battery replacement for 2006 jetta tdi

T_D_I_POWER said:

Yes, it fits like a glove w/o any mods at all. Well sort of. I made 3 mods.:

1. I cut off the carrying strap once installed
2. I transferred the +/-batt sign decals from the original OE battery to the Energizer as shown on picture. The OE battery was Moll 560 CA made in Italy, and has the green eye charge window. The Energizer doesn't have one
3. I bought +/-batt caps and anti-corrosion felt washers from local auto part store. Only +batt cap and -batt anti-corrosion felt washer shown on picture

There's an alternate group which is a group 41. I forget the model no., but has no gas vent tube. The E48 comes with a gas vent tube as per OE battery, which you can clearly see in the picture.

That is the saddest part about Energizer car battery, no info available on the internet. So, one physically has to go to see it himsel/herself. But a trip to the Sams club is always enjoyable specially if you go with your spouse

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Thanks! My Varta is getting up there and I have never had any battery last 5 years. A trip to Sam's is in my future!

Guys - get off the CA and CCA ratings - what's important is that AH rating - 72 AH or more. If you can't get the AH rating - get an OEM from VW - at least you SHOULD get the right battery.

T_D_I_Power: can you tell us what the AH rating of that E48 Energizer battery is?

Check this out...
http://access.gale.com/widgets/cr/pdfs/carbatt.pdf
It gives some testing details

Sootman said:

Check this out...
http://access.gale.com/widgets/cr/pdfs/carbatt.pdf
It gives some testing details

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Thanks for sharing this with us

aja8888 said:

T_D_I_Power: can you tell us what the AH rating of that E48 Energizer battery is?

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Sorry, I don't have any info wrt the battery Ah rating. Neither Johnson Controls nor Energizer battery has the specs available online. Even if they have it, I have my doubt they will advertise the Ah rating. The Ah rating it's more for the EU than NA.
The CA and CCA are hard called numbers, they mean more to NA consumers then the Ah rating. I also notice recently when I checked the Bosch/Varta battery EU websites, they start advertising the CAA for all their batteries.

If I would make an educated guess, by comparing E48 to another group 48 battery which has identical CA, CCA and the advertised the Ah rating, the E48 would be a 70 Ah battery, with RC of 120 mins.

Thanks..

scooperhsd said:

Guys - get off the CA and CCA ratings - what's important is that AH rating - 72 AH or more. If you can't get the AH rating - get an OEM from VW - at least you SHOULD get the right battery.

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You don't get an OEM battery from the VW dealers. What you get from the dealer is an OE battery, OE parts etc.

Winjammer said:

Here is what Drivbiwire has to say about batteries. It's your hard earned money so don't waste it. Get the correct battery the first time.

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Here are the list of OE batteries for B5-5.5 my 1998-2005 from the ETKA catalog
1stVWParts price for the battery is $148.20 p/n: 000915105AG -confirmed by dealer

1-(1)000915105AB
battery with charge state indicator, filled and charged
44AH/220A /

2-(1)000915105AC
battery with charge state indicator, filled and charged
60AH/280A /

3-(1)000915105AE
battery with charge state indicator, filled and charged
70AH/340A /

4-(1)000915105AF
battery with charge state indicator, filled and charged
72AH/380A /

5-(1)000915105AJ
battery with charge state indicator, filled and charged
82AH/420A /

6-(1)000915105AG
battery with charge state indicator, filled and charged
80AH/380A /

As you can see from above the most powerfull OE battery is the item no. 5 which is 82Ah/420A. This battery puts out a meager
420A compare to the OEM E48 875A. That's a 455A or 108% less Amps cranking starting juice for a $93.20 or 169% more dollars. That's my hard earned dollars saving in my pocket that I put towards my kids college edus. Sorry, this is a no brainer, the OEM E48 battery wins handily as the OE battery replacement.

In US, we buy stuff by the pounds, gallons, acres, ft^2 etc. So, I too, buy a replacement battery by the Amps. Amps are the hard called out nos. display on the battery placard not Ah. Ah, Ampere hour, which is the battery capacity rating in Ampere for 20hour (how much load-Amps drawn, a given battery can sustain for 20hrs), which doesn't mean much to US consumers. EU is big on displaying Ah, and lately, it starts to display Amps on the battery placard. But this is US not EU. Batteries sold in US display CA & CAA which conformed to the BCI-Battery Council International.

If you want to buy the most powerfull OE battery from the VW dealer, by all means buy it and you'll get a battery with the correct Ah but with a meager CA. Very likely you won't, and you'll go to PepBoys and buy a Bosch battery - which wasn't available at PB when I needed to replace mine. IIRC, Bosch car batteries sold in the US at PB are rebranded Energizers anyway Ironically, Bosch batteries sold in the US don't display Ah, but CA & CCA on the battery placards

Btw, do you guys who stress us so strongly to buy replacement batteries from the VW dealers, practice what you preach?

Finally, samurai tdi, I am sorry I don't mean to hijack your thread. At least you know now, that there are alternative places, such as, Sams, Walmart, PB where you can buy a quality replacement battery other then the dealer for a lot less money but it gives you more cranking juice.

I know that I am going to regret this but if your reasoning is correct....then golf car batteries should be bought on CA not AH capacity? You will never find CCA on deep cycle batteries as they are designed to give you a longer run-time versus blowing all of the battery's energy in one shot (CCA)

CA and CCA are terms created by consumer battery manufacturers to confuse the true issues at hand....started by Sears with the DieHard brand (remember the commercials of the Diehard starting all those cars at the frozen stadium?). Up to then batteries were bought by AH because customers wanted to be able to crank their cars for a longer period of time and not just once or twice at -40 below. An even better measure of battery potency is weight. More plates=more lead=greater capacity.

AH = to total energy capacity....5gal vs 3 gals....which will last longer no matter what size hole you put into the container? My 2005.5 A5 TDI is still running on the original battery at 117K miles but to each their own

Question about the Everstart Maxx 65N- how do you get it to fit? I recently changed mine battery but the Everstart is so big I can't reach to tighten the bolt back down (the bolt outside the box on the left). Moreover, I couldn't even get the sleeve to fit around it. Am I doing something wrong? Or is just a bad fit? Should i be worried that bolt?

thanks

I just got an Everstart MAXX 48, which is the replacement battery at Walmart for $78. It weighs only 35 pounds, compared to the 45 pound VW original. It fit right in my 06 Jetta TDI.

It was about half the price of the VW battery from the dealer, but it has about 25% less storage capacity. Not particularly pleased with that aspect, but we'll see how it performs over the long term.

I was disgusted that none of the Walmart batteries reveal their amp-hour ratings. The other ratings are not as useful.

Rig said:

I was disgusted that none of the Walmart batteries reveal their amp-hour ratings. The other ratings are not as useful.

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Sad to say, that's typical for most automotive batteries.

Tony

I went to a VW dealer and got the real battery for $130. I will return the
Walmart battery. It performed fine, but I think I need the larger capacity for my
Alaskan winters.

This post is frustrating... there are different specs in batteries, and CCA does matter in cold weather climates, be it diesel or not.. otherwise, I think some people should go back to electronics class...

On another note, If you think the VW battery is better due to size of plates that is one thing, but if you are thinking it is better because it is 50-75 dollars more, than keep on fooling yourself. BTW the new VW batteries have crappy warranties. Sales and marketing is what is costing you $$$ on batteries, get over it, no Auto Manufacturer make batteries... and they are only produced by 2-3 companies in the US.

Two years almost to the day, I have to replace my battery. Thankfully, Sam's prorated the warranty and combined with a $20 gift card, the battery cost me about $7.

Bad Battery

My Energizer E48 battery has gone bad. It's needed jumped several times now recently w/ the cooler temps. I took it to Autozone to have it tested and he said the Cold Cranking amps were way to low fo such a "new" battery. It came in at 400 instead of the rated 875. hmmm. I am not sure of the date of purchase and shame on me for not keeping the SamsClub receipt. It has 9/07 sticker on it. My account is w/ my mother at Sams and she has called and they can not find the purches info...
Anybody else having this problem w/ this battery?
Patrick

cca vs ah

More CCA is best for cranking over a Big Block High Performance V8 w/high compression, high lift cam, and strong valve springs. Hopefully it wants to start and you don't need to grind it.

More AH is best for deep cycle marine and golf carts. And diesels with many glow plugs to cycle before you even begin to crank.

My experience from selling autoparts for 30 + years was that the highest CCA batterys ( 700 - 1000 cca ) were the most likely to die early. They will crank hard and fast for a while and then suddenly fail. According to a battery rep ( not an engineer but smart and in the business a long time ) that was true. He also said cold temps lowered the available output but heat actually killed. Batterys had the shortest life in the deep south.

Just had to replace battery in my 2006-1/2 Jetta TDI after 5-1/2 yrs owning it. Read all of your posts on here about batteries for the TDIs and what to do when installing the new battery. At first Tony Jetta had me confused about switching on ignition before attaching the ground/negative cable which had something to do with setting off the airbags..... And others talked about making sure to get battery with 72Ah or higher rating.....true the OE battery does have a 72Ah rating and a 380 Amps. So, this is what I did:

1. Purchased Walmart's EverStart MAXX-H6 battery @ $99.87, mfr'd by Johnson Control which has a CCA 730.


2. Called the 800 number on top and ask them what was the Ah rating for that battery; was told by engineering dept. that it is a 72Ah rated battery.


3. Checked the Owner's Manual for changing the battery.....it said do NOT have ignition ON while changing the battery. However, it did say that after battery is completely installed, to turn ignition ON and then OFF...... My Bentley's VW Jetta Service Manual also says the same thing. Nothing was said about airbags danger.


4. To further give me a peace of mind about the airbags, the Bentley, under the airbag section does say when you remove/repair-replace/install an airbag, first turn ignition off and remove the negative cable on battery, complete your airbag work, etc, and then turn the ignition ON before you attach the negative battery cable after airbag installation is completed.


I have had no problem.

I ended up going with the AutoCraft Gold Battery, Group Size 48, 730 CCA from Advanced auto parts. They have a 30% off coupon on your order up to $50 off so I made out well! TRT30 is the code hurry up!

Cheers

Please, help me find a battery in the next couple weeks for my 2006.5 Jetta TDI.

I don’t care about cost. I want the BEST if it’s something that I will depend on for the next 7 years! Pennies per day compared to being stranded, missing work, etc. One future issue can easily cost all the difference of price.

I want it to fit in the existing battery box, unless there’s a really good reason to cut it bigger or take it out.

What about the Optima series? Not good for my Chicago winters?

There are so many batteries available, and these forum threads are way too long with no resolution between everyone.

So, I've been working on this Excel spreadsheet of batteries for a while since I wanted to learn all about them (and I'm an Excel geek). But, it's only for 48 (H6) sized batteries because I didn't even think of going with a bigger size (I couldn't modify anything as I've been under an extended factory warranty... it just expired a few months ago).

I haven’t read all these threads completely, but I no longer have time to add all the size 49's to my matrix as well (will they fit in an 2006.5 Jetta TDI?)

BTW - the red are what I considered to be "bad" and the greens are "good", or at least best in the column.

Hopefully this adds to the discussion, and yes, I'm sure I failed to include 101 other brands available. I'm open to any and all comments, especially missing data (Ah ratings are very hard to get)! All I really care about is knowing what to buy ASAP: Sizes that could be made to work, AGM vs non-AGM, deals available, etc.

Thx.

P.S. I can't figure out how to upload the Excel file itself so I just took a pic of it instead. I can email people the file if they really need it...And some of this info may be a few months old. Close enough.

Nice work. I recently purchased the Gold AGM from Advanced auto for my TDI. It's cold up here in northern MN and the car has started fine with a -5 windchill. I work on cars often and buy from Advance as there are $50 off codes available online all the time as long as you spend over $100. I have 6 cars, so if I'm short of $100, I can always buy more oil/filters and other maintainance items. If you want the best, the Optima is probably your choice, although many posters at this site don't care for them. I've purchased a few in the past and have purchased cars where they were as old as 10 years, and have never had a problem with them. I have had 286 cars so have purchased probably 100 or more batteries in my life, and the only batteries I've ever had fail within the first 3 years were from WalMart. I have newer Optima batteries in both my Prius's, but they don't start the car, but rather power the electronics so the hybrid battery can start it. I had a 53 Mercury a few years back and the biggest 6V battery would barely start it when at 0, but I put a 1000A Optima and started it at -25 without a problem.

Just recently bought the OE Euro by East Penn and I am very pleased. Bought the cheaper of the 2 for $ 116.00. Accidently left lights on overnight and it started right up in the morning !!

However, my recommendation is the Bosch as it is always better choice.

Avoid the Optima at all cost when shopping for a TDI battery. This has been covered in the past by members who know TDIs AND batteries.

Past wisdom was to go to the VW dealer..... and get the genuine article, usually at a very competitive price. The same car will have different battery specs for GAS vs. TDI.

When asking for and receiving advice, look at the JOIN DATE of the members who offer advice.

Bill

I have noticed that genuine VW batteries may have lower specs, but seem to have a long lifespan as reported by VW owners. I don't consider a battery a major purchase so I'm not overly picky with them. If a battery fails, I simply replace it. As I posted above, I've only had a couple fail that I purchased myself with Wal-Mart batteries, and in both cases, they were their least expensive option.

Isn't the VW battery a Bosch ??

Our dealer is retail + 20 %, I get 15 off, next battery I buy, I'll haggle with them (it won't help) !!

I'm no tdi expert, but am learning from this forum. Thanks guys !

I have restored & repaired German cars since 1983 and operated my
own Wholesale Foreign Car Parts Company, so I do have some experience,
and only found my tdi April of last year, started viewing forums late last summer.

I'm not a battery expert, but can change one in a BMW as fast as the gas tank gets filled
(did this 3 times in 1987) on a way to a concert.

And I don't order batteries wholesale anymore - had new Bosch in 1986 with a hole - filled with acid, took battery to put in my 230SL
and had battery acid all over my pants & shoes. Fortunately not on my skin !!

Probably best batteries I've ever had are from NAPA. 2 for my boat, left 6 months at a time in salt water environment.
After 3 years, put one in Mercedes & Saab, then a BMW and they lasted 7 years total.

My favorite - Bosch - and yes, I would buy at the dealer if price is not unreasonable.

bollweevil said:

I'm not a battery expert...

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But do you know anything about maintaining them and if so, would you?

That will help you decided if you want an AGM or FLA battery.

UPDATED New Battery Shopping Matrix for Dec 2013 !!

So I read a ton of forums, and called a number of places. I realized three things:

1) Nobody will ever agree enough to make it worth reading all their comments in hopes of having a clear winner.
2) The stores seem to sell the same couple styles of batteries, and just brand them to be their own and offer their own warranty period. Guts are the same though. (For example, plug "9AGM48" into this page's search and see how many brands the SAME East Penn battery cross-references! http://www.dekacatalog.com/)
3) It probably doesn't really matter that much as they all work to some really good extent, and worse-case scenario is that I lose $150 a day after a warranty period expires or similar, and have to get another one. Big deal. Just find a good price and a good discount on top of it, and do the best you can to get one before it fails one frigid night when you are stuck in some parking lot, or late for work some important morning.

So I finally just broke down and bought the AGM version at Advanced Auto yesterday because I got a great deal (TRT30 code rocks it for $50 off!) and they had one in stock for me to just go pick up and get ready for the cold Chicago winter. Farm & Fleet had a great version of the same East Penn model too, with a MUCH better warranty, at a the same price...however interestingly the terminals were reversed...?? Too far away for me to go get one locally compared to Advanced Auto.

Nevertheless, for everyone's sake, here is the totally updated list of all the comparisons and shopping I did this here December of 2013. OEM first, Optima second, AGM's in the third group, and regular in the last group. I hope it helps. Enjoy.

(P.S. You can download the actual excel spreadsheet here too: http://synergizeinc.com/mkv-jetta-battery-matrix/)

Jettr said:

Nobody will ever agree enough to make it worth reading all their comments in hopes of having a clear winner.

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The "clear winner" is the owner who has the longest lasting battery, and that, more than anything, has to do with the owner.

Jettr said:

The stores seem to sell the same couple styles of batteries, and just brand them to be their own and offer their own warranty period. For example, plug "9AGM48" into this page's search and see how many brands the SAME East Penn battery cross-references!

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Very true and many of the battery manufacturers are owned by the same company. Enersys is one of them.

When I replaced the Moll Kamina in my 911 with an East Penn 648MF, other that the case color, the East Penn was 100% identical. The East Penn 9AGM48 was available, but having worked with batteries a lot in our defense labs, I still prefer FLA batteries for their low cost and long life.

Jettr said:

It probably doesn't really matter that much as they all work to some really good extent.

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True. In fact most battery issues lie elsewhere: owner neglect, not up to spec vehicle charging system, bad connections, etc.

Is this the right battery?

Hey
I need to replace the battery in my 2005.5 Jetta TDI. Anyone know if this is the right one? I live in NYC so difficult to go pick one up in person so was going to order this from Amazon.

https://tinyurl.com/ryyn8o2

No, on a couple counts.

That one is listed as "used"... probably don't want a used battery.

More importantly, it's the right size for a gas Jetta but not a TDI. You want a Group 94R or H7 -sized battery, 80 Ah minimum. The one you've selected is the smaller group 49 size and only 70 Ah.

Dealer is actually your best bet, in most places.

Vince Waldon said:

No, on a couple counts.
That one is listed as "used"... probably don't want a used battery.
More importantly, it's the right size for a gas Jetta but not a TDI. You want a Group 94R or H7 -sized battery, 80 Ah minimum. The one you've selected is the smaller group 49 size and only 70 Ah.
Dealer is actually your best bet, in most places.

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So strange. It displays as new on my browser. Either way I would definitely not buy a used battery. Thanks for the info!