mmmyanas11

My original battery died at 80,000 miles. I installed an after market NAPA battery. It did not seat solidly in the battery holder, but we got it tight. I have the car registered in PA and they (dealer service) would not validate the inspection because they said it would not sit right and they said it was still loose. I asked them to tighten it and they said only an AUDI battery would sit properly. Is this true?

Vegas-roadster

Unfortunately Audi used several different battery holders during production. A battery that drops in for one TT may need some modification in another TT. Most folks buy their TT batteries at Wall Mart or Sears. On my 01 TTR I had to file a couple of notches into the base of the case to get it to fit into the holder

Forshaw

I have exactly the same car as yours and just replaced my stock battery with a Sears battery which was close to a perfect fit. I just had to cut away about a ½ deep by ½ ” wide at the top left of the plastic box (battery cage) in order to get the negative lead to set flush on the lug. It just so happens that the Sears model for my car is a good fit.

I am not familiar with the NAPA batteries but as Vegas-Roadster rightfully pointed out there is probably no battery that is a perfect fit; but Sears seems to be the most popular.

Good luck.

Regards

gerifalte

I replaced the battery in my 02'225Q coupe back in April with a Walmart battery that was shaped exactly as the original battery, so I didn't have to do any mods. I checked the receipt for you and the model # is 47-3, code 068113107884. I paid $65+ tax.

I hope this helps!

G

DeanChaTT

I am in a similar position. I read somewhere that the roadsters have a "no-shake" battery. Basically, the Audi battery has slightly non-standard cleats on the front and back that match the car's battery box, supposedly to keep the battery from moving around. This makes it a pain to fit a non OEM group 47 battery. The Audi battery's rear cleat (bottom protrusion ) has a notch that engages with a small tab in the battery box. No after-market batteries that I have seen have the notch that the Audi battery does. Many people have used a Dremel to remove the tab from the battery box and have reported that this allows the rear cleat to sit properly. On my car there is a second issue (Audi apparently changed the battery box design often so I am not sure how widespread this is). The front cleat on the Audi battery is about 6" wide, while the front cleat on most after-market batteries is about 7.5" wide. This prevents the after-market battery from seating properly in the front. Apparently you can (carefully) use a hacksaw and reduce the width of the cleat so it will fit. I have a new Duralast 47-DL from AutoZone in my garage right now waiting for this surgery (dealer wanted $268 for an OEM battery, yeah that's gonna happen...)

A note about the need for an OEM "no-shake" battery ... it's a load of B.S. How do I know? I had my battery replaced under warranty about 4 years ago. Recently, I decided to check out (test) the battery. What did I see? An OEM battery that was just thrown in the box, not engaged in the tabs or slots or clamped down at all. It was literally sitting on top of all the mounting hardware, but the battery has worked fine for the past four years (which is about the life of most OEM batteries). I'm not saying this is how you should install your battery, but, in my opinion, it pretty much invalidates the no-shake scare tactics Audi uses.

-Dean

Forshaw

Thanks for the useful information Dean.

Regards.
F

TTRQ2000

I found this post and i had the problem, and i solved it. Indeed, you need a shake proof battery for the TT roadster and you need to modify the socket of the battery, but if you do that, it works fine. All that is needed is to cut away three little bits of plastic of the battery socket to make the battery fit.

I have installed a Varta D52 battery (German) because it is shake proof and is has the right size. I had to cut the three bits of plastic so it fits, but it´s no problem afterwards. Batteries with AGM technologoy all seem to be shake proof.

Just look here at my posting from March 5th, 2015. It shows 15 images, it may help you to grasp what modifications are necessary on the bottom plate of the battery (indeed, it´s just minimal)

Batteriekauf : Audi TT 8N

jjt1234

Good Post, Thanks You