Still Can't Find a Worthy Replacement + An Odd Dead Battery Tale

samedi 31 mai 2014

I haven't posted in a while, and hope everyone here is doing well.



I've now had my 8 for 8 years & 9 months, and besides routine maintenance (oil/filter changes, two coolant flush & fills, coils & plugs, rear diff fluid swap), I still have not had any issues with my 6MT (battery was replaced in year 3 along with TSB upgraded starter by dealership on Mazda's dime - that's it).



So anyways, I just had my 2nd battery die (first battery lasted 3 years, and 2nd one lasted for 5+). But this story gets weird.



I went into the garage to start my car and "click-click-click."



I'm not thinking battery, but rather starter, because all lights, radio, headlights are working.



So I go into house to naturally search this forum and some other sites, and lo & behold, I come across a weird (to me) mention of a procedure whereby one turns the key into accessory mode for 5 seconds, then taps the brakes repeatedly for a dozen plus times until there's little to no power in the brakes.



It sounds odd, but what is there to lose?



I head to the garage, do this procedure, and boom, the car starts. I am amazed at this point.



I proceed to drive for a good 25 miles and then get my battery tested by a buddy, and sure enough, it's technically dead (though my car does restart).



I head to Costco and buy a Group 35 (made by Johnson Controls, I believe, but who cares, because Optima quality is crap now, and 3 companies essentially make all car/truck batteries, and I am getting the famous Costco warranty) and all is now right with the world - fires up in a nanosecond and idles very smoothly.



So did I miss the memo on yet another very awesome reserve type battery power in-case-of-emergency system that the 8 possesses?



Anyways, my car now has 127,000 miles, runs like new, is tight as a drum, and has been the most reliable vehicle I've owned in a dead heat draw with a 1994 Civic EX 5MT way back when.



Oh, and I still can't find anything under the 40ish thousand price point that I would replace it with, after test driving or renting no less than 20+ vehicles over the last 4 years (the closest contender would be a Lexus GS350, but the options push the price of it very high, very quickly).



BMW, with the exception of the 1 series (which is a pretty badass car when properly equipped, but the back seat is too small for daily driver duties), is dead to me now (BMW is the new Buick).




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