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- CX5 Akera 2.2 Diesel
Do you really need to be told?
Battery life for 2015 CX-5
- Thread starter calebian21
- Start date
Do you really need to be told?
Regardless, the battery equipped in the USDM Mazdas which are Japan built, are NOT maintenance free batteries plus the same batteries are used for other markets since they're coming from the same factory... these are in fact "low maintenance" batteries... they DO need to be maintained, especially after a hot summer where electrolyte has evaporated and/or stratified electrolyte has occurred after high cycles... "low maintenance" batteries are better suited for warm climates due to thicker plates and spaced larger, at the expense of cranking amps... if you don't maintain them, it becomes crap!
the so-called "maintenance free" batteries, simply have more electrolyte filled up... so full in fact that if the charge isn't near 100%, the car's alternator will try to fast charge them enough to cause the electrolyte to expand and seap out of the caps... causing a huge mess on the battery/under the hood... very typical of the Johnson Control batteries... they still will fail if you let the electrolyte run low! Even Interstate recommends that you check/maintain them in their guides
use ONLY distilled water (less than $1 at walmart), and carefully top off each cell... the electrolyte level is hard to see from the battery case, so a good ballpark level is about 1cm below the bottom of the filler hole in the Panasonic batteries... if not available, use clean rain water... using tap water will cause cell damage due to impurities and other chemicals in the water, causing a chemical reaction which leads to damage
the so-called "maintenance free" batteries, simply have more electrolyte filled up... so full in fact that if the charge isn't near 100%, the car's alternator will try to fast charge them enough to cause the electrolyte to expand and seap out of the caps... causing a huge mess on the battery/under the hood... very typical of the Johnson Control batteries... they still will fail if you let the electrolyte run low! Even Interstate recommends that you check/maintain them in their guides
use ONLY distilled water (less than $1 at walmart), and carefully top off each cell... the electrolyte level is hard to see from the battery case, so a good ballpark level is about 1cm below the bottom of the filler hole in the Panasonic batteries... if not available, use clean rain water... using tap water will cause cell damage due to impurities and other chemicals in the water, causing a chemical reaction which leads to damage
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GJ-Molestor
Banned
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- 2011 BMW 528i, 2015 Mazda 6, 1995 Nissan Maxima Manual
Are there guides on YouTube or something on how to open the cells?
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- Plano, Texas, USA
If our CX-5 Owner's Manual says nothing about battery maintenance in maintenance schedule and checking electrolyte levels on our battery, yes even I would assume it's a maintenance-free battery like other batteries in almost every other vehicles sold in the US!
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- Plano, Texas, USA
If the OEM Panasonic battery coming with CX-5 from factory is in fact a "low-maintenance" battery, Mazda should say so and put it in our Maintenance Schedule. Without telling us checking electrolyte levels "daily" like in Aussie manual, we can only assume we get "maintenance-free" battery like most other vehicles in the US.
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- CX5 Akera 2.2 Diesel
It would appear that this might be neccesary for some CX5 owners .......
calebian21
Member
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- 2015 Subaru WRX
I've got a Samsung Galaxy S7 as my personal phone and an iPhone 7 as a company phone and both consistently get disconnected. Does the warranty still apply at the mileage I've got? I purchased the car used which may also affect the warranty I would think.
Outside of warranty.
Newer phones are know to have BT connectivity issues with BT receivers in general (not just cars).
Try using an auto connect app like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.myklos.btautoconnect&hl=en
I doubt is your receiver. To confirm this try testing on an older phone. If it works than it is software related.
calebian21
Member
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- 2015 Subaru WRX
Thanks I'll give it a try.
Battery life, like a few folks have mentioned here, have many contributing factors that shorten or lengthen their useful life.
One of those is probably just the luck of the draw when it comes to buying your battery.
It's interesting to note that there are actually only a handful of companies in the world that make car batteries.
Johnson Controls makes close to 75% of all aftermarket batteries in the world, plus about a third of all new cars have a Johnson Controls battery in it.
Most batteries are just relabeled to reflect the store name where they are sold.
Sears (Diehard) or Costco (Kirkland) as two examples, certainly are not in the battery making business.
I have used Costco batteries for years with no issues. They are cheaper, and I can just pick one up in the store and take it home and install it myself.
I haven't checked battery fluid levels in probably 25 years. No need.
One thing I've done though, I've always bought and installed a higher amp battery than what is specified in the manual.
My SUV, if I recall, says I should be running with about a 600-650 cold crank amp battery. I currently have one in there rated at 850.
When it's 20 below zero, that extra grunt makes a difference when cranking in the morning.
One of those is probably just the luck of the draw when it comes to buying your battery.
It's interesting to note that there are actually only a handful of companies in the world that make car batteries.
Johnson Controls makes close to 75% of all aftermarket batteries in the world, plus about a third of all new cars have a Johnson Controls battery in it.
Most batteries are just relabeled to reflect the store name where they are sold.
Sears (Diehard) or Costco (Kirkland) as two examples, certainly are not in the battery making business.
I have used Costco batteries for years with no issues. They are cheaper, and I can just pick one up in the store and take it home and install it myself.
I haven't checked battery fluid levels in probably 25 years. No need.
One thing I've done though, I've always bought and installed a higher amp battery than what is specified in the manual.
My SUV, if I recall, says I should be running with about a 600-650 cold crank amp battery. I currently have one in there rated at 850.
When it's 20 below zero, that extra grunt makes a difference when cranking in the morning.
My volvo requires batt changes every two years. Like a clock.
My Mazda cx9 2011 requires batt changes after 4 years at 30k miles. Why? Because lost of short trips.
mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
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- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
Also the model year of the car does not tell you much about the production date of the battery.
You must examine the date code on the battery itself to see the actual age of the battery.
For example, a 2015 Mazda CX-5 that had a (MFG DATE) 03/2014 and had a battery with a date of 02/2014, and the battery failed this month 09/2017, it would have had a total service life of ~42-43 months.
You must examine the date code on the battery itself to see the actual age of the battery.
For example, a 2015 Mazda CX-5 that had a (MFG DATE) 03/2014 and had a battery with a date of 02/2014, and the battery failed this month 09/2017, it would have had a total service life of ~42-43 months.
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- Denver, CO
Yep, good point! My 2014's manufacturing date is Jan 2013, so battery is definitely going to be from 2012 sometime.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Yeah, but how do you explain those batteries from Lexus and Toyota sometimes lasted 13+ years? (whistle)
mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
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- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
Those are AGM batteries? The AGM's used in the Miata also went 8-12 yrs, some have reported even longer.
The further you can get the battery away from heat, the longer it will last as well. Because they do not outgas, AGM batteries are better suited for placing the battery in the passenger compartment or trunk areas, away from engine bay temperatures.
Here is a link to YUASA Batteries FAQ's on the diff between Conventional and AGM batteries.
http://www.yuasabatteries.com/faqs.php?action=1&id=32
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- Denver, CO
5 years so far for me. Guess we'll see (lol2)
I prematurely replaced my CX-5 battery last ... it was actually dead because of a map light that got left on. I also replaced the stock battery in my GX... it was 5 years old but seemed to have a lot of life left in it. Not preferred batteries to use for solar stuff but I kept them anyway and using for a smaller project since they were worth more to me that way than a core charge refund. At least easy to change in those two vehicles.. The hardest car I've had to deal with changing batteries in is my G35x..... it's located firewall/passenger side and half the battery sits under the air inlet grille/windshield wiper area. You have to remove the lower trim around the windshield to replace the battery.
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- Plano, Texas, USA
Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery is sealed、maintenance free、and last longer but twice more expensive. I'm only aware it's been used in some luxurious brand of vehicles such as BMW where the battery is sitting in the trunk or the spare tire well. But I've never heard the factory battery in Toyota or Lexus is AGM type battery which is sitting in the engine bay.
Possibly large batteries, both physically/weight and electrically, combined with mild environmental conditions. Physically large batteries are less prone to warping and have a larger reserve of acid. Of course, nowadays, weight is a big concern so the drive is to use a part that is only has heavy as it needs to be. And if those big batteries had more amps on tap than the engine really needed, they could last a long while as their capacity declined over time.
I checked the electrolyte level on my CX-5 battery and saw that it was low. There is about 25k miles on the car. I bought some distilled water at the local home store for $.88. I was surprised how much water it took, about 1/4 gallon for the entire battery. The last cell (near the fire wall) was covered up by the negative battery lead. I had to rotate the clamp to get the wire to clear the last cell. Mazda apparently doesn't worry about battery maintenance if they mount the negative battery lead covering the cap of the last cell.
