Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Official New Car Reviews (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/)

-   -   Volkswagen Jetta : Test Drive & Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/107073-volkswagen-jetta-test-drive-review-192.html)

Just got the battery changed to Amaron Flo DIN 60 which is the specific battery for the Jetta Diesel. Comes with a 4 year warranty.

As you can see in the pics the new battery fits snugly into the OEM battery cover and slot under the hood. We tested the voltage post install with the lights and AC on and it showed above 14 amps which is good and means there is no issue with the alternator.

Like clockwork the battery failed on me after the car completed one year. Do i get it changed at the service centre itself or do it myself? Is there warranty still left?

If it is just one year, it should be changed under warranty. I got it replaced under warranty when it failed after 15 months.

However, the replaced battery is also bound to fail in another year or year and a half. If you want to avoid getting stranded (I got stranded on the 2nd failure), you could get it replaced yourself to a better battery - Amaron or Exide.

Ok I'm taking it to the service centre now. I'll listen to what gibberish they say before doing anything.

My Jetta is going to be 5 years soon. I am surprised to hear of battery failures so early. Maybe I got lucky as my stock battery is still fine. My car has done about 28K only. The last year or so it's done only 1K. The only thing that I need to change are the tires as they have become very hard and noisy.

If your battery is Varta then it is not surprising. If they are going to replace it under warranty with a Varta again; then as Graaja said, it is bound to fail with in 1.5 - 2 years again. To me, I do not find this battery life normal. The gibberish I was told by the VW guys is that the Varta batteries will last for a maximum of 2 years.

If they are willing to replace the battery under warranty, see if you can convince them to replace it with an Exide or Amaron, not a Varta. My car is under warranty until 2019 but I did not bother about replacing the battery under warranty.

The question is, is your battery a Varta? It is only the Varta batteries supplied as OEM from VW that have a premature failure. I guess VW knows this and today's models are coming with Exide as stock batteries.

Hello folks,

My Jetta has completed 40K km and is 2 years and 6 months old. We are planning to take the Jetta to Karnataka and Goa. Although the 45K service hasn't come up yet, I am going to get the car serviced in the next two weeks or so.

Now comes the problem. My careless chauffeur was charging his phone battery without my knowledge in the car for the past few days. Despite of this, the car started at the first crank. But only 4 days back, the car refused to start. There was a click sound continuously made and the instrument cluster flickered. We somehow managed to jumpstart the car. Was this a one off incident?

The car surprisingly started up the next morning as if nothing was wrong with it and still continues to do the same. My question is, shall I get the battery replaced now to be on the safer side or wait? And more importantly, shall I get it replaced by the Volkswagen dealer or an independent shop? My car is out of warranty. Could someone please recommend a battery brand with a suitable rating or shall I go with the same battery size as the current OEM?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
vishy

My recommendation to change the battery before your trip. It is definitely going to fail on you again, appropriate size is listed on all major sites and all independent shops also know it. Personally I feel Amaron performs better and lasts longer. Its either a 60 or 65 Ah battery, but your best guide will be the battery wala.

At what mileage was your last service? Was it at exactly 30K? If yes, you're good for another 3-4K kms, and I would recommend service only post trip. In my experience, I never visit the service centre before a long trip, one mistake during service and we can be stranded on a lonely highway with family or friends. I even check the pressures in tyres two days before the trip. On the day of the trip just fill up the tank and start off lol:

Thanks for the quick advice. I will get the battery changed from a battery shop mostly.

When it comes to the servicing, the last service was at 31K. The only problem is that the frequency of short journeys in stop and go traffic has increased drastically and Vadodara doesn't have the best of roads either. Some things such as suspension lubrication and oil change in these conditions will be a must IMHO. When it comes to errors, I will be supervising the service personally. Better to do that. :)

Mine was an Exide Spain. Replaced under warranty again with another Exide Spain. Hope this lasts longer.


Also, today saw a strange error. When i switched on the cruise control, the cruise control symbol came on with a huge (!) next to it.
Checked on VWVortex and got this among other threads. Anyone has faced this before?

Well, I would say go to a good battery shop and check the charge of your battery and also whether the alternator is charging the battery properly. It is possible that if the battery died once, the chances are that just one of the battery cells have gone bust or is weak and hence the the car still starts with the help of the rest of the cells. This diagnosis however will be done by a professional battery store. Either ways, the battery will need to be changed.

Please check if the altrnator is charging the battery properly. With the car running at idle and all lights on with AC, it should show a charge of over 14 volts.

I have faced this once during a trip back from Igatpuri around 6 months ago while trying to use cruise control on the highway. It lasted the entire 2.5 hour trip. Stopped the car and switched it off and removed the key from the ignition, waited for 5 minutes and started it again and it was still there. Reached home and parked the car for the day. The next morning, the error did not show and everything including cruise control behave normally. I still took it to VW and they could not find the error. Never got this error again till date.

While we are discussing about battery woes, I also discovered that none of the Jettas can be push started.

My Jetta's battery went flat when my idiotic driver charged his phone with it. He then popped the clutch and tried to push start it.

Tried it twice but each and every time he releases the clutch, the Jetta cuts off the ignition and fuel supply. Thus we had to jumpstart the car instead

Just a warning, if you have a flat battery, don't waste time in push starting. Just jump start the car instead.

Ok fellas,

This is probably the first time the Jetta has supposedly thrown a major tantrum. It involves the wing mirrors in this case.

It was a pleasant night yesterday, so my dad decided to take the Jetta out for a drive. He starts the car, opens the wing mirrors and they work perfectly. When we return from the drive, that's when the problem starts.

My dad closes the wing mirrors using the knob. It's only when we walk away from the car that I realise that one of the mirrors has refused to retract back into it's position (the passenger side). My dad tries unfolding and folding again, but the mirror doesn't budge at all. These are the symptoms:

- The mirror makes a click sound when you try to fold it but won't move an inch

- Another strange symptom is the central locking light. Instead of blinking when you lock the car, it remains a solid red for around two to three minutes before it starts to blink

I haven't touched the mirror till now fearing I could do more damage. When I looked up for the central locking light symptom, it says that there could be a problem with the electric signals in the door and ORVMs.

Could this be a loose wire or am I looking at a motor replacement? More importantly, will Mr. Volkswagen charge me for the whole darn assembly or courteously change the motor and do me a favour? Any inputs will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
vishy

I looked at my battery today . It's an Enertec EMC. Looks like this brand is pretty reliable compared to the varta ones.