Modern Audi - battery coded to the car?

[MJK 24]

My dad has recently bought a 2014 Audi A8 TDI. It seems very slow to turn over when starting. Guessing it might be time for a new battery.

I’ve been told it needs to go on a suitable diagnostic machine so the car knows it has a new battery. But someone else has told me that if the new battery is identical in specification to the old one, this isn’t necessary.

Does anyone have a definitive answer? Thanks in advance for your help :up

[rigga]

Audi's, no idea, but a lot of modern cars have intelligent battery systems, where if you don't tell the car a new battery has been fitted, it continues to charge as if the old one still is, on my mini (2010) it knackered the new one in under 3 years of use, local Indie who fitted a another new one, could tell that when BMW fitted the previous, they didn't register it by plugging his diagnostic unit in.

[stevemcs]

Out of the ones we have seen its mostly BMW, Mini and the occasional Land Rover. I've not seen anything from the VAG empire that needs coding yet

[shakindog]

If has stop start so an agm or efb battery will definitely need coding.
If it’s has a standard lead acid battery fitted no coding required

[stevemcs]

Never seen an EFB battery needing coding yet either. Not all agm or EFB batteries need coding.

[ninepoint2]

My 2008 RS6 needs a new battery "coded" so I suspect a newer A8 will also need it too, I have no idea how to do it, my local trusty mechanic handled it for me

[MJK 24]

Thanks, everyone. Further investigation required!

[Baldchap]

If you have OBDEleven (cheap and worth every penny as a VAG owner), the way it works on the Golf & is to change the battery serial number, which triggers the car to 'know' it has a new one. I'd imagine the Audi to be the same.

[rigga]

shakindog said:

If has stop start so an agm or efb battery will definitely need coding.
If it’s has a standard lead acid battery fitted no coding required

Not true ....least not on my car, it does not have stop start, yet still has ibs so needs coding.(intelligent battery system)

[cmsapms]

Not very intelligent if it can't tell how to charge the battery by "reading" its condition, but rather needs telling! Another method for chiselling money out of the car owner's pocket and depositing it in the dealer's account.

[Wombat3]

cmsapms said:

Not very intelligent if it can't tell how to charge the battery by "reading" its condition, but rather needs telling! Another method for chiselling money out of the car owner's pocket and depositing it in the dealer's account.

Yep. same with a lot of TPMS sensors

[Baldchap]

cmsapms said:

Not very intelligent if it can't tell how to charge the battery by "reading" its condition, but rather needs telling! Another method for chiselling money out of the car owner's pocket and depositing it in the dealer's account.

Modern cars are modular and as such might use various battery types. They need to be told what battery is being used to charge optimally.

On top of that, they are capable of charging optimally throughout the battery's life. To do this they need to know when a new one appears.

Not everything is a massively expensive development to get an additional fiver from an owner at service time.

[irocfan]

Baldchap said:

Not everything is a massively expensive development to get an additional fiver from an owner at service time.

If it was only a fiver people wouldn't mind so much...

[rigga]

Cost nothing to get it coded when I had the last battery fitted, pretty sure a main dealer would add a charge for doing the same thing though.
Lesson is shop around.

[MJK 24]

To update...

I fitted the new battery over the weekend. £212 plus VAT from VW TPS for the factory battery that was an exact copy for the original item. Not cheap!

Took it to a friend who has Ross-tech which I think is the proper VW diagnostic kit. All seemed to be going well until it wouldn’t take the serial number of the new battery!

Got it booked into a VW specialist tomorrow who said they’ll do it for £20.

Fingers crossed!