Need New Battery? (2014 Q7 S-line 3.0)

[logicman]

I'm pretty sure the battery is OEM in my 2014 Q7 S-line purchased December 2013. The vehicle is 'struggling' a bit on start-up so I performed a VDCS scan (results below). QUESTION: Can/should I replace the battery myself? Can/should I use a Bosch (on sale) from my local auto parts store? Suggestions/recommendations would be most appreciated.


Address 19: CAN Gateway (J533) Labels: 4F0-907-468.clb
Part No SW: 4F0 907 468 S HW: 4F0 907 468 G
Component: GW-BEM 5CAN-M H06 0058
Revision: MB800038 Serial number: 3800M13B0504F0
Coding: 00C303
Shop #: WSC 31414 790 00001
VCID: 3F8CC569AE1F36B9D0-806A

Subsystem 1 - Part No SW: 8K0 915 181 D HW: 8K0 915 181 D
Component: J367-BDM H07 0125
Serial number: 40312L50024121310582

1 Fault Found:
03041 - Energy Management Active
000 - -
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01100000
Fault Priority: 7
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 203
Mileage: 56190 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2017.02.19
Time: 08:53:17

Freeze Frame:
Bin. Bits: 10111
Voltage: 11.10 V
Count: 7

 

[Uwe]

The "Energy Management Active" code is not necessarily indicative of a battery that needs to be replaced, just a low state-of-charge.

How is the vehicle driven? Lots of short trips? If so, have you tried giving the battery a good charge?

-Uwe-

 

[logicman]

Hi Uwe,

Yes, charged it overnight and by the end of the day it's working hard to start the engine. The battery is a little over three years old (just out of warranty, of course!) so it's probably not too far out of line for it to fail. I think I'm going to go with the Bosch.

 

[Uwe]

Batteries vary all over the place. I've seen them fail in 2 years and I've also seen them go 7-8 years.

You may also want to have a look at what we're testing starting here to see what it might tell you.

-Uwe-

 

[logicman]

Replaced the Q7 battery Sunday evening. Took me about 3 hours but now that I know what I'm doing I could do it in half that time. You will definitely need a 10mm 12pt star bit to remove the four bolts holding down the driver's seat. I was unable to get VCDS to accept the new battery Part Number, serial number, etc. so I had to retain the old data. It's an after market battery but so far everything is working great.

The initial VCDS scan showed numerous fault codes (not sure why it lost the trailer activation coding):

VIN: WA1DGAFE7ED011884 Mileage: 56180km-34908miles

01-Engine -- Status: Malfunction 0010
02-Auto Trans -- Status: OK 0000
03-ABS Brakes -- Status: OK 0000
04-Steering Angle -- Status: OK 0000
05-Acc/Start Auth. -- Status: OK 0000
08-Auto HVAC -- Status: OK 0000
09-Cent. Elect. -- Status: OK 0000
10-Park/Steer Assist -- Status: OK 0000
15-Airbags -- Status: OK 0000
16-Steering wheel -- Status: OK 0000
17-Instruments -- Status: OK 0000
19-CAN Gateway -- Status: Malfunction 0010
28-HVAC, Rear -- Status: OK 0000
36-Seat Mem. Drvr -- Status: OK 0000
3C-Lane Change -- Status: OK 0000
42-Door Elect, Driver -- Status: OK 0000
46-Central Conv. -- Status: OK 0000
47-Sound System -- Status: OK 0000
4C-Tire Pressure II -- Status: OK 0000
4F-Centr. Electr. II -- Status: OK 0000
52-Door Elect, Pass. -- Status: OK 0000
55-Headlight Range -- Status: OK 0000
56-Radio -- Status: OK 0000
5F-Information Electr. -- Status: OK 0000
62-Door, Rear Left -- Status: OK 0000
69-Trailer -- Status: Not registered 0001
6C-Back-up Cam. -- Status: OK 0000
6D-Trunk Elect. -- Status: OK 0000
6F-Centr. Conv. II -- Status: OK 0000
72-Door, Rear Right -- Status: OK 0000

Drove it for a while, reactivated the Trailer module, then cleared the DTCs and performed another auto-scan. No faults!

VIN: WA1DGAFE7ED011884 Mileage: 56200km-34921miles

01-Engine -- Status: OK 0000
02-Auto Trans -- Status: OK 0000
03-ABS Brakes -- Status: OK 0000
04-Steering Angle -- Status: OK 0000
05-Acc/Start Auth. -- Status: OK 0000
08-Auto HVAC -- Status: OK 0000
09-Cent. Elect. -- Status: OK 0000
10-Park/Steer Assist -- Status: OK 0000
15-Airbags -- Status: OK 0000
16-Steering wheel -- Status: OK 0000
17-Instruments -- Status: OK 0000
19-CAN Gateway -- Status: OK 0000
28-HVAC, Rear -- Status: OK 0000
36-Seat Mem. Drvr -- Status: OK 0000
3C-Lane Change -- Status: OK 0000
42-Door Elect, Driver -- Status: OK 0000
46-Central Conv. -- Status: OK 0000
47-Sound System -- Status: OK 0000
4C-Tire Pressure II -- Status: OK 0000
4F-Centr. Electr. II -- Status: OK 0000
52-Door Elect, Pass. -- Status: OK 0000
55-Headlight Range -- Status: OK 0000
56-Radio -- Status: OK 0000
5F-Information Electr. -- Status: OK 0000
62-Door, Rear Left -- Status: OK 0000
69-Trailer -- Status: OK 0000
6C-Back-up Cam. -- Status: OK 0000
6D-Trunk Elect. -- Status: OK 0000
6F-Centr. Conv. II -- Status: OK 0000
72-Door, Rear Right -- Status: OK 0000