Raptor75

This is based on a national survey by JD Power. Also over my live I have owned about 15 different cars and Mazda service has been hands down the worst.

Icemark

That is a voltage test, not a current draw test.

A voltage test means nothing unless the car is running and you are dropping under 13.5 volts (in which case you have a bad alternator). Normal operating voltage (with the engine running) is 14.4 volts. With the engine off, there should be at least 12.0 volts and normally 12.6 volts at the battery (each cell of the battery is 2.1 volts).

A current draw test should show less than 65mA with the doors closed and nothing turned on.

Icemark

Raptor is just bitter, from owning a car that the local dealer doesn't understand and he probably has pissed off enough that the dealer doesn't want to fix.

I (or immediate family) have owned almost every manufacture out there... Mazda is by far one of the best.

Razz1

You could have two problems. One a small current draw from the trunk light being on.

Open the center comparment, see if it's on.

The second could be a bad alternator.

third could be a short. You can have a combination of these at the same time.

A interior light will kill a battery in three days. Like in the trunk. Sometimes two.

Check it out at night time.

My kid left the interior light on in the rear, You can not notice it. After charging it once and bringing it to the dealer twice, I noticed one day when I walked into the garage at night.

CarAndDriver

Good luck!

New Yorker

If Bob King Mazda is so horrible, why take your car there over and over again? Take it to a different Mazda dealer—even if you have to drive an hour to get there, it would be worth it to get this finally fixed. If the new Mazda dealer can't fix it, get online, do a search, and find a local independent mechanic with a good rep—every town has one. He probably doesn't even have to be a rotary specialist to fix this—just a really good mechanic.

Yes, you shouldn't have to go to all this trouble. In a perfect world, Bob King Mazda would take care of this—and you wouldn't have to pay for it. But that's not happening. If it was my car—and I really liked it—I'd do whatever I have to do to get it fixed, even if it came out of my own pocket. Beats making yourself crazy at Bob King Mazda, no?

Just my 2˘.

Raptor75

Acturally 2 dealers and I'm always very pleasant when I speak with them. The simple fact that both point out is Mazda will not pay them any more to further diagnose the problem. This is a Mazda corp policy.

The one point that you are actually correct on is that I believe the dealers mechanics are very poor in their knowledge of the RX. Again this can be directly drawn to Mazda's corporate policies.

The fact that you are a fanboy of Mazda pulls little weight when compared to the results of a national survey countering your opinion not to mention my own experiance. Coddling inappropriate behavior will not correct the problem, Mazda needs their corporate noise rubbed in their deficiencies if change is to occur.

zoned

Like i told the OP. i've been reasonably taken car of at City mazda in Greensboro, which is about a 20 minute drive from Bob King Mazda. Also the dealership in high point is a crock too. unfortunately it's a rare thing in this area to find a dealership thats worth a damn.

when i was first looking at buying my 8 I contacted B.K. mazda and talked price, availability, and financing options. i was asured everything was a go. they had the 6 speed manual, iin winning blue, no nav. at the price i wanted to pay. so i took off work and drove there, upon ariving i was told that all they had was a white 07, auto and they wouldnt come off the sticker price even a penny. I wouldnt **** on bob king if he was on fire. the service department is pretty much on course with their sales practices.

El Kabong

After having two dead batteries because of me or my wife hitting the wrong button on the remote and failing to notice that the trunk lid was ajar (visually almost unnoticeable, maybe 2-3 mm higher?), and after having Mazda roadside assistance tell me that I could wait 6 HOURS for a jump start the last time, I pulled the trunk bulb. Viola da gamba, problem solved.

The trunk is so small, it's not like you could lose a lot of stuff in there and be unable to find it without the light.

- Kabong

New Yorker

If you have the spare tire kit, it's like not having the trunk light anyway—it's location pretty much blocks it out.

Shifty Devil

I seem to remember there was a problem with some early models with some DVD drive units of the factory NAV drawing power and running down batteries. You might check on this if you have the NAV. Do a current draw test or just unplug it for a while and see what happens.

fanaticz

Sorry to hear about that. It is very unfortunate that most of us are pigeonholed to the dealership for any service on our beloved 8. Best of luck.

rx8rx8rx8

my car's engine coolant light went on twice last week and stayed on for 2 or 3 mins and then went off. I took the car to the dealer for a check up and they charged me 25$!!they said they used some kind of machine to check my car and mazda wont pay for this.....and they found nothing

zoned

it may just need topping off. i had that problem after they did my 30k flush

r0tor

iTrader: (1)

i wish we had the other side of the story

dean2900

No offense but I need some people to listen.

1) I have taken to another dealer. For the last 3 times, I have been working with the mediation team of Mazda N.A.

2) I have checked the trunk light and have had it replaced three times by Bob King Mazda as they stated it was the problem.

3) I have had the battery replaced too many times to count, the alternator, the starter, and any other electrical component that makes sense.

4) I have taken every alternative thing out of the car such as GPS and Radar Detector.

5) I just checked the voltage myself and for a while even trickle charge it as I lose money. I am not a mechanic and do not know how to check for a drain on the car. I pointed out the voltage because that is all I knew from personal experience.

6) I have owned BMWs, Nissans, Audis, Acura, Hondas, Saturns, Infinitis, Toyotas, and a Mitsu.

Mazda is by far the worst in customer support with Mitsu in second place. Infiniti is #1 with my experience with Honda being a close 2nd. This is just my experience based on the dealers I had to deal with.

To this point, I will say the Mediation Rep seems to be trying to help and is trying to get me out of the car. She is reviewing the lemon laws and my car history as well as all the documentation I sent her on the issues.

Icemark

Yeah, I know you have had issues. I have personally had issues with dealers in San Diego, but even if the car has never seen a dealer, I have had Mazdas more reliable and needing less work than brand new BMWs, Lexus's and Toyotas (and the American cars are even worse- I would never ever own an US big 3 manufactured vehicle again even if it was free).

But the high car reliability aside (as reported in multiple world wide studies on real world service, not just polls of owners like JD power) The current dealer in my area provides service and has the capabilities that I might some day actually take my car into a dealer again for service. Better treatment than BMW and Lexus dealers, more informed than Toyota service departments.

But see the car is much more than a sum of the dealer service and purchase experiences. For me it is how the car is constructed. How the car handles, How the car makes you feel. You can overlook shitty dealer service if the car makes up for that.

Mazda's are sort of like Porsches. You better know a little about the car before buying one. If you buy one and expect that the dealer is going to be the only one to ever work on it, and you are not the type to even lift the hood, then the car is probably not for you. A GM or Lexus would be a much better choice for that kind of person.

Icemark

It sounds like you have already made your decision, why did you want people to listen?

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Which dealer you've been to ? I wanna know Im in NYC too ya know

New Yorker

I drive 20 minutes west of the GW Bridge to Wayne Mazda on Rt. 23 in NJ—they're the world's largest Mazda dealer, and Mazda is the ONLY car they sell—so their mechanics work on nothing but Mazdas every day. They sell a lot of 8's and their service dept. has a good rep. Local gearheads seem to like them.

The only other dealer I've heard good things about is Great Neck Mazda on LI, but I've never been there. Whatever you do, NEVER take it to Manhattan Mazda—I hear nothing but bad things about their service dept. (In fact, I think generally you have to take your car out of the city to get good service, body work, whatever. Every place I've been to in the 5 boroughs looks like grunge city—not the kind of place I want to take my car to.)

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Oh yes, Manhattan Mazda is *fuxking* horrible, well I got my car there, cuz they gave me the best price and they got the car exactly the way I want it. I've only been to their Service department twice, first time for Brake Pad Squeak, second time for free oil change, but I waited there for almost 6 hours just for oil change, and their service writer was a *****. Never went back again.

Koppel Mazda was horrible too, they have no idea wtf r they doing, dont even know wtf is clogged cat. never went back again.

Great Neck Mazda .... they used to be cool but last time when I was there, I had a CEL of P0662 which was the SSV Solenoid Ciruit high(cuz I disconnected and sealed the nipple with tabs, which is ok because even Mazdaspeed CAI does the same thing, AEM, etc. cuz its useless), then they start being dick about my *intake* and said that my intake is causing the CEL, took a picture and send it up to mazda to try to *void* my warranty. its been 2 weeks they never call me back, they probably just Cant void it beceause my intake has nothing to do with the CEL. havent call Mazda yet, dont have the time lately, but I will try to do it today or tomorrow.

Hmm Wayne Mazda .... Do you know they're cool about aftermarket parts? I only have Intake and ram air duct only. Im sick of fighting with these uneducated **** like Great Neck Mazda. hmm if I go there how am I going to come back ? Do they have a Loaner or any *Enterprise Rent-A-Car* nearby ?

Spin9k

Good idea#1 : Replace the stupid stone age heater filament bulb in the trunk with an LED bulb. At least then an inadvertent trunk light on mistake won't ruin your day.

PS It will then take only about several weeks to ruin your day - which is much less likely to happen

knight7

iTrader: (1)

koeppel mazda in northerd blvd. and 57 is is good too. certify mazdaspeed dealer. the have anything i had with no come backs.

that no starting thing could be a user.exe error too. it happen to me once because the parking lot were i had the car moved it and shut it off without letting it warm up or cleaning the injectors.

RexApex

Since nobody else has mentioned it:
To do a current draw test:
Take the volt meter you used to measure voltage across the battery, and set it to measure DC amps. Unplug one battery terminal and (with everything off, doors shut etc.) put one lead of the meter on the battery terminal and the other lead on the unplugged cable end.
You're probably running more than an amp of current if you can drain a battery overnight.
--R.

Raptor75

So in one breath your telling us that Mazda's are more reliable then Lexus, a manufacturer who Consumer Report rate 1st or 2nd best of all manufactures in terms of reliability. Then in the next breath you warn about "having to know what your getting into" before buying a Mazda. Your logic is a little difficult to follow.

Once again you are making excuses for poor service. The fact that Mazda makes a good product is not enough, sorry. They need to support that product and take care of their customers. Do you really have to wonder why Mazda's sales are down? If they are ever to become a 1st tier Japanese car manufacturer they need to take care of the customer other wise they are on the same road as Mitsu.

You may receive good service from your dealer but what you can't seem to understand is you are the anomaly not the norm. The other option is you are willing to accept crappy treatment because you like the car. Either one will not build Mazda's image to the buying public.