Skoda Rapid 1.2 TFSI 2014 Battery replacement

[f1tz]

Hello fellow skoda owners.

 

My battery has come to an end - or at least near to it. I was wondering if the battery is changable by myself? I have read about some coding after batter change and that is something I am not capable of. Battery change itself is not a problem. Should I visit a repair shop or try it by myself? The car has a start/stop function as well as a Webasto. I suspect there is currently an EFB battery due to its ”magic eye”. I was thinking if I should get an AGM battery instead or should I be good with the EFB battery? Thanks in advance!

[Robbydazzler]

This topic has been endlessly debated on these Skoda forums. An EFB battery in theory needs to be identified to the ECU to enable it to charge at the correct rate. However common opinion appears to be that you can get away with changing an EFB battery without recoding  with no problems. If you know your head unit code (if it has been set) and don't mind reverting to factory paramaters in the ECU you can change the battery without maintaining a 12v supply while you do so. You would get a load of warning lights immediately after doing this which would quickly disappear on driving and might have to sup

ply the head unit code. Also the ECU would quickly relearn your driving habits.

[f1tz]

11 minutes ago, Robbydazzler said:

This topic has been endlessly debated on these Skoda forums. An EFB battery in theory needs to be identified to the ECU to enable it to charge at the correct rate. However common opinion appears to be that you can get away with changing an EFB battery without recoding  with no problems. If you know your head unit code (if it has been set) and don't mind reverting to factory paramaters in the ECU you can change the battery without maintaining a 12v supply while you do so. You would get a load of warning lights immediately after doing this which would quickly disappear on driving and might have to sup

ply the head unit code. Also the ECU would quickly relearn your driving habits.

Thank you @Robbydazzler! I have been lurking around the forums but I think there are a lot of opinions depending the car and its options. Using the Webasto drains a lot of battery so I was thinking of the AGM battery 

[Robbydazzler]

As far as I understand it a swap from EFB to AGM will require recoding. Halfords provide a battery change service at a reasonable price as do many others.

 

[rum4mo]

Quite a few owners of VCDS are listed on a "VCDS map" and if emailed might be willing to help you for some beer tokens, if they live nearby and you are willing to travel to them after changing batteries over, also maybe ask for any Carista owners near you to assist, only the technology change and a random serial number change is needed, I don't think that there exists a "Carista map" anywhere yet.

 

Have you investigated buying Carista for continued use, I seem to think that while "battery reg'ng" is an extra cost activity, you would only need to pay for a month's "full" use of Carista and then drop back down to only being able to use it to check for faults, and back up again to "full " use as and when you needed to.

 

Edit:- watch out though if you feel the need to move up a  battery size as that will probably require you to buy a new battery tray and thermal insulator - I have done that for a 2015 Polo, but have not fitted anything yet!

Edited 5 January, 2022 by rum4mo