2.0 122ps SE-L 5dr

The most unreliable car I have owned

I bought a Mazda 3 because Mazda have a good reputation for reliability. What I got is the most unreliable vehicle I have owned in my fifty years of motoring.
During lockdown it was not used much & the battery went flat. If it does go totally flat it is not possible to recharge at home. Two probably three home chargers have been blown finding this out. There was a software update for this problem which was done under warranty. Again the battery went flat & again the dealership said the software had been updated. I should smelt a rat when no paperwork was provided. Both times I was assured the battery was ok. Out of warranty again I had yet another flat battery so I had a new battery fitted.
There was a problem with stalling probably because the automatic brake release wasn’t quick enough, there was recall for this so at least I didn’t have to pay for the software update.
The sat nav stopped working along with speed limit display. This was while in Scotland & my the time I got back to Norfolk the whole infotainment system had ceased working. My Madza dealer did an excellent job over two days liasoning with Mazda tech support eventually reloading the infotainment software. I was charged £180 on the instructions of Mazda after a goodwill claim was rejected. Software doesn’t suffer from wear & tear so I was somewhat niffed at having to pay to have software reinstalled which obviously wasn’t fit for purpose if it gets corrupted.
Next problem was Alternator pulley failed this caused the auxiliary belt
to shred. Replacement of the alternator, tensioner and belt was recommended at a cost of £2345. This was on a vehicle 3 years 9 months old having less than 17000 miles. Alternator & flat battery makes me suspicious there a commonality in the faults. Putting this to Mazda in a goodwill claim was reject with a pedantic attitude to periodicity of service history 14 (covid) 15 & 15 months in my case.
The car is now known by the nickname The Red Devil!

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