Costasz

It was a ginormous VARTA battery

Verybumpy

I would like to know this also.

FWIW, my service advisor claims Audi batteries usually last 8 years or so before needing replacement.

rccoleman

Good to hear that they didn't cut costs there. I'd go check mine out if it wasn't buried deep in the trunk

Glisse

Batteries in all my Audis have typically lasted way longer than any laptop or cell phone battery ever has. And the car knows exactly what the level of charge is at all times; it is critical to how the start/stop system works. And to when the car starts to shut down various sensor components (eg keyless entry) if the car has been sitting for several days. Obviously the weather plays a role in longevity and issues, batteries suffer in cold temperatures.

When it comes to batteries and extracting more money from customers, I would be rather more cynical about Apple, by example, than Audi.

Wildcat UA

haha, Apple and car batteries not a good comparison, totally different technology and applications.

But you are right about weather. Our 120 degree heat in Arizona in the summer and gets even hotter under a hood with a turbo, batteries have rarely lasted me 3 years (in a SAAB, not Audi battery).
Many people think that cold weather kills a battery, cold weather just exposes that a battery is weak.

And I doubt Audi batteries are special, only a few companies that make them in US (and not that many more in the rest of the world) and only a few different types of technology.
Indeed, Varta is owned by Johnson Controls, one of three manufacturers in the US.

Beakerz

It totally depends. If the battery is to the point that the car went into a low voltage mode, then yes you will have to code the new battery or the car will not ever get out of that low voltage mode. If the batter was replaced without the car going into low voltage mode, then no worries, you'll be fine just swapping in a new battery.