I have just had a complete battery failure on my just over 3 year old Skoda Fabia 1.9tdi. The car was bought new and has covered 61,000 kilometers.
Is this extremely short life usual?
I know that usage patterns affect a battery, but in my case, the car rarely sits in the garage for more than three days before a decent shopping trip run of between 20 to 35 kilometers each way is done. There are other journeys of course but the pattern is not that of a two or three kilometer run a couple of times a week.
I used Skoda Assist when the car would not start and the driver of the breakdown truck used a power boost to start the engine. I managed to drive home!
Next morning there was still no life, so a call to my Skoda dealer established that (a) a new Skoda/VW battery to fit the car costs 140 Euros (£95 approx) OUCH and (b) it is impossible to remove the battery without gaining access to the bottom of it by dismantling various engine related bits!!!!
Another call to Skoda brought the breakdown truck to take the car to Marbella, about 40 kilometers away.
More bad news - the power boost start had melted various power cables! Not in stock of course so 6 more days sin coche! Total cost 250 Euros - double OUCH.
I am now looking for the sympathy vote!
Roger in Spain
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There could be an electrical fault draining the power, if it was only a small drain then this would destroy the battery over time. Are they checking the electrical system for problems as it might be a good idea ?
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I would have said 3-4 years' life for a battery is about what one would expect in my experience. Although the complications you mention for replacement are horrendous.
This is not an immediate solution to your woes, but....
I recommend a battery tender (not a charger) if you are not using the car continuously. Definitely extends the battery life, not to mention you get a full kick every time you start up. We run them on one car (she uses the other lots so no problem) and my bike. My Harley's battery thus cared for will shortly be into its 5th year which is quite something for a m/cycle (now I said that it will implode tomorrow!)
("sin coche" en Español, "sin kotse" sa Pilipino).
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("sin coche" en Español, "sin kotse" sa Pilipino).
In English?
--
L'escargot by name, but not by nature.
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Sorry, means "without car" in both lingos.
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I agree that a battery tender is the ideal solution, but I live in a block of flats with a communal underground garage and apart from lighting, no power availability!
Makes it impossible to do anything requiring mains power.
Roger in Spain
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And whilst I am in ranting mode - why is it that present day cars are designed and built so that even a simple task such as taking out a battery is not possible without gaining access to the base of the battery ?
And another thing - I have an owners manual, (in English), and nowhere does it give guidance on replacing a fuse, for heaven's sake - there is absolutely no indication that such a thing as a fuse box even exists. Are they putting circuit breakers in cars now?
Roger in Spain
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If it spends some of the time outdoors, it might be worth getting a solar charger from Maplin. They do one that sits on the dash and trickle charges via the cigar lighter - not much current, but enough to compensate for the small drain that car electronics impose, together with the self-discharging that occurs with all rechargeable batteries.
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Put a multimeter in line(in current mode) with the battery positive terminal and the the positive lead .With the ignition switched of there should zero amps passing.If you get a reading look for a boot light sticking on ,car radios etc.
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I replaced the original battery on our Xantia last winter after nine and a half years. One should expect more than three to four years from a modern battery, I think.
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One should expect more than three to four years from a modern battery, I think.
Read some of the views in the following thread:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=22238
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My 306 HDi has its original July 99 Fulmen battery which still seems as good as ever. I make sure the acid level stays topped up though.
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I tried keeping the acid level topped up but my car kept changing colour. And it grew ears. And clucked a lot.
I'll stick to alcohol.
Now anyone seen my coat? It's a bluish pink and has 3 sleeves.
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Life in the southeast must be getting to you, ND.
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Now anyone seen my coat? It's a bluish pink and has 3 sleeves.
If only you had followed your father's advice about your approach to life, you'd not have ended up skint, driving a tractor, and consuming hallucinogens in the happy hour ;-)
[/tongue-very-firmly-in-cheek]
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>>Put a multimeter in line(in current mode) with the battery positive terminal and the the positive lead .With the ignition switched of there should zero amps passing.If you get a reading look for a boot light sticking on ,car radios etc.
That might have been true on an Austin Healey, but not on a modern car with:
Electric clock
Alarm/immobiliser
Radio with electronic station memory (rather than push-button 'memories')
Other gadgets that have been invented since my car was made...
You might be distressed to find as much as 0.1amps disappearing from the battery - 2AmpHours every day - as a result of this little lot. On a battery with a capacity of 80AH, it's as good as flat within not many weeks.
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My impression of battery failure is that the things go downhill far quicker than they used to. When I started motoring 30 years ago you could always coax a bit more life out of a failing battery by dosing them with EDTA (I think), cleaning the terminals and generally cossetting them. The last battery failures I had were both catastrophic after about 6 years use. In each case the car started well, was used normally but the battery died the following day with only enough juice to light up the dash. Just a couple of months ago the bike battery failed in a similar way.
Hero to zero seems to be the design criterion nowadays.
I agree with other posters that 3 years for a modern battery is a bit marginal. Malteser you have won my sympathy for all the good it does you.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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