E-ZPass batteries

[1995hoo]

My mother asked me a question for which I didn't have a good answer and I wondered whether someone here might know. She asked how she can tell whether her E-ZPass battery might be nearing the end of its life. I said that I used to make a point of driving through a conventional tollbooth every once in a while to see whether the green light came on—as long as it did, the battery was OK. But conventional tollbooths are becoming few and far between, at least on any roads she would be likely to use. I ultimately told her not to worry about it unless she gets a toll violation notice from someplace, at which time she should consider replacing it. (I don't know how old her transponder is, but I'm pretty certain she's had it since at least 2018 and most likely several years longer than that. She won't know—prior to his death, that's the sort of thing my father handled.) Anyone perhaps have a better solution? "Wait until you get a ticket" feels perhaps flippant.

What prompted the question was that I mentioned replacing one of mine that had a dead battery, which I was able to determine because it no longer beeped when I flipped it to HOV mode. But she doesn't have an E-ZPass Flex.

[SectorZ]

I don't think you will know. Especially given that most will just read your plate, match it to the E-Z Pass on file and bill the account as if the transponder was still working, you may not ever know. I think it when charges by plate match instead of transponder pickup it doesn't even say on whatever state's E-Z Pass site you are using.

Maybe at some point they e-mail after so many plate match reads.

I'm at year 13 of what are 10 year batteries in my transponder and I have no idea whether it is dead or not.

[cjw2001]

Depending on what state her E-ZPass is from might be time to move to a sticker - no batteries required.

[Max Rockatansky]

With my SunPass the batteries lasted only seven years.  I found out they were dead once I started getting paper toll statements in the mail. 

[kalvado]

10 years is official battery life. I got replacement tags in the mail at the end of year 10 in NY.
Looking at the ezpass statement to see if I was billed by license plate or a tag is another option in NY
Last, but not the least, once upon a time I went to an ezpass service center (there was one nearby those days) and they had a diagnostic stand for that sort of problems.

[1995hoo]

Depending on what state her E-ZPass is from might be time to move to a sticker - no batteries required.

Virginia. Don't think we have sticker devices, at least not insofar as I know.

[JREwing78]

My EZ-Pass was labeled right on the unit when it "expired". It lasted at least another year longer until I finally was able to get a new transponder - ISHTA was out of stock for a long time. I finally broke down and exchanged mine at a Road Ranger gas station just over the border.

[cjw2001]

Depending on what state her E-ZPass is from might be time to move to a sticker - no batteries required.

Virginia. Don't think we have sticker devices, at least not insofar as I know.

I'm fortunate enough to live in an area without tolls but my understanding from doing a little research is Illinois is migrating to stickers from transponders.  Supposedly they are valid anywhere E-ZPass is accepted so wouldn't be surprised if other E-ZPass states follow along with that change before too long.  The stickers are much less costly to distribute than transponders but can't be moved between vehicles.

[pderocco]

Depending on what state her E-ZPass is from might be time to move to a sticker - no batteries required.

Virginia. Don't think we have sticker devices, at least not insofar as I know.

I'm fortunate enough to live in an area without tolls but my understanding from doing a little research is Illinois is migrating to stickers from transponders.  Supposedly they are valid anywhere E-ZPass is accepted so wouldn't be surprised if other E-ZPass states follow along with that change before too long.  The stickers are much less costly to distribute than transponders but can't be moved between vehicles.

California's FasTrak switched to adhesive passive transponders, and if you switch cars, it doesn't cost you anything to get a new one. But you have to stick to the old style with a battery if you want to be able to flip a switch to specify whether you're alone, so you can drive for free if you're not.

[jeffandnicole]

My mother asked me a question for which I didn't have a good answer and I wondered whether someone here might know. She asked how she can tell whether her E-ZPass battery might be nearing the end of its life. I said that I used to make a point of driving through a conventional tollbooth every once in a while to see whether the green light came on—as long as it did, the battery was OK. But conventional tollbooths are becoming few and far between, at least on any roads she would be likely to use. I ultimately told her not to worry about it unless she gets a toll violation notice from someplace, at which time she should consider replacing it. (I don't know how old her transponder is, but I'm pretty certain she's had it since at least 2018 and most likely several years longer than that. She won't know—prior to his death, that's the sort of thing my father handled.) Anyone perhaps have a better solution? "Wait until you get a ticket" feels perhaps flippant.

What prompted the question was that I mentioned replacing one of mine that had a dead battery, which I was able to determine because it no longer beeped when I flipped it to HOV mode. But she doesn't have an E-ZPass Flex.

The current generation of EZ Pass tags (about 1" tall by 3" wide) have batteries that normally last at least 10 years, as mentioned. One way to tell if there's an issue is if the posted transaction was done via license plate vs the normal posting method.

NJ often sends out new EZ Passes automatically after 10 years to cut down on bad reads due to battery life.

[davewiecking]

Maryland emailed me alerting me that several tag reads had failed most likely due to battery issues and I should replace the unit.

[hbelkins]

My West Virginia E-ZPass, acquired in the late 2000s, finally croaked a year ago. I got at least 15 years out of it.

[ran4sh]

Depending on what state her E-ZPass is from might be time to move to a sticker - no batteries required.

Virginia. Don't think we have sticker devices, at least not insofar as I know.

I'm fortunate enough to live in an area without tolls but my understanding from doing a little research is Illinois is migrating to stickers from transponders.  Supposedly they are valid anywhere E-ZPass is accepted so wouldn't be surprised if other E-ZPass states follow along with that change before too long.  The stickers are much less costly to distribute than transponders but can't be moved between vehicles.

California's FasTrak switched to adhesive passive transponders, and if you switch cars, it doesn't cost you anything to get a new one. But you have to stick to the old style with a battery if you want to be able to flip a switch to specify whether you're alone, so you can drive for free if you're not.

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

[vdeane]

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

It's also the official solution for HOV on the HOT lanes in Virginia.

[ran4sh]

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

It's also the official solution for HOV on the HOT lanes in Virginia.

But Virginia doesn't have stickers yet? I'm referring to how the above California user said that new FasTrak are stickers, but a transponder is still the implementation for being able to use HOV mode (I guess)

[ran4sh]

Also sometimes the stickers misread too... I have a Peach Pass (which are all stickers) and normally the Illinois Tollway reads them just fine, but on my Peach Pass statement there was 1 occasion where they tolled my license plate instead of the transponder

[vdeane]

Also sometimes the stickers misread too... I have a Peach Pass (which are all stickers) and normally the Illinois Tollway reads them just fine, but on my Peach Pass statement there was 1 occasion where they tolled my license plate instead of the transponder

I've even had both my transponder AND licence plate charged for the same toll once.  I try to avoid being near other cars and changing lanes around toll gantries to minimize the odds of toll billing issues, but sadly such isn't always feasible, especially the former, as it seems that many other motorists don't care about the possibility of misreads (although, given the lack of push-back over how the Thruway bills users now, I'm guessing that most never read their E-ZPass statements and would have no idea if they were billed incorrectly).

[1995hoo]

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

It's also the official solution for HOV on the HOT lanes in Virginia.

What? My wife and I have E-ZPass Flex transponders issued by Virginia (mine is new as of last weekend). We don't use an app or a website when we want to use HOV mode—we flip a switch.

[pderocco]

California's FasTrak switched to adhesive passive transponders, and if you switch cars, it doesn't cost you anything to get a new one. But you have to stick to the old style with a battery if you want to be able to flip a switch to specify whether you're alone, so you can drive for free if you're not.

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

I was never offered an app or web page to do anything real-time related to tolling, like claiming to be HOV at a particular point in time. But if they're doing that elsewhere, I'd be surprised if CA didn't jump on the bandwagon.

[davewiecking]

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

It's also the official solution for HOV on the HOT lanes in Virginia.

What? My wife and I have E-ZPass Flex transponders issued by Virginia (mine is new as of last weekend). We don't use an app or a website when we want to use HOV mode—we flip a switch.

If I had a choice, I think I'd rather be able to glance up at a switch to verify it was in the right mode as opposed to logging into a website. Do the GA/NC ones have an indicator light?

[vdeane]

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

It's also the official solution for HOV on the HOT lanes in Virginia.

What? My wife and I have E-ZPass Flex transponders issued by Virginia (mine is new as of last weekend). We don't use an app or a website when we want to use HOV mode—we flip a switch.

The switch was what I was referring to.  "It" and "that" were referring to the same thing.

[wriddle082]

North Carolina Quick Pass is transitioning to stickers.  I wound much rather keep my transponders.  If I have to switch them to EZPass Flex, so be it.  I want to retain the ability to move a transponder between rental cars and simply change the make/model/plate # in their app, and not deal with the headache that is trying to pay for rental car tolls long after the fact.  I am to the point where I pick a new rental car for work about every 4 weeks and frequently drive on various toll roads (the WV Turnpike if working in OH or KY, or the various northeastern turnpikes).

[vdeane]

North Carolina Quick Pass is transitioning to stickers.  I wound much rather keep my transponders.  If I have to switch them to EZPass Flex, so be it.  I want to retain the ability to move a transponder between rental cars and simply change the make/model/plate # in their app, and not deal with the headache that is trying to pay for rental car tolls long after the fact.  I am to the point where I pick a new rental car for work about every 4 weeks and frequently drive on various toll roads (the WV Turnpike if working in OH or KY, or the various northeastern turnpikes).

Depends on how the state's service center treats rental cars.  In NY, the terms specifically say to only register your personal vehicle, and changes take long enough to go through the system that adding the rental risks paying for the previous person's tolls and having your tolls still go to the rental car company after the fact (compounded since the Thruway doesn't care to post virtual ticket system tolls quickly; the 25A-34A stretch takes a whole week to post if they're being speedy, but can take up to a month even when the toll processing system works fine, so not only is there the lag from the account changes being registered, there's the lag in when the tolls are processed).  Meanwhile, some states even have a rental car option in the account settings to specifically facilitate this.

[wriddle082]

North Carolina Quick Pass is transitioning to stickers.  I wound much rather keep my transponders.  If I have to switch them to EZPass Flex, so be it.  I want to retain the ability to move a transponder between rental cars and simply change the make/model/plate # in their app, and not deal with the headache that is trying to pay for rental car tolls long after the fact.  I am to the point where I pick a new rental car for work about every 4 weeks and frequently drive on various toll roads (the WV Turnpike if working in OH or KY, or the various northeastern turnpikes).

Depends on how the state's service center treats rental cars.  In NY, the terms specifically say to only register your personal vehicle, and changes take long enough to go through the system that adding the rental risks paying for the previous person's tolls and having your tolls still go to the rental car company after the fact (compounded since the Thruway doesn't care to post virtual ticket system tolls quickly; the 25A-34A stretch takes a whole week to post if they're being speedy, but can take up to a month even when the toll processing system works fine, so not only is there the lag from the account changes being registered, there's the lag in when the tolls are processed).  Meanwhile, some states even have a rental car option in the account settings to specifically facilitate this.

I can set up a rental car as a "temporary vehicle" and set an expiration date for it in the NC Quick Pass app.  Since I don't live in a (serious) toll road state, and most of my rental cars come from a neighborhood Enterprise location that mostly deals in local insurance claims, I have never had a problem with invalid tolls on any rental vehicle before or after the fact.  In fact, I had accidentally left the EZPass stuck to the windshield of my previous rental, which the agency sent off for service after I turned it in.  When I went to pick up my next one, I explained that I left it in the last car, so they told me where it was sent for servicing, and I was able to retrieve it with no issue.

Since the current method works very well for me, I'm going to attempt to see what it would take to actually replace my batteries before things start going haywire and they try to get me to obtain a sticker for a replacement.

[1995hoo]

Is that the official FasTrak solution for HOV? In Georgia and NC we have apps/websites that we can access to specify HOV mode, which is the usual way to do it if you have a sticker transponder (NC has an option for E-ZPass Flex, but GA does not, so all GA users need to use the app/site for HOV)

It's also the official solution for HOV on the HOT lanes in Virginia.

What? My wife and I have E-ZPass Flex transponders issued by Virginia (mine is new as of last weekend). We don't use an app or a website when we want to use HOV mode—we flip a switch.

The switch was what I was referring to.  "It" and "that" were referring to the same thing.

Ok, thanks, I get it now after going back and reading the full string of quotes in the post before yours. I misunderstood what you meant because I took your comment as responding to just the one post you had quoted. My fault.