How can I tell the age of a car battery?

I want to know if the battery that's fitted to my 2015 Audi is original to the car, as a replacement is very expensive. It does not have an obvious date stamp on the top or sides, but I've been able to photograph the label on the top and my phone has deciphered the QR code. Would this data enable anyone in the know to determine how old the battery is?

Asked on 2 April 2024 by Andy Lee

Answered by David Ross
We would expect the battery to have a serial number, whether this is stamped elsewhere on the battery or within the data taken from the QR code. Typically the two characters in a battery serial number refer to the year of manufacture from 0 to 9 and is a letter referring to the month of manufacture from A to L corresponding to January through December.

If you car was manufactured in 2015 we would not expect it to be on its original battery, as they typically are past their best by the time they are five years old.
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