2014 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan - Advice on battery

I need a battery that will start when the windchill is 30 below. I live in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Someone suggested I purchase a high cold cranking amps battery. Is this a battery that requires any special maintainance on my part?

No …………………

Many of the folks I know in cold climates use block heaters and or battery warmers that plug into the 115V power of their parking area. I’d check that out if I were you. These make your battery happier in its work.

Is this car due for its first battery replacement? At 5 years, that is to be expected. Buying a higher CCA battery used to be the common wisdom, but I’ve seen that disagreed with, in print, by Consumer Reports and by a manager from battery maker Johnson Controls.

The car should start OK if it’s in good repair. Wind chill doesn’t affect a car, except it cools down more quickly. If the temp is -5F, the coldest the car gets is -5F. If the wind chill at the time is -30F, the coldest the car gets is -5F. It should start. If it cranks over slowly or not at all, a weak or dead battery is the most likely cause.

One other thing is your oil - make sure you change it as recommended, and use the correct grade. I believe your VW requires the VW-specification full synthetic oil.

Mpls is not that bad. Anymore. Whatever oem spec is works fine.

I’ve used block heaters for years and they really add to battery life as well. However if you cannot plug in in cold weather the largest cold cranking battery that fits is the way to go. Most ski resorts where I live have no way to plug in.

In my V8 Chevy Caprice I had a 1000 ampere hour battery and never had a cranking problem.

Using synthetic oil also helps cold weather starts.