# Eos 3.2 battery replacement



## chocoholic_too (Jan 2, 2007)

Has anybody here replaced the batteries on their 3.2l themselves? If so, is it difficult? I was just quoted 2 different prices by 2 dealerships.
First off, it seems that the replacement cost for the batteries was less than anticipated. I always assumed that each battery was priced individually at $408 MSRP but talking to the parts department, they said that price included 2 in a set. Well, one dealership quoted $480 for it....But they also quoted installed price of $760!!! So they charge $300 to install a battery????:screwy:
The other place quoted $580 and they said it was because they have to remove part of trunk. Well, I've removed the carpet cover before and it didn't take long but there's supposed to be more to it than that? I also don't have a bridge battery so I don't loose any settings when removing the old ones.


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## Boosted2003! (Mar 10, 2009)

chocoholic_too said:


> Has anybody here replaced the batteries on their 3.2l themselves? If so, is it difficult? I was just quoted 2 different prices by 2 dealerships.
> First off, it seems that the replacement cost for the batteries was less than anticipated. I always assumed that each battery was priced individually at $408 MSRP but talking to the parts department, they said that price included 2 in a set. Well, one dealership quoted $480 for it....But they also quoted installed price of $760!!! So they charge $300 to install a battery????:screwy:
> The other place quoted $580 and they said it was because they have to remove part of trunk. Well, I've removed the carpet cover before and it didn't take long but there's supposed to be more to it than that? I also don't have a bridge battery so I don't loose any settings when removing the old ones.


Call up your local interstate dealer or optima dealer and see what type deal they can work with you. They are just 2 6volt 3cell yellow top batteries ran in series.


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## chocoholic_too (Jan 2, 2007)

Boosted2003! said:


> Call up your local interstate dealer or optima dealer and see what type deal they can work with you. They are just 2 6volt 3cell yellow top batteries ran in series.


VW has a contract with Optima that prohibits any distributor to sell these to anyone but VW dealers.


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## mikemaan (Apr 1, 2007)

*Optima Yellow Top twin 6v spiral cell batteries.*

Doesn't look too hard to replace. The cheapest I could find the batteries was for $326 at 1stVWParts.com http://bit.ly/126TZRB. They have a parts explosion chart there too. [see pics below] 

I highly recommend getting the Optimate 6 Charger. $85 on Ebay. It will bring your dead battery back to life and claims that with routine maintenance will add 400% longer life. http://www.tecmate.com/u_optimate_6.php 

I noticed a big improvement with Optimate 6 and I hope it does what it says. BTW you can buy a similar device directly from Optima for $107. 

I finally dove in to the trunk to reveal these babies. [see pix below] From what I researched, and I've spent away too much time doing so, Optima only sells these batteries to VW. There is no direct Optima part number. They are not even on the Optima website. DO NOT BUY the "Red Tops" they are not deep cycle and will not last. 

Note: 
Combined Cold Cranking Amps 1500. 
Total Amp Hours 110 
Combined Cranking Amps is 1740. 
Combined Reserved Capacity is 240. 
That's a lotta power!


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## sr3051 (May 11, 2008)

*battery*

i contacted Optima, the battery is only available in europe, and is not available anywhere in the US but the VW dealer.. i asked about having some shipped in, and was told that since they carry sulfuric acid, they can't ship them. yuck.. i am thinking about putting it on a charger? would anyone here know how or where to connect a trickle charger to the batteries, figured i would put it on some sort of connector in the trunk, the just put a break away in the wire so i can disconnect the charger when driving.... was also told by Optima that if you use the wrong charger, these puppies will explode.
:banghead::banghead::banghead:


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## kratedisease (Aug 15, 2010)

*Red top optimas work better than dealer yellow tops in the EOS*

I have done a TON of homework/ related to this EOS optima battery issue. I can confidently give you the best advice since I spent several years researching this issue. 

Absolutely YES you should buy the optima RED top 6 volt batteries instead of the dealer yellow top batteries. 

There is virtually NO difference between the RED top optima battery and the dealer yellow top optima battery that the dealer sells. Both are made by optima. 
The only difference is that the yellow top version that the dealer sells has a minuscule higher voltage at full storage capacity ( 13.9 volts for yellow tops vs 13.7 volts for the red tops) because it has one more AGM layer wound inside the case, BUT this is the reason the YELLOW top optima battery that the dealer sells fails so often. Unlike the red top, the yellow tops that the dealer sells are prone to short out some internal "plates" from any minor impact to the case. Once a optima battery has an internal short, the battery is garbage. 

So, the dealer yellow tops batteries are actually more problematic and have a much higher failure rate. 

I have even found that the RED top optima version is BETTER quality and lasts longer because it has a few less layers wound in the case which actually give the "plates" more room and prevents them from shorting from any impact to the battery case which is the problem with the dealer yellow top batteries. And there is NO need to have " deep cycling" yellow top optima's batteries because the 4 cylinder turbo EOS version use a standard NON deep cycling battery and actually do NOT have any of these battery issues that the 6 cylinder versions have. The reason VW chose the deep cycling yellow tops as original equipment on the 6 cylinders is because VW assumed the yellows have more reserve power to power the energy drain of an owner operating the hardtop with the engine OFF. 

So with out getting technical, the answer is YES the red top batteries are identical and swap out for your yellow top batteries perfectly.

I threw out my dealer yellow top optima batteries and I myself replaced them with the optima red tops and have been PROBLEM FREE SINCE I DID !! 

I do not know if you are in the USA, but you need to buy TWO 6 volt red top optima batteries. They are an EXACT fit replacement and cost around $150 each shipped.
If you are in the USA, Summit Racing sells the shipped for about $140 each. You need two. Any mechanic can swap them out in less than one hour. I did it myself . So if you buy two red tops and pay a mechanic one hour labor you should be under $400 total.
And the red top optimas are actually better than the yellow tops. ( this was confirmed by an past employee of optima), I have his post as proof. 

Also, make sure that your batteries are actually "bad". The dealer may tell you your batteries are bad but they may actually be OK. My dealer erroneously tested them installed in the car which 100% will give you a reading on a tester that they have very low CCA (cold cranking amps) and are "bad" because the cable connecting them has resistance that throws off the tester. 
To test the 6 volt batteries they must be tested individually as 6 volts and not in series as 12 volts because if they are tested as 12 volts in series the testing device will 100% erroneously tell you they are bad even if they are good BECAUSE the cable connecting them has resistance that tester assumes is internal battery resistance. I personally spoke to the engineer at optima regarding this. So many VW dealers not knowing this test the batteries together as 12 volts which causes the CCA reading to be less than 180 yet if tested individually would be normal at around 850. I have personally verified this myself. So be cautious if the dealer tells you your batteries tested bad. 
They MUST BE TESTED individually as 6 volts and not connected together and tested as a 12 volt. 

Last piece of advice...IMPORTANT.. 
If you are swapping out batteries you need to keep all the computer settings. In the 2.3 NON turbo cars this is easily done when swapping out batteries since the engine compartment has the jumper cable connections in the engine compartment in front and the batteries are in the rear trunk.
You must first attach jumper or booster cables to the front engine compartment jumper connections from another car ( or good 12 volt battery) before you remove the batteries in the trunk so that your EOS does not loose its computer memory settings. Keep the jumper cables connected in the front engine compartment the entire time until the rear battery swap is completed. This is what I did to keep all my computer settings. 

Mark. 

PS I am posting this on the forums to help others


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## CUCURELLO (Mar 8, 2014)

mikemaan said:


> Doesn't look too hard to replace. The cheapest I could find the batteries was for $326 at 1stVWParts.com http://bit.ly/126TZRB. They have a parts explosion chart there too. [see pics below]
> 
> I highly recommend getting the Optimate 6 Charger. $85 on Ebay. It will bring your dead battery back to life and claims that with routine maintenance will add 400% longer life. http://www.tecmate.com
> I noticed...capable of the 765CCA not twice that at 1530.


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## kratedisease (Aug 15, 2010)

CUCURELLO said:


> mikemaan said:
> 
> 
> > Doesn't look too hard to replace. The cheapest I could find the batteries was for $326 at 1stVWParts.com http://bit.ly/126TZRB. They have a parts explosion chart there too. [see pics below]
> ...


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## mark_d_drake (Aug 17, 2006)

How have the Red Tops worked out.. My Yellow tops just died again and I'm waiting to see of they get replaced under warranty or not


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## dragoncandy (Nov 12, 2016)

*Updating eos vr6 6 volt battery replacement*

Hello everyone,

I am glad I found this post and wanted to update everyone as I recently replaced our 6 volt yellow top Optima with the red top batteries. I took the car to the mechanic to have them replace the batteries as I couldn't get the clips on the battery connectors off but told them these were installed in series and to replace them accordingly. They had reprogrammed the eos before but they didn't need to reprogram it. We have been driving it around for over a week without issues and it starts up perfectly. 

Year: 2008 Make: VW Model: EOS 3.2L VR6 - AUTOMATIC
Old Yellow Top Batteries:
Optima 1Q0 915 105
6V 50ah 380A DIN

New batteries (purchased on Amazon):
New

Optima Batteries 8010-044 6V RedTop Starting Battery

•6-Volt, 800 Cold Cranking Amps
•Reserve capacity of 100 minutes for constant performance
•Optimal starting power even in bad weather
•15 times more resistant to vibration for durability
•Weight:18.5lb, Length:10.06, Width:3.63, Height:8.13 inch

Before and After Images


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## Frankenbeans (Jan 4, 2019)

*Optima $$$ surprise*

Hello. I just read your post from a little over 2 years ago and was wondering (if you still have the V6 EOS) how those red top batteries are holding up. A 2007 V6 EOS that I purchased earlier this year for my aunt is beginning to crank a bit slowly. It has been sold here in San Diego and the car hasn’t seen much use for the past month. It does still start up fine after about two disturbingly slow rotations every try so far, but even after driving it for awhile it doesn’t seem to be getting revived at all. 
So after looking it up I have just now become aware of the crazy-expensive battery situation in this car, so here I am. Any follow-up advice would be greatly appreciated. I live far away so I need this car to start for her. If there is any doubt about the red tops then I guess I’ll have to take it to VW and bend over while they have their way with me! 
Thanks.


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## Frankenbeans (Jan 4, 2019)

*2007 EOS VR6 6 volt Optima battery replacement*

Just following up to help out anybody else grappling with this expensive battery situation. I bought two of the red top Optima 8010-044 batteries on Amazon for $189 each and replaced the absurd $$$ yellow ones with no problems whatsoever. All I did was buy a battery charger and hooked it up to the jump points under the hood before disconnecting the old batteries, it was enough to retain all settings. To sum up, don't worry, it's a super simple operation that in no way requires an expensive trip to VW service. I will update if any problems arise as it's only been about a week as of this writing.


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## Uaeladen (Mar 14, 2017)

Been running red tops for 2 years. been fine so far.


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## wcumming (Feb 23, 2020)

*Great tips.*

Thanks for everybody's posts. This will save us all some money! I am a new owner and new nothing about my 2012 has two 6-volt batteries. What was VW thinking with this approach? But I now know to get the Red Tops when replacement time comes around.


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## Uaeladen (Mar 14, 2017)

wcumming said:


> Thanks for everybody's posts. This will save us all some money! I am a new owner and new nothing about my 2012 has two 6-volt batteries. What was VW thinking with this approach? But I now know to get the Red Tops when replacement time comes around.


Looks to be a space issue. cant fit in engine compartment and cant put a full size battery in trunk because of roof.


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