Carista or OBDEleven or other OBD2 App for Basic Coding?

[davidI]

I want to replace my 2017 VW Touran 2.0 TDI battery but it looks like these feckin' modern cars need to have an adaptation made to the computer in order for the vehicle to correctly and fully charge a replacement battery.

Pain in my arse but wondering if anyone has tried either the Carista or OBDEleven or has found another workaround?

I'm thinking the Carista is the cheaper option since the adaptor comes with a free month whereas the OBDEleven has an annual subscription now.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I thought people defeated this by connecting the new battery (or some other 12V source) to the leads in such a way that disconnecting the old battery never lets the car "see" anything less than 12V.
Is that not a viable option, here?

What's not "fully charged" about a new replacement battery?

[jacky4566]

With VW, BMW, and most modern cars, they increase alternator output current and target voltages as the battery ages. This helps keep the battery in good health longer but if a new battery gets those higher voltages and currents they die faster. kind of a catch-22...

So you need to tell the ECU it has a new battery so it can reset those charging profiles.

davidI The dealer will probably do it for free if you ask. OR im sure somewhere here has a dongle. I have the VEEPEAK Bluetooth Scanner, its pretty nice just to read error messages and other stats. Its worth the $30. Plus I can use BimmerLink and BimmerCode to change a bunch of settings. FYI the BLE ones only work on Android AFAIK.

[mr2mike]

Someone local probably had a VAGCOM cable and can register the new battery.
Worth doing it. Just for battery longevity as stated above.

[spike98]

Carly has a sale on right now. I am not sure how the models work these days but it was worth the $50 or so bucks to have one of these devices around when i had a VAG vehicle. If its gotten much more expensive these days then maybe borrowing a VAGCOM cable would be a better choice.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Wow, I had no idea about the magic charging cycles based on age. Talk about solving problems that aren't problems.

"We still make cars where you need to take the engine out to replace a wear-component, but we figured out how to make the $120 battery last 12 years instead of 11."

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Isn’t OP in Spain? He’s not local anymore. I had Carly for my 335d and it worked good for battery registrations and coding etc. Unfortunately my adapter borked after it went through the wash lol.

[killramos]

Wow, I had no idea about the magic charging cycles based on age. Talk about solving problems that aren't problems.

"We still make cars where you need to take the engine out to replace a wear-component, but we figured out how to make the $120 battery last 12 years instead of 11."

It comes down to chasing the almighty next .1mpg of fuel efficiency.

These fancy systems with disconnecting alternators and regenerative braking means more advanced battery management is needed to not have your battery last 6 months.

I blame Obama personally.

[The Cosworth]

I have OBDEleven and a dongle. Happy to help out if you need.

[davidI]

@davidI (https://forums.beyond.ca/member.php?u=588) The dealer will probably do it for free if you ask. OR im sure somewhere here has a dongle.

I'm actually in Spain - should have mentioned that though I don't think they even sell Tourans in North America? The dealers here would want to change the battery themselves... Volkswagen makes it out like everything has to be done by the dealer and it does seem like a lot of Europeans use dealers for service rather than private garages, even out of warranty.


It comes down to chasing the almighty next .1mpg of fuel efficiency.

These fancy systems with disconnecting alternators and regenerative braking means more advanced battery management is needed to not have your battery last 6 months.

It's a diesel with Start-Stop so I'm sure that's tough on the battery. I figure it's probably similar to what they now do with smartphones and battery management to try and increase longevity. To be fair, the battery is original so over 5 years and over 140k kms on it now so I can't complain too much...

In this case, I'm also planning to put a 70ah rather than 68ah battery in so it will be good to do the recode to ensure the full amperage is used.

I'll probably just buy the Carista for 40€... it will end up the same price as having the work done at a garage and at least this way I can ensure the recode is done properly.

[GTR_Auto]

I don't have experience with Carista but I do have a lot with OBD11. They are awesome tools! Works with all VAG products as well as BMW

[mr2mike]

I'm sure you can program other items too with the system if you buy it.

[davidI]

I'm sure you can program other items too with the system if you buy it.

Yea, my car already has most of the "unlockable options" but I can program in the needle sweep and R-Line head unit screen (we have an R-Line).

It seems the OBDEleven is more functional but it's 50€/year for a subscription vs. 10€ per month on an adhoc basis for the Carista.

I don't want to mess around with the vehicle coding too much... seems like an expensive repair bill and a lot of headaches troubleshooting if something goes wrong!