Volkswagen Transporter T3 car battery replacement & fitting

What does a car battery do?

The car battery is responsible for powering all of the electric components in your car. As well as the lights, stereo, windscreen wipers, etc. it is also responsible for powering the ignition system that starts your engine and keeps it running.

How often should a car battery need replacing?

A car battery is to have an expected lifespan of between 4 to 6 years. This is dependent on several factors, for example, the quality of the battery, weather conditions, vehicle type, driving habits, and vehicle type.

The law, vehicle regulations, and your MOT

The physical condition of your battery will not cause your car to fail an MOT, but if the car won’t start, run or operate the electrical components properly because of your battery, then that will.

What happens when we replace your car battery?

• Our efficient and fully qualified mechanics will inspect your battery for correct operation, signs of corrosion and will be load tested to ascertain its ability to retain charge.
• Wherever required your battery will be replaced and you’ll be advised of any other connected or associated problems arising from its malfunction.
• You will also be advised of any other parts, for example, the cables, that may need to be replaced for the best operation and health of your vehicle.
• Once the battery has been replaced, our mechanics will test it thoroughly to ensure the correct running of your car and make any adjustments required for its premium operation.

What causes a car battery to stop working correctly?

Your battery is continually being charged by your car’s alternator while driving, so it’s only through damage or that it has reached the end of its operational life, that it will fail to hold its charge.

On occasions when there has been excessive electrical use without your battery being recharged, your battery will be drained. A drained battery will only require a recharge unless the battery is faulty and its failed operation was instrumental to the drain.

After prolonged use, a car battery can leak the acid that holds the electrical charge. This liquid will turn to a white or bluish powder where it dries, so is fairly easy to spot.

Eventually, a battery will simply reach the end of its life. At this point, it’s time to organise a replacement.

Symptoms of a malfunctioning car battery

If your car won’t start

If your car doesn’t start when you turn the ignition switch, especially when the engine doesn’t make any attempt to turn over, your battery could be flat.

None of the electrical components work

If the lights, fan, radio or any other electrical components in your car don’t turn on or operate, then your battery could be drained or damaged.

The terminals are corroded

If the terminals (connection points) on your battery are corroded, then your battery is likely to be damaged or worn out.

Your battery has powdery deposits on it

If there are white or blueish powdery deposits on any parts of the battery, this is a sign of acid leaking and incorrect operation of your battery.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen (often shortened to VW) is a German automobile manufacturer founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front, a Nazi labour union.

Volkswagen is the flagship marque of the Volkswagen Group, who in turn is majority owned by Porsche. They own and operate a vast number of cars under other brand names—at the time of writing, they have 342 subsidiary companies.

How popular is Volkswagen in the United Kingdom?

Possibly its most well-known model of the current generation, the VW Golf, was the 2nd best selling car of 2018, behind the Ford Fiesta, which consistently takes the top spot year after year.

The Golf’s 64k registrations in 2018 added to the vast tally of 3.4million Volkswagen cars on the road today.

High quality, highly rated, appropriately priced cars

VW cars achieve consistently strong reviews and are highly respected by critics and drivers alike. They are renowned for investing more money into research and development than almost any other marque and distributing their wealth of motoring knowledge across the many partner brands under the VW Group umbrella.

The Volkswagen Beetle: The ‘people’s car’

A classic of its time, originally named the Volkswagen Type 1, it soon became nicknamed the Beetle due to its unique shape, and subsequently the bug. The unique looking car was designed by Ferdinand Porsche for Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap and simple mass-produced car to travel around his country’s new road network.

The new model Beetle, originally launched to celebrate the original classic in 1997, and with an updated successor in 2011, was designed around the VW Jetta platform sharing much of its build with the Jetta and Golf. VW announced in 2018 that the Beetle would finally be removed from production in July 2019.

VW’s reliability and reputation

Volkswagen ranked 17th place out of 30 car brands in the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2018. Sister companies Skoda and Seat appeared higher up the ranks at 7th and 10th respectively, while executive brand Audi a few places further down the list at joint 20th.

Recent Volkswagen recalls and reliability issues

Various recalls have been made on VW models throughout their motoring history. The following are a list of the most recent in the UK and Europe.

19/04/2019 – VW Tiguan (2017–2018)

The material used for the rear coil springs may be inadequate

13/04/2019 – VW Touareg (2018)

The suspension damper forks are defective and could break

13/04/2019 – VW Caddy (2018)

The predetermined break point in the cushion for the side airbags in on the wrong side

24/03/2019 – VW Polo (2016–2018)

On vehicles with a rear drum brake, the operational wear of the brake lining and use-related settlement of the drum brake may result in a loss of pre-tension on parking brake cables

02/02/2019 – VW Touareg (2018)

A seat belt latch may not have been sufficiently secured to the rear, right-hand seat

23/12/2018 – VW Golf, VW T-Roc, VW Arteon and VW Passat (2018)

The fitting for the headrest may have been incorrectly welded to the backrest

23/12/2018 – VW T-Roc (2018)

An incorrect adhesive bond between the upper and lower parts of the rear spoiler may have been used

20/10/2018 – VW Touran and VW Tiguan (2015–2018)

Moisture can reach the LED module of the sunroof’s ambient lighting which may cause a short-circuit

All recall information sourced from gov.co.uk data.