2013~2016 Dead battery after only 3 years

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2014 CX-5 Touring
Once again, battery goes to crap after only 3 years. We replaced the battery in our CX5 just 3 years and 1 month ago, January 2018, with a Group 35 Interstate battery from Costco. Today I went to move the car out of the garage and it struggled to turn over. Wife said it had been slow to start earlier today also. A couple hours later when I went to move the car back into the garage, the started made about half a turn and just quit. Wouldn't do anything else. Put a volt meter on the battery and it read 12.3 volts, which seems a bit low, right?

I had to jump start the car with my Integra just to be able to move the car. With the Integra running and jumper cables attached, my volt meter read ~13.4 volts between battery positive and body ground on the CX5. After I started the car and removed the jumper cables, I was getting around 14.0 to 14.1 volts on the multimeter.

After idling for about 5 minutes and then moving the car back into the garage, it's now reading about 12.6 volts from battery positive to body ground. I'll check it again in the morning to see what it shows.

Luckily the battery from Costco has 42 month free replacement, so I should be getting a free battery. And of course, the ones they offer now only have 36 month free replacement.
 
I guess I'm lucky I got that battery with 3.5 year replacement. Can't seem to find anything longer than 3 years these days. Somehow the tiny battery in my Integra has lasted 4.5 years so far, which is surprising. Although I've put less than 20K miles on the car in that time.
 
How often do you drive the car and for how many miles at a time? My 2014 3's battery lasted over 4.5 years. The key to battery life is to keep it charged. Even if I don't need to, I drive each of my cars at least once per week and 15+ miles at a time.
Remember too that every time the battery's charge gets to be low enough so that starting is difficult to impossible, the life of the battery diminishes.
 
Wife's car gets driven every single day. 43K miles since the last time I changed the battery. Although week before last we had the big "snowpacalypse", and the car sat in the garage and didn't move from Sunday until the following Saturday. That was immediately after returning from a ~1,000 mile road trip.

But one week of not starting shouldn't kill a battery. My Miata sat on jack stands for a month when I changed its clutch, and started right up after sitting that long (battery connected the whole time). And likewise my Integra gets started most every day, but usually just to move the car up the driveway. It can go 1-2 weeks at a time without driving it anywhere. The CX5 by far gets used and driven the most.
 
my experience shows gen2 cx5 charging system doesnt charge batteries fully. Also batteries get sulfated over time and discharge easily and faster after that. From there its downward spiral to fast death unless its kept fully charged all the time and maintained properly. (assuming no heavy parasitic draw).
3 yrs +/- is about average on the oem without any maintenance and irregular long driving trips. Some last more, other less i.e in high heat states.

Also the CCA on the stock oem is low by default even as new vs other batteries. So capacity loss is more pronounced.
just an example new oem around say 500 cca vs other new batteries 650. In a cold weather the startup capacity 'shrinks' even lower.

here is an oem after aprox 2.5 yrs.

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I'm surprised it won't start with a 12.3 static voltage, but perhaps it sags dramatically under load. You might have another issue with your electrical system, but replacing the battery is by far the cheapest/easiest thing to do, so I'd start there.

I was getting ready to pay full price on a new battery at Costco and they counter guy volunteered to check to see if my bad battery was still under warranty. No need for receipt. It ended up having warranty left and I got a pretty hefty discount on the new one, perhaps half of the regular price.

- Mark
 
if you are referring to my battery post, it still does start but its a matter of time to stop. Could be months could be one more year.
Its no fun to be left with a dead battery in the middle of nowhere here at 100F, where most places in Arizona outside the big cities (not many big cities too) dont even have cell coverage. :) so I changed it proactively with the biggest AGM capacity I could find.
 
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Measured 12.5 volts on the battery this afternoon, still would not start. Took the battery to Costco and got it replaced for free. New battery was $5 more so I just had to pay 5 bucks.

Installed the new battery and all is fine again. Oddly enough, when the car is off, the new battery also reads about 12.5 volts. So it's obviously not just voltage that determines whether the battery can start the car or not.
 
This is why if you bring your battery to an auto parts store, they will charge it and perform a load test. That's what determines whether the battery is good or not.
 
its the Amp capacity available under load which starts the engine.
The voltage is mostly for the electronics.
Havent measured how much the starter draws but for example the central lock when engaged draws around 20amps in a second.
The starter probably needs much more (hundreds) constant for few seconds to rotate the flywheel and the engine. Then the alternator kicks in.

12.7v or more at rest (no draw, etc) on a flooded battery is a fully charged one.
12.3v at rest is discharged a lot. Keeping at that state for long is not good for the battery.
12.5v is around 85% charged.
Have to wait for the car electronics to go to sleep before measuring. I.e open hood, lock doors and wait 15 mins. keep the key away if walkaway is enabled.
 
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This is why if you bring your battery to an auto parts store, they will charge it and perform a load test. That's what determines whether the battery is good or not.
What would be the point of doing that if I already knew the battery needed replacement? I didn't want to take it to an auto parts store because I knew I would not be purchasing a battery from one of those stores, due to the warranty I already had.

Also as a side note, multimeter leads on battery positive and body ground, with the meter set to Amps, is NOT the way to check for a phantom current draw! Popped the 10A fuse in my meter. I should have removed the negative battery cable, put one lead on the cable end, and one on the negative battery post, to run any current draw through the meter itself.

I've watched videos on how to do it, but had a brain fart this evening.
 
never ever do that with multimeter:)
that puts it in parallel and is prone to a big disaster. Thankfully it was only the fuse.
Better buy amp meter dc clamps. Cheaper, safer and no cables to disconnect.
 
Wife's car gets driven every single day. 43K miles since the last time I changed the battery. Although week before last we had the big "snowpacalypse", and the car sat in the garage and didn't move from Sunday until the following Saturday. That was immediately after returning from a ~1,000 mile road trip.

But one week of not starting shouldn't kill a battery. My Miata sat on jack stands for a month when I changed its clutch, and started right up after sitting that long (battery connected the whole time). And likewise my Integra gets started most every day, but usually just to move the car up the driveway. It can go 1-2 weeks at a time without driving it anywhere. The CX5 by far gets used and driven the most.
For comparison purpose, what kind of batteries do you have in your Miata and Integra?
 
Measured 12.5 volts on the battery this afternoon, still would not start. Took the battery to Costco and got it replaced for free. New battery was $5 more so I just had to pay 5 bucks.

Installed the new battery and all is fine again. Oddly enough, when the car is off, the new battery also reads about 12.5 volts. So it's obviously not just voltage that determines whether the battery can start the car or not.
For some reason I always thought the InterState battery sold at Costco carries 36-month replacement warranty and nothing after that (no pro-rated warranty after 36 months). I have never seen it says 42-month free replacement warranty.

In addition, if your InterState battery covered by 42-month free replacement warranty, why you still got charged for $5 even if the current price is higher? It should be free!

2A74FD23-82ED-47A8-AF3E-85DDAE17B940.jpeg


And yes, like cz5gt said, you need a load test to determine if the battery is still good enough. Or you can take the voltage measurement with a multimeter when you crank the engine to see how low the voltage drops.
 
⋯ Also as a side note, multimeter leads on battery positive and body ground, with the meter set to Amps, is NOT the way to check for a phantom current draw! Popped the 10A fuse in my meter. I should have removed the negative battery cable, put one lead on the cable end, and one on the negative battery post, to run any current draw through the meter itself.

I've watched videos on how to do it, but had a brain fart this evening.
Like cz5gt said, you don’t really want to use an average multimeter to take the current measurement IN SERIES (put the multimeter in between the battery post and removed cable) checking the cranking amps! A starter could draw up to 250 amps under load while cranking the engine, and an average digital multimeter simply just can’t handle such a huge current!

Use a clamp meter with big enough amp range to take the current measurement on car starter.

0270F638-7287-41C0-8272-24F50AF3CAD0.jpeg
 
Once again, battery goes to crap after only 3 years. We replaced the battery in our CX5 just 3 years and 1 month ago, January 2018, with a Group 35 Interstate battery from Costco. Today I went to move the car out of the garage and it struggled to turn over. Wife said it had been slow to start earlier today also. A couple hours later when I went to move the car back into the garage, the started made about half a turn and just quit. Wouldn't do anything else. Put a volt meter on the battery and it read 12.3 volts, which seems a bit low, right?

I had to jump start the car with my Integra just to be able to move the car. With the Integra running and jumper cables attached, my volt meter read ~13.4 volts between battery positive and body ground on the CX5. After I started the car and removed the jumper cables, I was getting around 14.0 to 14.1 volts on the multimeter.

After idling for about 5 minutes and then moving the car back into the garage, it's now reading about 12.6 volts from battery positive to body ground. I'll check it again in the morning to see what it shows.

Luckily the battery from Costco has 42 month free replacement, so I should be getting a free battery. And of course, the ones they offer now only have 36 month free replacement.
I don't know about you, but with COVID, we are hardly driving. Maybe a trickle charger would help you?

The other thing is AutoZone and the like can at least test your battery to see what it does under load, then you can make a determination whether a new battery is in order.

Our experience with OEM batteries is not great, they usually crap out just after the warranty expires or with so little left, the pro rated credit they give you is not worthwhile since the price of the new battery at the dealer is so high. I just buy my batteries from Costco after OEM dies.

I am sure there are many other good suggestions in this thread which I have not read.
 
For comparison purpose, what kind of batteries do you have in your Miata and Integra?

51R size for both. Integra has the one from O'Reilly Auto that costs about $150. Probably go with Costco Interstate next time. Not sure what's in the Miata, whatever the PO put in there, but I think it was changed not long before I bought the car in 2019.

For some reason I always thought the InterState battery sold at Costco carries 36-month replacement warranty and nothing after that (no pro-rated warranty after 36 months). I have never seen it says 42-month free replacement warranty.

In addition, if your InterState battery covered by 42-month free replacement warranty, why you still got charged for $5 even if the current price is higher? It should be free!

View attachment 296069

And yes, like cz5gt said, you need a load test to determine if the battery is still good enough. Or you can take the voltage measurement with a multimeter when you crank the engine to see how low the voltage drops.

The previous battery I got for this car, from Costco, says 42 month free replacement right on the side of the battery. The current 35R wet cell that they now sell, is only 36 month as pictured, and costs about $4 to $5 more. The "free replacement" covered the cost of the original battery only, so I had to pay the difference. No big deal.
 
Like cz5gt said, you don’t really want to use an average multimeter to take the current measurement IN SERIES (put the multimeter in between the battery post and removed cable) checking the cranking amps! A starter could draw up to 250 amps under load while cranking the engine, and an average digital multimeter simply just can’t handle such a huge current!

Use a clamp meter with big enough amp range to take the current measurement on car starter.

View attachment 296071

no no no, I wasn't trying to measure CCA! haha I was just trying to see if there was a phantom power draw when the car is off, on the order of milliamps. But obviously I did it wrong.
 
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