Guide CX-5 Battery Installation

[Jack Rabbit]

Here’s my 2019 touring. Looks lIke mine is a little more forward.

Yep. Looking at your pics, even your brake fluid reservoirs is alot further away from the frame than mine.
I'm trying to figure out whats up with my 2018 cpo. Wondering if its shorter( maybe they had a run of shorter frames and body panels hence everything is shoved into a smaller engine space?) or if it was crashed and never reported and everything was pushed/scrunched in towards the dash. Gonna have to have my mechanic pop it back up on the lift and take a real good look at it.

But looks like you should be able to get yours out very easy.
Something up with mine as everything(battery, brake fluid, etc.) is further back in the engine compartment than any of the other pics posted here.

 

[cz5gt]

What is the build date on the door sticker? Could it be it is more to the 2017 model year.
My first picture is my 2018 built in June 2018.

Did you also check may be your battery was moved further back then the clamps were tightened?

 

[RL911]

We also have a 2018 sport, looks the same as my 2019.

 

[sm1ke]

Unfortunately, neither of those pictures on that dudes website looks like my engine bay.

It's alot more difficult than it looks.

I'll post pic later but the battery is really tucked in there under the frame. Can't pull it straight up. Even with the positives cables shoved out of the way, a slight tilt forward is difficult as you cant move the battery any further forward because the battery plate has sides that come up on all four sides. Next time I change, might switch to a flat battery plate. Trying to get your hands in and get leverage to tilt forward then out is difficult plus last thing i would do is tilt a battery towards me for acid to spills towards me. Only other option at the time was to tilt it backwards on it's side and get hand under the side and pull out that way, hoping no acid leaks.

Will definitely be trying @edmaz idea for the next swap if keep the CX-5 and maybe shove an AGM in too then no worry about future spillage during changes.

Can you post a better pic? Yours doesn't really give a good representation of the space around the battery. It's hard to say given the angle of your photo, but your engine bay looks just like every other 2018+ CX-5 NA. The two pictures I posted, along with the pictures others have posted, make it look like there would be enough room to get a hold of the battery, tilt it slightly, and lift it out, provided I'm wearing some thin gloves that offer a decent grip (should be a given when handling a battery). Again, I'm just basing it off of the pictures. I won't know unless I have to do it myself, but for now I remain very skeptical.

EDIT: I should note that I'm not saying it wasn't difficult for you - the frustration in your original post was clear, and I've been there when working on cars as well. I'm just saying that I don't think everyone else will experience the same frustration you did (assuming there is nothing wrong with your engine bay/frame/battery tray/etc.). For example, some (most?) do not change their batteries in store parking lots, at night, with no gloves. And most vehicles have battery insulator sleeves that you have to remove and reinstall.

 

[ceric]

Batteries of group size 35 are not of the same exact length (nor width).
Their lengths range from 9in to 9.5in.

EXIDE seems to be on the longer side. 9.4375in to be exact.
For comparison, DieHard is 9.062in.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Batteries of group size 35 are not of the same exact length (nor width).
Their lengths range from 9in to 9.5in.

EXIDE seems to be on the longer side. 9.4375in to be exact.
For comparison, DieHard is 9.062in.

Both batteries were placed side by side for comparison before install and both were of similar height, width and length. Likewise, when measured by tape measure, both the OEM and replacement battery are approx. 9 inches in length.

 

[yrwei52]

Batteries of group size 35 are not of the same exact length (nor width).
Their lengths range from 9in to 9.5in.

EXIDE seems to be on the longer side. 9.4375in to be exact.
For comparison, DieHard is 9.062in.

Didn’t know that. May be that’s why OP and some others had a hard time to install the battery? Good info.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Didn’t know that. May be that’s why OP and some others had a hard time to install the battery? Good info.

Both batteries of equal length.

Likewise, removing OEM(without handle) was difficult as was hard to get hands in/around tight area and get good grip because of battery tray. Even when tilted, battery kept hitting frame thus had to turn battery completely almost on side to remove(turn battery away from you to avoid acid spilling towards you).

Solutions are to use @edmaz leverage straps/belts to remove while tilting. To help make future installs easier, replacing OEM tray with aftermarket flat tray(which would allow sliding battery as far forward as possible and getting a good grip on/under battery) and/or just use an AGM battery so no worry of acid spillage.

On some vehicles with more space and dependant on where battery tray and battery positioning, it may be able to be done but at some point, if you have to tip the battery so far forwards that could be acid spillage, safer to just tip it backwards.

Backwards tilt allows ability to get hands in tight confined space and hand placement, grip and leverage to get battery out without risking battery turning upside down or slipping out of hands.

For me, it was the safer of the alternatives as the removal was more controlled and any acid leakage would flow away from me to be neutralized later.

Battery placement, frame, battery tray with high sides, limited space all contribute to difficult removal. Overall, the battery placement is very awkward, difficult and more unsafe than other vehicles I've owned.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I found it pretty easy on my '15... easier on my GX but only a little

My G35x... PIA... up under cowling, passenger side, next to firewall. I have to remove part of the lower windshield trim as well to get battery out.

 

[Freedom55]

I found it pretty easy on my '15... easier on my GX but only a little

My G35x... PIA... up under cowling, passenger side, next to firewall. I have to remove part of the lower windshield trim as well to get battery out.

Similar on my 2004.5 VW Passat but luckily, no acid spill while tilting the battery on its side to pull it away. Perhaps the vent holes are small enough to let hydrogen and acid fumes out but keep acid in...?

 

[macker]

I had to replace the OEM battery on my 18 GT as well recently. The Calgary cold snap killed it while we were away in St.Petes FL.

It's probably the hardest battery to remove of any of the cars I've owned and replaced a battery on. As Jack Rabbit mentioned, not a lot of room to maneuver and with no handle on the battery (what a dumb idea), getting your hands in and around to move the battery up and out is harder then it needs to be. My new battery has a strap.

I also had the additional fun of almost losing one of the battery hold down nuts; was lucky it dropped and landed on the tranny housing. Thankfully, I had a magnetic tipped wand to retrieve it! Needless to say, be careful when removing these nuts.

I also found the positive terminal attachment housing could be lifted up and moved out of the way enough that you could get the room needed to slide the battery up and out. WARNING: the plastic terminal cover is pretty weak....I managed to snap mine off.

Here's a pic. The hood prevented me from getting directly over it and getting a better pic). The negative terminal/back end of the battery is positioned just enough under the the cowl that you can't pull the battery out straight up; hence the need to tilt the battery up at the positive terminal end and slide forward, up and out.

 

[hooked]

For some reason for years now I thought you had to remove the handle when you installed the battery. When I started doing this, it was pretty easy to do. I’d be able to pop the ends out of the loops. But then I ended up having to use shears to cut the handle in half and push the halves through the loops.

I finally realized it’s much easier to remove the battery if the handle was still attached to it. LOL!

 

[stickerbush]

It can be handy to have a battery strap, available from most parts stores for about $10. It slips over the terminals and allows you to lift the battery from the battery tray.

 

[SCMike]

Yes stickerbush! This is an old school battery strap, have used mine for decades, it never fails.

 

[sm1ke]

It can be handy to have a battery strap, available from most parts stores for about $10. It slips over the terminals and allows you to lift the battery from the battery tray.

Looks like a great tool to add to any DIYer's toolbox! If you think you'll have trouble removing/installing the battery in your car, of course.

 

[hooked]

How do these work? I don’t se any kind of locking or clamping mechanism. Just the tension of the ends against the battery terminals is enough to prevent them from slipping off when you lift the battery?

 

[yrwei52]

I found it pretty easy on my '15... easier on my GX but only a little

My G35x... PIA... up under cowling, passenger side, next to firewall. I have to remove part of the lower windshield trim as well to get battery out.

Similar on my 2004.5 VW Passat but luckily, no acid spill while tilting the battery on its side to pull it away. Perhaps the vent holes are small enough to let hydrogen and acid fumes out but keep acid in...?

Actually the battery location is worse on VW Passat B5/B5.5 (1997–2005) as the battery is located right in the middle of the room under the cowl below the windshield. I literally had to climb into the engine bay on the V6 and pull the battery out. My back would always be feeling funny after the removal and installing the battery on my 2001.5 Passat GLX.

Yeh I wonder why those batteries used on German vehicles always have a vent hole and hose from the battery top, but not on batteries used by others?

 

[stickerbush]

How do these work? I don’t se any kind of locking or clamping mechanism. Just the tension of the ends against the battery terminals is enough to prevent them from slipping off when you lift the battery?

Yes, just the tension and the fact that the ends dig into the soft lead terminals.

 

[yrwei52]

Yes, just the tension and the fact that the ends dig into the soft lead terminals.

I personally wouldn’t lift the battery with this battery strap which hooks up to 2 lead terminals. These 2 lead terminals are soft and could get separated from the plastic case, or it could break the internal connections when you use that kind of battery strap to lift the car battery. These terminals simply aren’t designed to carry the weight of the whole battery. I’d always lift the battery with built-in strap attached to the case, or the built-in lift-edge of the battery case.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

@yrwei52

A similar amount of fun… notice how much you have to take apart on G

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