Battery management issues VW New California T7

hckz · Mar 29, 2025

Hi everyone,
As an owner of a VW New California Beach Camper eHybrid, i have been experiencing some battery management issues that other owners have been similarly complaining about (both hybrid and non-hybrid models).
Concretely: it seems that once parked (whether or not in camping mode), the vehicle primarily depletes the vehicle’s 12v battery, instead of the auxiliary camping battery. This has led some owners to wake up to a fully depleted 12v vehicle battery and having to call assistance to jump start the vehicle.
My question is if anyone here has had the same issue and had it resolved?
My best regards

WelshGas · Mar 29, 2025

hckz said:
Hi everyone,
As an owner of a VW New California Beach Camper eHybrid, i have been experiencing some battery management issues that other owners have been similarly complaining about (both hybrid and non-hybrid models).
Concretely: it seems that once parked (whether or not in camping mode), the vehicle primarily depletes the vehicle’s 12v battery, instead of the auxiliary camping battery. This has led some owners to wake up to a fully depleted 12v vehicle battery and having to call assistance to jump start the vehicle.
My question is if anyone here has had the same issue and had it resolved?
My best regards

Repeated use of the Infotainment System, the 12v and USBc sockets in the dashboard , interior lights by the rear view mirror and frequent opening of the Drivers door can rapidly drain the 12v engine battery as on opening many electronic systems are woken up and fuel system pressurised ready to drive away and stay activated for 30 or so minutes. These could be possible causes.
I cannot see how running the fridge/heater or habitation lights would cause this problem unless there was a faulty split charge relay that was not isolating the engine and leisure batteries in which case all 3 batteries would be connected in parallel and All drained simultaneously.

hckz · Mar 29, 2025

WelshGas said:
Repeated use of the Infotainment System, the 12v and USBc sockets in the dashboard , interior lights by the rear view mirror and frequent opening of the Drivers door can rapidly drain the 12v engine battery as on opening many electronic systems are woken up and fuel system pressurised ready to drive away and stay activated for 30 or so minutes. These could be possible causes.
I cannot see how running the fridge/heater or habitation lights would cause this problem unless there was a faulty split charge relay that was not isolating the engine and leisure batteries in which case all 3 batteries would be connected in parallel and All drained simultaneously.

This issue has been reported on users that have left their car parked for 5-7days (thus, with no active car usage).

WelshGas · Mar 29, 2025

hckz said:
This issue has been reported on users that have left their car parked for 5-7days (thus, with no active car usage).

OK. That fact wasn't mentioned in your original post.
Leaving the indicator stalk in the On position L or R leaves sidelights On that side.
Also a failed Over the Air software updates can cause the Infotainment System to remain live and flatten the battery. This was reported recently on the forum but on a T6.1.