Extremely hazardous / hot / toxic battery?

[ljmattox]

An old-school GM exec was once quoted as saying, "parts left off lower assembly costs and don't cause service issues". Another way of saying, if the mfr. included that part with the car, "someone" thought it purposeful enough or important enough to include.

Which brings me to a curious part on the Mazda5. It has a fairly elaborate battery box, and a fresh air duct to ventilate it. How come?

I coulda understood this more "back in the day" with open-vented batteries venting hydrogen/gases and so on, but sealed ones today emit very little.

Odd that Mazda took this step as opposed to the several-million vehicles produced each year without such.

Any insight as to why Mazda took such precautions with the battery on the 5? Who's already pitched theirs to improve air filter / underhood / CAI access?

 

[skyhawk]

- maybe just one of those 'attention to details' that mazda does.
(check out the lower edge of the swing door, and you see tiny rubber flaps
covering the drain holes.. obviously to minimize entry of fumes from the outside..

- As for the battery, I do find it difficult to accidentally drop a wrench across the battery terminals.

- It also discourages me from being a good samaritan to jump-start another car. When you think about it the charging of the battery is not an independent alternator job. Not like in my old car. In the mazda5 Field current is adjusted by the computer.. So I think they don't want enexperience to wreck the system.

- as for the air duct.. it may have helped when we drove to vegas one summer.

 

[monsta]

Your battery is not a sealed, maintenance free type battery. It is a traditional lead-acid, "gotta-fill-with-water-every-now-and-then" type battery.

It sets up fairly high in the compartment so unprotected from the heat would have really shortened it's already pathetic life span.