Battery Warning ⚠️

[Jaime A5 Quattro]

The weather is changing and it’s s getting cooler here in the UK and I have started getting the following message,

Start / Stop system fault. 
Function unavailable.  
Please contact workshop. 
 

with a yellow battery sign. 

I believe it’s a battery due to it just turning 5 years old. 
 

Im going to ring round on Monday for the best prices, what’s the cost of a battery change? 
 

due to it needing programming how simple is it for the owner to do? 

[Magnet]

Hello Jamie, 

Classic below-par battery issues

‘ going to phone around for best prices…..’ . Um! ..If you mean buying the cheapest you can get, then I smell trouble. If this were mine, then I would be looking for best quality at most competitive price from reliable specialist sources. 
More often than not, buying from specialist on-line suppliers is the most cost effective route - you can try Battery Megastore, Tayna, etc. (there are more). I always buy batteries with a minimum of 4 years warranty, and favour brands such as Varta/Bosch - and now Exide seem to be getting a good name. However, beware that some of these manufacturers have varying grades - so go for the higher grade. 
Your battery will be delivered to your door, but you will need it coded to the car.

If you are inclined towards the simple route, come what may, you could just go to Halfords and pay for a battery from them, and most stores will be able to code them, but best quality at most competitive prices -? 
Perhaps you could let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[jdragon]

@Magnet is right. Don't waste time or effort trying to save money here. Get a decent battery and rest assured it has been done properly.

You can get a Varta or Bosch from Tanya batteries delivered for around £135. Then have someone with VCDS tell your car it has a new battery.

I haven't changed the battery in my A5 yet, but I posted exactly how to do this in the A4 forum a couple of years ago. It'll be different for the B9 platform, but the code aspects will be the same.

[Jaime A5 Quattro]

Sorry for the delay in updating this post, I had the battery replaced but unfortunately it was the Alternator that had died.

The new battery lasted one day ended up getting the car towed back in to mu Local Audi specialist. 

I only use main dealership parts so you can imagine this wasn’t cheap job  

battery £200 + vat 

Alternator £657 + vat 

Surprisingly now the car is driving smoother  I’m not sure if that’s because I didn’t drive the car for roughly a week. It’s just great to have the Audi back up and running. 
 

 

 

 

[Magnet]

Many thanks for the update Jamie. Since you only use main dealer (parts) then I guess you only use main dealers for your repairs - a really expensive recipe! - but obviously your choice. 
What I would ask is, did Audi fit your first replacement battery? If so, then it would be reasonable to expect they would have also checked the alternator output. 
So was that battery unserviceable,(and therefore not requiring changing) or was it simply not receiving a charge due to the faulty alternator? All a bit confusing Jamie. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[Jaime A5 Quattro]

Hi Garath, 

I use Audi or my local specialist both fit main dealership parts hence the price. The big difference is labour cost my local specialist hourly rate is £60. These guys are Audi trained in all makes and models. I have been told the battery cells were damaged and not charging also my dash board had the yellow battery light on. 
 

I have asked why the alternator was not apparently checked and they said everything indicated the battery was the problem. It would have saved me a £80 tow fee less then 24hrs after replacing the battery. 
 

 

Jaime