This is my car. Or an image of the same model and color as my car. 2009 Mazda CX-7 in Black Cherry, even though it looks more purple-ish, but that's not the point. I've been driving that car since I got my license, coming up on 5 years now. Drove it everyday of high school since halfway through sophomore year. Drove it in rain, sun, heat, snow, cold, all of it. Freshman year of college I left it at home, and even after not being used for months on end, every time I came home it would start right up.
Well last year, probably around end of January/early February, the battery started dying like every week. Every Monday like clock work I'd need a jump. It got to the point where if I knew I was driving, I'd call for a jump start before I even left my room. Before that started happening I can only remember one time it wouldn't start: senior year (I think) after a huge snowstorm. Had to get it towed from the driveway. So I want to say that leaving it outside in the cold isn't the huge issue since it's been left outside in all weather since we got it. It also wouldn't start this past summer in mid-August, so not exactly sweltering heat and also after the issues started happening consistently, and I needed a jump in the driveway so I could drive to work.
I've had the battery changed and checked, and checked, and checked again and keep getting assured there's nothing wrong, that maybe I wasn't driving it enough (even though in the summer I had been driving it at least 5 days a week and went from April to August without battery problems). So the battery issues have expanded beyond cold weather. I have noticed that since driving it every day the past few weeks, the battery has yet to die. But now there's a new issue.
Doing my daily "Drive Aimlessly Because You Need To Make Sure The Battery Doesn't Die" and the check engine light comes on. The past two or so days I had noticed the car didn't feel as powerful as normal, and now that stupid light comes on. Hey, at least the battery isn't dead, right? But why? WHY? Is it because I'm driving too much? Don't think so, but you never know. Sneaky think it may be the long-ass drives I have to and from school. Average like 6 hours each way, 5 times a year. I'm not a car guy necessarily so I have no idea if that would have a huge impact on car performance. And another thing. I see some of these cars around campus that people will leave burned under snow for 3 weeks at a time start up without a problem. Yet my car, which gets shoveled out, brushed off and driven near-daily has all the problems. What gives?
So now I have to find a garage that can take a look at the engine for as cheap as possible since I'm also going through the process of applying for a UK visa, which is the opposite of affordable. As soon as you think you've solved one issue, a new one reveals itself. And all this just to get me to January 9, 2017. That's when I leave for London. That will be the last time I hopefully have to drive that car. Hell, even when I get home in mid-December I can use one of the other 3 cars we have (hopefully). Even just getting to Thanksgiving break (16 days at the time of this writing) so I can have someone else deal with this problem/the constant problems with his car.
I don't know why the past year saw the devolution of my car. But this is an underrated hell.
UPDATE-Tok it to a local garage to get the problem diagnosed. Needed new spark plugs and whatnot. They told me it would be better to change out all four since they were all in the time period for failure given how old they were. And then they quoted me so much money I nearly fainted. I told them I'd just fix the one, thank you. Still costed more than I had in my bank account and I was legitimately dead. I stuttered, "I just need to make a call" and went outside to frantically call my dad who was home and paid for the repairs. Just a horrible experience all around.
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