Model Year 23/24 Battery Management System reset.

[Delanor]

Can anyone shed any light on my battery problem my Formentor battery doesn`t appear to be holding a charge very well, its two and a half years old even after a 90 mile trip followed 2 days later by another 20 mile trip and then 2 days later it was down to 11.5 volts the alternator output is OK @ 14.3 volts but unless I drive the car everyday a decent mileage I have to keep putting the battery on charge, now its going in to the Cupra dealer to have it checked as the battery is guaranteed for 3 years but I suspect they will tell me its still serviceable (wear and tear) altough I have just had a warning about low voltage along with reports that the rear traffic alert was not available,. I put it on charge and then it was all OK.

Now if the dealer insists the battery is OK I will change the battery myself, now I have a Launch Creader professional diagnostic scanner just updated to battery match, I also have a VAG group (Volkswagon, Audi, Seat, Skoda) scanner that is also capable to battery match as well as an OBD11 scanner that I can use various apps with.

My problem is that none of them appears to let me access the battery management system when I try and I seem to recall reading somewhere that although its a VAG car made by Seat its a Cupra and it maybe locked out so you need a dealer to access it is that correct?

I just realised that Stop Start had stopped working quite a while ago and that is a sign of a poor battery capacity!

What a pain just for a duff battery!

 

[East Yorkshire Retrofits]

Most good diagnostic tools can work with SFD1 at this point. Have the battery tested after a good drive so it's properly charged

 

[Delanor]

Well so much for hopeless Cupra dealers help yet again, after nearly 2 weeks to get the battery checked as it is under warranty I took my Formentor in today and after an hour as I waited they informed me that they need to put the battery on charge for 2 - 4 hrs but they didn`t have a charger available to do it to see if the battery is charging so a Cupra dealer with all their "Technicians" and equipment they couldn`t do a load test to assess the state of the battery when I have done it myself to confirm the battery is faulty!
My life is too short to sit around in a car dealers whilst they play games so now I am going to replace the battery myself but I need a Scanner that can bypass the VW security to change the battery registration I had already tried my 2 x Launch Creader scanners with updated battery match they wouldn`t allow me to do it (waiting an answer back from them why) and neither would the dedicated VW Audi, Skoda, Seat group scanner that I have just bought that does include battery match but that doesn`t work either.

So can anyone recommend a diagnostic scanner that will do it that doesn`t cost a small fortune as I can`t keep increasing my collection of scanners as I have 3 now!

 

[East Yorkshire Retrofits]

Battery adaptation is only protected with SFD1, something as simple as OBDeleven can do it. Make sure the bonnet is open & the engine is off

 

[Delanor]

OK my experience with changing the battery in my Formentor, after checking out all the available information on this I spoke to a local respected VW independent their top technician is an ex VW dealership guy and he assured me that there is no need to change the battery registration when changing the battery in his words "its all 8ollox," change the battery you may get a few flashing warnings when you disconnect the battery but it will sort itself out to suit the new battery.
On this basis I decided to replace the battery but to connect a spare 12 volt battery to the battery leads to retain the 12 volt supply then remove them from the original battery and then fit them to the new battery, then guess what happened - nothing the Formentor is exactly as it was and after 2 weeks the new battery is charging up fully when driven it is maintaining the charge and everything is working as it should.
I have got an OBD port 12 volt battery supply which should also maintain the 12 volt supply but somewhere I read reckoned that on certain European cars it can blow a fuse/fuses and I didn`t fancy using that hence the replacement 12 volt supply to the battery leads.

I will say that physically changing the battery was a 2 man job each battery lead has 2 thick cables with literally no slack so trying to get them clear whilst also connected to the spare battery with jump leads to swap it wasn`t easy so hence my brother provided that service.

Anyway swapping a Formentor battery is a lot easier than it is made out to be, I could still change the battery registration but at the moment I have chosen the path of "if it ain`t broke don`t fix it!"

 

[East Yorkshire Retrofits]

being an ex VW dealership guy isn’t a brag, it’s far from it

Who do you trust to build/design their cars? The multi billion pound manufacturer?

Or Steve that did oil changes on their behalf?


If you’re spending hundreds of pounds on a battery, you want the best lifespan and performance don’t you? So ensure the adaptations for the battery information are correct

It’s 3 adaptations and takes a matter of minutes

Battery technology - leave it alone if you’ve bought a battery of the same type
Battery capacity - many third party batteries vary slightly despite saying it’s a like for like replacement
Battery serial number - just change it by one digit so the car knows it has been replaced
Done

 

[James_R]

Their "top technician" sounds like someone who didn't like following the manufacturer's instructions, probably why he no longer works for a dealer.

Unfortunately cutting corners in a dealership often means you don't get paid.

You've had poor previous service from your dealer, granted, but taking on advice from an independent that is blatant bullshit really doesn't make sense at all.

 

[trew]

OK my experience with changing the battery in my Formentor, after checking out all the available information on this I spoke to a local respected VW independent their top technician is an ex VW dealership guy and he assured me that there is no need to change the battery registration when changing the battery in his words "its all 8ollox," change the battery you may get a few flashing warnings when you disconnect the battery but it will sort itself out to suit the new battery.
On this basis I decided to replace the battery but to connect a spare 12 volt battery to the battery leads to retain the 12 volt supply then remove them from the original battery and then fit them to the new battery, then guess what happened - nothing the Formentor is exactly as it was and after 2 weeks the new battery is charging up fully when driven it is maintaining the charge and everything is working as it should.
I have got an OBD port 12 volt battery supply which should also maintain the 12 volt supply but somewhere I read reckoned that on certain European cars it can blow a fuse/fuses and I didn`t fancy using that hence the replacement 12 volt supply to the battery leads.

I will say that physically changing the battery was a 2 man job each battery lead has 2 thick cables with literally no slack so trying to get them clear whilst also connected to the spare battery with jump leads to swap it wasn`t easy so hence my brother provided that service.

Anyway swapping a Formentor battery is a lot easier than it is made out to be, I could still change the battery registration but at the moment I have chosen the path of "if it ain`t broke don`t fix it!"

Are you able to say what make of battery Cupra had fitted to your car? I'm having issues with mine too.

 

[James_R]

Are you able to say what make of battery Cupra had fitted to your car? I'm having issues with mine too.

They tend to be Clarios or Varta

 

[Delanor]

being an ex VW dealership guy isn’t a brag, it’s far from it

Who do you trust to build/design their cars? The multi billion pound manufacturer?

Or Steve that did oil changes on their behalf?


If you’re spending hundreds of pounds on a battery, you want the best lifespan and performance don’t you? So ensure the adaptations for the battery information are correct

It’s 3 adaptations and takes a matter of minutes

Battery technology - leave it alone if you’ve bought a battery of the same type
Battery capacity - many third party batteries vary slightly despite saying it’s a like for like replacement
Battery serial number - just change it by one digit so the car knows it has been replaced
Done

I put my trust in 3 separate Seat/Cupra dealerships representing the builders and designers of the multi billion pound manufacturer and they have proven to be so poor that one couldn`t manage to complete a service at all or couldn`t cope with a Matrix lighting update, another couldn`t supply the correct engine oil on a service, and cancel the service indicator after completing the service, another couldn`t establish that the Stop/Start system was no longer functioning or why the battery was dropping to under 12 volts in a few hours or the fact that the DSG and Haldex required servicing as part of the service schedule as required by the multi million pound manufacturer!

Now I`m not aware if any of those "Seat/Cupra Technicians" were called Steve but I hope you get my drift as to the efficiency I encountered as a result of the indvidual service from the multi million pound manufacturers dealerships!

The reputable replacement Exide EFB battery as recommended for the Cupra is the same 70Ah as the OE Battery with the same warranty but the CCA was slightly better and it certainly was not the hundreds of pounds that you suggest and the OE battery as fitted by the multi million pound manufacturer didn`t even manage 3 years!

 

[Delanor]

Are you able to say what make of battery Cupra had fitted to your car? I'm having issues with mine too.

It is a Varta!

 

[trew]

Thank you @Delanor and @James_R - I hope to be getting my car back from the Cupra dealer today, with a decision about my 12v battery (almost identical problem to yours, Delanor, but my car is under 2 years old) - and one other issue I've got. I'll update you as soon as I can.

 

[trew]

It’s 3 adaptations and takes a matter of minutes

Battery technology - leave it alone if you’ve bought a battery of the same type
Battery capacity - many third party batteries vary slightly despite saying it’s a like for like replacement
Battery serial number - just change it by one digit so the car knows it has been replaced
Done

Do you need expensive equipment to change those three parameters, or could I do it?

 

[Delanor]

Well in my case t

Do you need expensive equipment to change those three parameters, or could I do it?

There are several OBD scanners capable of changing the Battery Registration amongst other things how sophisticated the scanner is depends on how much you want to pay, on the lower end there are OB Eleven, VCDS and "Carista EVO" which is currently £50 and it will unlock SFD access I know Carista connects to your Phone or Tablet check for the others You can pay over £1k for some scanners if you so desire I already have an expensive scanner which I have had for a few years but it will not unlock the SFD Gateway, I also have a dedicated VW OBD scanner but that will also not unlock SFD!
I bought the Carista from Amazon on a Prime day deal which was then lost in shipping so they sent me a replacement and refunded my money you do have to use a Carista app which is free to use then pay a "PRO"subscription charge if you want to access SFD which you need to do to change battery registration the subscription charge is either an annual charge for £59.99 or monthly for £14.99 which is what I did as I only needed to change the battery registration which I will do when I get round to it but even without the subscription it will allow you to make many other changes if you so desire.

Let us know the result about the battery with your dealer, in my case all they did was charge the battery which was to 12.4 volts and they reckoned it was a good battery and didn`t need replacing under warranty which Cupra Customer Service agreed with, the fact the charge kept dropping under 12 volts virtually over night which it appeared was my own fault as I wasn`t driving it enough to keep it charged on one occasion a 100 mile round trip wasn`t enough but I wasn`t prepared to keep putting it on charge every few days which is why I changed the battery myself as it was by now out of warranty anyway now aside from the fact I haven`t changed one digit in the battery registration detail all seems to be OK and I probably will change "an all important single digit" just in case the new battery packs up after less than 3 years - just like the registered good quality OE Varta battery did!

 

[trew]

Well, @Delanor , you asked me what the Cupra dealer has said. They say the battery's fine, but if I get any 'low battery' warnings pinging up on my screen, to bring it back. I've been recording the resting voltage (using 2 different devices) daily since the 2nd July and provided them with the information. Here's a screenshot of part of it...

EVERY website I've been on tells me that a resting voltage of less than 12v means the battery needs to be replaced. I've only found ONE source that tells me it's okay for a battery to sit at an average of 11.8v - guess what - IT'S CUPRA!!!!

Oh well!

 

[Delanor]

That is exactly what I was getting and to be honest the thinking seems to be if the battery starts the car irrespective of its low voltage its fine its a good battery and it is not going to be changed under warranty, what about the stop start on yours is that still working, mine stopped but the dealer said it was working - it wasn`t when I took it in and it wasn`t when I took it back off them thats when I decided I wouldn`t pay then in tap washers, but I have since had a rethink and now decided I would pay them in tap washers!
Like I said before in my opinion my Cupra is just an expensive Seat!

 

[trew]

That is exactly what I was getting and to be honest the thinking seems to be if the battery starts the car irrespective of its low voltage its fine its a good battery and it is not going to be changed under warranty, what about the stop start on yours is that still working, mine stopped but the dealer said it was working - it wasn`t when I took it in and it wasn`t when I took it back off them thats when I decided I wouldn`t pay then in tap washers, but I have since had a rethink and now decided I would pay them in tap washers!
Like I said before in my opinion my Cupra is just an expensive Seat!

I've turned the stop/start off because I don't like it. To be honest, when it was switched on I think it only worked about twice anyway.

 

[Delanor]

I`m the same thinking I don`t want it I don`t see the point besides its selective and cetain parameters have to be met in order to continually remain active.

 

[trew]

Oh, and while we're on the subject, don't waste your time asking Cupra Customer Care for any help...

I phoned CCC and the agent actually DIDN'T SEEM TO KNOW what a 12v battery was! She relayed my simple question ("What do Cupra regard as an acceptable resting level for a 12 v battery?") to a member of the 'Technical Team', who apparently said that they couldn't tell me and to find my answer by logging into the 'erWin' website. I went to the 'erWin' website and you can't register if you're a private individual!!!! Totally useless.

I emailed Cupra Customer Care with the same simple question and they told me to go to the dealer! Totally useless.

Customer Care = Utterly useless.

They're pretty good at taking tens of thousands of your pounds for one of their products though, aren't they?

 

[Delanor]

My previous contribution in a reply to Cupra UK Customer Assistance:

Dear Ms As****

Just to inform you that now due to necessity I have purchased the requirement of a replacement battery for my Cupra Formentor and the necessary OBD2 scanner equipment required to re- register the battery detail, in addition I will shortly be making an appointment with my local branch of Halfords in order to have the brake fluid, the DSG gearbox and the Haldex 4WD unit serviced as required by Cupra on the 3rd year service as your Cupra dealer although noted by them that on the GOOD HEALTH CHECK that these items were due to be serviced they couldn`t manage to complete this part of the 3rd year service schedule when my Formentor was recently presented for service by them!

Thank you to yourself and the supplied CUPRA UK ASSISTANCE in connection with this matter which unfortunately amounted to nothing but “totally useless” in this case for this customer!

This is I am afraid just another case of a great car sadly let down by the manufacturer and its 2nd rate dealerships!

Thanks for the assistance!

Regards
DKW.