[gregersonke]

Get the X2 from batteries plus. 5 year replacement warranty and I think 840cca. I bought mine 3 years ago and haven't had a lick of problems with it.

 

[gregersonke]

X2Power Premium AGM Battery for 2014 Mazda 3 L4 2.5L 525CCA Canada/Cold Climate/Sedan Car and Truck - SLI35AGMDP at Batteries Plus Bulbs

X2Power group 35 AGM replacement battery designed for low maintenance and dependable engine starting power. Perfect replacement battery for Mazda, Nissan and more

www.batteriesplus.com

 

[gregersonke]

I'm going to assume that you mean trunk light since I don't know what a "truck light" is.
Although what you've found is great, I think it's symptoms of a greater issue. You have evidence that the light does not turn off as it should when you close the trunk and leaving it switched off is just fine.
HOWEVER....a small light left on overnight should not drain your battery. That tells us that either the battery is losing capacity in a big way or the alternator is not charging it as it should.
I would start with load testing the battery. Better to replace it now than to get stuck somewhere looking for a boost.

I swapped all the lights to LED partially because of this. My mother in law has a habit of somehow turning on interior lights without knowing. So I frequently come home to find the lights on in the car. The drain from LED is so minimal that I never worry about the battery as a result.

 

[gregersonke]

Since I switched to an AMG battery.. startups have been much better. They recharge at a faster rate and have a higher cold cranking amp rating.

Same here, my northstar is still running happy 6 years later.

 

[gregersonke]

2014 Mazda3 has this problem in a severe way. I've had about 8 batteries so far. New battery May 2022 dead by October 2023. New battery in October 2023 is dead now after frequent drives, no sign of alternator issues. Neither the dealer or my (excellent) mechanic could find anything. I'm in a condo, can't use a trickle charger. Investing in a portable charger. Won't buy a Mazda again.

It's nothing wrong with mazda, specifically just the design tied to QA happens to have a smaller CCA battery. Most manufactures do this because Quality assurance process is typically 1 year. Trick is buying an oversized battery or buying something that nearly doubles the stock CCA and you should be fine. If you are doing a stock sized battery make sure you get a battery insulation kit as they don't like getting down to freezing or up to higher temps. An insulation kit will help protect the battery some areas of the country will come with one. Some will not.

 

[gregersonke]

View attachment 292998 View attachment 292999

I fully endorse Odyssey AGM batteries.

What about Optima? Optima AGM batteries have fallen from their high position in the pantheon of automotive products, based on my recent experience. Once widely-praised, Optima batteries no longer appear to perform as well or as long as expected.

The Optima batteries I installed in our former '07 Nissan Quest and '07 Mazda 3 endured for several years, and were still performing well when traded away. The most recent batteries installed in our former '16 Nissan Rogue and current '18 Mazda 3 began showing weak behavior a mere two years into their lives, running down after less than a month of being parked. This became evident when we were away for several weeks in 2021. After returning home, I had to jump-start the cars a few times, and began keeping the Mazda on a Battery Tender until I could drive it at least once per week.

We traded away one Optima battery with the Rogue in late 2021, but the one in the Mazda continued, cranking slowly every time. Before I needed to put it on the tender all winter, in went a new Odyssey AGM. It's heavy and expensive, and a year later, still cranks reliably between infrequent drives (I haven't commuted regularly in nearly four years). Look at those brassy terminals. 😁

They stole(bought Northstar) who makes their batteries now. The extreme series has the gold contacts like the Northstar. My Northstar is still going 6 years later where the factory had issues within 3 years and it was the 900 dollar special battery for the hybrids we had in 2014.

 

[gregersonke]

my idle curiosity... for those that have battery drain issues, do you have the i-eloop feature? getting an AGM is great if that's your thing, but i don't have the need for it here. i looked and they're almost double the cost of a standard lead acid here. i get the cheap everstart batteries from walmart....and yes they seem to last. starts just fine in the cold and i have no issues with battery drain if i leave it in the garage for several days or even a week. it's a non issue here so makes it hard to justify spending more for a better battery.

but yet many are having glitches due to their batteries....so what's the root cause here? seems silly to be 'fixing' it with a bigger battery.

Yep, once I went to the Northstar those issues went away though.

 

[gregersonke]

That's about what I thought. I suspect that the electronic features like the ieloop are super sensitive to the battery voltage. I didn't buy the tech package and batteries are not an issue.

It's not the i-eloop that's sensitive so much. It's more or less that the system does more recharge and discharge on the battery. I replaced mine about the time that on cold morning starts the HUD wouldn't raise up which was an early symptom of those with battery issues. The tech package itself has been wonderfully reliable up till one thing this year with the auto wiper doesn't sense rain anymore guessing it's a loose connection and the license plate lights were not LED so they failed. But everything else in the car is working as good as the day it delivered.

 

[gregersonke]

I'm more so just curious why battery problems seem to be so widespread and yet I have not experienced any. I buy a cheap lead acid, test it twice a year and rock on. The OEM lasted me 6 years.

I don't have any of the tech features besides auto headlights and auto wipers. Was thinking maybe that's why.

I dunno, I had a special battery for i-eloop cars and mine lasting over 3 years with no issues was apparently rare. The battery for those cars generally had more issues.

 

[gregersonke]

My 2016 Mazda3 isport (with 5 year old EverStart MAXX manufactured by Johnson Controls) sat for over 2 months, and started right up upon my return home to Portland in mid February. But 5 months later, battery testing says it's time to replace. 12.55V and measured 567CCA, rated at 800CCA. Surprised me, it still performs fine...

May go with an AGM battery next time instead of the flooded, the EverStart Platinum AGM is about the same price (and has an extra year warranty) compared to the Duracell Ultra Gold Flooded (East Penn) at Batteries Plus.

Don't have i-eloop or start-stop system, and was hesitant at first to go with an AGM battery, but research indicates it won't harm my electrical system in any way...

Try to figure out who makes it. There aren't a lot of oem's in that market. Batteries plus x2 35 series battery is made by northstar who was bought by odyssey. Solid battery, as I'm on at least 7 years for mine with the i-eloop.

Amazon.com: Odyssey Battery ODP-AGM35 Performance Series AGM Battery : Automotive

Buy Odyssey Battery ODP-AGM35 Performance Series AGM Battery: Batteries - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[gregersonke]

Optima went to mexico. Enersys is odyssey(thick pure lead tech with the performance/extreme batteries) fewer failures.

Company	City	State	Number of Employees
East Penn Manufacturing Co.	Lyon Station	PA	7,800
Tesla, Inc.	Sparks	NV	3,000
Clarios Advanced Solutions, LLC	Milwaukee	WI	1,200
SK Battery America, Inc.	Commerce	GA	1,000
Stryten Salina, LLC	Salina	KS	950
SK Battery America, Inc.	Commerce	GA	940
Ultium Cells, LLC	Warren	OH	800
A123 Systems, LLC	Livonia	MI	600
EnerSys, Inc.	Richmond	KY	525
Clarios, LLC	Holland	OH	500