Ask an automobile mechanic.

[Carson]

It was a shock to me too. They call it "registering" the battery. I think they charged about $200 just for that. Supposedly not all electronic functions will work properly unless this is done. None of our local mechanics, nor AAA have the scanner necessary to do this but they all agreed it needed to be done.

German over-engineering. But true.

 

[Billiebob69]

That's where I am with my VW. 6yrs old and heading into winter. I'll be replacing the original battery next month.

You can pay a hundred bucks or so and buy the OBD 11 scanner to register the new battery. And then get the replacement battery from Costco for cheap. That’s what I do with my two VWs

 

[Bike N Gear]

You can pay a hundred bucks or so and buy the OBD 11 scanner to register the new battery. And then get the replacement battery from Costco for cheap. That’s what I do with my two VWs

Seems strange that none of the mechanics I asked could do it if it's such a cheap tool. I had searched online about it and no one mentioned getting that scanner.

 

[mfennell]

You can pay a hundred bucks or so and buy the OBD 11 scanner to register the new battery. And then get the replacement battery from Costco for cheap. That’s what I do with my two VWs

I have OBD 11 and VCDS but my car doesn't have the battery monitoring stuff. Shockingly, it looks like I can get an OEM battery from the dealer for $110!

 

[mfennell]

Seems strange that none of the mechanics I asked could do it if it's such a cheap tool. I had searched online about it and no one mentioned getting that scanner.

It's a VW-specific tool.

 

[Rusty]

So growing up with my dad owning a gas station....we only used external plugs to fix holes in treads. I have personally used regular plugs...cheapest shit at autozone forever and I have yet to see one ever leak again. Have never seen one fall out, assuming it was installed correctly. I wouldnt think twice about it, my current car has a 2 year old plug in it.

For the record, the tire in question was fine for a long trip, then was plugged AGAIN due to a new screw appearing in it, then rotated and driven another 2K miles. That is all.