[Gerrard]

Hi All - Looks like my battery is on the way out so I need to get a new one.

Looking online I can only find two that match the current draw (110Ah) and CCA (850) - the Bosch S5 015 and Varta I1 Silver Dynamic.
The Bosch is £128 delivered and the Varta is £119 delivered. Both from Tayna and with a 5 year guarantee.

Anyone have a view as to which is better? Or alternatives? Thanks.

Picture of old battery below.

 

[Alex1990]

Personally I had a standard OEM battery and added additional subwoofer, the car lights would dim from time to time when the subwoofer drew too much battery, replaced with Bosch S series battery and Never happens again. Can honestly say, solid batteries from a standard oem.

never had Varta so can’t chime in there.

also to consider the Warranties! Bosch has a 3yr national regardless of which Bosch S series, where as Varta is slightly more adhering, see photos!

Hope this helps!
~Alex

 

[Gerrard]

Personally I had a standard OEM battery and added additional subwoofer, the car lights would dim from time to time when the subwoofer drew too much battery, replaced with Bosch S series battery and Never happens again. Can honestly say, solid batteries from a standard oem.

never had Varta so can’t chime in there.

also to consider the Warranties! Bosch has a 3yr national regardless of which Bosch S series, where as Varta is slightly more adhering, see photos!
View attachment 179529

Hope this helps!
~Alex

Thanks Alex, really helpful. Tayna are offering 5 year warranty on each, so that must be their own. Better take a look at the T&Cs.

 

[JohnS4]

Varta and Bosch batteries are made by the same company. I’ve not read bad reports about either. Look into coding the battery too. New ones come with no BEM codes, the way forward to to change the serial number with VCDS etc so the Charging system knows it’s a new battery.

im just about to replace a Varta with a Bosch S series.

Bosch Versus Varta batteries- These Batteries are the same products-made by Brookfield Business Partners LP

Bosch Versus Varta batteries Bosch Versus Varta batteries;Although many of professionals in the battery trade are aware, then the public are not? BOTH

www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk

 

[Gerrard]

Varta and Bosch batteries are made by the same company. I’ve not read bad reports about either. Look into coding the battery too. New ones come with no BEM codes, the way forward to to change the serial number with VCDS etc so the Charging system knows it’s a new battery.

im just about to replace a Varta with a Bosch S series.

Bosch Versus Varta batteries- These Batteries are the same products-made by Brookfield Business Partners LP

Bosch Versus Varta batteries Bosch Versus Varta batteries;Although many of professionals in the battery trade are aware, then the public are not? BOTH

www.batteriesontheweb.co.uk

Thanks, I didn't know that.

I did know that I had to change the serial number with VCDS, but didn't know I had to use the BEM code? Or are you just saying that the BEM contains the serial number?
I was just going to change it to any number I found on the battery, which I believe is the trigger to reset the charging load.

 

[sayek]

The BEM sticker contains 3 codes. 1st code is battery size, 2nd is the manufacture brand & 3rd is battery serial number. BEM codes normally found on OEM batteries so if fitting a afterment battery have to think outside the box.

I replaced the battery on my 2009 A5 few months ago. It had the same battery as your 110AH but there was 20% ebay sale and the largest battery I could find was Bosch S4 95AH for £74. At thatp rice could not refuse. You should not ideally fit a smaller battery but that was my choice.

You can also code battery via cheaper option OBDeleven like I did.

I pulled these codes from another forum. If you replace battery with identical size then you dont need to change the 8K number. The middle code is not important so most people dont touch it.
Most people just replace last 2 digits from the far right code.

8K0915105D 80AH BEM = 8K0915105D MLA 190723N0A6
8K0915105E 95AH BEM = 8K0915105E MLA 180319JWV0
8K0915105F 110AH BEM = 8K0915105F VA0 390729T0R3

For coding it would be better to find someone local with VCDS/OBDeleven. There are plenty of people advetise on Ebay that offer VCDS coding for £20 each. These are people that paid a lot of money for their VCDS and trying to recover some back

Fnally I won't hold breath for 5 year warranty.. many people have mentioned the manufacture just blame poor charing. Longer gurantee normally means better quality battery and will go on many years.. if kept properly charged.

 

[SimonRoma]

I agree guys these are 2 excellent brands with Bosch maybe just slightly ahead. I fitted Varta to my Vito van as well as to my S4 (they are more widely distributed here than Bosch) and they are both going strong.

 

[Gerrard]

I went with the Bosch in the end. Fitted it at the weekend and coded the new serial number.
All good so far and not too difficult, just had to set the clock again afterwards.

 

[FarQ]

Most of the battery websites state a 850CCA 353mm battery for my 2009 S5. My mechanic said measure the battery to make sure. Lucky i did as it measures 394mm! My mechanic had a Fiamm VR950 AGM battery in stock to replace my OE one which was dying...
gee, batteries are cheap for you guys.... wont get much change out of A$700 (£390) for a 394mm AGM battery here...

 

[Gerrard]

Most of the battery websites state a 850CCA 353mm battery for my 2009 S5. My mechanic said measure the battery to make sure. Lucky i did as it measures 394mm! My mechanic had a Fiamm VR950 AGM battery in stock to replace my OE one which was dying...
gee, batteries are cheap for you guys.... wont get much change out of A$700 (£390) for a 394mm AGM battery here...

Now I've done it once, I know that the length of battery isn't as significant as the height and width. So if it's not as long as your old battery, and meets the CCA requirements etc, it should work fine. 394mm is the maximum length that will fit properly.

Oh, and when measuring a battery, you need to measure the base as the main body of the battery isn't always as long or wide. That threw me for a while until I sussed it.

Wow, that is expensive FarQ, but then AGM batteries are more expensive so don't know if that accounts for it. However, having lived in NZ I know that things there can be more expensive just due to being so remote.

 

[JohnS4]

I just bought a 95ah AGM Bosch S5 battery. @ £185 delivered

 

[Funkmaster]

Good evening everyone,

I have an Audi A5, 2011, TDI 3.0 V6, 176 kW.
My battery apparently needs replacing - after almost two weeks of cold here in Luxembourg where I live, it started first showing the message with something like "the battery is running low" and needs replacement.

Somehow the battery did survive the cold period, but betrayed me today when it didn't want to start the engine, but did start other functions as the instrument board, the MMI system etc. Moreover, it kind of trapped my key inside, as I was not able to remove it the regular way but i had to push it only slightly and pull it out right after.

I have ordered a battery booster (I don't know anyone that has a car powerful enough to jump start 3.0 TDI) but I guess i will need to buy a battery soon.

May I please kindly ask for a recommendation for the said model and what would be the best place to purchase it in EU with Lux delivery? here the prices are insane (350-400 EUR) and I am most definitely not paying such a price for a battery, unless I really have to.

Many thanks in advance,
F

 

[Gerrard]

Good evening everyone,

I have an Audi A5, 2011, TDI 3.0 V6, 176 kW.
My battery apparently needs replacing - after almost two weeks of cold here in Luxembourg where I live, it started first showing the message with something like "the battery is running low" and needs replacement.

Somehow the battery did survive the cold period, but betrayed me today when it didn't want to start the engine, but did start other functions as the instrument board, the MMI system etc. Moreover, it kind of trapped my key inside, as I was not able to remove it the regular way but i had to push it only slightly and pull it out right after.

I have ordered a battery booster (I don't know anyone that has a car powerful enough to jump start 3.0 TDI) but I guess i will need to buy a battery soon.

May I please kindly ask for a recommendation for the said model and what would be the best place to purchase it in EU with Lux delivery? here the prices are insane (350-400 EUR) and I am most definitely not paying such a price for a battery, unless I really have to.

Many thanks in advance,
F

Hi - I think the best thing to do is first take a look at your current battery, check it's make, Amps and CCA capacity. Also I suggest measuring it at the base to get dimensions and note if it fills the space it's in or if a larger (longer) one will fit. Knowing a larger one will fit gives you more flexability in your choice. I presume it's in the boot under the spare wheel like mine is?

Once you have those details I suggest you visit Car Batteries - Motorcycle Batteries - Leisure Batteries - Cheap Prices! and take a look at the brands that make batteries to your specificatiion.
In terms of good brands, Personally I think Bosch and Varta are good. And I think Moll are OEM batteries for Audi.

Happy hunting!

 

[Funkmaster]

Will do, much obliged!

Hi - I think the best thing to do is first take a look at your current battery, check it's make, Amps and CCA capacity. Also I suggest measuring it at the base to get dimensions and note if it fills the space it's in or if a larger (longer) one will fit. Knowing a larger one will fit gives you more flexability in your choice. I presume it's in the boot under the spare wheel like mine is?

Once you have those details I suggest you visit Car Batteries - Motorcycle Batteries - Leisure Batteries - Cheap Prices! and take a look at the brands that make batteries to your specificatiion.
In terms of good brands, Personally I think Bosch and Varta are good. And I think Moll are OEM batteries for Audi.

Happy hunting!

 

[Funkmaster]

Oh, since we're at it, one more thing - how crucial is to code/programme the new battery? Any chance I could do it myself without any equipment? A local garage would charge me around 50 EUR (43 GBP) for such a service, does it make sense to DIY?

I wanted to replace the battery myself by swapping the device from the trunk, while simultaneously having a 12v battery booster plugged to front-end (hood) clamps, in order not to lose the car memory. Would there be any damage if I start the car with the new battery and programme it at a later date - say a week afterwards max?

Many thanks for the help,
F

 

[JohnS4]

What car memory would you loose? I’ve had my battery disconnected several times with no noticeable loss of function.

As for battery coding, that’s your choice. I’ve read threads where owners said they didn’t code the battery and had no issues and other threads where their new battery died inside a year. Coding resets the charging logic.

 

[Funkmaster]

@JohnS4

In all honesty, I have no idea - better safe than sorry, I reckon, as I have heard from various sources one should by-pass while swapping the batteries.

 

[sayek]

What car memory would you loose? I’ve had my battery disconnected several times with no noticeable loss of function.

As for battery coding, that’s your choice. I’ve read threads where owners said they didn’t code the battery and had no issues and other threads where their new battery died inside a year. Coding resets the charging logic.

I think the coding is more important on AGM than lead acid battery. As you know AGM has different charge profile and needs to adjust as the battery gets older.
You may get away without coding with lead acid battery as people have done on early cars. I must point out if you start receiving low battery warning it must be coded as the ECU goes into power saving mode. My car battery dropped to 30% SOC and was contantly getting this message. The error code keeps appearing when scanned and would not clear until I coded the new battery.

But coding the battery is not very expensive. I bought OBDeleven Pro £65 for diagnostic use and used this for coding.