Key Fob Batteries

I did a Google Search withOUT using "Mazda" in the search title:
My Google Search was: "Typical Car Key Fob Battery Life"
The answer came back: Typically a car's key fob battery will need to be changed every 3 or 4 years.
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Then.....I used "Mazda" in my search. The answer came back as follows: "Mazda says the key fob battery will need to be changed about every 1 to 2 years."
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Why do Mazda Key Fob batteries need to be changed more often than other brands? :unsure:
 
Do they really need changing more often? I doubt it. Mazda also says transmission fluid is "non-serviceable", so I'd take your Google search results with a substantial with a grain of salt. How much you drive and use the fob is another factor.

Try having a two-way remote where batteries last 4-6 weeks. :)
 
I work in the same town as my home. I store my keys inside my house far from the car.
Maybe if I want to play it safe I could change the battery once every 18 months?
Sooner than that would be just wasting money?
BTW, I have a 2020 CX-9
 
I work in the same town as my home. I store my keys inside my house far from the car.
Maybe if I want to play it safe I could change the battery once every 18 months?
Sooner than that would be just wasting money?
BTW, I have a 2020 CX-9
Yes. why not change them they are dead?
 
Why not change them when they are dead?
Ah....yes. I see.
I just make multiple trips from NJ to Virginia in the year because of my daughter attending college there.
I did not ever want to come back to my car when done eating a restaurant in another state and then find out at an inconvenient time that my key fob battery is dead.
BTW, I got my car last June, so my key fob battery is just 5 months or so.
Thanks for taking the time to post here!
 
Ah....yes. I see.
I just make multiple trips from NJ to Virginia in the year because of my daughter attending college there.
I did not ever want to come back to my car when done eating a restaurant in another state and then find out at an inconvenient time that my key fob battery is dead.
BTW, I got my car last June, so my key fob battery is just 5 months or so.
Thanks for taking the time to post here!
No worries. I carry a spare remote battery in the vehicle, so you could do that as a safe measure.
 
Spare battery in the glove compartment and the physical key in the fob to open the door and you’re all set. In my experience when fob batteries start to die you usually get some warning. Either decreased range when using the buttons or intermittent difficulties locking/unlocking the car with keyless. It’s rarely a ‘it just suddenly stops working’ situation. Haven’t had my CX-9 long enough to know how it behaves yet, but at least on my wife’s Golf, you get a warning from the car that the fob battery is low.
 
Bronco Boy and Gremlin.
Thank you for posting.
Both of you suggest a spare battery in the glove compartment.
Yet MY key fob is like this YouTube video.
It took this YouTuber 5 minutes and 21 seconds to show how to change the battery.
I rather have the Mazda Parts Employee do it :ROFLMAO:
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I don’t know about the 2021, but my 2018 gives me a warning in the dash when it start sensing the battery is low. I used it for about 6 months with that warning without issues. Probably not foolproof, but better than nothing. There is also a procedure in the manual to start the car with a low keyfob batterry ( in my 2018, touch the start button with the keyfob when starting the car.)
 
By the way, my 2020 key fob looks like this...
20211116_090353.jpg
 
My 2019 CX-9 GT FWD gives me low fob battery warning messages and even though testing the battery shows it's still good it's cheap enough just to put a new one in just to be safe. Just had to do it last week after dismissing earlier warnings.
 
My 2019 CX-9 GT FWD gives me low fob battery warning messages and even though testing the battery shows it's still good it's cheap enough just to put a new one in just to be safe. Just had to do it last week after dismissing earlier warnings.
So is your 2019 key fob like my 2020?
Let me get this straight....you received warning messages.....did not take action....you were fine. Yet last week you changed the battery to play it safe. Correct?
 
I did a Google Search withOUT using "Mazda" in the search title:
My Google Search was: "Typical Car Key Fob Battery Life"
The answer came back: Typically a car's key fob battery will need to be changed every 3 or 4 years.
*
Then.....I used "Mazda" in my search. The answer came back as follows: "Mazda says the key fob battery will need to be changed about every 1 to 2 years."
*
Why do Mazda Key Fob batteries need to be changed more often than other brands? :unsure:
Well, compared to my key fob for my ten yo F150, which doesn't have any sort of proximity functionality, the Mazda will die quickly. But imagine how much power is required relative to a simple "dumb" fob. The Mazda is locking as you move away, it lets you unlock car door just by being near by, and is always advertising its presence to car. That runs down the battery.
 
Spare battery in the glove compartment and the physical key in the fob to open the door and you’re all set. In my experience when fob batteries start to die you usually get some warning. Either decreased range when using the buttons or intermittent difficulties locking/unlocking the car with keyless. It’s rarely a ‘it just suddenly stops working’ situation. Haven’t had my CX-9 long enough to know how it behaves yet, but at least on my wife’s Golf, you get a warning from the car that the fob battery is low.
This. If you use your car often enough, it's easy to spot decreased range.

The battery will not just completely die one day, typically you should have a few days to weeks of life before it's completely dead. And there's also the warning from the car (gauge).

With that, make sure you read your manual on how to operate the vehicle with a dead fob battery. It's still usable. :)
 
This. If you use your car often enough, it's easy to spot decreased range.

The battery will not just completely die one day, typically you should have a few days to weeks of life before it's completely dead. And there's also the warning from the car (gauge).

With that, make sure you read your manual on how to operate the vehicle with a dead fob battery. It's still usable. :)
I am happy to report that you are the 2nd person to tell me what I most needed to be reassured about. That being, since my fob is acting perfectly now.... I can and should just leave it as is! With peace of mind I can leave NJ and go to Virginia Friday night....return to NJ Sunday night. There is no chance it will suddenly die before Sunday night😂.
Thanks to this forum thread I've learned that I will always have some warning so there is never a need to change a perfectly good battery. No need to be paranoid 😁
Thank you to everyone for your participation in this thread!
Take care!
 
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