You can easily pay $10k to replace a gasoline engine too, though, these days.

One of my basic bits of advice for buyers of new Mazdas who (like me) live where it gets cold: take out your OEM battery and replace it with something good. Mazda OEM batteries are typically shit. On my 2014 3, I replaced my original battery twice under warranty in the first two years. Both times it just failed in cold weather. I was not running it down. They just quit. The second time, even though Mazda offered me a third warranty replacement battery, I said stuff it and bought a Bosch AGM battery for $150 that – I kid you not – was absolutely trouble free for the next 7 winters, and I live in rural New England where it gets very cold. Plenty of winter mornings close to zero farenheit.

I tested that Bosch just a month ago as I was winterizing the car and it showed one weak cell. It was still working absolutely fine and starting the car on the first go in 40 degree weather. I’d never once had to jump it or charge it. I could leave the radio on for two hours and it wouldn’t matter.

But I decided nearly 8 years was long enough to have gotten my money’s worth. So I just put a new battery in, although the Bosch I bought 7.5 years ago was no longer available. So we will see how it does as winter proceeds but it’s done just fine on a few 20 degree mornings so far.

We see SO MANY dead batteries on this sub, often on 2-4 year old vehicles. My conclusion is that Mazda batteries (which I think are actually Panasonic) may be fine in Georgia or California, but they don’t cut it in Minnesota or Vermont.

That damn Bosch lasted longer and was more trouble free than any other car battery I’ve owned in 40 years of driving. I’ll bet I would have been fine for an 8th winter.

I love the car. 152k and runs like a top, only a few minor repairs in almost a decade (wheel bearing, brake caliper, tensioner pulley), burns not a single drop of oil between changes, still gets 40mpg highway, still scoots when you step on it, does great in snow on Blizzaks, and pretty minimal surface underside rust for a New England car that’s lived outdoors on gravel its whole life. She’s become old faithful now and more than earned her keep, but she has years to go. Easy to work on too. But for some reason ($$$) Mazda cheaps out on OEM batteries and tires too. Cheap first mods I recommend to anyone who asks: get a good quality battery and non-LRR tires (I like Pirelli P7s) and the car is significantly better than when brand new.

Well, a $1500 car is always going to be a gamble and a race against time. It’s a beater. Does it have two weeks left? Two months? A year? Only time will tell, but you buy the ticket and take the ride if that’s what you can afford. Been there, done that, have the scarred memories.

Almost certainly there is much more wrong with a beater 250k Sonata than just the transmission, and likely any fixing of the leak will only postpone the inevitable death of the thing at best.

At most I’d make sure it isn’t low on fluid and add more if it is, which may not be a DIY job for you, since it’s been leaking. I wouldn’t flush it/exchange it, and nor will most shops because they don’t want you back a week later saying they broke your broken tranny.

You’re on borrowed time. Probably best saving your money now for the next beater you’ll buy. Hang in there, life gets better.

Mazda has run major American network television campaigns regularly in recent years.

Those annoying holiday ads tend to be associated with seasonal discounts and promotions, likely to move out inventory in advance of new model year inventory coming in. You’ll note that even the high end brands like Lexus emphasize price in their winter ads, not product features or specific models. Luxury brands also target an older demographic more likely to still watch television. And the sort likely to give a brand new luxury car as a Christmas present. Don’t know about you but that ain’t my family.

Mazda can’t keep most models in stock right now. Maybe they don’t need to move out inventory by advertising discounts and rebates? I would surely expect to see a heavy advertising push for the CX-90 very soon.

“Do I look like a tire shop, bro?”

Yes, your bumper to bumper warranty is 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. Your powertrain – engine and transmission primarily – are warranted for five years or 60k miles, whichever comes first.

It was in the divorce agreement.

Can’t be too famous since I have no idea what this means and I’m a decent mechanic.

If the noise occurs under load and instantly stops when you take the load off, that’s often a sign of something on the belt. Can be a sign of transmission issues too. Actually it occurs to me to wonder if you’re hearing the normal sound of a six speed auto transmission found in both cars? Because the fact that you hear it on both vehicles suggests it isn’t a mechanical problem.

Just replaced both belts and the tensioner on my 2014 3 at 150k miles. Didn’t really hear any change in sound though.

Not on his Mazda3 they don’t.

This suggests that it’s something on your serpentine belt, such as the alternator or ac compressor bearing or the tensioner pulley.

Mazda branded oil is full synthetic.

How is your fuel level looking?

Was it parked for a while somewhere sketchy? It’s not uncommon these days for thieves to steal gas by drilling a hole in your tank. But you’d notice that since you’d be close to out of gas.

Doubling down on do not drive a vehicle with a suspected active fuel leak. Paying for a tow sucks. Burning your car to the ground, and possibly worse, sucks a lot more.

I’m gonna say the jury is out on lower maintenance costs. Yes it’s an additional system for the hybrid. But no turbo.

Either way this car looks like a bit of a beast to work on, packaging wise.

I see the other points.

According to Car and Driver: “The PHEV reaches 60 mph in 5.9 seconds, beating its 340-hp six-cylinder sibling by 0.4 seconds.”

So the hybrid is actually faster than the turbo, despite being 350 pounds heavier and getting way better average fuel economy. I see no case for the Turbo 6 myself when the PHEV has significant subsidies on the price.

Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a44872256/2024-mazda-cx-90-phev-test/

Thought experiment: you get a CX-5 for $350 a month or someone pays you $350 a month to drive a Rogue, which whole nothing special, is actually statistically a fairly reliable car that sells more units than the CX-5 in the US.

You’re saying no, I wouldn’t drive that Rogue even if you paid me? I would. That’s five grand a year in your pocket to drive for free.

Be real.

Never ever fall for the extended warranty pitch. It’s a pure ripoff.

How’s your battery age and condition? Could be as simple as that. Or a loose battery wire. Or a failing alternator. This sounds electrical to me.

What’s the mileage on the car? Have you ever replaced spark plugs? That can make a significant difference to fuel economy. Do you need a new air intake filter or a cleaning of the intake and throttle body? Are your tires properly inflated? Are you carrying around any extra weight? Are you sure your brake calipers are working properly and not sticking? Is your parking brake fully releasing? Is your idle smooth? Have you tried pulling any codes to check engine internals are solid?

Also, if by “ball bearings,” you mean the wheel bearing is going on your passenger side rear, get that fixed. It’s a major safety hazard if it’s going. Could possibly add some drag and hurt your fuel mileage too. Do not delay on fixing a bad wheel bearing.

Normal Skyactiv 2.5l sound, to me.