Texas 8

I've never looked at the battery close. But, that is a teensy-weensy bit on the low side...

Speed Racer

I know what you mean. Last Monday my battery died and I had the car towed to the nearest dealership which is an hour and a half away. I gave the Service Manager the TSB about the new 640 CCA battery and he ordered the parts. They had the car for five days and when I went to pick it up he told me that he didn't replace the battery.

When they recharged it, it came back up to a whooping 287 CCA and that is technically in spec. So Mazda will not cover the battery upgrade under warranty. This is BS, especially when the car is being driving year round in the New Hampshire.

JOHNRX8

I used to have a go-kart. I use to have to start it with a external starter. The battery i used was a 750 CCA. And Speed Racer , after 5 days and they didnt replace the battery i think i would have had a heart attack!

Speed Racer

I was tempted to lambast the service manager but I decided not to because he was just following the TSB to the letter. So my angst should really be directed at MNAO for not providing a cold weather package and/or battery upgrade but I'm sure that you feel the same way living in WI.

G8rboy

I would call MNAO- that is BS. I had problems when the temp was dropping below zero with the car coming close to not starting. I had to argue my point with the service tech - they said if it didn't test out of spec they wouldn't be able to get me the cold climate battery. I told them if they didn't get it for me, I was going to make life very difficult. I told them it was going to end up flooding, at which point they would have to replace the battery, plugs, maybe a cat, and deal with unflooding it, and I was trying to be proactive about it. I gave them the P/N for the cold climate battery, and they agreed to get it for me, even though my stock one was barely in spec. Of course they checked the battery in their heated garage (~75 degrees)- I told them to try it out when it's zero and see what happens... they didn't get it.

Anyway, I got my 640cca battery, and it starts like a champ every time. Keep pushing them...

Omicron

Took my car in for MSP04 (N flash) and since I'd had a nearly-dead-battery slow crank once in the previous week (car still started), I asked them to replace the battery per the slow-start complaint (which is the way to get a new battery, BTW). Anyway, they tested my old one and I was putting out - get this - 220 CCA! New battery is on order, should be in tomorrow.

Sea Ray

My dealer replaced mine. He even asked me if I noticed it acting sluggish when it started to get cold last fall. I said it did start a bit slower when cold, new battery right then, on the spot.

Sounds like a lot of Service mgrs just are not worth much. Try to find a new service dept if you can.

And the fact that it was dead a couple weeks earlier and he still wouldn't replace it?? That is hard to believe. Take the battery home and hook up to something for a week, that should kill it.

Good luck

G8rboy

The problem is Mazda's S.O.P. is to take your battery and trickle charge it overnight, then test it. And they test it in different environmental conditions than real-world circumstances. You're right, you need to find a dealer that will listen to reason and not what their test equipment says to do.

snap-on

I'm sorry you had such a hard time..

Just look at the locations of you guys..Chicago/New Hampshire/Wisconsin

If anyone really needed the battery it would be the guys up "nort'

I wonder what this cost-----------Tow bill/flood clear/converter/plugs/labor

Seems like they would be throwing the batteries in ASAP

IMHO

Murray16

Wait... isn't the stock battery a panasonic one?

Mine is
and its dead

Lock & Load

Batteries are being replaced with 850cca ones and also the started motors have been upgraded from what i have read in this thread .

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/rx-8-modified-starter-56227/

cheers
michael

Go48

The recommended replacement battery is the Interstate MTP-35 with 640CCA and 800CA.

tpryor

Mine will be two years old in July, and the battery has slowly been getting weaker over the last few months. Monday, it cranked for about 6 seconds and wouldn't start, so I released and tried again and it started right up (this is the behavior it has been doing for a few weeks now) - only this time with a CEL!

I stopped by the dealer on the way home and had the code read - it was a crank angle sensor that was read at 128rpm (obviously while it was trying to crank)!

I mentioned the battery issue, and he said that they have been replacing a lot of batteries in 8's lately, and that he "remembered" hearing in a training class that 8's would throw several different codes with weak batteries.

He tested mine (says that Mazda will only pay for it if a "Fail" slip is printed and sent in with the claim) and it would only show "Unstable Battery".

He replaced it with the new Interstate battery (List - $172.00 from the dealer, $89.00 from the Interstate store up the street) and it starts instantly again. They prorated it for the two years, and my "part" came to $61. Not a bad deal - and the new battery has an 85 month warranty.

Brice-RX8

Well, I went out of town on a 4 day trip without my car and when I got home, to my surprise my battery was dead (factory). Had roadside bring someone to jump it off, and when I made it to the dealer they tested it and it came back as good. I complained about it and they said unless their machine prints a bad battery ticket then they can't get paid for a replacement, I told them that is cool, but if it happens again I am not going to be happy.

Speed Racer

Guess what just happened.

Dead battery again. I'm pissed and I don't know if I want to go through the hassle of taking another day off from work to have the car towed to a dealership an hour and a half away. Who is going to keep my car for another week and say that there is nothing wrong after they trickle charge this POS battery.

I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and see if I can find the battery locally.

Go48

Bummer! I never will understand why Mazda didn't install a more capable battery in the US cars. Guess it was a money thing, but in the end, it probably cost them more with having to deal with no-start issues.

I know what you mean about the hassle. Might save you some bucks to get the dealer to replace the OEM battery, but depending on how many miles on the car they may prorate the battery and you will end up paying for part of the new battery anyway. One forum member did that and it cost him $60USD anyway.

I haven't had any problems with starting but I went ahead and installed the recommended Interstate MTP-35 battery anyway in an attempt to avoid future starting problems. Cost me about $75USD at a local retailer. I charged the battery and installed it--no problems. Click on the link below to the Interstate web site. In the upper right hand corner click on "Locations" to find your local dealers. Good luck.

Spin9k

Speedracer - you know Mazda will replace your battery NC, part of a TSB, they did mine recently.

Go48

Some will, some won't. Here's the relevant wording from the Engine Cranks No Start service bulletin (01-004/05):

"Hard/no start concerns may be caused by lower than specification cranking compression at engine start. Charge and inspect vehicle battery, replace with 0000-80-MT35-WB if necessary (see service bulletin 01/042/04-BATTERY REPLACEMENT-SERVICE TIP). For warranty reimbursement, Midtronics printout showing battery failed must be attached to repair order & readings must be documented on warranty claim."

There is little doubt that the OEM battery is weak and generally not up to the task, but unless it fails the test, Mazda considers it operable and will not reimbuse the dealer the cost of a new battery. So the dealer has 2 choices in that case. He can refuse to replace the battery per the SB, or he can replace the battery and eat the cost. To a great extent, I think it depends on how much the dealer values customer satisfaction.

(BTW, the the Battery Replacement-Service Tip (01-042/04) is just that. It's not a recall nor is it an instruction to the dealers to automatically replace OEM batteries.)

EDIT: Last para removed due to redundancy with previous post in this thread.

Speed Racer

Well I was in a bind yesterday, dead battery, and the only thing that I could find locally was a 525CCA battery at Walmart for $30. All of the other places I checked were more than happy to order one for me but they probably would not get them in until the middle of next week.

The service manager at McGreevy Mazda is going to get an earful from me on Monday morning.

Spin9k

Seacoast Mazda must be a 'good guy'. I simply walked in un-announced one morning, said "My battery is sick, it barely turns over after a few days left in the gararge."

Result? No inspection, no 20 questions, both the service writer, then the owner who just happened to walk by, said, "Oh yea, Mazda put in wrong battery, not strong enough, we'll replace it.... how about tomorrow?" Then I got the 20 minute version, complete with details of a new campaign to replace the starter motor too, as well as up the battery, as a fix for flooding.

Next day, had a nice chunko 680CCA/800 CA battery installed, gratis.

Go48

Good guy for sure! Stick with this dealer.