Not as hard as you might think. 
12V Battery Replacement How-To Video
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If you have to change it, you will have plenty of time to take it apart. My friend had to have his changed and it took the dealer 2 weeks to get it.
The ID4 owner's manual states that replacing the 12 volt battery is not a simple remove and replace operation --- "vehicle electrical system must be adapted as part of the replacement. Only qualified professionals have the necessary equipment to perform the adaptation correctly." Don't know how much of that is smoke (or whether the special technical issues are fairly simple or not.) But, being a new model, there is not a lot of 3rd party info floating around yet.
Probably too hard for Munro… he would have preferred half as many bolts and replaced them all with snaps and clips!
I had no idea and never heard of such a thing for a car battery. Just shows what little I know about VWs,Audi's, etc. I wonder what dealers charge for this programming step or it's just included with the marked up dealer battery. I also wonder how easy it is to purchase a battery with a BEM sticker and whether these compatible batteries sell for a premium. Maybe this is another good reason to justify purchase of a Ross-Tech VCDS Hex (given instructions). Any good advice @Andy at Ross-Tech.com?
It may be nothing more than maintaining a live 12 volt source for the car's system as the batteries get changed out. But, then, maybe it is something more.
But, two things to consider:
1) 12 volt lead-acid batteries typically last 3 years or more. By that time, there should be plenty of information available concerning ID4 battery replacement.
2) The other consideration is that if your battery fails within the first months of your ownership, it is a warranty issue. Either the battery itself was bad from the start, or there is something going on with the car's electronics or 12 volt charging system that needs to be identified and fixed. As noted, those should be addressed by the dealer under the warranty.
So, between those two considerations, there isn't much for most of us to worry about.
But, two things to consider:
1) 12 volt lead-acid batteries typically last 3 years or more. By that time, there should be plenty of information available concerning ID4 battery replacement.
2) The other consideration is that if your battery fails within the first months of your ownership, it is a warranty issue. Either the battery itself was bad from the start, or there is something going on with the car's electronics or 12 volt charging system that needs to be identified and fixed. As noted, those should be addressed by the dealer under the warranty.
So, between those two considerations, there isn't much for most of us to worry about.
2021 ID.4 1st Blue - del. 3/16/21 sold 6/4/22
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In many recent gassers (and diesels) there’s both the 12V battery as well as a Battery Manager (usually either in address 61 or as a subsystem in address 19). In the ID.4 it’s the latter. When you replace a battery you are supposed to tell the car (through Coding or Adaptation, whichever is applicable); the brand, part number, and serial number of the new battery. This causes the battery manager to reset its calculations to recognize a fresh battery has been installed. In practice if you install an aftermarket battery with the same specs, it’s sufficient to enter the old battery’s info but increment the serial number by one digit. I haven’t looked into what would be involved for an ID.4 12V battery replacement yet. I will caution that even so far back as my bosses wife’s 2005 A6, replacing the battery without doing the coding/adaptation steps resulted in the system eventually shutting down, preventing the car from starting.
@MaineID's experience here with his ID.4 confirms the same result. I had remembered reading about it, but didn't understand at the time the implication on battery replacement. @Andy at Ross-Tech.com Thanks for the detail.
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My wife's 2018 MB GLA has not only the main 12V lead-acid battery but also a small Li-ion Aux battery under the glovebox which is primarily for the engine's auto start/stop. Both must be "coded" upon replacement.
The more tech in vehicles the more need for and complexity in battery management systems. Be reminded that most of the complaints here revolve around technology items and not actual drivability so alas that historical ease of replacement has now taken a back seat.
btw: The main battery in that GLA had to be replaced after just one year under warranty. However the Aux has been fine, which is just the opposite of most folk's experiences. On the other end of the spectrum I traded in my 2016 TTS in March with the OEM battery and it still had excellent capacity. So you never know.
The more tech in vehicles the more need for and complexity in battery management systems. Be reminded that most of the complaints here revolve around technology items and not actual drivability so alas that historical ease of replacement has now taken a back seat.
btw: The main battery in that GLA had to be replaced after just one year under warranty. However the Aux has been fine, which is just the opposite of most folk's experiences. On the other end of the spectrum I traded in my 2016 TTS in March with the OEM battery and it still had excellent capacity. So you never know.
PRO-S Gradient in Dusk Blue Metallic with Black interior/Tan inserts
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FWIW, my old Acuras had the same problem... maybe not to the extent cars now have (my RDX was a 2014), but the level of tech and custom settings is so much higher, the fact that they HAVE a battery manager is a step in the right direction.
That said, my car is back at the dealer getting its new Infotainment screen installed. Brought it home again on Friday briefly, but really just around the block as it had not fully reset and needed to "clear". Dealer worked it Friday evening and even Saturday... it cleared, but they wanted to chat with VW to confirm. Sounds to me similar to this issue and the car just needs a RESET button... something it wouldn't do by my hand. I tried. Techs at the dealer continue to say, "Well.... it's a 1st year model and those 1st years are always tough..." and "Everyone wants to learn on the electrics....".
My own perspective is that they all need more training than simply OJT.... or issue by issue. Yes, dealers will still need repair folks, but the corner garages may become rarer and rarer as the tech / cost of the tools needed and links to the mfg rise.
That said, my car is back at the dealer getting its new Infotainment screen installed. Brought it home again on Friday briefly, but really just around the block as it had not fully reset and needed to "clear". Dealer worked it Friday evening and even Saturday... it cleared, but they wanted to chat with VW to confirm. Sounds to me similar to this issue and the car just needs a RESET button... something it wouldn't do by my hand. I tried. Techs at the dealer continue to say, "Well.... it's a 1st year model and those 1st years are always tough..." and "Everyone wants to learn on the electrics....".
My own perspective is that they all need more training than simply OJT.... or issue by issue. Yes, dealers will still need repair folks, but the corner garages may become rarer and rarer as the tech / cost of the tools needed and links to the mfg rise.
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Last November in my state we voted to extend the "right to maintain" so corner garages could still get access to manufacturer data, but yes the cost of the unique diagnostic equipment will become an ever more burdensome issue for them.
Good points on having to "code" the battery. If anything, I hope this can help someone in the future replace the battery at a cheaper cost than the dealer. Then, bring it to the dealer to pay only for the coding/software service. In the past, this seemed to be a common way of doing it on BMWs.
As far as the car being driveable after disconnecting the 12V - you just need to drive it around the block, then power cycle it and all of the errors disappear.
As far as the car being driveable after disconnecting the 12V - you just need to drive it around the block, then power cycle it and all of the errors disappear.
@fiehlsport Thank you for the video! I should have mentioned that sooner, but got caught up in the learnings of battery system programming. This is sure to help many, especially since some of the disassembly steps were not obvious. I originally wondered why the battery was placed in such a trapped position, but since the car needs to be reprogrammed anyway and most will likely bring to the dealer it makes sense that a quick change design wasn't necessarily a high priority with VW Engineering.
Even if owners are planning to replace the battery and then bring it to the dealer for car reprogramming as you suggest, it's good to know only specific batteries (with BEM sticker info) will have to be purchased. I guess I'm assuming there are similar equivalent batteries sold without BEM info. Maybe not.
I just looked up control module 19 (CAN Gateway) and now realize it's one of the ECUs protected by SFD. I guess it's likely we will only have the dealer (or other professional service) reprogramming option for battery replacement. Oh well. I still hope something changes there in the future to allow DIYs to modify.
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I'm sure Ross Tech will come with update on coding battery after replacement.
Many Cars like BMW and MB for example have this as mandatory....because they measure battery SOH and SOC and keep it around 86% charged to improve life of 12V battery.
With so many can bus boxes on the car there is need for keeping 12V battery without big voltage spikes and with known algorithms help adjust can bus boxes to not send fake messages about malfunctions.
Just imagine like this communicating between many things and so many wiring and solenoids in old fashion style will require tremendous amount of connections and wiring.....where on other end can bus boxes do this over two wires saving a lot time and money to produce car.... And once you learn how to work around this it will be no different .
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Have you done one in the M3 or MY? It's worse.
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