I'm sure this must have been covered somewhere but I couldn't find it on a search.

My 2012 S-Line Avant 3.0 TDi at last needs a new battery - yes, it really has lasted 14 years. So I found one last week, got a good price on a Bosch-branded replacement, assuming I could simply replace it myself.

However when I looked online to check there were no snags with fitting it,  I realised that the online diagnostics need to be accessed to 'tell' the car that it has a new battery. Question is, could I do this myself using one of the 'OBD2' access dongles that you can buy for £20-£30 on e.g. Amazon, or do I really have to get a garage to do it?

I actually bought one of these gadgets, a XTool AD20 Pro, but looking at it I'm doubtful as to whether it will do the job - it just seems to be about reading and resetting fault codes. Maybe I should return it and just take the car to a garage.

Edited December 2, 20241 yr by Cantata

The proper OBD2 tool supposedly will do the job, (often called coding the battery to the car,) but the cheap copies from Amazon and the like usually will not. Coding the battery is essential to avoid damage.

57 minutes ago, cliffcoggin said:

The proper OBD2 tool supposedly will do the job, (often called coding the battery to the car,) but the cheap copies from Amazon and the like usually will not. Coding the battery is essential to avoid damage.

No supposedly about it Cliff the right tool does the job, even a lot of the generic code readers used in  garages now have this facility.

Steve.

6 minutes ago, Stevey Y said:

No supposedly about it Cliff the right tool does the job, even a lot of the generic code readers used in  garages now have this facility.

Steve.

So should any decent garage be able to do it? 

46 minutes ago, Cantata said:

So should any decent garage be able to do it? 

Yes definitely 

Ok thanks guys, my local garage has agreed to do the job for £25-£30 and I’ll return the OBD2 thingy to Amazon.