# Battery dying when doing short stops



## Atlasfan (Apr 13, 2017)

*Dead Battery after 7 months*

Sharing with you all - as looks like I am not the only one...
Starting to get a "start-Stop error " message and then, next day, engine light error on the dashboard.
VW diagnostic : Dead battery. They installed a anew one under warranty.
How could a battery be dead in less than 7 months / 6000 miles ?


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Either a bad batch of batteries or this vehicle is killing the battery from the start/stop. Who knows. Clearly a manufacturing or design issue.


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## ribbit (Jun 4, 2012)

Shouldn't happen under normal operations, Do you live in major city with heavy traffic issues and not drive on the open road much.? Sounds like a bad battery.


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

Or a weak or bad alternater....


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## rhgti1 (Sep 8, 2004)

*Had exactly the same issue*

SEL P 4motion. Took possession early August, so about 7 months on the road.
Two days ago, while parked with engine on, auto start/stop could not restart engine. Christmas light display of warning lights came on dashboard. Could not restart manually, and "low battery voltage" shown in vehicle status display on dashboard. Jump started, drove to dealership. Diagnosis- bad battery. Battery replaced today.

My driving profile includes many short trips, suburban surface streets. Few longer highway trips mostly on weekends.

Let's see how long the new battery holds.


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## matsavol (Jul 26, 2015)

Mine is less than 4 months and not even 1000 miles old. The start/stop feature takes like ~20 minutes drive before it starts working.

This thread made me curious. I didn't drive the Atlas today so it was sitting in the garage since yesterday. This makes it about 26 hours rest. I popped the hood and measured battery voltage was pretty low, between 12.1...12.2V. I started it and charging voltage is at 14.5V, so doesn't seem to be alternator problem. 

A good battery at full charge after surface charge has settled should show ~12.7...12.8V without load.

It is either a bad batch of batteries or there is something in Atlas that kills batteries fast? I don't think the start/stop system alone can be this fast to kill it?

The folks who have gotten battery replaced I'm curious to hear if the new batteries hold up better.


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## chipster (May 30, 2017)

*Stressed battery*

Might be a combination of things...

- Bad batch of low capacity / low C-rate batteries
- Start/stop system is allowing the battery voltage to dip too low while the engine is off. Remember, the battery is powering all the accessories when the engine is off. Even the automatic lowering of the A/C might not be enough to limit battery drain. I've always wondered if a hybrid deep cycle/starter battery would do better in the Atlas.


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## bludevilx (Mar 10, 2016)

I couldn't get used to the auto start stop so it was one of the first things I disabled once we got our Atlas. Raised the voltage threshold for it to turn the engine off. 

2016 Golf R Manual w/DAP | 2018 Atlas SEL R-Line


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

KarstGeo said:


> .....Clearly a manufacturing or design issue.


How do you know the OP didn't kill it with inappropriate use.


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## ribbit (Jun 4, 2012)

I have never liked the auto turn off/on feature put in cars. The amount of fuel you save isn't worth the hassle. I have to believe that the starter will fail much faster than in a regular system. I would bet this will go by the boards soon. Get am electric car if you don't want to burn fuel.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

ribbit said:


> I have never liked the auto turn off/on feature put in cars. The amount of fuel you save isn't worth the hassle. I have to believe that the starter will fail much faster than in a regular system. I would bet this will go by the boards soon. Get am electric car if you don't want to burn fuel.


Truth. I don't mind it as I'm uses to it now but I have to believe this doesn't have good longevity.

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## trbochrg (Dec 1, 2004)

anyone leaving their Atlas unlocked (while in a garage). If so, the battery could drain as it is in a sort of "ready mode".

This has happened to other VW's in the past.

Not saying this wasn't just a bad batch of batteries, just trying to provide another possible cause.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

ribbit said:


> .....The amount of fuel you save isn't worth the hassle. I have to believe that the starter will fail much faster than in a regular system......


Back up data to support that?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

KarstGeo said:


> ..... but I have to believe this doesn't have good longevity......


backup data for that belief?


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

trbochrg said:


> anyone leaving their Atlas unlocked (while in a garage). If so, the battery could drain as it is in a sort of "ready mode".
> 
> This has happened to other VW's in the past.
> 
> Not saying this wasn't just a bad batch of batteries, just trying to provide another possible cause.


That is the remote battery, not the vehicle battery. Read what it says in the OM.


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## sinnerman666 (Mar 22, 2018)

Add my Atlas to the list. Dead battery after 6 months. Dealership tried to blame the bluetooth OBDII scanner. Battery replaced under warranty.


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## CanadiaDave (Mar 22, 2018)

*Somewhat common*

I was reading about this in another forum. It seems to be especially common in colder climates. Likely because the cold makes it even more difficult for the battery to hold a charge. Here's a link to that disucssion;

http://www.vwatlasforum.com/forum/170-volkswagen-atlas-complaints-issues-problems/1626-cold-test-failed.html


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

Hahaha. Was it much of a fight? Obdeleven isn't going to kill the battery.

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## walksonair (Aug 29, 2017)

I've been seeing a ton of low voltage related messages. If I dont drive the Atlas for a few days it has a hard time starting back up...something isnt right with how the battery usage is going after shutdown. I did confirm all my LED bulbs that i swapped are off. Not sure what else to check...


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## utsava (Jun 5, 2002)

Add me to the list. Battery was replaced during a standard oil change. Low voltage was caught by the dealer during the standard point checks. Something is definitely wrong with the batteries themselves or the design of the electrical system. Time will tell. Let's see how long the replacement battery lasts.


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## JungleMindState (Jun 17, 2013)

I came here specifically to look for feedback from others on this very topic. I’m sitting in the car right now for the second time in a month where the car, while parked and listening to the radio for a few minutes, all of a sudden gives a warning that it’s shutting down electronics to conserve energy. Then literally a few seconds later another warning that lights are turning off. Then car doesn’t start because the battery is already dead. SUPER WARNING SYSTEM, VW!

I have the SE 4-motion with tech and I’m starting to wonder if maybe the the larger alternator on the SEL is actually necessary to power all of the stuff in the Tech Package. 


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## chipster (May 30, 2017)

*Checking current draw during the night or during auto shutoff*

Wondering if someone has tried measuring the current flow from the battery with a multimeter. I might do it myself soon.
Or is there a way to monitor his through Vag-com?

Also... Does anyone know the battery size/class for the Atlas. My local shops and most of the net don't have this info yet. Eying a nice spiraCell like Optima or Hawker.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

chipster said:


> .....Also... Does anyone know the battery size/class for the Atlas......


Why not read it right off the top of the battery?


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## sevensis (Mar 12, 2017)

We are having a quite annoying issue with the Atlas these days... Battery is dying on us on a very specific and odd use case: when stopping for a short stop.

First occurence this week, my wife drove back from work (25miles + trip)and stopped to pickup the kids at daycare. When she tried to re-start the car, she got a VW style "Christmas Tree" in the dashboard and clicking sounds from the starter. We got the car overnight by jump-starting it.

Then yesterday... We had parked the car for 2 days since this last incident and we were going to the cottage after our workday, so to test the car and to warm it up, I started it with the remote starter with no issues. Then, we stopped to have dinner, roughly 30min, started the car with no issues. Then stopped again to do some shopping for about 10 min and car would not start again!! We jump started it once again and finished our drive making sure not to stop again. 

Took it today for a drive without any issues but trying to limit stops as much as possible.

Will definitely be visiting the dealership this week...

Btw had the car since August 2017 and currently has roughly 20k miles without any similar issues.

As anyone seen similar issues with their Atlas?

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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Have you tried fully charging the battery with a trickle charger for a day or so?


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## Icantdrive65 (Nov 8, 2001)

The Atlas died on my wife on Wednesday this week. It started fine and she drove it around for about 45 minutes. Went through a drive through and it died when she stopped for a minute in the parking lot. The battery was dead. I jumped it with my Yukon and drove it home. Had the mechanic by my shop check the battery and alternator. Both tested fine. It has been fine since then. 

13k on ours. Had it since December 2017 and no other issues.


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

Icantdrive65 said:


> The Atlas died on my wife on Wednesday this week. It started fine and she drove it around for about 45 minutes. Went through a drive through and it died when she stopped for a minute in the parking lot. The battery was dead. I jumped it with my Yukon and drove it home. Had the mechanic by my shop check the battery and alternator. Both tested fine. It has been fine since then.
> 
> 13k on ours. Had it since December 2017 and no other issues.


i think everyone has had the issue.. ours died - had it jumped.. system reverted back to default settings.. 
never had an issue since.. 
its like the Altas needed be reset or something.


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

AudiVW guy said:


> i think everyone has had the issue.. ours died - had it jumped.. system reverted back to default settings..
> never had an issue since..
> its like the Altas needed be reset or something.


i think everyone has had the issue.......??????


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## sevensis (Mar 12, 2017)

*DesertFox* said:


> i think everyone has had the issue.......??????


Maybe related to colder climates? By your username your probably not in the north... I live in Canada and it was about 20F all week long... 

Seems like the Atlas is not suited that well for cold climates... During the Christmas break last year, we got an episode of -20F for a couple of days.. It started fine but had random system failures every time we started it (failed DRLs, failed front assist, etc).

Wonder where they did their cold climate testing... 

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## Hetletco (May 15, 2018)

Is there a really great battery that should be used for cold weather, or should the battery it comes with really be good enough.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

sevensis said:


> .....Seems like the Atlas is not suited that well for cold climates........


Right..... Where do you get this crazy idea? The "problem" is that folks don't make an effort to keep the battery charged. VW can't control that.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Hetletco said:


> Is there a really great battery that should be used for cold weather, or should the battery it comes with really be good enough.


The OEM battery will work fine in any inhabitable parts of the world.


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## maryglen (Nov 11, 2018)

*same here....*

i have experienced the exact same issue twice now.

The first (late summer) was much the same as the OP's - short stop after driving and then dead and had too wait for roadside assistance. 

The second (this weekend) was in the AM when the Atlas had not been driven since the evening prior.

I am also in Canada -and this has *nothing* to do with cold weather.

I think it has something to do with start/stop functionality and lack of battery power.

Obviously not the only people with the issue:

https://ca.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t73111_ds837472

https://www.vwatlasforum.com/forum/...es-problems/2145-atlas-starting-problems.html


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## maryglen (Nov 11, 2018)

I would also add, that when boosted by road side assistance, both times, the battery check that was completed pre-boost showed the battery to be fully charged and functional


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## Icantdrive65 (Nov 8, 2001)

It happened again today. It started a little sluggishly. My wife drove it for about 15 minutes. Went to restart it and it was dead.


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## sevensis (Mar 12, 2017)

In my case, brought the car to the dealer this week... Apparently battery was the issue so they replaced it. We'll see how it goes...

On the same day they had another Atlas with a similar issue... For that particular case, they said one of the battery cell pole was "inverted". I've never heard such a thing, this is quite awkward!

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## maryglen (Nov 11, 2018)

Hopefully final update. 
Atlas into the dealer as the battery issue appeared for the third time. Battery replaced due to bad cell. As per dealer service manager, this known issue with atlas batteries and they have replaced many. So far so good.


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## Drive by (Mar 13, 2017)

For those of you who have had your batteries replaced it would be good to know your build dates. Then the rest of us who got built around yours would know we are likely susceptible too. I presume there is a bad batch out there that is affected and not a wholesale bad choice by VW on spec. At least that’s what I hope it was/is.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Drive by said:


> For those of you who have had your batteries replaced it would be good to know your build dates. Then the rest of us who got built around yours would know we are likely susceptible too. I presume there is a bad batch out there that is affected and not a wholesale bad choice by VW on spec. At least that’s what I hope it was/is.


Not necessary correlation of vehicle and battery build dates. Batteries can be safely stored for years if the acid is no put in it.


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## brian81 (Apr 19, 2007)

I'm thinking bad batteries is the cause for most of you but it can also be a slow discharge due to where the key is stored. My neighbor has a Volvo XC90. He had the car towed to the dealer at least 5 times in the first year due to the car being dead in the garage. They kept replacing the battery under warranty until one of the more experienced techs asked whether they left the keys in the car when it was not being driven. He told them he didn't; they store their keys on a board in the garage with hooks on it. The tech told him that's why the battery kept going dead - because the battery was close enough to the key to permit them to be constantly "talking" to each other, as when you walk up to the car and the car will unlock when you touch the door handle. The tech said that Volvo had a tech letter sent out (now about 2 years ago) stating that customers need to be told to not store the key within 15-20 feet of the car, even through walls. When their modular platform cars arrived they were replacing an insane number of batteries under warranty. They had a car in their showroom that went through batteries because the car was kept in the console, and they had a similar situation at their VW and Land Rover stores, where certain cars weren't moved in the showroom for months.

May not apply for most of you but my neighbor hasn't had his car towed since moving his key inside the house.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

brian81 said:


> I'm thinking bad batteries is the cause for most of you but it can also be a slow discharge due to where the key is stored. My neighbor has a Volvo XC90. He had the car towed to the dealer at least 5 times in the first year due to the car being dead in the garage. They kept replacing the battery under warranty until one of the more experienced techs asked whether they left the keys in the car when it was not being driven. He told them he didn't; they store their keys on a board in the garage with hooks on it. The tech told him that's why the battery kept going dead - because the battery was close enough to the key to permit them to be constantly "talking" to each other, as when you walk up to the car and the car will unlock when you touch the door handle. The tech said that Volvo had a tech letter sent out (now about 2 years ago) stating that customers need to be told to not store the key within 15-20 feet of the car, even through walls. When their modular platform cars arrived they were replacing an insane number of batteries under warranty. They had a car in their showroom that went through batteries because the car was kept in the console, and they had a similar situation at their VW and Land Rover stores, where certain cars weren't moved in the showroom for months.
> 
> May not apply for most of you but my neighbor hasn't had his car towed since moving his key inside the house.


Why isn't this just common sense? In addition, with the key in range, anyone can walk up get in start the vehicle and drive away. Plus, it is clearly stated in the OM.


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## ADC1 (Sep 25, 2018)

*OBD11*

I was afraid that the battery drain would happen with the start and stop feature. I removed that feature by defaulting it to 12 instead of 7 as the factory has it set up. You can change the parameter with an OBD11 tool. Well worth the $80 for it. There is a myriad of things to tweet to your liking.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

ADC1 said:


> I was afraid that the battery drain would happen with the start and stop feature......


S/S does not even work if the battery charge is low. S/S did not cause the issue.


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## is95a (Jul 6, 2017)

*Battery died*

Have an '18 Atlas, bought June 2017, that died on a 7 hour trip to UPNY for a wedding. Had a car full of people who were using all the charging ports for computer, phones, iPads, etc... Four hours in we exited to get gas and after fill-up, car would not start. Got a jump, drove it to an Autozone 1/2 mile away and had them replace the battery with an aftermarket brand that worked, but certainly was not made for the Atlas as there were error lights everywhere. The next day prior to the wedding we went to a local VW dealership to get the defective battery replaced under warranty so we could return the Autozone battery and the service technician said this is a known issue regarding Atlas batteries. Apparently the battery was not receiving enough of a charge from the alternator during short trips, but whatever. They supposedly redesigned it and its "all glass" now? I dont know, but it was a major inconvenience and it would have been nice if VW has addressed it when it was at the dealership for several days while getting the other 7-8 recalls completed. Shout out to the Autozone in Mansfield, PA for going above and beyond (Amy and Dwight)! The installation of the battery was ridiculously complicated. Thanks to Dorsher VW in Rochester too...


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## heel_e (Nov 15, 2009)

Is anyone putting a meter on these batteries to see what the voltage is? I really wish more car manufacturers has a voltage meter right on the dashboard. Its just as important as engine temperature and oil pressure.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

heel_e said:


> Is anyone putting a meter on these batteries to see what the voltage is? I really wish more car manufacturers has a voltage meter right on the dashboard. Its just as important as engine temperature and oil pressure.


So, what would you do with the voltage information? What do you think the voltage information would tell you?


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

I just got mine replaced as well, the issue manifested as an infotainment issues, it kept rebooting. Before it was replaced though, I got a weird 'high voltage' alarm on my radar detector, goes off at 16V. no after the new battery, it goes off quite intermittently. 

I'm wondering if it's not a battery issue at all and an alternator or charger controller type issue.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

which brand of battery?

Is it Exide, Varta, or something else?

It's specified on the battery, who it is sourced from.

Did the dealership recode the new battery in, to ensure it has the proper charging profile?


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## stevefromcleve (Feb 19, 2000)

Drive by said:


> For those of you who have had your batteries replaced it would be good to know your build dates. Then the rest of us who got built around yours would know we are likely susceptible too. I presume there is a bad batch out there that is affected and not a wholesale bad choice by VW on spec. At least that’s what I hope it was/is.


My battery was progressively getting worse and finally died on 12/26.
Build Date: 6/20/17
Miles: 16,900


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

BsickPassat said:


> which brand of battery?
> 
> Is it Exide, Varta, or something else?
> 
> ...



I will see what the brand is today hopefully. Not sure what the stock one was. 

If the battery specs are the same, I doubt you need to have anything re-coded, never heard of needing a re-code when replacing a car battery, people do this on their own all the time. Charging system should run on voltage.


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

I am curious how often those with failing batteries disable auto start/stop when you start the vehicle. Just wondering if there is a correlation between constant restarts and the battery failing.


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## tj.dillon (Jan 4, 2019)

Had to have my battery replaced on Black Friday, died and when it was checked it was saying it would take 10 hours to recharge.


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## MGPVW (Jun 2, 2017)

Just replaced my battery as well. We purchased ours in July of 2017, so I'm surprised it was dead. I was told it was a problem in early release models with that particular battery batch.


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## Pnvwfun (Jan 22, 2018)

It's happened to us twice now. It is inconsistent though because start/stop still works fine and we did a short trip yesterday and had no problems starting. I have an appointment with the dealer to check it out a week from Monday (the soonest they could get me in). They told me to disable start/stop until then. We received our's in Sept 2017 from the factory.


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

FWIW, I hardly ever had the start/stop operate, between A/C and then Heat, I'm usually pulling too much to allow the S/S to function. So I don't think that's the issue, probably just a bad batch of batteries.

Will look in the engine today and see what the new battery brand is.


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## Pnvwfun (Jan 22, 2018)

kootenaydub said:


> FWIW, I hardly ever had the start/stop operate, between A/C and then Heat, I'm usually pulling too much to allow the S/S to function. So I don't think that's the issue, probably just a bad batch of batteries.
> 
> Will look in the engine today and see what the new battery brand is.


I think the dealer was just worried that it wouldn't restart after a S/S stop, but I think it would need to sit for a longer period of time with this battery issue for that to happen. My S/S works with A/C and heat on unless I have the fan turned up high or the A/C really cold.


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## Lopan (May 4, 2002)

We bought our SETech November 2017, so it's a relatively early build date. First day the battery died, I was stranded at the store 8am 10F the day after Thanksgiving 2018. It happened again a week or two later. Dealer replaced for free, with a 3yr warranty, and cited a bad batch of batteries. We've been problem-free ever since.


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

Confirmed that the replacement battery is a Varta AGM model. Did not look close enough for amps, etc. weather was gross.

Not sure what the oem one was, but I'd assume not an AGM?


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## shadytheatlas (Jul 5, 2018)

Thanks for letting us know the replacement brand. Mine was built in Sep 2017. I have the original battery. It’s made by Moll. I am guessing they are prone to failure in colder temps since there have been a lot of failure reports lately.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

shadytheatlas said:


> Thanks for letting us know the replacement brand. Mine was built in Sep 2017. I have the original battery. It’s made by Moll. I am guessing they are prone to failure in colder temps since there have been a lot of failure reports lately.


I can’t tell who makes the battery tha I have as I can't seem to find any markings on the sides (peeking inside the cover on it. 
This is all I can see










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## The Ringer (Jul 13, 2007)

Add another one to the list—16 months 20,000 miles; sudden battery death. 

Question: for those with replacement batteries, how are they holding up?


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

The Ringer said:


> Add another one to the list—16 months 20,000 miles; sudden battery death.
> 
> Question: for those with replacement batteries, how are they holding up?
> 
> ...


Mine was replaced after 12000 mi, a few weeks ago. Varta AGM. So far so good. I had issues that were related to the bad battery, and they have all gone away.


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

Looking on the MOLL website, they look to have a battery designed for start/stop applications. I wonder which battery VW selected?

https://www.moll-batterien.de/en/batterien/pkw/index.php

The latest developed lead-acid battery. 
Optimal for start|stop application.

cyclic lifetime more than tripled*
highest thermal stability (particularly for installation in engine compartment)
for vehicles with with electrical consumers
spill proof
* in comparison to conventional starter batteries


I think I'm going to do the vag-com fix to disable the start/stop. Sounds like it's a contributor to killing batteries, and they have a finite cycle life, having start/stop active increases the starts 3-4x or more in a single day.... so decreasing the battery life from 7-10 years to maybe 2-3?...and then pre-mature failure for a bad battery batch.


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## atlas titan (Dec 15, 2017)

Haven’t had mine died yet. Anyone know if I can get he brand make model of batt from using my odbeleven?


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## der_apoteker (Mar 27, 2017)

2018 SE /tech 4 motion... Just had the battery replaced under warranty after it died less than 1.5 years in... Had to get a jump start and that placed the vehicle into "limp mode" where I could not get above 10 mph. Ran the engine for a bit then off/on and cleared the mode and I was able to drive to the dealer. 

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## Jmbbabson (Oct 18, 2018)

der_apoteker said:


> 2018 SE /tech 4 motion... Just had the battery replaced under warranty after it died less than 1.5 years in... Had to get a jump start and that placed the vehicle into "limp mode" where I could not get above 10 mph. Ran the engine for a bit then off/on and cleared the mode and I was able to drive to the dealer.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Had EXACTLY the same experience back in October; 2018 SE w/ Tech 4 motion, only had about 5K miles on it was 6 months old. Had to get a jump start which put it into limp mode and couldn't get it over 10ish mph. "Limped" the 2 miles home from my daughter's school. Turned it off and on just to see what would happen, started up fine and I drove it straight to the dealership. They said it was a dud battery from the factory and replaced it under warranty.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

*Battery Related?*

Possibly related, my start/stop stopped start stopping back in September, and has only worked once since then. I suppose that a lot of people would actually like that  I somehow got the center display to display the reason under vehicle status, and it says not available due to energy demand, but it does not work even if I've been driving for an hour and turn everything off including unplugging my phone. So I suspect the battery; I'm going to have them test it next time I go in, but have not had any other reason to go in for months now.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

brachiopod said:


> Possibly related, my start/stop stopped start stopping back in September, and has only worked once since then. I suppose that a lot of people would actually like that  I somehow got the center display to display the reason under vehicle status, and it says not available due to energy demand, but it does not work even if I've been driving for an hour and turn everything off including unplugging my phone. So I suspect the battery; I'm going to have them test it next time I go in, but have not had any other reason to go in for months now.


This is a bit weird for me today. I went to the drive mode and set my own settings then later put it back in the eco mode. Drove a bit and then parked in the garage. A few hours later got in and drove and I got the Auto Stop is in standby for the same reason as you have. I reset my drive setting and nothing. Will give it a few days and if it does not go I will pass by my dealer. I actually do like the Start/Stop


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## linclonli (Mar 16, 2018)

heel_e said:


> Is anyone putting a meter on these batteries to see what the voltage is? I really wish more car manufacturers has a voltage meter right on the dashboard. Its just as important as engine temperature and oil pressure.


My battery died last week. I tested the battery using OBDII reader, the voltage is 11.6-11.8v when fully charged and 11v in the morning. The dealer tested it as a defective battery and replaced it with a new AGM battery.

My atlas also had a start-stop system error a few month ago and the start stop worked very few times since then. Mine was built in Sep 2017 and has only 5000 miles.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

Well I used my OBD 11 to check on the battery and it was showing 14.9 so all is good. As of this morning I got a screen message that the auto stop is not running (see picture with its message. I proceeded to change the drive mode from eco to normal and drove for a few minutes then put on sport mode and hit the highway for a couple of miles. Exited and got to the red light and it was functioning again and it has been good since then (a couple of hours of driving and parking for chores). My best guess for me is that the custom drive mode I made caused the issue and by doing the changes in drive modes got it back on track. 











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## linclonli (Mar 16, 2018)

Hfqkhal said:


> Well I used my OBD 11 to check on the battery and it is showing 14.9 so all is good. As of this morning a got that the auto stop is not tuning (see picture with its message. I proceeded to change the drive mode from eco to normal and drove for a few minutes then put on sport mode and hit the highway for a couple of mile. Exited and got to the red light and it was functioning again and it has been good since then (a couple of hours of driving and parking for chores). My best guess for me is that the custom drive mode I made caused the issue and by doing the changes in drive modes got it back on track.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



14.9 is the voltage of the alternator. You need to turn off the engine to check the battery. 12.6v is a good battery and dead battery if less than 12v


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

linclonli said:


> 14.9 is the voltage of the alternator. You need to turn off the engine to check the battery. 12.6v is a good battery and dead battery if less than 12v


Yes in the off it was at 12.9


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Hfqkhal said:


> Well I used my OBD 11 to check on the battery and it was showing 14.9 so all is good.....


That is not a battery check but a charging system check.


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

Auto start/stop will not engage is the power draw on the system is above a certain voltage. So depending on which accessories you have on, it will not shutoff. You can view the energy consumers in the system on the infotainment.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

kootenaydub said:


> Auto start/stop will not engage is the power draw on the system is above a certain voltage. So depending on which accessories you have on, it will not shutoff. You can view the energy consumers in the system on the infotainment.



Since my Atlas is always parked in the garage I never saw the message. Now in the past 4 days I am seeing it more and more. Once I hit the road and the temp is in the low 30's it then kicks in to stopped. Once the Atlas is up to par with the engine temperature it goes back to normal. So in cold winters expect this to be seen and happen and is normal.

If you look into the picture I have above you will see that the temperature is on the C side. The outside temperature still reflected (in between) the garage and the outside temperature which eventually ended up at 34


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

Posting separate. Older designs of auto stop/start had a separate battery. The Mercedes we have has that and this has been changed twice since early 2014 as the battery is the even smaller in size than a ride on toy car battery and the re-start is more noticeable with the car. I believe the with the use of the main batteries the re-start is becoming much less noticeable and is making it quicker. lets hope the these new Auto Stop/Start main batteries will hold up and as can be seen some have had issues with their batteries and just like everything else new designs will always get better as we go.


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## kkress (Sep 11, 2017)

Just for those keeping track, my S/S seems to not work very much anymore. I rarely use it, only when stopped for a train or drive through bank. Usually longer-distance drives and not much electrical power being used. Feb 2018 build, 13,000 miles, OEM battery made by BANNER in Austria. Banner website does not show a battery for VW Atlas currently.

The really great news with all these failures, they're covered for a full 3 yr, 36,000 miles (US) which was really surprising to me. Thought at best would be 1 year or more likely 90 days.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

*Battery replacement*

Update to my posting above about S/S not working in my 2018 SE. My S/S was always marginal, but back in September it worked for the last time. The status display always gives the not enough energy reason, even if I have everything turned off and unplug my phone and dash cam. I took my meter out to the car and measured the battery after driving at 11.9 volts, uh oh, that's low. Finally got around to taking it into the dealer today. They said that they can't test the battery with the regular tester because this might be a warranty issue, they have to use the VW diag which fortunately was free. Yeah, it is bad. They spent about an hour trying to charge it up but had to give up, luckily it starts OK. They said that the battery being used now is a new brand, and they have to order one since there is high demand because there are a lot of these old ones being replaced. So I'm driving around with one of those jumper packs in back seat until my new battery comes in. They are going to replace under warranty. They also said that in addition to not storing the keys near the car that I should lock the car when it is in the garage; well, OK, but I'm not convinced.


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## Mattlas (Feb 5, 2019)

*How do I change my Atlas car battery?*

The battery in my Atlas isn’t giving me enough power to start on these bitter cold NH days that we’ve been having lately. I had to jump start it once, and it’s routinely very slow to crank in single digit temps. 
I believe my battery needs to be replaced, and I’d like something with more CCA’s. 

The dealership wants $350 to change my battery. Do I need them to reprogram the computer or any other unique things that I don’t have the capability to do? I’d like to just buy a new battery like I always have and change it out like other vehicles I’ve had in the past. 

I was thinking if I hooked up jumper cables from another car to my battery leaves, then changed the battery, I would never loose voltage and should be okay??? 

I’ve searched and can’t find ANYTHING on doing this DIY.


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## der_apoteker (Mar 27, 2017)

This is a common problem and the dealer should replace under warranty. Call VW if they give you a problem

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## snobrdrdan (Sep 10, 2008)

Uhhh....you just swap the battery :facepalm:

This isn't like "Frogger" and you're gonna lose your high score _(Seinfeld reference)_


You might have to reset the time on the clock and reprogram the one touch windows (hold up & hold down), after the new battery is in, but that's about it...nothing else gets affected (your MFD info might get reset though).
If you're quick though, it'll keep everything.


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## lordicarus (Dec 14, 2018)

snobrdrdan said:


> Uhhh....you just swap the battery :facepalm:
> 
> This isn't like "Frogger" and you're gonna lose your high score _(Seinfeld reference)_
> 
> ...


It might not be that simple though. I have only had my Atlas for 2 months so I haven't yet looked into what is required for basic maintenance DIY, but my old car was a royal PITA to change the battery. In the old car, the battery was a special size that none of the auto shops carry, they have a "substitute" but it doesn't actually fit perfectly in the compartment, you also had to fully remove a few electrical components that are in the way, along with a computer reset. It was a nightmare that brought me to the dealership for the first time in years when the battery finally kicked. I'm hoping the Atlas is easier to deal with, but the more I read on here about simple things like changing wiper blades, I'm not holding out much hope. Good thing the dealership is only a few miles away.


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

Mattlas said:


> The battery in my Atlas isn’t giving me enough power to start on these bitter cold NH days that we’ve been having lately. I had to jump start it once, and it’s routinely very slow to crank in single digit temps.
> I believe my battery needs to be replaced, and I’d like something with more CCA’s.
> 
> The dealership wants $350 to change my battery. Do I need them to reprogram the computer or any other unique things that I don’t have the capability to do? I’d like to just buy a new battery like I always have and change it out like other vehicles I’ve had in the past.
> ...


Sounds like you're in the dead battery club. This is a known issue with a bad batch of batteries in our Atlas. Told my dealer that I had to jump mine, and it was struggling to start on a few occasions. They'd checked and it was a bad cell in the battery. Got it replaced - under warranty - back in December, before the temperature had really dropped. All is good with the new battery.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

lordicarus said:


> It might not be that simple though. I have only had my Atlas for 2 months so I haven't yet looked into what is required for basic maintenance DIY, but my old car was a royal PITA to change the battery. In the old car, the battery was a special size that none of the auto shops carry, they have a "substitute" but it doesn't actually fit perfectly in the compartment, you also had to fully remove a few electrical components that are in the way, along with a computer reset. It was a nightmare that brought me to the dealership for the first time in years when the battery finally kicked. I'm hoping the Atlas is easier to deal with, but the more I read on here about simple things like changing wiper blades, I'm not holding out much hope. Good thing the dealership is only a few miles away.


The Atlas uses a standard sized battery and can be changed just like any other vehicle. It is not rocket science.


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## Mattlas (Feb 5, 2019)

I called the dealer again today. They originally told me it’s not covered under warranty because I’m over the 36k mile warranty period. Again they confirmed that today. 
They told me that they now put the AGM batteries in the Atlas as replacements, but didn’t want to confirm the reason why. It sounds like there is certainly a known issue with these batteries. 

I will try calling VW customer care again tomorrow and opening up a case for this. 

They did say that they have the AGM battery in stock for $270. I asked about changing the battery myself, and told them my idea about keeping jumper cables hooked up to the terminals, he said that might work, but they do reprogram the ECU when they put a new battery in. Reading more online about other VW’s and Audi’s, it sounds like it really isn’t just a simple swap like one poster mentioned. I’d love to hear from someone with actual experience but I don’t think there are many people who have changed their own battery in this car yet. 

Thanks for the thoughts, I’ll post a follow up after talking to Ava again, but I’m not too optimistic about it.


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## iflywoe (Aug 11, 2014)

Mattlas said:


> I called the dealer again today. They originally told me it’s not covered under warranty because I’m over the 36k mile warranty period. Again they confirmed that today.
> They told me that they now put the AGM batteries in the Atlas as replacements, but didn’t want to confirm the reason why. It sounds like there is certainly a known issue with these batteries.
> 
> I will try calling VW customer care again tomorrow and opening up a case for this.
> ...


When the battery is replaced in an Audi they have to tell the ECU that is a new battery. It has something to do with the vehicle charging it differently as the battery gets older. It possible VW does the same thing.


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## vwbugstuff (Mar 27, 2004)

Mattlas said:


> I called the dealer again today. They originally told me it’s not covered under warranty because I’m over the 36k mile warranty period. Again they confirmed that today.
> They told me that they now put the AGM batteries in the Atlas as replacements, but didn’t want to confirm the reason why. It sounds like there is certainly a known issue with these batteries.
> 
> I will try calling VW customer care again tomorrow and opening up a case for this.
> ...



You may be out of luck because of the warranty period but hopefully VW will goodwill it because of the known battery issues.

But, the dealer would have to test it, and if it tests bad then they would get authorization to replace it.

As for the $270 quote, I hope that includes the battery and the labor to install it. If not, find another dealer because the battery itself should only be less than $150.

Good luck!!!


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## snobrdrdan (Sep 10, 2008)

Mattlas said:


> *Reading more online about other VW’s* and Audi’s, it sounds like it really isn’t just a simple swap like one poster mentioned. it.


Well...there's the problem :facepalm:

Again...nothing is done with the ECU. Swap the battery out & life goes on, I promise.
No jumper cables needed or anything either. This is a 5 minute job


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

snobrdrdan said:


> Well...there's the problem :facepalm:
> 
> Again...nothing is done with the ECU. Swap the battery out & life goes on, I promise.
> No jumper cables needed or anything either. This is a 5 minute job


Well, I'm not totally sure about that. I just had my battery replaced under warranty yesterday. It took over an hour, they told me that it was taking so long because they had to adapt the ecu (ecm) to the new battery (see below), plus there was a lot of paperwork for warranty and testing of the old battery to confirm. There is an item for "adapt ecm" on the repair receipt, so maybe it is not just a straight swap. I am a do it yourselfer, i would not hesitate to try to change it myself, mechanically it looks easy, and probably the computer would get used to the new voltages.


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## BsickPassat (May 10, 2010)

brachiopod said:


> Well, I'm not totally sure about that. I just had my battery replaced under warranty yesterday. It took over an hour, they told me that it was taking so long because they had to adapt the ecu (ecm) to the new battery (see below), plus there was a lot of paperwork for warranty and testing of the old battery to confirm. There is an item for "adapt ecm" on the repair receipt, so maybe it is not just a straight swap. I am a do it yourselfer, i would not hesitate to try to change it myself, mechanically it looks easy, and probably the computer would get used to the new voltages.


http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Battery_Replacement

https://youtu.be/IJAScg6JrYI

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk


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## atlas titan (Dec 15, 2017)

Does any one know how to test the battery using ODBEleven??
or any other way. Mine MOLL hasn't died yet but would like it to test and if it turns out bad go to dealer to replace.






brachiopod said:


> Well, I'm not totally sure about that. I just had my battery replaced under warranty yesterday. It took over an hour, they told me that it was taking so long because they had to adapt the ecu (ecm) to the new battery (see below), plus there was a lot of paperwork for warranty and testing of the old battery to confirm. There is an item for "adapt ecm" on the repair receipt, so maybe it is not just a straight swap. I am a do it yourselfer, i would not hesitate to try to change it myself, mechanically it looks easy, and probably the computer would get used to the new voltages.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

Well, on mine, I just put a volt meter on the battery when it was not running and it only read between 11.4 and 11.9 volts. You can't test it when the car is running because that just reads the alternator voltage. A good battery should read 12.6 or 12.8 when fully charged (like after you have been driving for a bit) and everything is off (just press the start button and don't step on the brake). My new battery reads 12.6 which is good. Either use an el-cheapo volt meter, like they give away free at harbor freight, or you can buy one of those USB cig lighter adapters that also reads out voltage for cheap. Just measuring the voltage isn't a real test of battery capacity, but it will tell you if you have a bad cell in the battery which seems to be the problem with early Atlas batteries.

/edit, spelling duh.


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## Mattlas (Feb 5, 2019)

snobrdrdan said:


> Well...there's the problem :facepalm:
> 
> Again...nothing is done with the ECU. Swap the battery out & life goes on, I promise.
> No jumper cables needed or anything either. This is a 5 minute job


Did you replace your Atlas barttery with the AGM battery, or the same original battery it came with?


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## snobrdrdan (Sep 10, 2008)

Mattlas said:


> Did you replace your Atlas barttery with the AGM battery, or the same original battery it came with?


Original is a even swap

AGM apparently will need an adaptation, which might be possible thru VagCom

You definitely DO NOT need jumper cables like you were first saying though & the battery is a super easy install (physically)


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

snobrdrdan said:


> ....AGM apparently will need an adaptation, which might be possible thru VagCom....


No adaption is necessary, of course. Funny how silly myths get started.


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## Mattlas (Feb 5, 2019)

Update:
I went to the dealer today to have my battery tested. It tested bad and the dealer called VW regarding my claims, and got approval to replace the battery under warranty. I was very pleased with this considering I’m at just over 40k miles and the warranty expired at 36k. 
The dealer did say that I can NOT just simply swap it out as mentioned. It was replaced with the new AGM battery. Glad I went the route I did. 

He mentioned that they have seen more issues than they should be seeing with the Atlas batteries and he wouldn’t be surprised if it became a recall item.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Mattlas said:


> ....The dealer did say that I can NOT just simply swap it out as mentioned......


Not true.


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## atlas titan (Dec 15, 2017)

i tested it while everything was off.
do i have to turn on ACC mode and then test the battery?



brachiopod said:


> Well, on mine, I just put a volt meter on the battery when it was not running and it only read between 11.4 and 11.9 volts. You can't test it when the car is running because that just reads the alternator voltage. A good battery should read 12.6 or 12.8 when fully charged (like after you have been driving for a bit) and everything is off (just press the start button and don't step on the brake). My new battery reads 12.6 which is good. Either use an el-cheapo volt meter, like they give away free at harbor freight, or you can buy one of those USB cig lighter adapters that also reads out voltage for cheap. Just measuring the voltage isn't a real test of battery capacity, but it will tell you if you have a bad cell in the battery which seems to be the problem with early Atlas batteries.
> 
> /edit, spelling duh.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

atlas titan said:


> i tested it while everything was off.
> do i have to turn on ACC mode and then test the battery?


No, just place the meter across the battery terminals.


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## knedrgr (Jun 6, 2011)

brachiopod said:


> Well, I'm not totally sure about that. I just had my battery replaced under warranty yesterday. It took over an hour, they told me that it was taking so long because they had to adapt the ecu (ecm) to the new battery (see below), plus there was a lot of paperwork for warranty and testing of the old battery to confirm. There is an item for "adapt ecm" on the repair receipt, so maybe it is not just a straight swap. I am a do it yourselfer, i would not hesitate to try to change it myself, mechanically it looks easy, and probably the computer would get used to the new voltages.



That's interesting for sure. You'd prompted me to look over my service receipt, and it didn't mentioned anything about having my new AGM marry to the ECU. But, it could be just a dealer tech/service writer's note differences.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

atlas titan said:


> i tested it while everything was off.
> do i have to turn on ACC mode and then test the battery?


Just test it with everything off, you only have to put it on Accessory if you were testing through the cigarette lighter. It is just a quick test to see if you have the same problem I had, a real test would test the battery under load.


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

*seriously what funk is wrong with my atlas*

recently i have to invest in booster cables to make sure i am not stranded.. 

i find myself more and more boosting my atlas.. but when i take it to the dealer they want $150 to fix the issues..
seriously i have never in my 4 decades had to invest in booster cables.. last night for the 4th time in 2 months had to call road side for a boost. 
the CAA/AAA driver said - for phuck sakes not another atlas.. he said nothing but calls from atlas owners calling for boosts. 

i will be going to the dealer and saying fix my damn car and i am not paying.. if they refuse i will call VW HQ and file a formal complaint. 


NOTE: - my car should not drain for listening to the radio for an hour while i am parked.


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

AudiVW guy said:


> recently i have to invest in booster cables to make sure i am not stranded..
> 
> i find myself more and more boosting my atlas.. but when i take it to the dealer they want $150 to fix the issues..
> seriously i have never in my 4 decades had to invest in booster cables.. last night for the 4th time in 2 months had to call road side for a boost.
> ...



$150 to fix the issues........What issues? 

Car is under warranty.

VW received bad batteries from supplier.

VW is replacing batteries.

VW Roadside assist package comes with cables.

for phuck sakes not another atlas.. he said nothing but calls from atlas owners calling for boosts...I can't believe Volkswagen 24-hour Roadside Assistance would say that. I would complain.

Good luck!


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

*DesertFox* said:


> ....can't believe Volkswagen 24-hour Roadside Assistance would say that. I would complain....


It isn't a VW setup, it is someone sent by their system.


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## brachiopod (Sep 15, 2018)

*Bad Battery?*

Really sounds like you have the bad battery problem. The dealer should test it and replace it under warranty. I had the problem, no end to weird problems. After free replacement, no problems. This costs the dealer nothing since VW will compensate them, so I don't know why they would fight you about this. Make them test the battery, have you done that?


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

brachiopod said:


> Really sounds like you have the bad battery problem. The dealer should test it and replace it under warranty. I had the problem, no end to weird problems. After free replacement, no problems. This costs the dealer nothing since VW will compensate them, so I don't know why they would fight you about this. Make them test the battery, have you done that?


i called the dealer to make an appointment... 
dealer : Hello sir, how many KMs does you atlas have?
me : 29000 KMs
dealer : oh my, oh wow, oh dear... 
Me : are you kidding me ? it is still new dont make it sound like a 10 year auto
dealer : batteries dont last forever.
me: are you serious? i have had auto go 10 yrs and 300 000KMs with batteries that still work - i should not be driving around with jumper cables on a car with 29000 KMs
dealer : well bring it and we hope to have it covered under warranty.. BTW sir - leaving your car on with the lights is not under warranty 
me: lol - ya sure what ever...


seriously - what the phuck!... i have an appointment april 5 - we will see what happens..


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## eejtalk (Oct 5, 2018)

*Start/Stop*

My guess from all of these battery issues is the start/stop feature. I've disabled mine permanently, knowing it would cause battery issues and the cost of the battery would be more than fuel savings.

If you really want it, get an Optima yellow top. I used to go through batteries 1/year in my Mazda just by my camera draining the battery a lot. It's been 3 years under the same conditions and no issues with this battery. Yes it's expensive, and you could replace a normal battery yearly for about the same price, but still have all the hassles. I've only had the Atlas 7 months, but most of the trips are short with a lot of stops, no battery issues. Again, I disabled the start/stop.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

AudiVW guy said:


> i called the dealer to make an appointment...
> dealer : Hello sir, how many KMs does you atlas have?
> me : 29000 KMs
> dealer : oh my, oh wow, oh dear...
> ...


I have a question your 1 hour of stop with radio on, was that with the car running or in Acc mode? My prior cat (no start/stop) needed a new battery I changed it and a couple of weeks later I was parked and was waiting for about 20 minutes. During that time I had the radio on and the car was in ACC mode. I shut it off and went inside to check and came back and I couldn't even get the door unlocked with the remote. Used the key access and got it in but the car would not start. Tried everything and then called AAA for a jump start. 2 days later the same thing happened and this time it was only for 10 minutes. immediately after that I went back tot he place and told them what happened and they replaced the battery. They did tell me that 20 minutes is not long enough to kill the battery like that and they changed it with the best battery they had which was what they were supposed to install originally. After the install he did tell me 20 minutes is ok but not to do so for more than half an hour as with that I am not only using just the radio as the car has a lot more running on the battery including the climate control fan and so on and those will drain a lot. I sure do expect this to happen with the Atlas if I did the same especially with the SEL Premium. By the way short trips are not good for both the car and the battery,


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

Hfqkhal said:


> I have a question your 1 hour of stop with radio on, was that with the car running or in Acc mode? My prior cat (no start/stop) needed a new battery I changed it and a couple of weeks later I was parked and was waiting for about 20 minutes. During that time I had the radio on and the car was in ACC mode. I shut it off and went inside to check and came back and I couldn't even get the door unlocked with the remote. Used the key access and got it in but the car would not start. Tried everything and then called AAA for a jump start. 2 days later the same thing happened and this time it was only for 10 minutes. immediately after that I went back tot he place and told them what happened and they replaced the battery. They did tell me that 20 minutes is not long enough to kill the battery like that and they changed it with the best battery they had which was what they were supposed to install originally. After the install he did tell me 20 minutes is ok but not to do so for more than half an hour as with that I am not only using just the radio as the car has a lot more running on the battery including the climate control fan and so on and those will drain a lot. I sure do expect this to happen with the Atlas if I did the same especially with the SEL Premium. By the way short trips are not good for both the car and the battery,


turned the car off.. then turned radio on.. i dont dare try to charge the iPhone lol 

i have never had these issues before in my lifetime of vehicle ownership - i now scared to even listen to the radio when cleaning the car.. i think its BS..


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

AudiVW guy said:


> turned the car off.. then turned radio on.. i dont dare try to charge the iPhone lol
> 
> i have never had these issues before in my lifetime of vehicle ownership - i now scared to even listen to the radio when cleaning the car.. i think its BS..


If you have a volt meter check your battery with the car off. It should read around 12.5 volts.


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## chjud (May 13, 2018)

eejtalk said:


> My guess from all of these battery issues is the start/stop feature. I've disabled mine permanently, knowing it would cause battery issues and the cost of the battery would be more than fuel savings.
> 
> If you really want it, get an Optima yellow top. I used to go through batteries 1/year in my Mazda just by my camera draining the battery a lot. It's been 3 years under the same conditions and no issues with this battery. Yes it's expensive, and you could replace a normal battery yearly for about the same price, but still have all the hassles. I've only had the Atlas 7 months, but most of the trips are short with a lot of stops, no battery issues. Again, I disabled the start/stop.


How did you disable the start/stop feature permanently? I don’t like this at all and would rather not use it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## *DesertFox* (Sep 26, 2017)

chjud said:


> How did you disable the start/stop feature permanently? I don’t like this at all and would rather not use it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


By using obdeleven or Ross-Tech VCDS.


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## kootenaydub (May 15, 2009)

Start/Stop is not the cause of the batteries failing. My vehicle only did a start/sop sequence at a stop light maybe 5 times in 12months and my battery died in the winter when the start/stop never works because the heaters are on. There was a bad batch of batteries from the manufacturer (with bad cells). 

They are replacing (at least should be) with an AGM battery, like they did with mine.

the start/stop is probably exasperating the situation, but not the cause of it. Just like the catalytic converter, its poor qa/qc from the parts manufacturers.


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## rocknfreak (Jul 10, 2018)

eejtalk said:


> My guess from all of these battery issues is the start/stop feature. I've disabled mine permanently, knowing it would cause battery issues and the cost of the battery would be more than fuel savings.
> 
> If you really want it, get an Optima yellow top. I used to go through batteries 1/year in my Mazda just by my camera draining the battery a lot. It's been 3 years under the same conditions and no issues with this battery. Yes it's expensive, and you could replace a normal battery yearly for about the same price, but still have all the hassles. I've only had the Atlas 7 months, but most of the trips are short with a lot of stops, no battery issues. Again, I disabled the start/stop.



Same here. 
Disabled Start/Stop permanently. 

14000 miles no problems with the battery at all. Mostly short trips, work is 2 miles away. 

MY 01/2018 - Bought it new in June 2018.


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

currently sitting at dealer 
showed up for them to replace the battery, they said we charge, i raised my voice and said HELL NO! bill VW.. 
i told them there should be no reason my 737Max8 should require boosts or booster cables so i can drive it.. 
then they said there are two recalls as well - i said fine i will wait. 
glad there was new clients around me in the show room.. they changed their attitude quickly. 

now i wait up to 4 hours and see what happens.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

AudiVW guy said:


> currently sitting at dealer
> showed up for them to replace the battery, they said we charge, i raised my voice and said HELL NO! bill VW..
> i told them there should be no reason my 737Max8 should require boosts or booster cables so i can drive it..
> then they said there are two recalls as well - i said fine i will wait.
> ...


Great that you stood up to them. Yes at times one has to raise their voice to put them in place and that no BS will be accepted. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AudiVW guy (Feb 7, 2006)

Hfqkhal said:


> Great that you stood up to them. Yes at times one has to raise their voice to put them in place and that no BS will be accepted.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


as i was reading your post in the guest area of the dealer.. the advisor showed up and said yes sir the battery is defective and we will replace it.. lol 
amazing.. that i had to raise my voice and ask for 2 years for them to do so.. 

plus they said 3 recalls. - air bag, HVAC and new sticker in engine bay lol 
i asked them to show me the sticker and i will also post my service repair when done.

I called the Atlas the Boeing 737 max 8 and everyone laughed


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## TWs/VW (Jan 9, 2019)

AudiVW guy said:


> as i was reading your post in the guest area of the dealer.. the advisor showed up and said yes sir the battery is defective and we will replace it.. lol
> amazing.. that i had to raise my voice and ask for 2 years for them to do so..
> 
> plus they said 3 recalls. - air bag, HVAC and new sticker in engine bay lol
> ...


Good for you man!

Let us know what the new engine bay sticker says.

TW


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

AudiVW guy said:


> as i was reading your post in the guest area of the dealer.. the advisor showed up and said yes sir the battery is defective and we will replace it.. lol
> amazing.. that i had to raise my voice and ask for 2 years for them to do so..
> 
> plus they said 3 recalls. - air bag, HVAC and new sticker in engine bay lol
> ...


Hopefully the B Max made it out without a long wait. Eager to know of the final results. The recalls should have been done before sometime last year and if you had been there since I honest recommend finding another VW dealer who service advisors do the work and check when you check in. I took my Atlas in today for some side work and the first thing they checked is for TSBs or work needed to be done and thankfully there was none. At least they also gave me a free loaner of almost Equal and that was an Atlas SE. oh man I sure got spoiled with the auto HVAC as I kept on having to adjust the temperature as the SE is a manual one. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

AudiVW guy said:


> ....plus they said 3 recalls. - air bag, HVAC and new sticker in engine bay....


All owners of record receive recall notices in the mail. Did you ignore them?


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## mhjett (Oct 16, 2000)

Got a letter in the mail today from VW, they are extending the warranty on the original batteries in certain 2018 Atlases (including ours) to 3 years, unlimited mileage. Haven't had any issues in 18k miles, though. Letter says nothing about the cause or reason.


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## njlakeshoreg (Sep 27, 2011)

Around 400 miles. 1 week old se tech r line 4mo, wife got a message saying vehicle will shut off in 30 seconds to conserve battery... Wtf?? Car was on and put in park for a minute so she can get out and open the gate. Normal?? Or sign of this battery issue?? I never saw or heard of such a thing.


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## KarstGeo (Jan 19, 2018)

njlakeshoreg said:


> Around 400 miles. 1 week old se tech r line 4mo, wife got a message saying vehicle will shut off in 30 seconds to conserve battery... Wtf?? Car was on and put in park for a minute so she can get out and open the gate. Normal?? Or sign of this battery issue?? I never saw or heard of such a thing.


Mine has done this on occassion.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

njlakeshoreg said:


> Around 400 miles. 1 week old se tech r line 4mo, wife got a message saying vehicle will shut off in 30 seconds to conserve battery... Wtf?? Car was on and put in park for a minute so she can get out and open the gate. Normal?? Or sign of this battery issue?? I never saw or heard of such a thing.


Normal. It is part of Auto Stop/Start system. If you want to avoid that turn it off or take off the seatbelt just before putting it into park. The seatbelt being off disables the Auto Stop/Start. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## KVWatlas (Jun 28, 2019)

mhjett said:


> Got a letter in the mail today from VW, they are extending the warranty on the original batteries in certain 2018 Atlases (including ours) to 3 years, unlimited mileage. Haven't had any issues in 18k miles, though. Letter says nothing about the cause or reason.


I received that letter today!


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## ncraba01 (Apr 11, 2002)

KVWatlas said:


> I received that letter today!


Ditto... Dash cam cuts out at 12.1 volts, it been steadily going offline after driving sooner and sooner. Used to be days, now hours. I've heard say that batteries die in the winter and don't fall over until the summer... it's the time of year to fall now. Had the last couple of days over 90 deg (100+ due to the oppressive humidity). :banghead:

Now, do I go with the factory or go hit up Interstate now and see if VW will pay for an Interstate?


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## njlakeshoreg (Sep 27, 2011)

Hfqkhal said:


> Normal. It is part of Auto Stop/Start system. If you want to avoid that turn it off or take off the seatbelt just before putting it into park. The seatbelt being off disables the Auto Stop/Start.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Not talking about auto start stop feature. She had to physically press the start button with foot on the brake. It cut off in park, auto start stop should not cut off in park. We usually turn it off every time anyway.


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## Hfqkhal (Oct 14, 2018)

njlakeshoreg said:


> Not talking about auto start stop feature. She had to physically press the start button with foot on the brake. It cut off in park, auto start stop should not cut off in park. We usually turn it off every time anyway.


Yes. It does cutoff. I put the car in park with seatbelts on and it shuts off by itself. It is all part of the Start/stop and other factors as they are all there for the fuel savings process. The car stops it senses to go into stop then the added functionality if the car was put into park it then it goes into shut down mode. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Pnvwfun (Jan 22, 2018)

ncraba01 said:


> Ditto... Dash cam cuts out at 12.1 volts, it been steadily going offline after driving sooner and sooner. Used to be days, now hours. I've heard say that batteries die in the winter and don't fall over until the summer... it's the time of year to fall now. Had the last couple of days over 90 deg (100+ due to the oppressive humidity). :banghead:
> 
> Now, do I go with the factory or go hit up Interstate now and see if VW will pay for an Interstate?


VW is replacing any original 2018 battery that fails within the first 3 years (I just got my letter even though my battery has already been replaced), so let them put in a new battery for you. I seriously doubt that they'll pay for you to put in some other battery.


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## Veedubin02 (Mar 26, 2002)

njlakeshoreg said:


> Not talking about auto start stop feature. She had to physically press the start button with foot on the brake. It cut off in park, auto start stop should not cut off in park. We usually turn it off every time anyway.





Hfqkhal said:


> Yes. It does cutoff. I put the car in park with seatbelts on and it shuts off by itself. It is all part of the Start/stop and other factors as they are all there for the fuel savings process. The car stops it senses to go into stop then the added functionality if the car was put into park it then it goes into shut down mode.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hfqkhal is right, if Auto stop start is enabled and the car is put into park it will shut the car off after a (very) short period of time to keep the battery from draining. Found this out the day we bought it.


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## SPAAtlas (Jun 25, 2019)

That actually seems counter-intuitive. If I stop the car, and don't want the battery to be drained, it should stay running for a decent amount of time. My Explorer (and my wife's Explorer before we bought the Atlas) would go into shutdown mode if the car was parked and running for 10-15 minutes.


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## Veedubin02 (Mar 26, 2002)

SPAAtlas said:


> That actually seems counter-intuitive. If I stop the car, and don't want the battery to be drained, it should stay running for a decent amount of time. My Explorer (and my wife's Explorer before we bought the Atlas) would go into shutdown mode if the car was parked and running for 10-15 minutes.


If you have auto stop start set, you want to save fuel so why turn the engine on when you told the car to save fuel and you are in park? Also you wouldn't want start stop on, you hop out of the car with the engine stopped thinking you turned it off only to find out later it revved the engine back up to keep supplying power. If you want it to stay on press one button on the center console when you put it in park and disable auto stop start.


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## antzz (Jul 19, 2019)

does the start/stop seem to cut in too soon tho...i mean i've seen it go off now on a stop sign.... < 3 seconds of stop....


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## Reihenmotor5 (Dec 1, 2006)

kootenaydub said:


> Start/Stop is not the cause of the batteries failing. My vehicle only did a start/sop sequence at a stop light maybe 5 times in 12months and my battery died in the winter when the start/stop never works because the heaters are on. There was a bad batch of batteries from the manufacturer (with bad cells).
> 
> They are replacing (at least should be) with an AGM battery, like they did with mine.
> 
> the start/stop is probably exasperating the situation, but not the cause of it. Just like the catalytic converter, its poor qa/qc from the parts manufacturers.


By chance do you have the part number/model number of the AGM battery they used? Thanks!


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