Hello all. I'M New here but i've been reading here for a long time. I've scoured the internet looking for concrete evidence that audi is either correct in their tales or just trying to make a buck. or say $195 bucks. Basically here is the deal. I need a new battery. Audi charges $143 for the battery and $195 to put it in. They claim that the computer needs to be flashed/coded to accept the battery or the car wont accept the battery and it will act up and throw codes. Now, im a pretty competent mechanic and i've owned lots of Volkswagens/Audis ranging from a MK3 GTI VR6 which i tore the engine down to its bearings and completely rebuilt it from the ground up, to a nice RS6. Now i understand that you need to run jumper wires to another battery so the car has constant power while you install a new battery, and i've read that the computer might need flashed through vcds(dont have a VAG-COM), but i've talked to a few battery places and they all say that they don't flash the computer and the customers don't have any problems. Does anyone know for certain whether i HAVE to recode the computer through VCDS or if its just a way for AUDI to make another $195 off of me? I'm really hoping that SOMEONE knows the answer to this. I currently have my XS power cell in the trunk just so i can start my car

 

Yes newer cars do require battery coding to the computer when you swap it out. The reason for it is very simple - charging intervals.
A new battery requires different amount of charging then older ones. Newer Audi's have some kind of adjustable charging system that according to the battery age will charge the battery differently.
So in the short run swapping the battery should work without coding - HOWEVER because the car thinks you still have the old battery in the car it will charge it more frequently (and basically overload it) which reduces the battery life.

I'm not a mechanic and I don't work for Audi's so all this could be BS but this is what I've heard.

 

Thanks. I appreciate the reply. I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and pay a shop to code the battery. I've thought a bought just changing the battery and if the new one fails due to over charging, just taking it back do to warranty, but I might as well do it right. I want to buy a VCDS cable, but they are too darn expensive. I'm eventually going to get one, but not yet. I keep returning to a link from banner batteries that says no harm will be done of u don't code the computer, but it may just be an old wives tsle. Who knows.

 

I bought the VAG-Com cable 3 years ago for my wife's car and have used it for my new one as well. My dad got the Q7 and just recently had to swap the battery - I brought the cable to him and went through the menu to re-code the battery. Unfortunately he had bought a Walmart battery and not OEM so it wasn't as easy as popping all the information in the pre-populated fields (It didn't list that brand, nor recognized the serial number). I had to make several adjustments but in the end it doesn't really matter because a newer serial number (no matter the brand) is really all the computer cares about.

 

The easy way is to change the battery yourself and if you get codes then go to the dealer. If you know how to do a hot swap you should not have a problem.

 

Alright. So I sourced an interstate battery for Hella cheap. It was one with a blemish so i got it for next to nothing. I did a hot swap and everything went fine. I've had a car audio battery in there for about a week with no problems. Lol. There is no BEM code on the battery, but I'm not too worried about it. I'll go get the codes changed soon. Audi wanted $195 to install the battery and code the computer. What a joke. For that price I'd be better off just buying a vag com cable And doing it myself, which is what I might do anyways. I'm looking at either an RS4 or a Q7, either will mandate purchasing a vag com. I Just cannot decide if i want another fast car or something to haul the family around in. Anyways, thanks everyone. I figure if the battery goes out before I get it coded, I have a warranty