bradyb

For those of you with any doubt about which replacement battery to go with for your 997, I just had an Interstate MTP-H7 put in my 2006 S. Bought the car last week and the battery seemed fine but the car is 4 years old with only 8800 miles(!) and wasn't on a battery tender so I figured $200 was good insurance for not getting stuck somewhere.

Anyway, there are plenty of great posts on batteries - which I checked out - but for those of you with any doubt about which battery to go with, I strongly recommend you check out the H7, which is a drop-in direct mechanical fit for the 997. The only difference I could see in the electrical specs is 640 CCA vs. 700 for the OEM battery, which I doubt would be an issue.

Just a PSA, not pimping Interstate but I've had good luck with them over the past years.

Love the car so far - my first P-car - moved over from driving BMW sedans over the past 15 years.

Edgy01

The CCA issue only presents itself if you live in an area where that 700 is needed.

Fahrer

You might need it in the NE but I doubt it in the LA region. We are only talking about roughly a 10% difference.

Edgy01

Since the OP doesn't state where he lives it's impossible to say.

acadian_dad

BTW - prev owner of my C2S Cab replaced the battery and found that there is an Audi p/n which is the same OEM battery for less $$$ - I can dig out the p/n if anyone is interested

bradyb

I'm in the SF Bay Area so no problem. I just updated my profile info to include my location.

abe

I just had to replace the battery with the H7 and I paid less than that at sears. They installed it and the guys were fighting to see who would do the job...service was great. I think these guys don't see newer P cars that often. I felt like a celebrity.
abe

bradyb

Good to know, abe - and yes I should have done this myself. I've seen the MTP-H7 for around $120 so it looks like I paid a $100 stupid tax because I wasn't sure what sort of errors or oddities would arise if I did it myself (first P-car). I think a low voltage error was what showed up - makes sense - and the independent shop I went to cleared this. But of course I just realized it wasn't necessary to have this done as I'm taking it in for a "pre-factory warranty expiration service" at the dealer this week anyway.

....and I did get an aftermarket warranty from a local dealership - but it's from Fidelity which looks nice on paper but we'll see how that works out. RMS replaced (MY06, 09/05 build date) so will be interesting to see what my luck will be with this car. Doesn't appear to use any oil and there aren't any other issues I've noticed. Interior and exterior are (were) perfect - already have half a dozen rock chips from driving it only a week. The roads in the SF Bay Area seem decent enough in most places but why the hell do all my cars have sandblasted front ends? Softer water-based paint? Recent road resurfacing w/o proper sweeping? Lack of calcium additives in my fuel? Road-rash fairies?

abe

BTW, at Sears they test your old battery under load for free...and the installation is free too.
They connect a charger to your lighter so that it prevents any possibility of screwing up your
electronics and memmory.
abe

larrytrk

If battery was disconnected you may need the handover procedure repeated by the dealer to restore function of things, which could be an extra charge...I needed it on my 06 when the battery discharged and the dealer replaced it with an interstate, so the cost was included in the install.

PVP997

Thanks for the battery information. I had to replace the OEM battery with the MTP-H7. It fits likes a glove. Replacing the battery is a very easy do it yourself job.

One thing of note, when starting the car after replacing the battery. I got a "PSM Failure" message. I called the dealer and they said they had to do a restore for $150. So much for saving a couple of bucks for DIY battery replacement. When driving the car to the dealer to do the restore, the "PSM failure" message cleared itself. Guess the car needed to move to correct the problem. Keep this in mind, when replacing the battery.

Mike in CA

Another example of a dealer who either didn't know what they were talking about or did know and were just trying to screw you anyway. All they had to do was refer you to the Owners Manual (page 265 in my 2009 book under "Putting vehicle into operation") and it states specifically that you will get the PSM warning light after disconnecting the battery. As you discovered, you need only turn the wheel a few times and drive a short distance in a straight line for the system to re-calibrate itself. I had this issue after disconnecting the battery while installing my radar detector and found the answer in the manual.

LlBr

Yes. I also experienced that resounding lack of intelligence by a dealer I was "married" to a while ago. They should be reported to Porsche AG. Then again they're just people and we should make sure they learn from us. That way future Porschephiles won't get burned. This specific issue, not being aware of owner's manual contents, _IS_ mind boggling though.

997, esq

Which dealer?

ajayabb

FWIW, I also dropped an Interstate MTP-H7 replacement battery in last month. Fit is perfect, and took me all of about 10 minutes to do. Price was $130 which was a little more than some other brands, but as I said, fit was perfect and vent was on same side as original.