[mcastagnaa]

I really hope this thread could stay as empty as possible but as you know shit happens.
Anyway: after just one week since I had the car, today I had the battery replaced ... nothing really special but it's not nice to have your new M3 dead at 7am when you have to go to the office.
Kind people in Madrid though: the replacement (free of charge of course) was done immediately and by 9:30 (dealer garage opens at 9:00) I was in the office.
Finger crossed.

 

[dinu01]

Even though it shouldn't happen, sometimes batteries (even new ones) die. Hope this doesn't turn in the RX-8's starting issues (engine flood, etc).

MODERATOR: Could we have a "Problems Thread"?

 

[mcastagnaa]

It could be a major issue only if the battery provider didn't do a good job globally. But I bet this is not the case: this car is built in Japan; I was just a bit unlucky.

 

[schulkw]

Mazda doesn't make the battery.

 

[mcastagnaa]

Of course they don't. Nevertheless they are responsible if, by any chance, they picked the wrong provider.

 

[Haris]

Mazda doesn't make the battery.

They better not put the cheapest battery they can find just to save money for theirselves. No new battery should die so soon though.

 

[neomonkey]

That doesn't sound too good. I can feel the Ford influence already. Not even a First Year Honda Civic's battery died...

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

Gotta love it... as soon as their's a problem, it's Fords fault. Let me guess, everything good is Mazda's fault?

Ya know, when I based this forum setup off 6club, I changed 'electrical' to 'lighting'... and the one thing that doesn't really fit anywhere now is the battery. Argh!

 

[neomonkey]

My FORDaphobia is kickin in...

typically cost cutting moves like this (assuming the battery is of poor quality) is the full reponsibility of the parent company. For example, the MAzda engineers may have wanted to use Duracell 3000 (example only) but Ford may have told them to only use DuraBat 4500 which is cehaper but of worse quality. Its things like this that the normal consumer is not aware of but show through when the car is put into regualr day use. No battery on a brand spanking new car built in Japan, should be dead this early in the game. I may be jumping the gun, but who else is to blame but Ford?

I agree with Dinu, we need a Problems thread.

 

[Haris]

Yes, this is FORD's fault. When did a mazda have problems with battery when car was brand new? I got 10K miles on my protege and no battery problems. I dont know, but protege has some ford parts as well. Lets hope this is first and last MZ3 that has to have battery replaced when u buy it.

 

[Kazbaeden]

I got 10K miles on my protege and no battery problems. I dont know, but protege has some ford parts as well.

True, yours might not have failed, but I'm sure there's someone somewhere in the world, to whom you've never spoken, who did have a battery fail on them within the first couple hundred miles.

Even manufactured goods aren't perfect. I seriously think people need to start to deal with the fact that we live in an imperfect world. Sure, cars cost a lot of money, and in paying that sum, we expect them to be absolutely perfect in every way, but the reality of the situation is that mistakes are sometimes made and the most we can do is get them fixed.

The situation here was promptly resolved in a completly acceptable manner, and everyone is happy, so what's the big deal?

 

[schulkw]

Let's not forget, no matter how high quality a product is, there is gonna be a defect in the bunch. If this is one isolated incident, then whooptee doo. A battery is easily replaceable. Let's remember Ford only owns 33.4% of Mazda, which isn't a controlling stake.

Not even a First Year Honda Civic's battery died...

I would like to see proof to substantiate this claim.

 

[dinu01]

How about a PROBLEMS section????

 

[schulkw]

How about a PROBLEMS section????

I dont' think it's a good idea.

 

[dinu01]

Why not? You have a problem with your 3, you create a thread there and ppl that can help asnwer.

 

[neomonkey]

i think it is

 

[dugrant153]

I would say it's just an isolated issue at the moment.
Plus, it IS a brand new car (chassis-wise) so something is bound to go wrong.

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

Let's not forget, no matter how high quality a product is, there is gonna be a defect in the bunch. If this is one isolated incident, then whooptee doo. A battery is easily replaceable. Let's remember Ford only owns 33.4% of Mazda, which isn't a controlling stake.

Yes, it is a controlling stake.

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

I'm debating the issue of a Problems section. Personally I don't think it's a good idea. For one, the various sections out there are dedicated to specific parts of the car already. And the second is image: having a whole line of problems is not going to make people look kindly on this car. It's bad enough in forums in general that people tend to get negative perceptions of a car because most threads are about problems, that would just be worse.

Mainly though, there are already sections out there dedicated to the parts of the car - whether you want to talk problems, solutions, or upgrades.

 

[dugrant153]

I would say don't put in a problems section. People will just post that in the "General" and "Technical" discussion, which will be along side the positive threads