How long before car radio forgets its code?

JohnSwift10

I'm going to be changing my car battery (it's 12 years old) as I just renewed my house insurance with confused.com and got a £20 gift card for Halfords.

How long will I have with the battery disconnected before the radio will need its code input?

The car is a 2011 Hyundai i10 

alan_d

Usually only a few seconds - there is no backup battery in the radio - deliberately - as it would defeat the object.
If you don't have the code, I'd suggest you use jumper cables or similar to keep power connected all the time while changing the battery, being careful not to short the positive one to bodywork!
I'd also suggest that you don't trust Halfords to fit it.

CliveOfIndia

alan_d said:

If you don't have the code, I'd suggest you use jumper cables or similar to keep power connected all the time while changing the battery, being careful not to short the positive one to bodywork!
I'd also suggest that you don't trust Halfords to fit it.

I'd agree with this.  Do you have the code available (it's often printed on a little card tucked away with the user manual and associated bumf in a folder in the glovebox or wherever) ?  If you've got the code, then no need to worry.  If you don't, then the jump-lead trick is probably simplest (you just need access to another battery temporarily - if you've got a helpful friend/neighbour with a car then you're sorted).

I believe you can buy special gizmos for just this situation, but for the number of times you're likely to need it, some jump leads and a helpful friend is probably far simpler and MSE.