Upgrading 2015 eGolf 24.2kW Battery to 2017+ 38.5kW pack…worth it?
Hello fellow e-Golfers! Seeking some advice here…I have a 2015 Pacific Blue eGolf in the U.S., specifically in Massachusetts and I absolutely love this car. It is fun to drive, has needed minimal maintenance, and been reliable for me overall. I just put new tires on it as well. I want to drive this car til the wheels fall off and hope to keep it for the long run for as long as possible, But I just wish I could get more out of it with the range, especially living up North with colder temps, sometimes that adds another struggle on top of the small battery pack to begin with.
I’ve been considering doing a swap of the battery pack. I think this is possible to be done based on feedback I’ve read up on from others in the group. I’ve found an independent shop in the area willing to do it, and now my next step is to find a donor battery…I’m aware of www.car-part.com, but anyone else have any other recommendations where they’ve found their donor battery?
As for the labor, I’ve been told it is pretty much a plug-and-play process, and should take 8-10 hours. Has anyone who has done a similar swap as this found it to be worth it? What would you say is a reasonable amount to put in this project all in including the cost of the donor battery and labor? I’ve seen battery units on car-parts.com go between $1.5k to $3k, and estimating the shop’s labor to be around $2k to $2.5k, so $6k all in roughly. As for programming, anyone know if this is something that is mandatory to be done? Is programming restricted to ONLY be done by the VW dealership? I’m just afraid that once the swap is done, it may not be able to be driven out of the shop due to this.
Thanks for reading and any/all input on this subject…I appreciate any insight you guys have!