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

Thanks everyone - and the warranty info is very helpful. My particular car was manufactured before the TSB on the liftgate drain - I purchased in May 2019.
 
doesnt hurt to try the dealer to verify. at least for the battery test and they can also check the liftgage concern.
 
My 2019 cx5 turbo battery was failing at high 6k miles. Mazda would replace the OEM stock batt under warranty, but I decided to get a better optima yellowtop agm d35 instead

And nope, mazda corporate told me they wouldn't reimburse/prorate for an aftermarket performance battery
 
My 2019 cx5 turbo battery was failing at high 6k miles. Mazda would replace the OEM stock batt under warranty, but I decided to get a better optima yellowtop agm d35 instead

And nope, mazda corporate told me they wouldn't reimburse/prorate for an aftermarket performance battery
Well, Mazda will give you a “High-Performance” battery too for replacement ⋯ ;) I actually bought one last October after the factory Panasonic battery was failing which had served me 5 years and 9 months in hot Texas weather.

The Group 35 OEM battery sold by US Mazda dealers for CX-5 is made by Interstate. Other than the case color, it looks exactly the same as the Interstate Group 35 battery sold at Costco for $79. The difference is OEM battery has 550 CCA with black plastic case but Costco Interstate Group 35 battery has 640 CCA with white plastic case.

OEM battery has 36/60-month replacement warranty. 1-36 months: free replacement and labor. 37-48 months: customer is responsible for 70% of the battery MSRP and labor. 49-60 months: 80% of the battery MSRP and labor.

Costco Interstate battery has simple 36-month replacement warranty.

If you consider much higher MSRP and labor charge on OEM battery, the 60-month pro-rated part of battery warranty is almost meaningless.

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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!
We took delivery of a 2019 CX-5 Signature 2 years ago, and have had battery problems ever since. Your write-up matches 100% our driving pattern and the problems we have seen. The car has 15,000 miles on it currently.

We have called Mazda Roadside Service five times. Two times, we had them tow the car to the nearest dealership for diagnosis, the other three we got by with a jump start.

1. The Mazda dealership has replaced the battery after the first tow. Makes no difference.
2. If we cannot leave Apple lightning cables in the USB ports (center console), it's frankly a worthless feature to have charging ports. Our other two cars certainly do not have that problem, and they are both 10+ years old.
3. I have seen the power lift gate recall, and highly suspect that to be the culprit, but so far, Mazda has not expanded their service bulletin to cover our WIN range. They did update the original SA-049/20 to cover more cars. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10180692-0001.pdf
4. I take the car in for service tomorrow, and will ask them once again, FIX this problem.

However, until Mazda fixes this, I would encourage you all to call roadside service every time. Maybe that will get their attention.
 
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