Battery OPTIMA or OEM Volkswagen
Starts fine even in -4F weather. Will probably swap it this year with another OE battery as oddly i have better luck with OE batteries and they tend to be cheaper than Autozone/Orielys/Advanced.
2017 got a new battery in 2023 before winter, didn't have a no start issue but figured it was time. Went with a dealer battery, was only $138ish for the 72ah upgrade and replaced it in their parking lot to get the core charge back.
Love the optima redtops, seem to last forever
Finally pulled the trusty old Panasonic battery out of my CX-5 and replaced it with an Optima Yellowtop. When I buttoned everything up, I still had my radio stations and settings right where I left them.
Buy a nice battery. I bought used 6 months ago and did a week of nightly research first, by FAR the biggest complaint was the battery going out or having constant low messages. I put a yellow top in mine a few days after getting it, not one issue this far.
Get the battery from the dealer. It lasts longer and has a 7 year warranty. The Optima Yellowtop died on me after 3 years.
I bought an Optima Red Top battery for my van, but the part store accidentally got me the one with top mount terminals only instead of top and side like I requested.
2022 ID.4 in Canada. Have had two replaced. Luckily when it happened it was in my driveway for all three times. Hooked up a charger to the 12v for a few hours and it started like nothing was wrong.
The battery VW uses in the ID.4 is trash. I had it replaced under warranty in my 2021 after about 2 years when my car died in the garage and I had to get assistance. The tow truck driver got it going with a jump starter. It\u2019s now just out of warranty in year 4 and I get the \u201cLow 12V\u201d warning on cold days.
Fwiw optima batteries have been garbage for the last 20 years.
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Which battery to choose — OPTIMA or OEM Volkswagen?
If choosing battery across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare battery across these categories:
- PR Score.
- Overall ranking.
- Vote balance.
- Average rating.
- Number of reviews.
- Feature ratings.
- Car owners’ choice.
Which battery are better — OEM Volkswagen or OPTIMA?
In March 2026 on PartReview, battery OPTIMA were overall better than OEM Volkswagen.
- OPTIMA received a PR Score of 67 out of 100, and OEM Volkswagen scored 74 points.
- OPTIMA ranked 1 in the overall ranking, and OEM Volkswagen ranked 5.
- The average rating is higher for OEM Volkswagen (3.8) than for OPTIMA (3.5).
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Battery OEM Volkswagen have better feature ratings than OPTIMA:
- Indicator - owners believe, that this property for OPTIMA is better than OEM Volkswagen.
- Lights - drivers claim, that this property for OPTIMA is outperforms OEM Volkswagen.
- Cranking - reviews suggest, that this property for OPTIMA is preferred to OEM Volkswagen.
Which battery are more popular — OPTIMA or OEM Volkswagen?
In March 2026 on PartReview, battery OPTIMA were overall more popular than OEM Volkswagen.
By vote balance, battery OPTIMA surpassed OEM Volkswagen:
- For OPTIMA, the ratio of positive (733) to negative (355) votes is 378 votes.
- For OEM Volkswagen, the ratio of positive (156) to negative (54) votes is 102 votes.
By number of reviews, battery OPTIMA surpassed OEM Volkswagen:
- For battery OPTIMA there are 350 reviews: 219 positive, 38 neutral, 93 negative.
- For battery OEM Volkswagen there are 66 reviews: 44 positive, 12 neutral, 10 negative.
Which battery do car owners prefer — OPTIMA or OEM Volkswagen?
In March 2026, according to PartReview, battery OPTIMA led more car-specific ratings than OEM Volkswagen:
OPTIMA are chosen by owners of cars such as: Audi TT, Honda Civic, Jeep Cherokee, Nissan Leaf, Subaru Outback, Subaru Forester, Volkswagen Jetta, and others.
OEM Volkswagen are chosen by owners of cars such as: Volkswagen Passat, Volkswagen Phaeton, Volkswagen Tiguan, and others.
Other comparisons of battery
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of battery OPTIMA with: Varta, Bosch, OEM Subaru, YUASA, Tesla, Duralast, Exide, OEM BMW, Deka, ODYSSEY.
Also available: comparisons of battery OEM Volkswagen with: Varta, Bosch, OEM Subaru, YUASA, Tesla, Duralast, Exide, OEM BMW, Deka, ODYSSEY.
You can also see who is better among other battery manufacturers: OPTIMA or Varta, OPTIMA or Bosch, OPTIMA or OEM Subaru, OPTIMA or YUASA, Tesla or OPTIMA.