Does e-golf have to be coded to a new 12v battery?

[uscpsycho]

I just replaced the 12v battery on my 2019 SEL with a higher capacity AGM battery. VW's service told me that a new battery has to be coded, and so I assumed that was true. But someone on the e-golf subreddit just said that you only need to code batteries on ICE Golfs because coding is only needed for cars with stop start engines. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if the VW service advisor was misinformed about this.

Can someone confirm that I don't need to code the new battery for e-golf?

 

[f1geek]

I suspect “only” is incorrect.

Your 2019 e-Golf 12 V battery didn’t last very long. I wonder why? Maybe by not coding the new battery you will also reduce the lifespan of the new 12 V battery.

My 2017 e-Golf with 52,000 miles has its original 12 V battery. In addition to normal driving I have also jump started four ICE vehicles over the years.

 

[uscpsycho]

I suspect “only” is incorrect.

Your 2019 e-Golf 12 V battery didn’t last very long. I wonder why? Maybe by not coding the new battery you will also reduce the lifespan of the new 12 V battery.

My 2017 e-Golf with 52,000 miles has its original 12 V battery. In addition to normal driving I have also jump started four ICE vehicles over the years.

I have read more people on more forums saying that coding isn't necessary and their points sound valid. I'm starting to think they are correct.

My factory battery lasted over three years, which is past the warranty period, and if coding was necessary then it was factory coded. Coding has nothing to do with whether or not my car was coded and a lot more to do with the number of electronics I have plugged into the car abusing the 12v battery.

I am also going to say right now, for anyone reading this, NEVER jump start a car with your e-Golf. I don't mean this offensively, but it will seem that way to you, if you think it's OK to jump start a car with a e-golf then you shouldn't be giving people advice about e-golfs. You've essentially discredited yourself...

 

[f1geek]

I don’t believe the manual indicates jumping another car is forbidden. Besides, since I’ve done it so many times with no I’ll effects, and the 12 V battery, as well the rest of my car, is still in good shape after 5 years, this suggests that the battery is treated better than one that is dead after 3 years.

Coding does NO harm to the 12 V battery, so if multiple dealers suggest it should be done, it is possible the VW mechanics know more than internet commenters.

 

[f1geek]

I just checked the e-Golf manual and it gives pointers about how to jump start another vehicle. Those German engineers built a stout electrical system!

 

[miamor]

I am also going to say right now, for anyone reading this, NEVER jump start a car with your e-Golf. I don't mean this offensively, but it will seem that way to you, if you think it's OK to jump start a car with a e-golf then you shouldn't be giving people advice about e-golfs. You've essentially discredited yourself...

I don't know why you know it's bad. Can you explain? I do agree that high amperage being drawn is never going to happen while being a eGolf battery. But does drawing that high current to jump start another's car really matter? I also own a used 2017 like f1geek, with what looks like original VARTA 68Ah AGM battery. But it's starting to warn about low voltage, charge by driving.

 

[joliebrousseau]

From what I know, coding a new battery is typically required for cars with stop start engines, but may not be necessary for electric cars like the e-golf. However, I'm not entirely sure about the specifics for your model, so it may be best to double-check with a trusted mechanic or dealership.

Regardless, it's always a good idea to replace your battery with a higher capacity one, especially for electric cars. I hope this helps clarify things for you, and I wish you safe and enjoyable travels with your e-golf!

 

[miamor]

I made it a few months and got tired of the "12v battery low" and other warnings. Since replacing the battery with a 70Ah AGM type, I did not get any coding done. So to stop the pesky messages I took it in to a used car dealer where I purchased it because their service dept said they could to the re coding for $35.
But in reality, they found nothing to recode when they scanned the car's computer thru that OBD port. He said all he could do was reset codes, but there were no stored codes.
So if you decide to have yours re-coded, I suggest the dealer. And let us know if they really found something that gets changed. Then we know it's only dealers who can do new battery re-coding. Weird stuff for sure!

 

[f1geek]

Dealer not strictly required. OBD Eleven can also code the battery. Standard OBD dongle / software will not necessarily get the job done.

Clearing and reading codes is NOT the same as coding. "Coding" is VW's equivalent "programming" word.

 

[GeorgeBernstein]

Any update?

 

[DannyEgolf]

Here's my story. Bought an egolf at auction. Car wouldn't drive. "12v not charging" error. Battery was 1 year old.

I swapped in a known good battery same group 57 or 47 whatever in my SE from my chevy volt.

There was a little spark on connection that's abnormal i'd say. Situation didn't change.

Sat over night unhooked. No change.

hooked up Autel bluetooth dongle that i bought on amazon for $53. First car tied to it is free for life. must pay for more so i'm sending that back. will get a more traditional scanner if it means i can do more cars.

After d/l the specific autel vw software I cleared codes. Car was able to drive again. still gives electric problem get service error.

Warranty is up next month so i'm taking it in to the dealer today.

 

[DannyEgolf]

Here's an update:

There is a recoding section when using the vw software and the Autel AP200. You probably want to recode the battery when you change it.
As I understand it the car's computer monitors the battery over time and changes how it charges it. If you have an old weaker battery it might charge it ;more gently than needed.. when it has a new battery it's still charging in the gentle mode thinking it's the old battery until you update the BMS battery management system. Instead of buying the AUTEL ap200 I kind of wish i had bought an autel scanner that does scoda battery coding.. because it's probably faster.. it probably doesn't do any online checks.. and probably not limited to one VIN and charge you for more vins? i'll probably order something.. The plus side to owning the AP200 is that you can leave it plugged in. and it does also act as a generic obd2 scanner on other cars/vins.. and has the potential for software updates/hacks.. I wonder if I can figure out how to remove the 1 free vin limit..

Anyway something else worth mentioning, if you're having errors with the egolf and swap out the battery, you probably need to clear the codes. So you probably don't need to rewrite the serial # in BMS just to do a battery swap but your battery might not charge optimally.. and if your battery goes dead or other wise has a charging problem, you probably need to clear codes to get up and running again, and of course a simple battery disconnect likely will not do it.

I currently still have the jx1 module problem and scored one on ebay with a 2 month return policy. i'm investigating doing the swap myself or seeing if i can talk the dealer mechanic to do it as a side job. The other part of me is like, maybe trying to fix it mght cause a problem and brick it...

 

[NurStrom]

Can someone confirm that I don't need to code the new battery for e-golf?

I replaced my battery with a VW (Varta) AGM from the dealership and it did not require coding.

Here is a useful thread: https://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2662&start=20

 

[kjhansen]

How long have the original VW 12V batteries been lasting for owners?
Mine is 4.5 years old and 45K miles and is still showing a green battery health indicator.
The dealer is offering a $10 discount on a new battery and I would prefer to replace it before it gives me any trouble.

 

[f1geek]

12 V seems fine at 64,000 miles and almost 6 years in my car.

 

[rfcoolz]

My 2016 just had low 12v warning came up. It was original from 2015 - 2023, so 8 years old @ 71k miles.

 

[Roget]

My 2016 just had low 12v warning came up. It was original from 2015 - 2023, so 8 years old @ 71k miles.

Same. Drove 18 miles to my mom's house without an issue. Got a battery warning when I pulled out of her driveway but made it home. I tried to meet up with a friend later that evening, but I was greeted a panel full of warning lights and the car refused to move. Friend drove me to Auto Zone to pick up a battery that fit a 2015 e-Golf. Did a test drive around the neighborhood with all the warning lights complaining but other than that, no issues. Parked it and plugged it in. Next day, it was like nothing happened. Other than exchanging the batteries, I did nothing else.

 

[sjunkerg]

I replaced my five year old factory installer battery with a new Duracell battery today. Swap was quick but I now have a number of errors that will not go away. Car works just fine but the errors show up every time you start the car. My Obdeleven does not light up when I plug it in so I am not able to reset the serial number for the battery like described here. Any other ideas other than to take it to the dealer?

I had it in for service last week and they said the battery would need to be replaced soon. Their price was twice what I paid for the battery elsewhere but I would obviously not end up in my current situation had I gone that route…

 

[gitnewb]

My Obdeleven does not light up when I plug it in

What does that mean? Is your OBDeleven dead or do you have a broken OBD port? In either case, you need to be able to connect to the car's computer before anything.

 

[sjunkerg]

I ended up taking the car in to the dealership and they could not code the new battery to the car so they put in one of their preferred batteries and coded that up. All warnings disappeared and everything worked fine. After reading all the reports on people who had replaced the 12V battery on their own, it ended up backfiring for me and cost a bit more than had I had the dealership replace the battery from the beginning.

Once the new dealership battery was installed, my OBDEleven fired right back up again and worked fine.

The duracell battery was returned and I am now back up and running again.