joej
Member
- First Name
- Joe
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2025
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Dublin
- Vehicles
- Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Tourismo
- Thread starter
- #1
I am (now) the happy owner of a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo MY23.
I haven't always been happy and I'll explain how that changed.
I went away for about 3 weeks and left my car in the garage. Upon my return the 12v battery was completely dead and I found myself completely locked out.
It's a familiar story. But I have no dashcam or anything else that would potentially drain the battery. I also disabled all of the 'comfort' features so the car didn't spend any unnecessary battery time waiting for something to happen. And still the car died.
I had the car brought to the Porsche dealer in Dublin and they tested the battery, which was absolutely fine. They did, however, apply some new software updates. I'm sure someone will comment that their battery was fine after 2 months, etc. and that's great for them. But that didn't apply in my case and, judging by the number of posts on the web about dying 12v batteries, I'm not alone. At any rate, I vowed to never have to put my car on a flatbed again..
I've spent hours reading forums and watching videos about how to make things better, and one thing I've concluded is that there is no 'right' answer. Not only are there variations between Porsche models, there are also differences between Taycan models. What works in the UK/IE may not apply in the US and vice versa. What works for a 2021 model may not work in a 2023, etc.
So here is the list of things I do to allow me to sleep at night knowing I never have to worry about a dead 12v battery again. These are generic steps that should work in nearly all cases.
Now if I ever find myself in the unlikely situation of having a dead 12v battery, then the following steps are needed:
The driver of the recovery truck that took my car away said 'this happens all the time and not just to Taycans but also to Audi e-tron GTs'. AFAIK, Taycans and e-tron GTs share most of the same chassis so have the same 12v battery issues.
Thankfully I won't have to call him again - at least not for a dead battery.
I haven't always been happy and I'll explain how that changed.
I went away for about 3 weeks and left my car in the garage. Upon my return the 12v battery was completely dead and I found myself completely locked out.
It's a familiar story. But I have no dashcam or anything else that would potentially drain the battery. I also disabled all of the 'comfort' features so the car didn't spend any unnecessary battery time waiting for something to happen. And still the car died.
I had the car brought to the Porsche dealer in Dublin and they tested the battery, which was absolutely fine. They did, however, apply some new software updates. I'm sure someone will comment that their battery was fine after 2 months, etc. and that's great for them. But that didn't apply in my case and, judging by the number of posts on the web about dying 12v batteries, I'm not alone. At any rate, I vowed to never have to put my car on a flatbed again..
I've spent hours reading forums and watching videos about how to make things better, and one thing I've concluded is that there is no 'right' answer. Not only are there variations between Porsche models, there are also differences between Taycan models. What works in the UK/IE may not apply in the US and vice versa. What works for a 2021 model may not work in a 2023, etc.
So here is the list of things I do to allow me to sleep at night knowing I never have to worry about a dead 12v battery again. These are generic steps that should work in nearly all cases.
- Buy a trickle charger. I bought a CTEK Lithium XS (you must use a charger for lithium batteries - lead/acid chargers won't work..)
- You can see if the auxiliary charger (ciggy) port in the console between the front seats works but it didn't for me in my MY23.
- Use the CTEK eyelet connecter to hard wire the charger to the battery in the froot. It really isn't obvious where to connect it because you can only see the front half of the battery when you take the plastic cover off. I went to the Porsche dealer seeking their advice and they very kindly installed the cable for free. I turns out that you need to also remove the second plastic cover to expose the rest of the battery and appropriate connectors. You need to remove the windscreen wiper to do this but is was a small job. I do have a CTEK extension cable but the standard cable is long enough to hang out past the main plastic cover. However, the extension cable could be useful if you don't have a garage, allowing you to route the cable to somewhere accessible from the outside so you can shut the froot/frunk.
- I'm fortunate to have a garage to park my car in, so I always leave the froot/frunk open.
- Always keep the CTEK charger in the car within easy reach - not in the boot for example.
Now if I ever find myself in the unlikely situation of having a dead 12v battery, then the following steps are needed:
- unlock the car using the emergency key in the fob. It only works if you insert the key flat side up. Turn the key to the right 90 degrees, lower the handle so it engages the lock mechanism and lift again to unlock the door.
- Take the cover off in footwell to expose the fuses. In an Irish/UK version this is on the right side of the car (drivers side) and on the left everywhere else (also drivers side in a left-hand drive country). I won't go into detail on how to connect the charger to the pegs in the footwell as there are numerous videos showing how to do this. Use the alligator clips from CTEK and once connected the froot/frunk should open (using the key fob).
- Now that the froot/frunk is open you can simply connect your charger using the hardwired cable that's there and you're all set.
The driver of the recovery truck that took my car away said 'this happens all the time and not just to Taycans but also to Audi e-tron GTs'. AFAIK, Taycans and e-tron GTs share most of the same chassis so have the same 12v battery issues.
Thankfully I won't have to call him again - at least not for a dead battery.
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