FYI, while on a long trip with other Miata owners; one car had its battery die.
After jump starting and driving to an Autozone, we too were told that the alternator wasn't charging properly.
HOWEVER, after replacing the battery the alternator suddenly tested as GOOD!
The bad battery was causing a false reading on their tester.
Suggestion ... try first replacing the battery and then retesting the alternator.
You may find that it's actually good.
Interesting ideas guys! I am actually not in town to take a look at it myself but the car was jumped, came back to life. Then restarted again after the engine was turned off. I will get back in town Saturday and check it out with a battery. If it is the alternator, I will just pay someone to fix it, don't wanna waste my precious vacation under the hood.
Nope not the first time driving it. I drove it myself plenty. I will get back in town this weekend so I'll check it out then. The alternator issue was brought up by the guy at Autozone.
I think we saw people saying this a few times here before. Thanks for your honesty and many ex-Mazda owners wouldn't say anything just left including some of my best friends. I hope Mazda can hear you and keep up the quality and reliability as these two are the most important thing for car buyers.Yeah I hope you're right! This is my first Mazda and if the alternator is bad, then this will be my last.
You need a Group 35 battery although I usually get OEM battery from dealer for better fit. Here is a thread with good info on CX-5 battery:Anyone have good luck finding batteries tat are reliable for this car? It does seem to be pretty demanding.
Just to update everyone, I drove the car around for a while with no issues, autozone test showed bad battery so I put in a walmart battery for $93 with 3 yr warranty. It drove just fine, no issues with battery test and no issues since.
Moral of the story: don't trust Autozone guy or a woman's opnion when it comes to a car (sorry ladies)!