Hi guys, been searching for a car and found that mazda 6 is pretty cheap. Particularly the 2008 model. Apart from wear and tear, is there any common issues or problem with the car? Much appreciated

her electronics as reliable as Toyota & Honda ?

sensors easy kaput ?

not very sure. have to check. Good heads up 👍

earlier gen mazda 3 has problem with door lock mechanism causing it activate the alarm, and also it has problem with the AT sensor iinm, maybe mazda 6 will have the same problem as well, but these problems is not that expensive to be fix

earlier gen doesn't appreciate as good as the latest gen, and fuel consumption is bad on this 2.5L, while the power produced isn't as good as skyactiv 2.5, it has slightly better horsepower and torque than skyactiv 2.0

My friend has a mazda 6 2017 model and the infotainment went kaput after 4 years. It costs few thousand to replace/fix it and need to wait few months to import from Japan.

IINM, Sticky dashboard

why didnt change after market? very much cheaper, right?

Mazda 6 can change after market infotainment? That's exciting! Have you seen anyone done that before? But you lose all that technology that comes with it right?

no you dont, all functions can be used.
in fact you gain more functions and bigger storage for movies.

Was it a Mazda 6 with i-Stop & i-Eloop system ?
Was there a detailed investigation done to find out why that occured ?
Was there any works on the vehicle by any 3rd party prior to the failure eg like modification or battery reseller doing a battery replacement ?
Was the battery used according to specification ?
How old was the battery when the infotainment failed ?
When was the last service at the SC ?
Was there any battery test conducted ?

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Apr 26 2022, 07:39 PM

Cock story, of it was replaced under warranty is not an issue anymore

2017 all models 5 years warranty

What possible reason would I lie about it though? I'm actually getting one myself too.

It just went black.

No idea about all that. I just sat in his car and noticed that the infotainment no longer switches on when he runs it. He says need to wait for SC to import for replacement.

When you do meet up again with your friend please forward my questions to him, as I am really keen to know what actually happened. Thank you very much.

He is wise to have followed the SC advice because the wiring on his vehicle is completely different. If any party who does not know the vehicle electrical plans, they are bound to screw things up and create a even bigger mess and not to mention the cost.

Once a battery reseller did not have the correct battery specification for my friend's Mazda 6, so what they did was try to up sell him an out of specification battery. He wasn't sure about that idea and he called me for an opinion. I told how things would pan out and he decided to search again for another reseller who had correct battery specification.

Sometimes when battery resellers dont follow manufactured specifications but create their own specifications instead, that is the beginning of a problem. Sometimes it is not the reseller but it is the owner themselves trying to cut corners just like those cars with Eco-Idle function mated together with a Regular Flooded Battery. Same size and cheaper mah, clever onot ? Wait till electrical problems starts to crop up, then ask why this, why that ? Then fitnah say that battery brand no good, when it was themselves who created their own mess by not following the SOP.

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Apr 27 2022, 06:00 AM

The only plausible reason for him to incur that replacement costs is because when manufacturer says 5 years warranty, it is not the full complete story. If one starts to read between the lines, dont be surprise if different items have different warranty periods.

Hello, I'm same Mazda owner from same period

I have had itewm replaced for less issues , as long it shows that issues are there they replace

Don't try to make it anything bigger than that

Wankers

maybe he was waiting for the part to be imported, and got replaced under warranty. he just mention to you the cost of it, but didnt say he paid for the replacement.

wow, if the car is so sensitive I would walk away immediately from it
battery voltage fluctuation is very normal for our 12V DC circuit cars. when our alternator charges, voltage will also increase/decrease.

headunit failure happens to many CX5 users as well, they call it ghosting. the head unit will go crazy, what they found out is the head unit's touch pad under the screen gets faulty after some time, Mazda will replace it for you if this happens. It is not voltage issue per say.

I didn't know anything about Mazda 6 initially until my friend asked for help. So I thought this would be a piece of cake until I ran the diagnostics on his vehicle and I told him that either his alternator or his electrical charging system is screwed because that was what my analyzer was telling me. Told him to go to the SC quick. Later he reported that the SC told him that everything was fine. Wondering what the hell just happened, with the help of forummers here, I had learn that the wiring system in his Mazda is not like anything we have come to know. It is completely different. Just like you said ghosting. So now I am will be working close with my friend like his Battery Manager to monitor his battery like a hawk.

Wait if you want the low down, refer to thread titled Battery brands that has lasted 4 years or more, Page 88, Post #1760 onwards, where I try to learn Mazda's new charging system. Have fun. If you or your friend have any questions, feel free to write, I am sure the good & knowledgable members around who are willing to help.

This post has been edited by Roman Catholic: Apr 27 2022, 09:45 AM

Most modern cars now use 13.6V alternator (13.8V for AGM). So the car will never charge the battery at good old 14.4V (14.6V for AGM).

additionally the advanced battery management algorithm is designed to minimize the charging in order to reduce engine load for fuel economy (Totally opposite of maximizing the battery life).

The alternator tends to be decoupled very often, and will never able to full charge the battery even if they are running all the time.

Welcome to the age of ever stringent climate protection act..

So are you implying that is the new Mazda wiring system ?

I also have other non Mazda cars in the family, a 5 yo Hyundai and a 2 yo Volvo that charge at lower voltage. I don't think it is just Mazda, industry wide everyone are doing the same.

You may sample check cars that launched within last 5 years (at least, I think the change probably more than 10y back started with the continental cars). Measure the charging voltage see who still get over 14V, who run at 13V

Sorry la bro., then you really dont know Mazda new wiring system. Based on my limited experience, now I dare to say to myself only, never assume things until one has figured out what exactly is one dealing with.

I can see that there are changes are coming with new battery management system and all in todays modern cars especially Perodua but that is just the way it is. Either for good or bad, we all have to deal with it.

There are more & more car manufacturer using batteries which is small but high capacity like AGM/EFB base batteries. These batteries charging method are different compare to conventional type and control by dedicated ECU or DME board, most continental rides like BMW/Merc using these type of batteries got different charging pattern and need to register the batteries & type when new to calculate the charging pattern. It is not that simple nowadays for modern rides. I believe similar to Mazda they are also sensitive to different type of batteries, thus why some of them wont last long.

This post has been edited by littlefire: Apr 27 2022, 11:07 AM

The key is everyone are employing the "lazy charging" pattern/strategy to squeeze tiny bit of fuel economy and emission reduction. Not sure if that is even effective.

Add salt to the wound is the start-stop system. Regardless battery type, this strategy is here to stay and probably even more aggressive in the future. Cheers and live with it.

If you can find the schematic, feel free to share here and try me. I'll be glad to help

You may also hook up an oscilloscope and record the charging wave form over the time, then we know for sure.

Sorry bro., I have got no financial interest to do all that. If I need to then I will go to that extent. However if you are looking for those drawings, go to post #19 and follow another thread. Others have busted their butt to provide such invaluable information and kudos to them. 😊