Battery Fault

Pie

Pie

Member
For the last few days my VW T32 204 manual Kombi 18 reg has been difficult to start.
The battery doesn't seem to be holding charge.
I phoned VW Assist last night and they sent the AA out to me.
The AA guy phoned me and asked about my problem.
He told me that he would only be able to jump start my van and then I would have to drive it to the dealers.
As it was late I said I would be able to do that myself , but he informed me that there was a known fault with certain types of batteries. My battery is a MOLL battery and after a bit of googling it turns out this is one of the faulty batteries.
I phoned my local dealer to book my van in.
I was informed that there would be a charge of £85 just to look at the van if it turned out not to be a warranty job. There would also be a charge of £18.50 for use of a courtesy car which I declined. The earliest they can book my van in for assessment is 4th Feb. I have agreed to this as I didn't have much choice.
Poor service to say the least.
Would VW Assist sort this problem on my drive if I rang them during office hours or do they use the AA all the time.
Any advice much appreciated
 
Sorry just re read... MY18 van to warranty job.

On a side note, how many miles a day are you driving.?

Is it long enough to recharge the battery?

If not, even a good battery will run flat without a good recharge.
 
Call them back during office hours and hopefully roadside assist will have a battery onboard
 
Thanks for the replies.
I don't do that many miles in winter but van gets a good run once a month at least to keep dpf problems at bay.
It will do more mileage in the summer due to trip to France and trips around the country.
I have never had a problem using my T5 this way but have only had the T6 a couple of months.
I have a day off on Tuesday so will ring VW Assist and ask them to test the battery which is now completely flat.
I'll let you know how I get on and thanks again for the replies.
 
Ill be interested to hear how you get on with VW assist. mine has never left me stranded, but on a couple of occasions where i've sat in it with the ignition on for a short while (mainly whilst doing VCDS stuff) its struggled to start afterwards..so sure mine is knackered. The dealer is a 50mile round trip which i could do without doing twice if VAG assistance will swap it on my drive.
 
When this happened to me the VW service center said they couldn’t look at it .... and gave me a date in the future.

2 days later I called them back and told them I was bringing it in .... mentioned the moll battery etc ..... they lent me a small car, but at least I was mobile

Don’t let them fob you off is my advice, the moll issue is well and truly documented
 
@Pie I’m not sure whether there are any VW Assist Patrols in Cumbria. I’ve always been sent AA, and I’ve had them out 5 times in the last 12 months. I presume your local dealer is Lookers, I’ve been dealing with them since they were Benfield. Their customer service leaves something to be desired, I’ve got some ongoing problems with my van and they won’t look at it till February, can’t wait that long because we’re going to France in a few weeks. I’m taking it down to Hadwins in Lindale to see if they can restore my faith.
 
Update.
Phoned VW Assist this morning and they sent the AA out to me but also said that if I was not satisfied with the outcome they would be able to send a VW technician to me on an agreed date.
The AA guy was excellent and tested the battery which turned out to be faulty. He turned up a speedy 15 minutes after my phone call.
I informed him of the difficulty I'd had with the main dealer so he phoned them himself and said that I was bringing the van in immediately and the battery needed replaced. He informed them that I needed a replacement vehicle and I should be supplied one under the Mobec scheme. They told him that they didn't have a car available but would source one and deliver it to my home address today. The AA guy told me a free hire car is supplied to the customer for 48 hours after which if the van is not repaired the dealer has to pay the extra cost of the vehicle (hope that makes sense).
I took the van to the dealership and they tested the battery and confirmed it was faulty .
Fortunately they had one in stock so I agreed to wait while it was fitted.
So after ringing VW Assist at 9am I was driving away from the dealership at 11am with a new battery replaced under warranty.
Thanks again for the advice and I hope this helps anyone with similar issues.
 
Hi, I'm having same issues with my battery and same customer service from lookers at Carlisle, the VW assist guy has been out twice and simply jump started my van (which I could've easily done myself, but called vw assist in the hope they may test the battery, and also the van manual says not to jump start the van in the normal way and the jump start wouldn't work in the way the manual says to do it), it keeps happening and it's really frustrating, have finally bit the bullet and booked into lookers for battery test (they need my van for 3 days and won't provide a courtesy car). Any other suggestions... (bang head wall) :(
 
Go to Hadwins mate, I can’t fault them. If you’re under warranty then you’re entitled to a hire vehicle through vw assist.
 
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@RDT

What spec and year van?

You can take the van to any local place like, Halfords, kwikfit,.... Etc etc.

For a quick battery test.

Ask for a copy of the printout for proof... To give to VW.
 
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Dellmassive said:
@RDT

What spec and year van?

You can take the van to any local place like, Halfords, kwikfit,.... Etc etc.

For a quick battery test.

Ask for a copy of the printout for proof... To give to VW.
Click to expand...
@Dellmassive T6 150 kombi, 69 plate - still under warranty but Lookers aren't keen on helping. Got it battery tested by a lad where I work this morning, tester says battery ok but needs charging, I drive over 60 miles a day so surely enough to charge / recharge :confused:
 
A full charge is about 24hrs off the van.

But a 60mile drive should be a good charge.

Have you got other items connected nyo the starter battery?...
.

Dash cam, usb, light's etc etc that could be draining it?

Also battery's have two readings.

SoH. State of health. %

And

SoC. State of charge. %

....

Your battery may be low SoC.... But also have a low SoH.... Which means it can't hold a decent charge.... And will go flat very quickly after a full charge.

AGM battery s have an estimated life of 3-5yrs.

But if you run them flat a few times they loose the ability to fully recharge.

I'm wondering if t po it battery has a low SOH?


...
 
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It's gone flat again today at work - have VW assist coming out to me - pretty sure they'll just jump start me (again) but will try and get them to battery check. If not will go to Halfords and get a print out see what it says, thank you for post with info above - very much appreciated - will see what print out says and go from there. Van isn't yet three years old - but it has gone flat a few times so perhaps has lost the ability to fully recharge. Nothing else connected to the battery, van has no upgrades or additions as yet.
 
Sounds like the battery is knackered.

Ask them to test it.

Tell them it's the third callout.


See if you can get a pic of the callout guys tester.

You might be able to get another battery from VW under warranty.

Or just go get your own.
 
More info....

www.t6forum.com

Upgrading Starter Battery - how to guide

My van (April 2017 T28) is fitted with a Moll battery. I am experiencing some issues with it not starting after a few days sitting on the drive. Now this could be due to the tracker I have fitted draining it but I doubt it, I'll do some drain current tests before taking the plunge. If I were to...
www.t6forum.com www.t6forum.com



.
 
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