Battery management issues VW New California T7

[Nimrodski]

ok....good news....dealer disconnected all the batteries and reloaded the car with the recall update 27T7 again..starting from a "blank canvas".this time.
All working now and ive tested and tested it...external 240V charges boith the leasure batteries and main battery when pluged in .all indications on the panel work as expected...thats on the diesel at least!
shout out to BREEZE in havant who sorted it double quick time ...they havent seen too many of the new vans but they are on it!

When working properly and hooked up to external 240v, does the charging icon appear on the display panel for both the 12v main battery as well as the leisure batteries? I only ever see the charging icon for the leisure batteries…

 

[Ian in Leicester]

Update addressing this issue is out. Check your VIN in your national VIN recall check page. Still to be seen if the update effectively addresses the issue.
Best regards

My VIN is not even recognised as valid on the VW recall website - does anyone else have this issue?

 

[Rubinstein]

My VIN is not even recognised as valid on the VW recall website - does anyone else have this issue?

No problem with my vin, but it’s not a safety recall, it’s a software update, so there’s nothing to see on the site, best to contact your dealer for compatibility

 

[PK1958]

My VIN is not even recognised as valid on the VW recall website - does anyone else have this issue?

Me too

 

[WelshGas]

Me too

It won't be as its not a Safty Related Statutory Recall.

 

[Dodge1311]

When working properly and hooked up to external 240v, does the charging icon appear on the display panel for both the 12v main battery as well as the leisure batteries? I only ever see the charging icon for the leisure batteries…

My vehicle battery charges fine when on 240v after the leisure battery gets to 100% it never has the charging Symbol though that always stays over the second battery icon.

 

[PK1958]

It won't be as its not a Safty Related Statutory Recall.

The VW recall website tells me my VIN is not valid

 

[WelshGas]

The VW recall website tells me my VIN is not valid

Make sure O and 0 ( zero) are not confused. Easily done.

 

[vbk1975]

The VW recall website tells me my VIN is not valid

Try the VW Commercial website and the VW cars website.

Also be mindful that the term “Recall” seems to get used slightly generically by VW and the dealers. Things like the Airbags recall are formal safety / legality recalls, customer notified, recorded on recall database and the local governments and transportation bodies will be involved. Even if the Recall is a software update done remotely, you should still get a Recall notice.

Software updates, service actions or dealer bulletins that aren’t formal safety actions will be flagged in internal VW systems and probably in the VW eWin account. These seem to also get called recalls by the VW system but aren’t notifiable (They can choose to) nor involve Governments etc.

 

[Jerrywho]

Hi - it would be really useful if you could ask your dealer for the VW Technical Product Information (TPI ) number for the update, so I can instruct my dealer, who seem far less knowledgeable.

I delivered my T7 this afternoon to the dealer and when asked for the TPI the guy said he can´t...It is forbidden data. I received an email from VW upon delivery about the issues thay wil theorethically fix and it said the same as somebody pointed before : software update 27T7. I believe this is a different issue than the TIP but that´s all. I believe this is stupid reasoning!!

 

[andyrosh]

Interesting that your diesel van does not have the wireless charging - less to go wrong I guess
Great news that all is ok and you have the charging sorted!

Take that back …same charging problem came back so back to the dealer!

 

[stationmaster]

Take that back …same charging problem came back so back to the dealer!

Very disappointing. Is the dealership able to help by collecting the van for you and dropping off a replacement?

 

[Rubinstein]

So 27T7 update done this morning at dealer. All electrics were working on my van, my only concern is battery drain when parked up, so I won’t know for a week or so if it’s made any difference. I have checked the rear info screen and that still says -2amps on the engine battery when checked. However, I don’t know if this technically correct, as I don’t know if there is a draw when the screen is powered down, and it is actually correct in showing -2amps when woken up because it activates the dash. Anyhoo, I shall report back. Update was meant to be about an hour, actually took 3hrs 45 start to finish as the first attempt failed. I have checked all is working on hook up, that’s all good, so fingers crossed.

 

[Jerrywho]

So 27T7 update done this morning at dealer. All electrics were working on my van, my only concern is battery drain when parked up, so I won’t know for a week or so if it’s made any difference. I have checked the rear info screen and that still says -2amps on the engine battery when checked. However, I don’t know if this technically correct, as I don’t know if there is a draw when the screen is powered down, and it is actually correct in showing -2amps when woken up because it activates the dash. Anyhoo, I shall report back. Update was meant to be about an hour, actually took 3hrs 45 start to finish as the first attempt failed. I have checked all is working on hook up, that’s all good, so fingers crossed.

Mine also said (up to this moment) -2 or -3A at teh engine battery and -0.3 to -0.6A at the leisure ; I told them yesterday and he said... well this could be solved by the update, abd this will probably not be accurate and finally he also said to take into account that there are a lot of elctronics at the car that ignite on and off that may consume power....he said most important is that you see draining at the % and or icon on the screen; for sure they have no idea. I will keep my fingers crossed...

 

[Rubinstein]

Mine also said (up to this moment) -2 or -3A at teh engine battery and -0.3 to -0.6A at the leisure ; I told them yesterday and he said... well this could be solved by the update, abd this will probably not be accurate and finally he also said to take into account that there are a lot of elctronics at the car that ignite on and off that may consume power....he said most important is that you see draining at the % and or icon on the screen; for sure they have no idea. I will keep my fingers crossed...

Update is meant to close down systems that run in the background when the vehicle is off, I have to say I’m not that confident it’s going to make a difference, but let’s hope

 

[andyrosh]

Glad you said Breeze, that’s where I’m collected mine from in 4 weeks hopefully !
So they will know how to do update

wewll not so good...after 4 days the original fault resurfaced.....back to them tomorrow !

 

[Californication69]

wewll not so good...after 4 days the original fault resurfaced.....back to them tomorrow !

That’s rubbish.
I rang today, and mine isn’t even out the factory.
Maybe they re wiring it

 

[Mony]

Hello and greetings from germany,

I am currently facing a very similar issue.
My New California Ocean (T7) (Hybrid) was parked for the first time for 48 hours straight on the driveway without moving.
Then, suddenly, the alarm system went off, and the car was electrically dead.
With jumper cables, I was able to drive it to the workshop. It displayed several error messages.
In hindsight, I realized that the refrigerator had been on. Unlike previous models, there is no indication on the dashboard that the refrigerator is running.
Someone from the VW hotline told me two things that left me stunned:
Firstly, it’s normal for the alarm system to trigger when the battery is almost empty.
Secondly, the T7 doesn’t have separate circuits (isolating relays), so it’s normal for the refrigerator to drain the car battery and not just the camping battery.
I said that this must be a design flaw that hardly any customer would accept and that I wouldn’t want the car back before it’s fixed. He responded that it "works as designed."


Then, my contact person at the workshop told me exactly the opposite:
They’re unclear about why the alarm went off; it couldn’t have been due to low battery voltage. And that the refrigerator draining the car battery couldn’t be the issue.
They’ve sent the er2ror report to the factory and are now waiting for instructions on what to do next.


I’ve been waiting for several days now.
It’s all very frustrating.


Have there been any early findings on your side regarding what might be causing the issue?

Best regards,
Steven

I've had a similar issue with my 2025 California Ocean T7 petrol. The vehicle had either been used every couple of days or connected to mains hookup after we purchased it new at the end of March. On returning from a European trip in May I did not connect the mains hookup and left the vehicle for about 5 days on the drive. The alarm went off and I found the vehicle had no charge in both the leisure battery and the main vehicle battery. VW investigated and said it was a known issue, with an electrical drain on the leisure system and that they were working on a fix. I believe the fix may now be available as I'm booked in this week for a recall software update, I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[omaralrawi]

Has the update worked for anyone or any model?

 

[sticky1]

I've had a similar issue with my 2025 California Ocean T7 petrol. The vehicle had either been used every couple of days or connected to mains hookup after we purchased it new at the end of March. On returning from a European trip in May I did not connect the mains hookup and left the vehicle for about 5 days on the drive. The alarm went off and I found the vehicle had no charge in both the leisure battery and the main vehicle battery. VW investigated and said it was a known issue, with an electrical drain on the leisure system and that they were working on a fix. I believe the fix may now be available as I'm booked in this week for a recall software update, I'll let you know how I get on.

It would be interesting to know how many T7’s aren’t suffering these issues?
I also have a petrol version and have left it unused for over seven days and whilst the battery shows a drop in voltage it has always started without an issue.
I haven’t turned off any features, I do check the California app every few days when I walk past and compare to the Victron history to see if the voltages match for the leisure batteries.

 

[Sacha1dog]

+1 on the dead e-hybrid. Had it two weeks and died today. Sitting on the drive for a few days, alarm went off, but then couldn’t get it open as the battery was totally flat. VW came out, said there were a whole host of error codes, mostly relating to flat batteries.

The speaker that generates the fake engine sounds was giving off a warning sound all the time, even as I drove it to the dealership.

The technician that came out said he’d never been to a California hybrid before.

 

[Californication69]

This is giving me really bad vibes.
I need a vehicle that’s reliable.
Not filling the reliable vehicle tick box’s tbh.

 

[Rubinstein]

So checked mine this morning after having the update in Wednesday. Vehicle has been idle since about 2pm Wednesday, it’s shows engine battery 100% leisure battery’s 90%. I would assume the leisure batteries will continue to drain, which is ok with me, the engine battery is my concern, so let’s see. I’m not using it over the weekend, so let’s see what it says on Sunday and draw our conclusions on the update then.

 

[WelshGas]

So checked mine this morning after having the update in Wednesday. Vehicle has been idle since about 2pm Wednesday, it’s shows engine battery 100% leisure battery’s 90%. I would assume the leisure batteries will continue to drain, which is ok with me, the engine battery is my concern, so let’s see. I’m not using it over the weekend, so let’s see what it says on Sunday and draw our conclusions on the update then.

What voltage do the Leisure batteries show?
The % or hours left is just a calculation based on the Current Draw at that point in time. Just switching on the Control Panel screen will draw current which drops then the screen goes off.

 

[Sacha1dog]

We've decided to invoke our option to return the vehicle to the dealership under the 14 day cooling off period, after buying it remotely. Not sure if I actually want to send it back yet, lets see how this all transpires over the coming weeks, but it keeps our options open to do so if we want to.