Hi, I need to clean up corrosion on one of my 2022 Mk4 Fabia battery terminals (start/stop playing up so ruling out basic issues first). Does disconnecting the battery cause any issues like needing a radio code or having to "register??" the battery with the car itself? As an aside when changing a battery on this car does the new battery need registering? Some Google searches indicate it does. Darn nuisance if so but c'est la vie.

You'd lose your clock time and trip mileage. No problems with the radio, it identifies itself to the dash module automatically.

You will have some fault lights on reconnection, but don't panic as a quick drive round the block with some lock to lock steering turns and they'd clear themselves.

Thanks Aubrey, I may buy a jump battery (or whatever a temporary battery is called)..but appreciate your post 🙂

Shouldnt cause any probs. A few warning lights like steering etc until you drive around. On my octavia I have to put all windows down and hold for a few secs then up and hold for a few secs to enable one touch up or down.

If your car has auto stop/start then it may need a new battery coded. If your just cleaning terminals then its the same battery should be ok. All mine are older without start/stop and I have been informed don't need the battery coded.

Alasdair

This is covered in the Fabia Mk 4 Owner's Manual (printed and online versions) and this guidance is copied from the"12V vehicle battery" section of the 20.6.2022 Manual.

If the online Manual is used, clicking on the "Clock setting" and "Window operation" green text will link to the procedure to be followed: if the printed Manual is consulted, the relevant page numbers for those procedures will be provided.

Edited 19 October, 202519 Oct by DerekU

Thanks Derek, i had read that but hoped they were just being overly cautious. The last thing i need is to have to take it to a Skoda place to be charged a silly amount of money to fix something caused by the battery being disconnected. Hmm,well i have ordered a small 12v batt to try and keep the car alive long enough for it to not notice the main battery had been disconnected or i may just apply the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mantra.

Thanks to all for their comments

I have a Sealey 'memory protector' that plugs into a car's OBD port and is intended to save transitory settings (time/date etc.) when a starter-battery is disconnected. I used this when I replaced my 2021 Hyundai i20's battery, but this wasn't really necessary and I my primary interest was whether or not the Sealey product worked as I anticipated..

In the "12V vehicle battery" section of the Fabia Mk 4 Owner's Manual is the following advice:

Recommendations when the vehicle is stationary for more than three weeks

Disconnect the negative terminal of the 12V battery.

So - as you are only going to clean your Fabia's battery terminals (and if you are prepared to reset the time and window settings afterwards) - disconnecting and reconnecting the battery should be problem-free.