How to reset the i-stop system (eg after battery replacement)

[Moonlighter]

Mazda here in Aus typically replaces any CX5 factory fitted Panasonic batteries that fail within 2 years under warranty. And some extend that a few months beyond 2 years. Replacements also come with a 2 year Panasonic warranty.

 

[TheMAN]

they do that here also, but charges prorated price on the very expensive battery (it's more than $400) on the i-eloop equipped cars (some of the 3 and 6)... on all other cars, they just use a regular battery, so they replace it with cheap crap one provided by Interstate

so it makes better sense for us, the owners to perform proper maintenance on them to extend the life as much as possible.. at the moment, I think I am the only one in the US that knows/does this

 

[Moonlighter]

Agreed. Take proper care of it and you maximise service life of the battery.

Mazda here dont pro-rata, they simply warranty replace at no charge. And yes, the Panasonics are damn expensive at the dealer, over $550 here.

Do you know any reason why replacing them with a stop/start rated AGM that meets other specs would not be OK? Seems to me that the charging profiles of the EFB and AGM are very similar. Can get good EU made stop/start AGM’s here for half the price of those Panasonic EFB’s.

 

[TheMAN]

Probably a bad idea.... AGM batteries don't take kindly to high voltage charging... they're pretty picky about how they get charged... although they take to physical and environmental abuse well, they don't seem to handle cycling or deep discharges well as far as a regular AGM battery goes... there's probably some adaptations to the start/stop type to overcome some of this stuff, but in any case, due to the fact that it needs to be charged differently, I wouldn't try unless they're affordable

stick to EFBs, and I bet it doesn't have to be Panasonic's, if you can get other brands, although I say Panasonic's and Yuasa's quality are among the best
btw, the battery that came with my 3 is a Yuasa, not Panasonic

 

[Old Kogarah Boy]

Just curious as I'm just about to replace my battery.......If I DON'T do the above reset will that mean the annoying istop will be permantly switched off?

Agreed....... about to take the car in for its first 1,000 klm free service and will be asking the service department if they can deactivate it.

 

[Moonlighter]

Agreed....... about to take the car in for it’s first 1,000 klm free service and will be asking the service department if they can deactivate it.

Cant be deactivated.

 

[kiln]

Heya, Just a question and sharing of my experience with i-stop. I used an "inteligent" type charger and the i-stop, well stopped working. Upon investigation at dealer, it was found system is stuck at 75%, where it was when I hooked up the charger, supposedly. Did the whole reset the other day as per this post, but charged battery till full prior to connecting earth and sensor cables. I-stop works again.
My question is then: Should I disconnect the sensor cable prior to charging the battery to avoid the whole reset procedure?(vehicle in storage for periods 7days or so)

 

[ecport]

replaced it with optima yellow top.

you could use ordinary maintenance free or even low maintenance automotive battery but from what i've read it would not survive that long because of the killer start/ stop feature.

the EFB battery that came with the car didn't last 2 years. trying this AGM battery see how it would last

Hello Driver 1, would like to know how your Optima Yellow Top is holding up. Am considering an Amaron Q85 or Optima AGM for my Mazda6. Thanks.

 

[raj55]

Heya, Just a question and sharing of my experience with i-stop. I used an "inteligent" type charger and the i-stop, well stopped working. Upon investigation at dealer, it was found system is stuck at 75%, where it was when I hooked up the charger, supposedly. Did the whole reset the other day as per this post, but charged battery till full prior to connecting earth and sensor cables. I-stop works again.
My question is then: Should I disconnect the sensor cable prior to charging the battery to avoid the whole reset procedure?(vehicle in storage for periods 7days or so)

I find this battery maintenance and istop features mentioned in this thread very difficult to understand. First the istop feature related. I have disconnected the battery a number of times to change car speakers and tweeters and never had problem with istop that some people mention here. No need to reset it. Secondly I have charged the car battery a number of times using ctec mx5 charger and never had problem with the charging mode or charge capacity. It behaves like any other battery that I have had in my other cars with start stop. My BMW 320i also had a lead acid battery and an start stop feature. It was problem free too.

 

[Mazorogi]

On CX5s and other Mazda's with the i-stop system, i-stop may not activate after the battery has been replaced or was disconnected during some servicing.

In this case you will either need to ask your dealer to reset it, which they can by connecting up to the diagnostic system, or you can do it yourself.

I found some instructions for a MZR 2.0, but it worked very similarly, as below, on my CX5 2.2 diesel.

1. Warm up the engine. Turn everything electrical off that you can - radio, A/C etc so there is no/minimal electrical load.
2. Switch the ignition off.
3. Switch ignition to on but dont start engine. Long-press the i-stop OFF switch for 3 s within 5 s after switching the ignition ON.
4. Start the engine.
5. Press the i-stop OFF switch. Verify that the i-stop indicator light (green) flashes and stays flashing. If it does not flash, go back to Step 3.
6. Allow the engine to idle for 10 minutes, or until the i-stop indicator light (green) turns off. Mine didnt stop flashing so after 10 minutes or so i just went to step 7.
7. Switch the engine off. Wait a minute or two.
8. Start the engine. Go for a drive, and check that the i-stop system operates normally. Those with i-stop will know that you may need to drive a mile or two until it activates. Remember that i-stop will not operate when (a) diesel engines are in regen mode, and (b) in some other conditions - see your manual for details. Also, if a new battery was fitted, it may take some time for the new battery to fully charge up before i-stop will start working. Go for a decent drive so it gets fully charged.
9. If i-stop operates as normal, you have successfully reset it.

Cheers!

Thank you. This worked for on my CX-5 after replacing my battery with an Optima Red Top 35 AGM battery.

 

[Mathew le]

On CX5s and other Mazda's with the i-stop system, i-stop may not activate after the battery has been replaced or was disconnected during some servicing.

In this case you will either need to ask your dealer to reset it, which they can by connecting up to the diagnostic system, or you can do it yourself.

I found some instructions for a MZR 2.0, but it worked very similarly, as below, on my CX5 2.2 diesel.

1. Warm up the engine. Turn everything electrical off that you can - radio, A/C etc so there is no/minimal electrical load.
2. Switch the ignition off.
3. Switch ignition to on but dont start engine. Long-press the i-stop OFF switch for 3 s within 5 s after switching the ignition ON.
4. Start the engine.
5. Press the i-stop OFF switch. Verify that the i-stop indicator light (green) flashes and stays flashing. If it does not flash, go back to Step 3.
6. Allow the engine to idle for 10 minutes, or until the i-stop indicator light (green) turns off. Mine didnt stop flashing so after 10 minutes or so i just went to step 7.
7. Switch the engine off. Wait a minute or two.
8. Start the engine. Go for a drive, and check that the i-stop system operates normally. Those with i-stop will know that you may need to drive a mile or two until it activates. Remember that i-stop will not operate when (a) diesel engines are in regen mode, and (b) in some other conditions - see your manual for details. Also, if a new battery was fitted, it may take some time for the new battery to fully charge up before i-stop will start working. Go for a decent drive so it gets fully charged.
9. If i-stop operates as normal, you have successfully reset it.

Cheers!

 

[Sniquer]

On CX5s and other Mazda's with the i-stop system, i-stop may not activate after the battery has been replaced or was disconnected during some servicing.

In this case you will either need to ask your dealer to reset it, which they can by connecting up to the diagnostic system, or you can do it yourself.

I found some instructions for a MZR 2.0, but it worked very similarly, as below, on my CX5 2.2 diesel.

1. Warm up the engine. Turn everything electrical off that you can - radio, A/C etc so there is no/minimal electrical load.
2. Switch the ignition off.
3. Switch ignition to on but dont start engine. Long-press the i-stop OFF switch for 3 s within 5 s after switching the ignition ON.
4. Start the engine.
5. Press the i-stop OFF switch. Verify that the i-stop indicator light (green) flashes and stays flashing. If it does not flash, go back to Step 3.
6. Allow the engine to idle for 10 minutes, or until the i-stop indicator light (green) turns off. Mine didnt stop flashing so after 10 minutes or so i just went to step 7.
7. Switch the engine off. Wait a minute or two.
8. Start the engine. Go for a drive, and check that the i-stop system operates normally. Those with i-stop will know that you may need to drive a mile or two until it activates. Remember that i-stop will not operate when (a) diesel engines are in regen mode, and (b) in some other conditions - see your manual for details. Also, if a new battery was fitted, it may take some time for the new battery to fully charge up before i-stop will start working. Go for a decent drive so it gets fully charged.
9. If i-stop operates as normal, you have successfully reset it.

Cheers!

This is an absolute gem. I used this on my Aus Mazda3 after replacing the battery and it worked a treat.

Thank you!!

 

[weput]

Hello guys... posting form panama here.

I have a small issue with this istop / battery charge management system. My original battery died, so i placed an optima yellow top D35 on my car. (2016 CX5 2.0 front wheel drive)... the istop and battery warning came up, so i didi the proper thing having a deep cycle bat install... got a charger. The charger is an automatic charger 6 amps max, which might be a problem as i read these optima require 10 amps..

anyways
issue got solved using this procedure after charging the battery, but now (a month later) light came again and i can't reset the fault warning. Battery moves from 12.7 to 13 volts; Depending on the charge state ofcourse. When the battery by itself is 13V, i get only the istop malfunction issue (battery management system problem allert goes away)... but yes, its annoying.

by the way, car does start up fine but that amber alarm light is driving me crazy.

I also did the 5 mins negative battery terminal unplugged thing before trying this procedure and nothing...

Please advice.

 

[weput]

nobody replies...

 

[weput]

FYI (assuming you care)

DTC code P0A8D00...

 

[Cuz]

Hello, can anyone confirm that the US models of the CX-5 still do not use I-stop?

 

[ceric]

No iStop in US models. We got cylinder deactivation on non-turbo engine. (2 out of 4 while cruising on light throttle).
The reason offered by Mazda for non-having iStop was that, US EPA test process disfavors iStop since it does not show MPG improvement. I maybe wrong here, but idling is not part of the test.

 

[yrwei52]

No iStop in US models. We got cylinder deactivation on non-turbo engine. (2 out of 4 while cruising on light throttle).
The reason offered by Mazda for non-having iStop was that, US EPA test process disfavors iStop since it does not show MPG improvement. I maybe wrong here, but idling is not part of the test.

Honda’s Auto Idle Stop system used on Pilot 3.5L V6 did gain 1 mpg on EPA ratings when it started to feature Idle Stop.

 

[ceric]

yrwei52,
3.5L V6 is a bigger engine, which consumes more fuel at idle.
Mazda basically said that, iStop does not provide *enough* difference in EPA to justify the extra cost to have it.

 

[weput]

Hello forum...
Long time not posting (this is how reliable the car has been).

anyways, long story short, covid lockdowns + some trips away from home, my car was left unused by over 2 weeks... and i comute less than 3.5 kms to my office; so out of the sudden the battery charging and i-stop not working alarm popped up... so i did the natural thing and charged the battery my my cheap 6 Amp automatic charger....

This is an AGM BMW branded (Part number 61212253818)

Naturally, the istop alert came and go as i had to reset the battery. Last time i had to hook ask someone to hook a computer and do it, so eventually a diferent friend of mine came with a computer, we hook it up and checked everything (no surprise, low voltage code where found).
Yet, this time instead of deleting the errors from the car memory, the computer used suggested the following procedure for "manual battery reset":

Note: Only Mazda Models with i-stop are applicable.

1.Turn on the ignition and do not start the vehicle.
2. Press the brake pedal an accelerator pedal simultaneously (de break pedal remains pressed)
3. Engage the gear lever in N.
4. The triangle warning lamp appears on the instrument penal.
5. Press the accelerator pedal for three times continuously.
6. i-stop will be green and flash for five times.
7. Engage the gear lever in P.
8. Turn off the key and turn it on again, and the reset is completed

step 4 didn't happen (it was already on)... yet this did the trick.

Here is another procedure suggested by the computer:

1. Find the engine hood, find the fuse box and pull the ENG+B (7.5A) out. And then, unplug the smart battery sensor plug of the negative pole of the battery.
2. Unplug the ENG+B fuse and the smart battery sensor on the negative pole of the battery. Power off for over 5 min. Plug the ENG+B fuse and smart battery sensor plug after 5 min.
3. Turn on the ignition, do not start the vehicle and wait for 15s.
4. Long press the i-stop and do not press it until the i-stop lamp in the instrument penal turns from yellow to green and flashes, turn off the ignition.
5. Close the engine hood and start the vehicle. Turn the steering wheel to the most leftand then the most right. And then return the steering wheel to the middle position until the engine is stalled.
6. Turn on the switch to the ON P[osition, press the i-stop button for 5s, and then release and start after more than 3s. At this time, the i-stop lamp is green and flashes twice. Stall the engine and confirm that matching is completed after engine start.

I hear somewhat a version of procedure 2 before... but it never worked.

Anyways, i wanted to share this information as it might be helpful to everyone.

Regards from panama.