Another downside of driveway car 'fiddling' is neighbours !

Guy next door has asked can I change the battery on his 2015 Kuga stop/start. It looks a bit of a fiddle, he says airbox has to come out as it can't be lifted.

Does car need to be reprogramed once changed and if so can he just drive car elsewhere for this. I have no diagnostics.

I changed bat' on daughters S/S Polo with no issue. But don't want to make a mistake on someone else's.

Hi,

here ya go.

Yes, air box out, then the battery box slides apart for access.

Afterwards you just need to reset the BMS. Few different options for that depending on age and model. But on a 2015 Kuga I think it'll be: ignition on, press rear fog 5 times, press hazard switch 3 times, wait several seconds until battery light on dash flashes, then switch ignition off.

The Polo should probably have had the battery coded in as well. VWs don't have a simple key-sequence to reset unfortunately. The car will still work without coding, it'll just shorten the life of the battery as the alternator charge rate is based on battery age among other things.

Cheers for that. If he brings it back I will let you know how I get on.

Did mine recently. Was easy, took about 15mins.

Don't need to remove wipers/windscreen scuttle panel.

Remove air filter housing and battery can slide forwards a bit then disconnect terminals but be careful not to pull on them as there is an extra wire on the -ve that could be easily damaged.

I reset BMS via my diagnostic device but lots of online guides describing other ways.

I have an xtool A30m diagnostic tool, it's inexpensive and seems to cover all makes/models surprisingly well, it's on amazon.

Well, I don't know whether to be annoyed or pleased.

I said I could change battery no problem, but he would have to do the reset, didn't want to be blamed if it went wrong.

Couple of days later he comes back, tells me what needs doing, and said he has been to Halfords.

He bought new battery and have them change and reset.

BUT, he had already bought a new battery online, so he has to pay to return that one ! 🙄

2 hours ago, mattgs said:

I have an xtool A30m diagnostic tool, it's inexpensive and seems to cover all makes/models surprisingly well, it's on amazon.

Does that definitely have the functionality to code VW batteries?

Must admit it doesn't look inexpensive to me. Around £90!?

I paid £20 for a Forscan cable for Fords. And £30 for a VCDS clone for VAG cars. Admittedly both were around 10 years ago. I just feel that spending £80 on a tool to slightly increase the life of a £100 battery doesn't make good financial sense. 🤔

3 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Does that definitely have the functionality to code VW batteries?

Must admit it doesn't look inexpensive to me. Around £90!?

I paid £20 for a Forscan cable for Fords. And £30 for a VCDS clone for VAG cars. Admittedly both were around 10 years ago. I just feel that spending £80 on a tool to slightly increase the life of a £100 battery doesn't make good financial sense. 🤔

I got the A30m specifically for my 2008 vauxhall as i got fed up with the opcom software beung so hit and miss on windows 11. It also ended up being very successful on parents 2010 audi TT and works on wife's 2005 fiesta and now on our 2018 Kuga.

It reads and resets fault codes from all modules, reads all Live data values, can perform system test and has I think about 25 service functions like service reset, BMS, DPF forced clean, electric handbrake service etc.

Will probably get fordscan one day but so far it's done anything I need on the Kuga.

9 hours ago, mattgs said:

I got the A30m specifically for my 2008 vauxhall as i got fed up with the opcom software beung so hit and miss on windows 11. It also ended up being very successful on parents 2010 audi TT and works on wife's 2005 fiesta and now on our 2018 Kuga.

It reads and resets fault codes from all modules, reads all Live data values, can perform system test and has I think about 25 service functions like service reset, BMS, DPF forced clean, electric handbrake service etc.

Will probably get fordscan one day but so far it's done anything I need on the Kuga.

Thanks. That does seem very comprehensive and not needing a yearly subscription unlike similar devices (OBDEleven), so one to keep in mind.

Unfortunately the only thing I'm likely to need any time soon is battery coding on another VW. The car was built after my VCDS clone cable/software so won't connect and can't be updated. I've had more than my moneys worth from it over the years, so was well worth buying a clone at the time. The generic OBD tools back then were all useless but they've come a long way since.