Failed Battery

[arod19426]

I have a 2015 CX-5 GT with about 40,000 miles on it. I bought it in April of 2014. Was at the shop yesterday, due to a tire issue, and they told me that my battery needed replacement. It was below standard. I contacted my local Mazda dealer today,and they told me the battery did not have a separate warranty, but that it was only covered by the standard 36moth/36,000 mile warranty. I was pretty pissed.
I have NEVER had a battery die within 2 years time. If I buy a replacement Mazda battery it's warrantied for the first 3 years, 100% replacement, with no mileage warranty. I would have thought the battery that came with the car would have the same warranty.
Anybody else have issues with their batteries failing prematurely?

 

[craigo]

Batteries can and do fail early - the mean time between failure falls on a curve. Some last many years. Others die an early death. I always buy them with 3 year warranties as that means the manufacturer is reasonably confident it will last that long - even so, I have had one not make it.

It's a bummer your dealer won't goodwill it - you could try calling Mazda USA and see if they will. If not, you can probably find a non-Mazda battery with a 3 year warranty that will cost less.

Although now that I re-read your post you say the shop (what shop, a tire shop?) claims its "below standard". What does that mean, exactly? Have you had any symptoms?

 

[GP 2004]

I would not take the recommendation from a tire shop battery test without verification, especially if you did not ask them to do it. Some shops do these extra tests to add sales income to a service visit and are suspect of being questionable at best and downright dishonest at worst. Take the car elsewhere and have the battery tested. AutoZone and others will test your battery for free.

 

[BambooBen]

I have been in battery hell the last few weeks.
Started when I visited my mom, who has a 2013 CX-5 she bought at the end of that year, so it is only 2 years old with about 12,000 miles. One morning the battery is dead. I'll check with her to see if she called the Mazda dealer to check about warrenty like I asked her to.

I get home from the trip and my old Ford Ranger I keep for home improvemt runs has a dead battery. That one was about 5 years old, so I can live with that.
Then I get back to work and in the last week and couple of days every battery in our service trucks have gone out. Turns out one of them in a support truck was 13 years old. Some of the other ones are only 2-3 years old. Even our emergancy rescue/repair HD dump truck and 2 of our ATVs are dead.

When it rains it pours (or snows like this weekend).

 

[GAXIBM]

I bet your moms 2013 was sold at the end of 2012 or was built then so it is over 3 years old, look at the door build date...

 

[russiankid]

After working at an auto parts store for a little over a year, I can tell you that many batteries come defective from factory. I have seen many cases where the shop installed the battery, next day customer comes back with battery issue. After putting it on a long load test, multiple cells were failing. It does suck that a new car has a failure like this but it happens, unfortunately.

 

[erhayes]

As stated, I would not take the information from the tire shop. Go get the battery tested at AP before buying a new one. Ed

 

[craigo]

I bet your moms 2013 was sold at the end of 2012 or was built then so it is over 3 years old, look at the door build date...

Correct, I have a 2014 that was built in January of 2013(!). That was a weird time, they built 2014's for almost 18 months.

 

[MikeM.]

Correct, I have a 2014 that was built in January of 2013(!). That was a weird time, they built 2014's for almost 18 months.

Also, it may have sat on the lot for weeks or even months with customers opening doors, starting the engine, playing with the Infotainment, etc. This can discharge the battery and shorten it's life. I purchased mine fresh off the boat.

 

[arod19426]

Update: Was at Mazda Dealer for 40K service, and had they look at battery. They said it was fine. Not sure who to trust, because this is the same dealer who two times ago (30k service) told me I would need brakes very soon(in yellow on their chart), but at the 35k service, and today at the 40k service, they said the brakes were fine (in the green on their chart). Who knows!! Only good part about today was that the oil change only cost me $29 with the Castrol rebate check that I get at every oil change, along with the dealer taking $20 off at every oil change as well.

 

[robertmazda]

Update: Was at Mazda Dealer for 40K service, and had they look at battery. They said it was fine. Not sure who to trust, because this is the same dealer who two times ago (30k service) told me I would need brakes very soon(in yellow on their chart), but at the 35k service, and today at the 40k service, they said the brakes were fine (in the green on their chart). Who knows!! Only good part about today was that the oil change only cost me $29 with the Castrol rebate check that I get at every oil change, along with the dealer taking $20 off at every oil change as well.

I would trust the dealer. If the battery was bad they would certainly try to sell you a new one.

 

[arnolj25]

I bet your moms 2013 was sold at the end of 2012 or was built then so it is over 3 years old, look at the door build date...

I would not take the recommendation from a tire shop battery test without verification, especially if you did not ask them to do it. Some shops do these extra tests to add sales income to a service visit and are suspect of being questionable at best and downright dishonest at worst. Take the car elsewhere and have the battery tested. AutoZone and others will test your battery for free.

Update: Was at Mazda Dealer for 40K service, and had they look at battery. They said it was fine. Not sure who to trust, because this is the same dealer who two times ago (30k service) told me I would need brakes very soon(in yellow on their chart), but at the 35k service, and today at the 40k service, they said the brakes were fine (in the green on their chart). Who knows!! Only good part about today was that the oil change only cost me $29 with the Castrol rebate check that I get at every oil change, along with the dealer taking $20 off at every oil change as well.

I completely agree,just go to auto zone or advance auto parts,their usually honest people,and ask them to show you the results themselves,since you dont seem to know too much about cars,which is fine,12.6 or higher is a solid battery voltage while the car is completely off,depending on how cold it is, the voltage might be lower in colder areas which is normal,but anything below 12 or so is going bad.Once the engine is on,the alternator should be charging your battery to about 14 volts.

 

[Keno1542]

Shameless Plug...sounds like you need to invest in one of these.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123853113-FS-Actron-CP7612-Battery-Load-Tester-New

 

[CX-5um]

I would trust the dealer. If the battery was bad they would certainly try to sell you a new one.

Exactly. ^^ Furthermore just because a battery is below spec does that necessarily mean it should be replaced? Its like saying the brake pads are below spec so you need to change them even though they are still safe to use.