Thanks for all the cool moments and personal experience (except for the Ute & dog offer and suggestion to get a WRX. Lay off the grog blokes, as generous as the dog offer is). Yep, read/watch John at Auto Expert - he certainly hates Ford for their bad rep looking after those that have problems; he is correct but I’d say most brands have their problems on that score. At least he can’t fault the Ranger, now the flammable DPF issue has been fixed via recall. He doesn’t like Toyota either, btw.
I was in the car game for32 years but have lost touch a bit. Mazda and Ford are the same ute.Nissan Navara worth looking at. Prado great.Pajero great.Whatever you do BUY AN AUTO!If you do ever tow that is much better.I love riding my Deluxe and changing gears but in the car can,t be arsed any more.Auto better for 4wheel driving too. Good luck
I have an ,04 petrol Pradao....over 300 thousand kms, been very reliable, does a bit of everything, not brilliantly but in my experience toyotas last longer.
To update everone, I ended up buying a new Ford Ranger Wildtrak. After test driving a Hilux, Prado and Wildtrak, the decision was clear - the Hilux was too workman-like for me, Prado solid but didn’t come equiped or drive as well as the Ranger.
Cheers blokes. I’m pleased.
Bloody. Mazda service is meant to be better than Ford!
I refuse to ever attend a Mazda dealership again! I have been told, true or not, that the smart alternator can be reprogrammed via a service tool to charge differently to its current factory settings. I will mention it to our mechanic on its next service. Just as a matter of conversation just mention that you have some concerns about so many people having an issue just to see what his reaction is when you take yours in tomorrow...
PB, have you tried just leaving your park lights on or your a/c when driving around? These smart alternators are load sensitive and reduce output to save on fuel economy, although I'm not sure if anyone would notice the difference.
Cheers Doc the daylight running lights remain on while driving, no option with that, and due to living in Qld the a/c runs all the time. I am also told that the car has multiple computers that run even after shutting the car down some are still active. When you say they are load sensitive i assume your referring to voltage sensitive or accessory sensitive? They will fully charge the battery then revert to sleep mode allowing the volts to drop and its my belief that if your unlucky enough to switch off the car at that point, the lowest voltage point before it starts the charge , you end up with no cranking power. The thing i cant explain is how when you hop back in to start it not even the instrument lights light up. RACQ come jumpstart you and within 5 min you can switch it off and resume normal driving....WTF!
Smart alternator can certainly be switched off as a lot of people towing caravans do it because of powering fridge through anderson plug. Having said that make sure anything you like light bar etc. are earthed to the chassis not the neg battery terminal. I have had my Ranger about three years and no flat battery yet. And it doesn't get driven a lot either 14,000 in three years. I was also told and I dont know the validity of it, but make sure you lock the vehicle even in the garage when you park it up. Apparently if you dont this can contribute to a flat battery.
