From: esp@snet.n   
      
   On 9/29/2025 6:36 PM, Boris wrote:   
   > My daughter has a 2020 Mazda 3, with about 75k miles.  Back on July 2, I   
   > wrote about acceleration issues the car was having:   
   >   
   >    
   >   
   > A software update seems to have fixed the problem.  A new battery was   
   > also installed.   
   >   
   > My daughter is now having more problems with her 2020 Mazda 3.   
   >   
   > The problem is that every few days the car won't start, and she has to   
   > use a charger for about 15 minutes to get it started.  She carries the   
   > charger with her.  Then, it will be fine for a few more days, only to   
   > have to repeat the procedure in another few days.  Luckily, she's always   
   > been at her house or my house where she can plug in the charger.   
   >   
   > She dropped the car off at the dealer's today.  I ususally go with her,   
   > but I couldn't today.  She said the service rep seemed very   
   > knowledgeable, but some of the things he told her seemed very odd to me.   
   >   
   > 1) He said this is a common problem with newer cars when the owner takes   
   > a lot of short trips, and these short trips don't allow the battery time   
   > to charge.  She does take a lot of short trips, but this seems nuts to   
   > me.  He sees this a lot with elderly owners who only drive to their   
   > nearby store every day, and that it takes about 40 minutes of driving to   
   > keep a battery charged.  Also, on newer cars with all the computerization   
   > and 'features', the battery is always being drained by something, even   
   > when unoccupied.  He says this is especially common with Mazdas and   
   > Subarus.  He suggested using a trickle charger to keep the battery   
   > charged.   
   >   
   > The dealer gave her a loaner, the same model but a 2025.  If the above is   
   > true, this loaner will also at some point die on her.  She's still   
   > carrying the charger.   
   >   
   > 2) Something else he said about newer cars (which has nothing to do with   
   > my daughter's car), is that the newer cars get used to how a driver   
   > drives, and when another driver gets behind the wheel, the car wants to   
   > drive like the first driver is in control.  He says a husband and wife   
   > will come in saying that the car has a mind of it's own.  I can   
   > understand a car automatically saving and applying things like seat and   
   > mirror positions, and maybe climate control, but...   
   >   
   > Anyone ever heard of any of the above?   
   >   
   > Thanks.   
   The short trip thing makes sense. New cars often have sensors running   
   for a period of time waiting for a signal to unlock, remote start, etc.   
     I know that my car will not remote start if not used in four days.   
      
   Never heard of the different driver things though.   
      
   Solution is simple.  Get her a '68 Chevy that does nto have all the   
   technology.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)