Costco Interstate battery test

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2016 Mazda CX-5 Sport
I just got Walmart to install my new costco interstate battery (35-3) on my '16 CX-5 sport. For some reason they did a quick test on the battery..

Apparently according to their diagnosis its showing 402 CCA out of the 550 CCA its rated for. I just got the battery last week, how can it drop so much? I do live in hot and humid South Florida.

Is this normal for a new battery?
 
I believe 402 amps is the current measured to start your car. 550 CCA is a statement of what the battery is capable of. So no problemo.
 
When I get an oil change at the mazda dealer,they check and record the battery capacity.If they didn't fudge the numbers it showed above 90% at last oil change.To my reckoning,the 402 is a capacity reading and not amps to start the car..That's alot of current to spin over the little 4 banger in our cars.A Buick I had with a 3800 v6 would spike to only 350 then drop to 200-250 while cranking.And my old toyota celica with a 2SE 4 cylinder(if memory serves) was rated at no more than 190 starting amps.
 
I just got Walmart to install my new costco interstate battery (35-3) on my '16 CX-5 sport. For some reason they did a quick test on the battery..

Apparently according to their diagnosis its showing 402 CCA out of the 550 CCA its rated for. I just got the battery last week, how can it drop so much? I do live in hot and humid South Florida.

Is this normal for a new battery?
It you're sure the battery test print-out says CCA, then you can always bring your new Interstate battery back to Costco and get another one. Since you don't do installation by yourself, the hassle and time to exchange the battery may not be worth it. And Walmart may charge you again for removal and the second battery installation.

IMO a new battery with lower than specified CCA is very likely. As long as you have no problem to start the engine or don't have any incident of running out of the battery, just leave it alone.
 
When I get an oil change at the mazda dealer,they check and record the battery capacity.If they didn't fudge the numbers it showed above 90% at last oil change.To my reckoning,the 402 is a capacity reading and not amps to start the car..That's alot of current to spin over the little 4 banger in our cars.A Buick I had with a 3800 v6 would spike to only 350 then drop to 200-250 while cranking.And my old toyota celica with a 2SE 4 cylinder(if memory serves) was rated at no more than 190 starting amps.
I agree. 402 has to be the capacity of CCA, not the actual current to start the car.
 
If the battery has been sitting it may not be fully charged and might show a lower CCA than advertised. Harbor freight sells an old fashion load tester that is pretty accurate. As an fyi from my experience computer calculated testers aren't good because it doesn't put a load on the battery and can give a false 'good' value so I wouldn't get one of those.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP5r6NB0ypo
 
I just got Walmart to install my new costco interstate battery (35-3) on my '16 CX-5 sport. For some reason they did a quick test on the battery..

Apparently according to their diagnosis its showing 402 CCA out of the 550 CCA its rated for. I just got the battery last week, how can it drop so much? I do live in hot and humid South Florida.

Is this normal for a new battery?

Did they test the battery on the day they installed it or on the day they put the battery insulator on? I bet they would never say that a Walmart battery was bad.
 
Did they test the battery on the day they installed it or on the day they put the battery insulator on? I bet they would never say that a Walmart battery was bad.

They tested the battery the day they installed the sleeve which was on Saturday. Originally the battery was installed about two weeks back now..
 
They tested the battery the day they installed the sleeve which was on Saturday. Originally the battery was installed about two weeks back now..

Oh okay. So the car's alternator would have charged it up, it wasn't tested after it was sitting in the store for a long time. I think you should get one of these, $15 bucks with a coupon, if you have a Harbor Freight store you can go to and test the CCAs yourself and the alternator output. If it's truly bad bring the battery back for a good one. I don't fully trust the Walmart mechanics because they are probably pissed for having to pay for and install the battery insulator.

https://www.harborfreight.com/100-amp-612v-battery-load-tester-61747.html
 
Oh okay. So the car's alternator would have charged it up, it wasn't tested after it was sitting in the store for a long time. I think you should get one of these, $15 bucks with a coupon, if you have a Harbor Freight store you can go to and test the CCAs yourself and the alternator output. If it's truly bad bring the battery back for a good one. I don't fully trust the Walmart mechanics because they are probably pissed for having to pay for and install the battery insulator.

https://www.harborfreight.com/100-amp-612v-battery-load-tester-61747.html

So I emailed Interstate battery support and they replied stating that the new battery should test at 550 CCA. They said it could be possibly defective and advised me to take it to an authorized interstate distributor in my area to get it tested.

I'll probably take it to Advanced Auto parts since they do free battery testing and they are closer to my house.
 
So I emailed Interstate battery support and they replied stating that the new battery should test at 550 CCA. They said it could be possibly defective and advised me to take it to an authorized interstate distributor in my area to get it tested.

I'll probably take it to Advanced Auto parts since they do free battery testing and they are closer to my house.

I would take it to an actual Interstate Battery center...I actually have one 3 miles away from my home.
 
The one thing I noticed was that when I turn off the Cx-5 and lock it with the key fob, I see the security light flashing on the dashboard every few seconds. I imagine this must drain the battery somewhat overnight when it is parked. Also, during the day time when it is parked.
 
So I emailed Interstate battery support and they replied stating that the new battery should test at 550 CCA. They said it could be possibly defective and advised me to take it to an authorized interstate distributor in my area to get it tested.

I'll probably take it to Advanced Auto parts since they do free battery testing and they are closer to my house.

I'd take it to an actual Interstate or back to Costco.
 
The one thing I noticed was that when I turn off the Cx-5 and lock it with the key fob, I see the security light flashing on the dashboard every few seconds. I imagine this must drain the battery somewhat overnight when it is parked. Also, during the day time when it is parked.

That security light shouldn't drain the battery enough to affect things. I have a second one much brighter and blinks more frequently (aftermarket remote start antenna) and no effect to battery draining.
 
So I emailed Interstate battery support and they replied stating that the new battery should test at 550 CCA. They said it could be possibly defective and advised me to take it to an authorized interstate distributor in my area to get it tested.

I'll probably take it to Advanced Auto parts since they do free battery testing and they are closer to my house.

Did you have it tested? What was the result?
 
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