I-Stop Battery cost

[erhayes]

I was curious about the newer I-Stop batteries since they have special requirements. A quick check showed list prices of $360 and discount prices at ~ $265. That throws a lot of extra cost to the owner of this "high efficiency" system. Ed

 

[nizzy1115]

There is no free lunch.

 

[xtrailman]

Its only a cost if it fails.

My standard Xtrail battery is 4.5 years old, so cost is zero.

are we anticipating early failure rates on the istop batteries?

I remember all the doom stories when cats came out, never had to change one to date.

 

[erhayes]

One would hope you are correct xtrailman. If a standard $100 battery last 4+ years, how do you figure a battery is free at 4.5 years? If I remember correctly, CATs were terrible until the government mandate, that they last 80K miles.

 

[CX-SV]

I have 2 cars with original batteries at 5 years old (Mercedes) and 6 years old (Lexus). IMHO, not a problem I worry about.

In the case of the cost difference between I-Stop Mazda battery and standard Mazda battery and battery life of 4-6 years, the savings in gasoline expense will most likely offset that cost differential completely.

Note: Automakers are currently not allowed to claim improved EPA fuel economy ratings due to I-stop and similar systems.

 

[erhayes]

One would hope you are correct xtrailman. If a standard $100 battery last 4+ years, how do you figure a battery is free at 4.5 years? If I remember correctly, CATs were terrible until the government mandate, that they last 80K miles.

 

[Sassimac]

Hello All...

Having gone through a failed i-Stop battery, it would be advisable at this point to stick with the OEM unit. My Dealer initially replaced the failed battery with a non-OEM one (as instructed by Head Office) only to find the i-Stop system would not set itself up and calibrate to the new battery.

Needless to say, they ended up fitting an OEM battery, and all is Zen with the world..!!!

 

[erhayes]

Considering the OEM cost, one hopes that it will become warrantied for more than the 3/36K basic.

 

[xtrailman]

Do you know what the difference between batteries is?

Hello All...

Having gone through a failed i-Stop battery, it would be advisable at this point to stick with the OEM unit. My Dealer initially replaced the failed battery with a non-OEM one (as instructed by Head Office) only to find the i-Stop system would not set itself up and calibrate to the new battery.

Needless to say, they ended up fitting an OEM battery, and all is Zen with the world..!!!

 

[xtrailman]

One would hope you are correct xtrailman. If a standard $100 battery last 4+ years, how do you figure a battery is free at 4.5 years? If I remember correctly, CATs were terrible until the government mandate, that they last 80K miles.

Good point.

What I meant to say you only have additional cost during ownership if the battery fails during that time.

 

[Sassimac]

Xtrailman...

I have no idea what the issue was with the non-OEM battery.

All I can say for sure was that the i-Stop system refused to work, and from memory also displayed a warning indicator.

 

[GAXIBM]

I read in the service manual that the I-stop battery has many more plates that allow a higher current/capacity in and out than the normal battery. This allows aux(lights radio etc.) to run while stopped and still assist in starting for many cycles in long stop and go situations.