Hi!
My Porsche Cayenne battery died twice, each time I have to recharge it and everything is ok but how do you know that it's time to change the battery?
My local Porsche dealer in Montreal charge 470$ (part and labor + taxes) for changing the battery but is it not under the Porsche warranty? is there any better alternative like another battery similar or better than the OEM?

Thanks

Ian

 

How old is your battery?
My experience is 7 years max.
If you have problems only in the winter, change your battery.
The quote you received was not unreasonable in Canada.

 

Hi Road Runner,

My battery is 3 1/2 years old. The problem is that I left the car parked for the last summer and forgot to put a battery maintainer on it. The car was unable to start in november, didn't even jumpstart, had to charge it for 36 hours then everything is OK. Two days ago, in the morning at -20 Celsius, the battery is dead, had to charge again. I don't know if the Boomerang (tracking GPS) and the Mobridge (BT/Ipod) had to do anything with that...Brought to an canadian Tire, they did a battery check, the battery was OK but the alternator may be defected. I hope the alternator is under the Porsche warranty. Can the defected alternator cause damage to the battery in long term? Can I ask the Porsche stealer to replace the combo (alternator + battery) under warranty?

BTW, how much should it be to replace a battery at your Porsche dealer (part and labor) and just to know, how much does it cost an annual maintenance check up for a cayenne? I think that I got screwed yearly...

Thanks

Ian

 

Hi Ian,

Did Canadian Tire do a high load test on the battery, or just measure the voltage? I would not trust Canadian Tire as they have the worst mechanics. Try disconnecting your aftermarket devices and see what happens then (take out the fuses).

If the problem is still there. I would get the dealer to cover the fix under the warranty, but they will probably try to blame the aftermarket add-ons.
At that point you can argue that they were disconnected eliminating them from the equation.

A defective alternator can do damage to the battery, and in some cases can harm all the electronics due to excessive voltage. This can be measured with a voltmeter.

I enjoy doing my own work and avoid the dealer as much as possible, but
I would guess they would charge ~1 hr labour to change the battery.
The battery itself is expensive ~$250 can. (under the drivers seat).

Note: some Cayennes have an additional Battery under the Bose sub-woofer!

 

Hi Road Runner,

CT did a load test. On there report, they found the alternator generates excessive and variable voltage. I hope that the porsche dealer will accept the CT report and won't make me paying 1 hour battery and alternator check again (120$ CAD) + Tx...Last week, I called the Porsche dealer and they quote for the battery 350$ (MRSP is 250$ from Renntech) + 1 hour labor + 14% taxes. I hope the alternator and battery are covered under warranty.

Ian

 

The alternator should be covered, but the battery may be pro rated.
Good luck Ian!