2019 Signature CX-5 Battery, Parking Brake and Liftgate Gremlins

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2019 CX-5 Siganture
Yesterday I had my first problem with my 21 month old, 11,000 miles 2019 CX-5 Signature, which resulted in being stranded. I'm documenting here to help others as I didn't find this exact problem in my frantic info search, and I looking for others' experiences and possible easy fixes.

Short story - inexplicable dead car battery, then the parking brake and lift gate would not release after jump, My ultimate solution was to turn off the engine, wait for 5 minutes and restart (crossing my fingers that there would be enough juice). Parking brake now releases and car can now drive, but the power lift gate is still dead. ETA to add the fix from advice in responses - Disconnect the negative battery terminal for a few minutes to fix the power lift gate.

Details: About a week ago I got a display warning message about key fob - only saw it briefly and it has never reappeared so I disregarded/forgot (FYI the manual says replace annually so my bad). Yesterday morning my garaged car started normally and I drove 3 miles to the local cross country ski center - temps were 25-35 F for the day. I didn't notice at the time, but in retrospect when I walked away, instead of the normal auto lock, the car beeped three times (I thought it was the adjacent car in the lot). When I returned 2.5 hours later, the rear lift gate would not open with the door button, the key fob, or the dash button, and the car battery and key fob battery appeared to be dead. When I tried to start with the engine with DH's fob I got lots of various malfunction messages on the dash display and no crank or accessories. I went home, changed the key fob battery (I will now be keeping a spare CR2025 in the glove box) and returned a few hours to jump it.

It started right up, but the the parking brake would not release, and there were warning messages and flashing display icons about a parking brake malfunction, and the parking brake light button was flashing orange instead of solid. Since my daughter had left with her jumper cables, and mine were trapped in the back with the non-opening lift gate, I didn't want to risk turning off the engine (minimal cell service and pandemic reduced my normal options). I tried everything the poor internet service suggested, but no love. After idling for 25 minutes, I turned off, waited 5 minutes and restarted (Phew!). The warning messages disappeared, I could release the parking brake normally. and return home. It started fine this morning. But the lift gate is still non operable through any method. I just pulled and replaced the lift gate fuse and it was fine, but did not fix the problem.

It was purchased in May 2019, so not in the manufacturing period for the faulty lift gate module. It is garaged at night at 40-50 degrees F. I drive it 5-7 days a week mostly 6 miles, occasionally a 70 mile round trip. No devices are left plugged, although I do leave an iPhone cord plugged in to the center console (I just unplugged it and noticed it was in the USB on 2nd from the front, not the one with the phone icon - don't know if that makes any difference).

So - what could have caused the sudden battery death? Is there any relationship between the key fob low battery and the car battery or just coincidence? Any tips on how to get the lift gate open? Is this normal? Does one generally need to reset certain things after a power outage? What should I ask the dealer to check?

I'm 40 miles from the dealer and in the current pandemic situation, want to limit my interaction and wait times. I definitely will take it in in the next few days but am quite reluctant to drive it and risk a more catastrophic stranding far from home. Thanks for any guidance!
 
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Sounds like your battery is low charge or failing.
Can you hook it to a battery charger for a while? That might revive it.

You say you have mostly 6 mile drives, that will shorten the life of the battery.
Not enough time to recharge after starting so it just slowly drops in power.

Low/bad batteries on newer vehicle can do odd things.
You issue sounds exactly like some people on the Explorer forum I frequently visit.
Dash lights up like a Christmas tree is the saying and it's common that a low/bad battery is the cause.
 
except when there is big a drain,
frequent but short drives (mind you its the time not the miles thay contribute in reality) on new cars usually severely degrades the available CCA on the battery between 18 to 24 months. Someytimes even faster.
Plus the oem battery is small capacity Amps anyway.
Adding cold weather on top of that and you have a non starter. Not enough Amps. I am assuming this is the cause.

If you have a garage then buy a good battery charger to fully charge the battery on a regular basis. i.e use it on a bi-weekly or monthly depending on your drive habits.

I have yet to see a bad cell battery. My experience in the past years with new cars is that its mostly undercharged and heavily sulfated batteries.
My Explorer was eating 1 battery per year. Quite frustrating until I found fords have even funkier smart charging system than Mazda.
Total crap design in order to be more mpg efficient and also prevent battery boiling in hot climates etc. Good part is that the 'smart' feature could be disabled and then it worked like a normal pre-2010 cars.
 
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Had the same problem with the liftgate. After my wife ran the battery down and after jump and charge the hatch would not open. Took it to the dealer, all they did was unhook the negative battery terminal for a few minutes (in my case they replaced the battery) and everything was good.
That's the so called reset procedure for the rear hatch.
 
I don't think the short trips are his problem. Yes, not the best for the battery, but a 2019 should still be fine. In the last 1 months I've driven each of my 2 Mazdas about 250 miles per month - avg 8 miles per day - and that's when it's not sitting for days at a time
 
wlong01 for the win! The negative terminal disconnect fixed the lift gate, so now it is far more functional. Thank you everyone for your comments and help. I will make an appointment to ahve the dealer test the battery and check the systems that went haywire.

Anyone know if battery is covered by warranty? I'll be annoyed if the newish Mazda OEM battery can't handle my driving lifestyle. DD and DH are also not far these days and neither of their much older cars has shown any problems (hope I didn't just jinx it.)
 
If the dealer does anything they will probably pro-rate it.
If it were me I'd replace it for piece of mind. Why take the chance of getting stranded?
 
Hard to come to grips with a battery being bad on a 2019 model year car.
My driving habits are just as bad as yours.
3 years and 5 months old car, 2017 model year, just turned 22,000 kms (about 13,600 miles), and it regularly sits for a week at a time in cold weather (below freezing), then gets driven a few miles up to the grocery store, and then parked again for another week.
Battery has been fine.
I'd take it back to the dealer and ask for a new battery.

FYI, I just replaced the key fob batteries last week after getting the battery low message on the dash display. Original batteries were still in them.
Even with low battery warning, they still worked, although the operational range was much shorter.
 
It is not uncommon to have relatively short battery life in modern vehicles. They are very sensitive to battery condition, unlike vehicles 10 years ago. I had to replace the battery in my 2019 - but last year we had over 150 days above 100*F...which kills batteries. Heat, cold, and driving mileage all contribute to battery decline. Since most current vehicles are so sensitive to voltage due to all the computer controlled systems it is just the new normal....
 
Anyone know if battery is covered by warranty? I'll be annoyed if the newish Mazda OEM battery can't handle my driving lifestyle. DD and DH are also not far these days and neither of their much older cars has shown any problems (hope I didn't just jinx it.)
Battery usually won’t be covered under warranty after a year unless there’s a recall or SSP involved. If your CX-5 assembled between 9/13/2019 and 3/18/2020, you have bad power liftgate control unit which can discharge your battery. Check this Special Service Program (SSP) C2 for details:

Mazda CX-5 Special Service Program (SSP) C2
 
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It is not uncommon to have relatively short battery life in modern vehicles. They are very sensitive to battery condition, unlike vehicles 10 years ago. I had to replace the battery in my 2019 - but last year we had over 150 days above 100*F...which kills batteries. Heat, cold, and driving mileage all contribute to battery decline. Since most current vehicles are so sensitive to voltage due to all the computer controlled systems it is just the new normal....
I know there's probably nothing we can do about it, but in this day and age and advanced technology, it's embarrassing that they can't come up with a battery that's at least as good as what was out there ten years ago. If new batteries fail after a year or two, then there's something wrong with the technology and needs to be fixed. This should not be the new normal. It's unacceptable.
Then there's the replacement cost today vs. ten years ago. Let's not even go there.
 
Some wet cell batteries go bad even when fairly new. I have started buying the highest capacity battery that will physically fit in the battery space, prefer one that I can add water for. I also bought a battery tender that puts out less than an amp which comes with a quick disconnect for my boat and Corvette that I no longer drive that often like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
 
Battery usually won’t be covered under warranty after a year unless there’s a recall or SSP involved.

From the Mazda USA Warranty Booklet:

warrantycoverage.JPG
 
Battery usually won’t be covered under warranty after a year unless there’s a recall or SSP involved.
Actually based on Mazda New Vehicle Warranty booklet, the factory battery is covered in full 3-year / 36,000-mile new vehicle warranty. Which means factory battery should be replaced for free during the warranty period if it’s not up to the performance standard.

• Original Equipment Battery

The originally equipped battery is fully covered for 36 months or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. The warranty period begins on the Date of First Service. “Date of First Service” means the first date the Mazda Vehicle is delivered to the first retail purchaser, is leased or is placed into service as a company vehicle use (e.g., as a demonstrator, rental or fleet vehicle), whichever is earliest.
 
Actually based on Mazda New Vehicle Warranty booklet, the factory battery is covered in full 3-year / 36,000-mile new vehicle warranty. Which means factory battery should be replaced for free during the warranty period if it’s not up to the performance standard.

Yeah I literally just posted that. Did you not see it?
 
Actually based on Mazda New Vehicle Warranty booklet, the factory battery is covered in full 3-year / 36,000-mile new vehicle warranty. Which means factory battery should be replaced for free during the warranty period if it’s not up to the performance standard.
Cool, that means a free battery for everyone in Phoenix. - after 30 month all standard batteries in AZ ae down to about 25%
 
Cool, that means a free battery for everyone in Phoenix. - after 30 month all standard batteries in AZ ae down to about 25%
I was surprised by the 3-year / 36K-mile warranty on factory battery too. But it’s consistent with the 36/60 duration warranty on Mazda OEM “High-Performance” Interstate batteries sold at Mazda dealers.
 
I know there's probably nothing we can do about it, but in this day and age and advanced technology, it's embarrassing that they can't come up with a battery that's at least as good as what was out there ten years ago. If new batteries fail after a year or two, then there's something wrong with the technology and needs to be fixed. This should not be the new normal. It's unacceptable.
Then there's the replacement cost today vs. ten years ago. Let's not even go there.

Its not the battery itself. The charging systems are the problem nowadays.
And there are better batteries out there but they cost 2x and most people would never buy such for normal use.
Its a big business model :) you get 1 free replacement then you gotta pay for a new battery. Almost everything is made to last the warranty period only. The old ones go for recycling and then the lead is used for a new battery and the cycle repeats.
 
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