iPass Fail. Stupid Illinois DOT transponder.

[Uppsala9496]

If they do give you the option to replace your crappy ipass, I suggest the one that mounts on the license plate. I have that setup in one car and love it. I don't think it runs on a battery (could be wrong).

 

[Regs]

Almost as bad as the beaches in Jersey. Parking is about 2-3 dollars an hour and they still have quarter meters in most of the areas. If you so happen to not have one or two rolls of quarters on you that day they're going to give you a 50 dollar parking ticket. Meanwhile, they have 50 parking meter cops on shift knowing they're going to get at least 500 cars on any given day. They even have under cover cops that walk on the crosswalk that radio ahead to the squad cars if a car did not yield to them (if they have on foot on the side walk and you cross their path you're fined a couple hundred bucks). If cops and their governments want to scare people out of town with fines, then they're doing a great job of it.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out where all the quarters go!

 

[sswingle]

You think it's a speed thing? I do admit, I was doing 80 to 85 down the Tri-State when I went through those tolls.

The ones in Ohio and PA have signs to slow down for them to work properly.

 

[bruceb]

Most of the transponders do have batteries in them. Soldered in place. I know the E-Z Pass system has them. I called mine in lost once, they replaced it for a minimal fee (around $5 or $10 I think it was) .. Since the old one was deactivated I decided to see what was inside it. Not very much.

 

[Genx87]

There are no toll roads in Minnesota 🙂

That does suck though 🙁 Maybe this is one of those situations where you just have to complain over and over again until someone does something. Make it more of a hassle to not deal with you than to deal with you.

Yet, they will get them here soon enough 🙁

 

[bruceb]

Just found this article:
Seems lots of people have had the same issue.
Battery is good for about 8 years.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=388642

By Marni Pyke | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 6/18/2010 12:01 AM

If your I-PASS transponder seems even more quiet than usual, there could be a good reason.

The self-contained batteries in Illinois tollway-issued transponders are likely to expire once they hit the ripe old age of 8 1/2 years.

The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority instituted a pilot program in February reclaiming dead transponders and substituting live ones in the South suburbs.

Thursday, officials made plans to extend the recall effort across the region this summer. About 300,000 transponders will need replacement by the end of 2010.

That number is nothing compared to the 1.2 million transponders that will expire in 2013, which coincides with a buying spree related to a toll increase for cash-paying drivers instituted in 2005.

"We're trying to be proactive in advance of 2013," tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis said.

Starting in July, the agency will be notifying customers with old transponders who will be able to swap them for no cost at Jewel grocery stores or tollway customer service centers, said Mike Catolico, general manager of performance management.

Officials stressed that only people qualifying for the switch-out will receive a letter from the tollway containing a bar code that matches the transponder requiring replacement.

The tollway's replacement pilot project involved 1,751 expired transponders with 74 percent successfully exchanged.

Of the 1,070 returned transponders, nearly all - 1,068 - were dead. New transponders include an expiry date.

Meanwhile, the agency along with fellow members of the E-ZPass consortium are bidding for a new transponder supplier. E-ZPass is a group of 24 toll authorities with electronic collection systems that allows drivers with transponders from agencies in the consortium to use each others' systems.

Options under consideration include a transponder equipped with lights and a beeping sound that indicates if a toll is successfully paid.

Drivers who have not received a letter and are concerned their transponder battery is dead, can check their I-PASS accounts or look at the blue and yellow lights located at toll plazas. If no lights come on, it's a sign the transponder has seen its best days.

 

[dfuze]

IDOT? sounds like they are missing an "i" in there 🙄

 

[jonnyGURU]

Just found this article:
Seems lots of people have had the same issue.
Battery is good for about 8 years.

Some batteries last longer than others and there is such a thing as a defective battery. They flat out refuse to help me because the transponder is only 3 years old.

 

[tk149]

Thank Blagojevich for doubling the cash tolls. I've been wondering what I will do when my IPASS battery dies.

A bit off topic - my previous car was totalled, and I only have the IPASS itself, not the "super"bubble velcro-strips that stick to your windshield. Anyone know how I can get the iPASS to stick to my new car's windshield?

 

[bruceb]

Yes, they can be defective. The unit may be yours for only 3 years, but when was it made ? ? ? And it can have another defect inside it, like bad solder joint. I would bring it to an I-Pass center and either have them test it or forcefully and loudly demand a replacement. Last thing they want is bad publicity.

 

[waggy]

Thank Blagojevich for doubling the cash tolls. I've been wondering what I will do when my IPASS battery dies.

A bit off topic - my previous car was totalled, and I only have the IPASS itself, not the "super"bubble velcro-strips that stick to your windshield. Anyone know how I can get the iPASS to stick to my new car's windshield?

yeah they have them at stores like walmart.

they used to make a nice LCD version of the transponder. but i could never find one.

 

[imagoon]

Thank Blagojevich for doubling the cash tolls. I've been wondering what I will do when my IPASS battery dies.

A bit off topic - my previous car was totalled, and I only have the IPASS itself, not the "super"bubble velcro-strips that stick to your windshield. Anyone know how I can get the iPASS to stick to my new car's windshield?

Go to the manual lane, ask them for some and they will hand you a handful of them free.

 

[vshah]

i hate ez pass
it is super convenient, but i spend 75 bucks a month on tolls without realizing it