I recall having a couple of cars over the years, that have had battery issues around the 4 year mark (both VWs !)

As my Vrs is turning 4 this week, it's got me thinking - what if? If the battery fails at the most inopportune moment, it is not only a pain, but also potentially more expensive. The man from the AA thought the £80 he charged us for a new battery (that was about 7 years ago !) was a bargain - I didn't !

If I do want to change it now, does anyone have any recommendation on makes/retailer/costs etc? My car is standard from the factory but does come with xenons etc.

I changed mine at three and a bit years and 135,000 miles. The VAS battery tester gizmo said my battery was fine but the magic eye was black and the car was less than keen to start of a morning.

I opted for the highest capacity battery I could fit in there, specifically one like this: http://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-096-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-P3197.html

I got mine cheaper than that from ebay. Made a hell of a difference to cold starting.

I have a Bora that is on 80k and 6.5 years.. I look after an 8 year old Golf and a 9 year old XJ8... and they are all on the original battery! So i wouldn't worry too much.

Buy a battery charger i use this on both my vehicles

http://lidsdirect.co.uk/epages/eshop193014.sf/?ObjectPath=/Shops/eshop193014/Products/Oxford_Maximiser

It is perhaps worth noting that burried in the Owners Manual is a Skoda recomendation to change the battery at Five years. My sugestion would be to leave it till the start of next winter.

I know of a battery that's still ok coming on 15 years!

I have a Bora that is on 80k and 6.5 years.. I look after an 8 year old Golf and a 9 year old XJ8... and they are all on the original battery! So i wouldn't worry too much.

+1

I just sold my 6year old Octavia vRS with the original battery (97k miles). Lived outside and no issues even at -12 over the cold spell in Novemember/December

Edited 8 February, 201115 yr by sdenny

I sold my 6year old Passat PD100 with the original battery (140k miles). Lived outside and no issues with starting.I'd wait until there was some signs of slower cranking.

Mind you, a previous Mark 3 Golf diesel had sudden battery failure at about 5 yo.

Edited 8 February, 201115 yr by gregoir

It's the sudden failure that worries me. I think I'll wait until just before next winter & if I decide to keep it, I'll swap out the battery. Cheers for all the replies

All the people quoting 15 years...

That's well and good and I had cars on the original battery after 10+ years, however none of these cars (especially the dervs) relied on the electrical system as much as a modern car. Electric power steering really drains the battery.

I had to change mine after 4.5 years as it wasn't reliable under a high load any more.

You win some, you lose some.

All the people quoting 15 years...

That's well and good and I had cars on the original battery after 10+ years, however none of these cars (especially the dervs) relied on the electrical system as much as a modern car. Electric power steering really drains the battery.

I had to change mine after 4.5 years as it wasn't reliable under a high load any more.

You win some, you lose some.

Jag XJ8, Mk4 Golf and a Bora will have similar electrical systems as the OP's car...Doubt they will get to 15 years but well over the 4 year mark as proved.

Yeah but the electric steering will be mostly getting the power from the alternator.

I think depends how hard a life the battery has had. If you do lots of cold starts and short journeys with everything on then expect the battery to die sooner. With this in mind Winter tends to show up the problems. Also I think once a modern battery gets flattened it it's never the same again! So basically replace at first sign of trouble hopefully before winter.

My Golf MK4 battery went after 4 years. My BMW was still going strong on the original battery after 7 years. The Golf only ever did short journeys.

It was our Bora & a Golf that gave us problems. I defo fall into the short journeys category !