i-Eloop supercap failure on '16 GT

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2022 CX-5 Turbo
i-Eloop 12V Battery failure on '16 GT

For those who own GT with i-Eloop, you might want to read this.

The 12V battery used in i-Eloop system is prone to failure after 3-4 yrs of normal use.
Mine just failed a couple months ago. My co-worker's GT ('15) also did last year.
So, two out of two in our company.
Mazda dealers seem to know this problem very well.
Mazda no longer have i-Eloop in newer Mazda6. That speaks for itself.

Two case studies here. If you are a GT owner with i-Eloop, here is how you can save money.
It started with "Battery Management System Malfunction" in dash display.
It pops up once every week, and disappear after 1 day or so.

Case 1: my co-worker's.
Her i-Eloop failed. She went to dealer (same as mine).
They quoted her ($500 for the parts, and $250 for labor). $750 !!! No kidding.
I told her to call MazdaUSA since her car was just out of warranty.
MazdaUSA was nice enough to cover the part, and she was to pay for the labor (needs programming unlike normal battery)
Better than full amount, right?
When she went to pick up the car, the dealer charged her $0.
Nice.

Case 2: mine.
It happened more than 1 month ago. I knew what it was, thanks to what my co-worker encountered.
My Mazda6 was 3.5yr (out of warranty also) old. I took time to investigate the issue... how the error popped up once every week, and disappeared after 1 day. etc.
Today, I went to visit the dealer. They knew what the problem was.
While I was there, they quoted me $875 for total cost.
I said: "No way I am paying this much. I will pay for the diagnosis, and please give me the case number. I will talk to MazdaUSA. I got three Mazdas. That speaks for something."
The adviser was new. She talked to her manager.
The manager invited me into his office.
I nicely told him that, I am going call MazdaUSA to help me out on the cost.
He told me that he couldn't get hold of any representative (MazdaUSA).
He made a couple calls and the dealer (his supervisor) decided to use DSW to cover my expense. $0 to me. Nice.

So, there you have it.
Anyone who owns a GT with i-Eloop needs to be aware of this.
Your 12V battery might fail sooner than you expected.
When it does, call MazdaUSA (and be nice, which helps).

The i-Eloop is a dumb engineering experiment for sake of tiny bit of MPG improvement.
The Q85 battery (12V) that works with i-Eloop is a deep-cycle one. It costs $$$$ itself, and it needs reprogramming to work in i-Eloop system.

Unlike Honda/Toyota, MazdaUSA is very helpful.
All I can say.
 
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Cool they covered it as they should in my opinion. They recently replaced all my alloy wheels on my GT due to paint flaking off and my car was 3 months out of warranty. It is also a known problem. My car was built in June of 2015 so I assume the paint on the new wheels will hold up. I'm pleased with how Mazda and my local dealer has treated me.
 
The i-Eloop is a dumb engineering experiment for sake of tiny bit of MPG improvement.
Next, the battery (12V) that works with i-Eloop is a deep-cycle one. It costs $$$$ also.
Fingers crossed....

It is great that the defective part(s) is replaced without charge, but the big question is: Is the replacement part an updated (improved) version of the original or is it exactly the same part. If it is an updated part, you may never have another problem with it. Of course, if the failed part is an anomaly, then it may be perfectly acceptable to receive a version A replacement. However, this doesn't seem to be the case if the failures are not uncommon.

So if this happens to my car's capacitor, the first thing I would ask Mazda is whether they have analyzed the failure and upgraded the part so as to prevent reoccurring incidences of failure. If they haven't, they should provide a written guarantee for the replacement part, IMO.
 
Oh great, I recently purchased a '16 GT(in service date : April 2015). Mine came with a 4 year MAP warranty so if the battery/supercap DO fail I hope its before the warranty is up.(nailbyt)
 
Yikes! I wish I had done more homework on the ieloop system before purchasing. But as it was, not a huge selection of decent used 6's in my area (plus I made the mistake of "falling in love" with the color combo of black on white leather) First off I hope I don't encounter any issues with my system but if I do I'm hoping Mazda Canada is as empathetic as Mazda USA.
 
For those who own GT with i-Eloop, you might want to read this.

The 12V battery used in i-Eloop system is prone to failure after 3-4 yrs of normal use.
Mine just failed a couple months ago. My co-worker's GT ('15) also did last year.
So, two out of two in our company.
Mazda dealers seem to know this problem very well.
Mazda no longer have i-Eloop in newer Mazda6. That speaks for itself.

Two case studies here. If you are a GT owner with i-Eloop, here is how you can save money.
It started with "Battery Management System Malfunction" in dash display.
It pops up once every week, and disappear after 1 day or so.

Case 1: my co-worker's.
Her i-Eloop failed. She went to dealer (same as mine).
They quoted her ($500 for the parts, and $250 for labor). $750 !!! No kidding.
I told her to call MazdaUSA since her car was just out of warranty.
MazdaUSA was nice enough to cover the part, and she was to pay for the labor (needs programming unlike normal battery)
Better than full amount, right?
When she went to pick up the car, the dealer charged her $0.
Nice.

Case 2: mine.
It happened more than 1 month ago. I knew what it was, thanks to what my co-worker encountered.
My Mazda6 was 3.5yr (out of warranty also) old. I took time to investigate the issue... how the error popped up once every week, and disappeared after 1 day. etc.
Today, I went to visit the dealer. They knew what the problem was.
While I was there, they quoted me $875 for total cost.
I said: "No way I am paying this much. I will pay for the diagnosis, and please give me the case number. I will talk to MazdaUSA. I got three Mazdas. That speaks for something."
The adviser was new. She talked to her manager.
The manager invited me into his office.
I nicely told him that, I am going call MazdaUSA to help me out on the cost.
He told me that he couldn't get hold of any representative (MazdaUSA).
He made a couple calls and the dealer (his supervisor) decided to use DSW to cover my expense. $0 to me. Nice.

So, there you have it.
Anyone who owns a GT with i-Eloop needs to be aware of this.
Your 12V battery might fail sooner than you expected.
When it does, call MazdaUSA (and be nice, which helps).

The i-Eloop is a dumb engineering experiment for sake of tiny bit of MPG improvement.
The Q85 battery (12V) that works with i-Eloop is a deep-cycle one. It costs $$$$ itself, and it needs reprogramming to work in i-Eloop system.

Unlike Honda/Toyota, MazdaUSA is very helpful.
All I can say.

Yikes! I wish I had done more homework on the ieloop system before purchasing. But as it was, not a huge selection of decent used 6's in my area (plus I made the mistake of "falling in love" with the color combo of black on white leather) First off I hope I don't encounter any issues with my system but if I do I'm hoping Mazda Canada is as empathetic as Mazda USA.
 
Note that it was not the supercap that failed, it was the 12V deep cycle battery (Q85).
I got "Battery Management System Malfunction" orange message in the dash.
Hope that does not happen to you. God bless.
 
I believe my i-Eloop battery (in my Mazda3) was replaced after 5 years, which is not too early compared to regular batteries. The cost was a bit over $600. I did notice that immediately after Mazda stopped using the ultra capacitor, the EPA mileage rating for new 3s dropped a few MPG. $600 every 5 years is $120 per year, which is $10 per month. Now that gas is over $4.40/gallon here in California, that $10 per month could be compensated for by the i-Eloop system.
 
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