I have had Optima red tops in both tdis for 11 years now, 700kms between them, the factory battery was toast after the first winter terrible battery no reserve if the car needed a second attempt at starting or had fuel gelling problems. The optimas slowly die over time (about 85% after ten years) but never die from a discharge. I love these batteries, problem is the current ones shifted production overseas somewhere and the last 3 I bought in the last 2 years all failed within a year (total failure not just weak-one was dead on arrival!). Quality is not what is used to be. If you do buy ojne makee sure they test it before you leave the counter. There are many other AGM batteries available now like Orbital, Duracell, Motomaster has even now. AGM is not likely to die from vibration like a lead acid traditional battery. The current standard for OEM batteries is 6 years FYI and going down with heavy electrical demands (some fancy SUVs are needing them in 3 years!).
I use VW's CCA and reserve and go up from there, 650CCA is not very high especially for older diesels, I am running 800 and would like to see 1000 next battery or run duals.

nuga said:

does going to the dealer to replace your battery "erase or mess with your tune"
I am at the dealer and they said they were going to messing with settings"

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I dont' think anyone said you should have the dealer change your battery... just buy it there and put it in yourself. That should solve all your problems.

clacker said:

the factory battery was toast after the first winter terrible battery

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I really think you are in the minority on this one. I've read a lot of battery threads around here, and many of us got 8 or so years out of our original OEM battery.

OEM batteries are great..

My OEM battery was very good. I got a replacement from Sam's Club and over the years I have had three replacements, at no charge.

Joe_Meehan said:

My OEM battery was very good. I got a replacement from Sam's Club and over the years I have had three replacements, at no charge.

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How long did your OE battery last? 6-8 years?
I don't think needing to replace the Sam's club battery 3x in 5 yrs or less to be a glowing endorsement for their quality. It's not a trivial thing to have a battery fail on you and then get to the store for your replacement before you can return to the disabled car to install the battery. Especially in the winter time...

tditom said:

How long did your OE battery last? 6-8 years?

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I don't recall. That was a while ago.