Forum Discussion

Flapper's avatar
Flapper
Explorer
May 30, 2017

EZ Pass - will it work?

Several years ago I bought the Illinois version, for drives between Minn. and the east coast. Has always worked well. But, it has been a couple of years since we used it, but is still mounted on the windshield behind the mirror.
Does not seem to be serviceable - is there a battery in there that needs replacing? If so, and if dead, what happens when I go through my first toll, which may not be Illinois, but perhaps Indiana...
  • tjfogelberg wrote:
    Yes, we had an old one too and it never failed to take money from me on our trip to the East Coast. Some tolls will give you a green light acknowledging that it is transmitting. Todd (Burnsville MN)


    I have an EZ Pass from Pennsylvania and received a letter stating that the toll booths are being changed to remove the green thank you lights. According to the letter it was a federal mandate that there lights be removed. It did not state why.
  • Community Alumni's avatar
    Community Alumni
    A few years ago, I received a letter from the Illinois tollway saying that I needed to replace my IPass transponder because the Battery had reached its end of life. The replacement was quick and free. If you haven't used it in a while you might want to call the Illinois tollway and see if it needs to be replaced.
  • We got our MD EZPASSs in 2004 and both have just quit working. Just go thru a toll booth with an operator and they csn scan the barcode on it if it doesn't work.
  • The toll system in Illinois is called I-Pass. I would log in to your I-Pass account and make sure everything is up to date including your credit card. They changed their computer system about a year or two ago so you might need a new password. I believe the transponder is the property of the Tollway system, so if it's defective they should replace it for no charge.
    Their customer service number is 1-800-824-7277 if you have any questions.
  • The Indiana toll plazas will show a green light when activated. I suggest driving through a "take ticket lane" to be sure your EZ pass is still working. the light will show before you get to the ticket machine and the arm will go up. (the maching will not give you a ticket if the ezpass is working)
  • Yes, we had an old one too and it never failed to take money from me on our trip to the East Coast. Some tolls will give you a green light acknowledging that it is transmitting. Todd (Burnsville MN)
  • Your EZ Pass has probably been deactivated. You can call them to have it reactivated.

    Happened to me last year. I used EZ Pass in 2014 and then did not try using it again until last year, 2016. When I called EZ Pass, they said that it would take two or three days to reactivate it.
  • don't know about battery but jmho if it doesn't register they will just send you a bill. you need to sign into your account and check balance or add funds.