[Typhoon]

This is all very interesting and incredibly frustrating and maddening. My wife and I took delivery two days ago of a 2021 Mazda 3 hatchback…our first Mazda. The next day we encountered the low battery alert and siren when opening the car door. Same thing today. Called the dealer today and spoke to the sales guy and the sales manager who both said they never heard of this problem before and they couldn’t understand what this could be. Then we did online searching and found forum, including the document that Mazda sent to dealers on how to hide the problem from dupes like me when looking to drop $30K on a car. I’m not going to buy a battery charger, or ignore blaring noises or any of the other things some people in this forum have suggested. My Mazda dealer is either going to quickly fix a glaring problem with their product, take back the car with a full refund or talk to my lawyer. After two days, I hate Mazda.

 

[itguy78]

@Typhoon I understand your frustration because I have the same issue. This is my 4th mazda car and other than this one issue I love their cars. This is a software issue pure and simple. If you drive the car at least 5 minutes every day you should hardly ever get this alert other than when cleaning or loading/unloading the car for extended periods of time. I am so annoyed by this problem I wired a relay to the room fuse and it’s activated when plugging in my battery charger which is NOT in any way required or related to the issue (the battery level has nothing to do with the alert) - I only use a battery charger because I hardly ever drive. If I drove every day for at least 5 minutes per day I would probably not bother with it since it would reset the alert, but since many of my drives are less than 5 minutes I took a drastic measure against the issue.

I don’t know where you live but here in Canada you have up to 30 days to return a new car with a full refund. I personally really like the car but it should be your personal choice if you want to keep it or not based on pros and cons as you see fit. (not true - my confusion with 30 day 'exchange' guarantee for certified pre-owned vehicles only)

My dealer hinted that issue will hopefully get fixed on a software update soon but I am not holding my breath (this why I took drastic measures). It was fairly quick/easy to manually remove&reinstall the room light fuse (while car is off) to ‘reset’ the alert when the alert was triggered but it definitely is annoying having to do that or having to turn the engine on for 5 minutes to reset it. If it didn’t trigger the check engine light I would just leave the room light fuse disconnected for good until they fixed the problem.

You should definitely weigh your options and do whatever is best for you. I hope you get to return if you decide to do that.

 

[sandy]

@Typhoon

I don’t know where you live but here in Canada you have up to 30 days to return a new car with a full refund.

Where did you hear that?

 

[itguy78]

@sandy Sorry, I take that back -- I swear I read about that somewhere but I think I got confused about the 30 day 'exchange' guarantee for certified pre-owned vehicles (which is what I was planning to get).

 

[peterz]

My first post here. My wife and I purchased our 2021 Mazda 3 Premium 6MT this week. (My wife has owned a 2002 Miata LS 6MT) We fell in love with the 3 when we walked into the showroom, looking for a new car for her. Polymetal Gray Metallic and red (burgundy) interior; absolutely beautiful to us. Everyone in the neighborhood wanted to see the interior, so there has been a lot of door opening, closing, operating the windows, radio, etc., without running the motor.

That's when the low battery risk warning went off. And that's when I found this site. I've read this discussion and understand the situation with the car and how to work through it. I'm hoping for a software change to modify this warning and make it more livable, but it's not enough to make us want to give up the car. There are too many great things about it that we love. We will stick with it, hoping for an update to to the system. Hopefully soon.

Thanks everyone for all of your great information on this!
peter

 

[perseus]

My first post here. My wife and I purchased our 2021 Mazda 3 Premium 6MT this week. (My wife has owned a 2002 Miata LS 6MT) We fell in love with the 3 when we walked into the showroom, looking for a new car for her. Polymetal Gray Metallic and red (burgundy) interior; absolutely beautiful to us. Everyone in the neighborhood wanted to see the interior, so there has been a lot of door opening, closing, operating the windows, radio, etc., without running the motor.

That's when the low battery risk warning went off. And that's when I found this site. I've read this discussion and understand the situation with the car and how to work through it. I'm hoping for a software change to modify this warning and make it more livable, but it's not enough to make us want to give up the car. There are too many great things about it that we love. We will stick with it, hoping for an update to to the system. Hopefully soon.

Thanks everyone for all of your great information on this!
peter

Welcome! I think for most folks, the problem disappears after a few days of normal operation after the date of purchase. It's a bit like a muscle that atrophies from lack of use.

 

[peterz]

Welcome! I think for most folks, the problem disappears after a few days of normal operation after the date of purchase. It's a bit like a muscle that atrophies from lack of use.

Thanks very much! I agree with your analysis. Between showing the neighborhood the interior and playing around with the phone app "MyMazda", I can see where it would run down the charge ;-) Haven't see it pop up for a while now so I'm thinking you are spot on!

 

[Mel B]

Could you please make a picture of the warning message for my information?

My 2020 model had a flat battery (due to my own mistake), but I never had a warning. I already concluded Mazda does not give such warnings. With a picture I have some prove for the dealers. And maybe it is only from 2021+, still the picture would be helpfull.

 

[Red Rocket]

I got my 2021 Mazda3 HB the end of March. I occasionally had the Low Battery Risk warning, but lately, it's been happening more frequently. The last I had driven was Tues Aug 31. The next day,Sept 1, I got a message ,there was a slow discharge of the battery. Today, the battery is dead. I have called service for someone to assist me in jumping the car [since it's under warranty] Havent heard back,yet.
Now if these warnings happen with a day or two of the car not being run, why should it happen? Brand new batteries, in a brand new car, with no lights being left on, etc to drain the battery, should not display warnings of declining battery

 

[Red Rocket]

I got my 2021 Mazda3 HB the end of March. I occasionally had the Low Battery Risk warning, but lately, it's been happening more frequently. The last I had driven was Tues Aug 31. The next day,Sept 1, I got a message ,there was a slow discharge of the battery. Today, the battery is dead. I have called service for someone to assist me in jumping the car [since it's under warranty] Havent heard back,yet.
Now if these warnings happen with a day or two of the car not being run, why should it happen? Brand new batteries, in a brand new car, with no lights being left on, etc to drain the battery, should not display warnings of declining battery

UPDATE on last. The local dealership 'fixed' the car, but really didnt explain what they did. They said to run the engine at least every other day, and to drive the car for about 20 minutes or more 3x a week to have the alternator keep the battery charged. The Low Battery Risk ,is something to have to deal with and nothing can be done to get around it.
So, if I park my car for a week at an airport parking lot for a flight, am I to expect a dead battery when I get back.?
If ,due to illness or surgery, and I am unable to start/drive the car ,do I end up with a dead battery?
I love my Mazda3 HB, and bought it for the excellent reliability reports. If I have to play slave to my car, to run it just about every day, then I want a Mazda that doesnt have this issue. I wrote corporate headquarters, but expect the answer to be the usual BS 'We value you as a customer, but sorry this is the way it is, and with the current shortage of new cars , are unable to get you a different vehicle.' Sorry about your luck.

 

[peterz]

UPDATE on last. The local dealership 'fixed' the car, but really didnt explain what they did. They said to run the engine at least every other day, and to drive the car for about 20 minutes or more 3x a week to have the alternator keep the battery charged. The Low Battery Risk ,is something to have to deal with and nothing can be done to get around it.
So, if I park my car for a week at an airport parking lot for a flight, am I to expect a dead battery when I get back.?
If ,due to illness or surgery, and I am unable to start/drive the car ,do I end up with a dead battery?
I love my Mazda3 HB, and bought it for the excellent reliability reports. If I have to play slave to my car, to run it just about every day, then I want a Mazda that doesnt have this issue. I wrote corporate headquarters, but expect the answer to be the usual BS 'We value you as a customer, but sorry this is the way it is, and with the current shortage of new cars , are unable to get you a different vehicle.' Sorry about your luck.

There are a number of us who also have had the same problem. Here is a link to another discussion on the same problem/"feature": "Low Battery Risk. Start vehicle to charge 12v."

I also make sure that I lock the car as soon as I get out, and have any delay items, such as headlights, etc., set to turn off immediately after I stop the car. So far, I haven't had any recurrences of the low batter warning since I made the simple changes, and I do let it sit for 5-6 days at a time now without any issues.
hope this info helps!
peter

 

[MotiveAuto]

I've had the same issue in a brand new '21 M3T. The last time was after almost 200 miles of mostly highway driving. I likely spent time playing with settings and unloading after turning off the engine. According to the service bulletin in this thread, that's all it takes to trigger this annoying alarm. Seems like a very dumb feature in an otherwise really nice vehicle. Appears that Mazda has some paranoia with battery drain. Unlike with any other car I've known they even kill the radio as soon as one turns off the engine.

 

[561632]

I've had the same issue in a brand new '21 M3T. The last time was after almost 200 miles of mostly highway driving. I likely spent time playing with settings and unloading after turning off the engine. According to the service bulletin in this thread, that's all it takes to trigger this annoying alarm. Seems like a very dumb feature in an otherwise really nice vehicle. Appears that Mazda has some paranoia with battery drain. Unlike with any other car I've known they even kill the radio as soon as one turns off the engine.

Not just Mazda every bloody car I have owned in the last 5 years seems to do it you get 10 mins of radio sat in your car with the engine off then some annoying message flashes up telling you the radio is going off, seems to be a thing these days. Have you tried pressing the start button twice while you don't press in the clutch? it lights up the whole dash but might work.

 

[Artemiche69]

It’s definitely an issue. I too have the same issue with my 2021 M3T - 3 days old. I sat inside the car for 5 min after turning it off with the interior lights on, that’s all it took. Again, not normal. I have a dash cam plugged into the USB but they lose power after 3 min. Computer glitch 100%.

SAME. I took it camping 2 weeks after purchase and was an anxious wreck all weekend. It probably drove my neighbors nuts too. I was told there is nothing they can do. I read online that it's because it constantly searches for lock status and it drains the battery. This car just wants to either be driving or locked. There is no in between.

 

[rockchalk1991]

Wish I'd seen this forum sooner ... I've had a 2021 Mazda 3 since January 21. Battery warning showed up about two weeks after purchase and has been a continuous issue since. I've taken it to the dealer three times and each time they tell me its normal for the car. Problem is that a couple months ago I took a trip for one week (not driving the car) and came back to a completely dead battery. Couldn't even get in the truck to get jumper cables because electronic switch. Brought this issue to dealer and continued to get the same story. They replaced the batter but problem has continued. I'll drive the car home from work (30 minutes) and park it in garage and be met with the warning the next morning. There were no periods when the lights, a/c, radio, etc. were operating and the engine wasn't running and no periodic opened doors. The car sat overnight and the alarm was back.

This week was told by service advisor that "new cars" with electronics aren't expected to hold battery for more than 5 or so days without driving. This cannot be true.

 

[cuzed]

@rockchalk1991
Sorry to hear you are continuing to have these issues. I was also having some of these on my 21MT sedan.
How close is your key FOB to the car when you put it away in the garage?

Originally my key fob was just inside the house about 6' away (thru a wall) from the car in the garage
Once I moved my key FOB further away (into another room) the problem ended.

Seems if the FOB is in close proximity there is some kind of communication/pinging going between the car and the FOB on that draws on the 12v car battery ?

 

[TomZ]

Wish I'd seen this forum sooner ... I've had a 2021 Mazda 3 since January 21. Battery warning showed up about two weeks after purchase and has been a continuous issue since. I've taken it to the dealer three times and each time they tell me its normal for the car. Problem is that a couple months ago I took a trip for one week (not driving the car) and came back to a completely dead battery. Couldn't even get in the truck to get jumper cables because electronic switch. Brought this issue to dealer and continued to get the same story. They replaced the batter but problem has continued. I'll drive the car home from work (30 minutes) and park it in garage and be met with the warning the next morning. There were no periods when the lights, a/c, radio, etc. were operating and the engine wasn't running and no periodic opened doors. The car sat overnight and the alarm was back.

This week was told by service advisor that "new cars" with electronics aren't expected to hold battery for more than 5 or so days without driving. This cannot be true.

The way I understand it is that it's about the computer waking up too many times. The battery is probably just fine. When I was having the issue I put a charger on my battery and it indicated it was fully charged.

On a side note; are you a climber? "rockchalk" sounds like someone that would be a climber.

Tom

 

[rockchalk1991]

@rockchalk1991
Sorry to hear you are continuing to have these issues. I was also having some of these on my 21MT sedan.
How close is your key FOB to the car when you put it away in the garage?

Originally my key fob was just inside the house about 6' away (thru a wall) from the car in the garage
Once I moved my key FOB further away (into another room) the problem ended.

Seems if the FOB is in close proximity there is some kind of communication/pinging going between the car and the FOB on that draws on the 12v car battery ?

Thanks for the suggestion. My FOB usually sits at least 30 feet away (also through a wall). Has anyone tried calling Mazda direct? I don't know if I'll get any satisfaction but I've heard from too many mechanics that challenge the statement that I should expect the batter to be dead after a week without driving.

 

[TomZ]

Thanks for the suggestion. My FOB usually sits at least 30 feet away (also through a wall). Has anyone tried calling Mazda direct? I don't know if I'll get any satisfaction but I've heard from too many mechanics that challenge the statement that I should expect the batter to be dead after a week without driving.

The longest my car sat without starting was five days while I was camping. The car just sat there, I didn't open the car during those 5 days. At the end of the trip I got in and it started just fine without the warning showing.

 

[hsdejong]

On a CX-3 forum (How long unattanded before battery depleted?) someone asked how long can a CX-3 be left parked before the battery runs itself flat.
I joined the discussion because I planned not to use my CX-3 for 3 months while I was abroad.
My questions were:
1) What is the current condition/capacity of the battery?
2) What is the parasitic average current with everything turned off?

In my then model CX-3 (2018) the parasitic average current was about 55mA and the battery capacity I think was 60Ah (when new).
60Ah/55mA = 45 days before the battery is completely empty.
Keep in mind that you still need enough electricity in the battery to start the car.
So I decided to disconnect the battery to avoid depletion before leaving the car for 90 days.

Aside from the 90 days unattended with my previous model, I had parked my current CX-3 model for at least 14 days without any problem.

If a garage tells you that you have to drive your car every week to prevent a dead battery, that seems ridiculous to me.
I think that there is a problem with the car. Something is using a lot of current in the car which it should not when everything is switched off.