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Mazda RX-8 Problems and Solutions
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Comments
The typical RX-8 driver drives in a rather spirited manner..especially considering the rotary is happiest at high RPM's. It's no surprise to me that people are seeing lower gas mileage. Drive the car like grandma and you will be amazed how much the gas mileage improves..
Go to your dealer and ask if you have the "M" flash. It address' mileage and flooding. It's a no charge installation, that the dealer is supposed to put into any car that doesn't have it. Takes about 10 min. to do once the car is in the shop.
Had the rough idle checked again and could find nothing wrong even though it acts as if it is going to stall.
I will be going to a dealer nearly two hundred miles away next week to have it looked at.
If they cannot figure out why the car idles so bad I will get rid of it my 85 runs perfect and I cannot accept a new one not.
I am getting some small satisfaction though on telling people that ask how I like the car, they have only sold two in the past year, mine and another fool.
Couple of comments....
--You guys in CA sound like you must have some of the worst dealer techs around. I'm sure you're frustrated. After hearing some of your trials and tribulations, I can only conclude that these dealers haven't trained their techs (putting 6th gear in backwards?....I didn't thing that was even possible!!!!) That type of service is inexcuseable. While, in the past, I've recommended going to a dealer tech that you have good service with, it sounds like those may not even exist where you live. Call Mazda Customer Service....tell them you're experiences. I can't fathom that they want those types of experiences to continue.
--MPG...this has been debated so many times....the EPA are the people who put out those numbers, not Mazda. It would be futile to take any sort of legal actions. My best recommendation is to get the "M" ECU reflash. I'm getting exactly the MPG that the sticker says I should get. I've hit 25 MPG in a recent trip with all highway driving and the crusie set on 75 MPH. That said, if you do a lot of "stop & go" and/or idling in traffic when you drive and/or run up the RPMs every shift, any car is going to get dismal MPG in those situations.
These are high performance sports cars. If you bought it expecting to get "better than average" MPG, you are going to be disappointed.
If you couldn't tell, I've had my RX8 for over a year and can say it's the best sports car I've ever owned (including some highly regarded BMWs that I've owned in the past).
As for the "M ECU" reflash, I don't think that should have to be necessary in order to achieve the results that the EPA determined. I know it helped your vehicle and others a decent amount, but I don't think it should have been necessary to get what you should have gotten right off the bat.
But, I've owned a fair number of sports cars in my driving lifetime. None of them would get what I would consider "pratical" MPG. So, from that perspective, you're correct in stating that my expectations may have been set differently.
On the other hand, even with my 2nd car (4 cyl economy wagon), if I drive in all stop and go traffic in congested areas, running my A/C constantly, my MPG can and will dip into the "teens".
Bigmike's Corvette, while a great sports car, if taken off the interstate, put into all stop and go traffic, will turn in dismal MPG numbers.
The only cars that will get good MPG in those "in town" scenarios are hybrids (where's the fun in driving those). I maybe spoiled in that I don't have to drive in congested areas every day, tankful after tankful. Maybe that's why it's not an issue with me.
While I don't remember Mazda specifically setting MPG expectations unrealistically high when their initial marketing campaign began, I can understand someone's thought process in stating they shouldn't need the ECU reflash to get the EPA estimates.
What I remember most in the marketing campaign was the ballyhoo surrounding the return of the rotary and the RX8 being a 4-door coupe.
By now, all the cars coming off dealers lots should already have the reflash included. If it doesn't, as has been stated before, tell the service tech to reflash it at your next oil change. It's a simple procedure. If nothing else, get the reflash done because it does make the RX8 quicker and smooths out the already smooth midrange punch.
As far as taking legal action or going the "lemon law" route, that's an exercise in futility. The EPA has never been known to provide consistently real world MPG numbers to begin with. Their tests have always been done in a controlled setting in ideal conditions. That's hardly the case in the real world with different weather, terrain and road/traffic conditions.
From what I'm reading here, there are a couple of people who are having horrendous problems that can be traced back to their terrible Mazda techs. There's just no excuse for those types of experiences with service folks who are so inept. Mazda needs to address those dealer service depts promptly. They seem to be centered with some dealers in CA. Mazda needs to know this.
Personally, I wouldn't have even given them a 67% rating. It would be zero across the board.
You are absolutely right...sorry, while a nice sentiment, doesn't come close to making up for their blantant ineptitude.
While I've had no problems with my RX8, the very few minor issues I've had were fixed right the first time, every time.
While unrelated to the RX8, my sister had a late model Jaguar (S-Type) she bought new a few years ago. She averaged one trip to the Jag service dept per month according to her records for a variety of issues. While the Jag service people put on a smile when she came in, they were absolutely clueless regarding many of her problems. That required her to return to them twice or three times to resolve issues.
The end result? She finally got tired of the trips to the service dept over the years. Even though she was still under warranty, she finally got rid of the Jag last month.
Point of all this, there are some good cars from some well respected manufacturers out there only to have their reputation ruined by dealer service depts.
I recently received a letter from my Mazda dealer saying they were paying top dollar for my car. It turned out it was a come-on but it got me looking at the RX-8. Its the only Mazda model that I would consider purchasing. However after reading of the problems with it on this forum, especially the difficulty in restarting it before its warmed up, which I believe is a personal safety issue and totally unacceptable, I am going to pass until hopefully they fix everything.
The only caveat being, the RX8 is a very different car than the Millenia.
Does anyone one what changes if any will be made to the 2005 model?
Snow tires are a must in winter climes if it's your daily driver. With snow tires, the RX8 gets around just fine from all reports. Of course, that's also more a function of how experienced the driver is. I can remember driving V8 powered RWD cars, no trac control with skinny tires many years ago in the winter without much of a problem.
Acceleration is fine on the interstate in 5th or 6th (5th puts you lower in the power band). But, if you want to leave someone in the dust at 70 MPH on the interstate, drop it into 4th and the world around you will become a blur.
Called Mazda and told them I showed the tech and mgr. exactly what the car was doing mgr. said the shaking is the trans trying to catch up to the engine, told Mazda cs that and he laughed, C/S asked me to take it back to origional dealer and show the tech exactly what it was doing, did that, took it to 3K let off the gas, rpm dropped to about 800rpm car shook then went to 850 and tried to settle down, tech said that isin't the way it should run, left it Tues. and today, went in to get it and they said nothing showed on the diagnostics,well I think by now they should realize it will not show a code. I insisted the tech state on the service slip what the car was doing when I left it for service. he was hesitant about doing it but finally did to get rid of me.Mazda said the last time I called they may have to send in a factory rep, we shall see.
Donalds it seems like you and I are going to be business partners. There are so many things wrong with my car and Mazda keeps telling me the same thing they tell you. We cant do anything if there is no code. I tell them don't you guys see my car shake and just look at my shifter, now tell me thats normal. All they say is well we called Mazda and they said it's normal. Im just sick of Mazda and its CS and support if any. I got an appointment to get my car checked agian for the shaking and the lights dim as the AC comp kicks in, this time at a different dealer 30 mins away, I hope they can figure it out or its going to be just a few more days til I hit 40 days [non-permissible content removed] in the shop. And all I need is 30.
Either way, I'd say you'd have support here considering what you've gone through.
I notified Mazda per Texas law of the problem and lack of action on their part so now the complaint is on its way to the review board.
First of all you should not refer to this as a "concern" there is a definite problem with the car as witnessed by a Sames motor mechanic, when the customer service rep of Sames ask him how long it would take him to fix the car his answer was "I won't know until I get into it" all mazda would allow them to do is run diagnostics, everyone should understand by now the ECU will not show a code.
It is beyond me why your organization has allowed this to continue for four months, I am not the only one that has an RX8 that has the same problem, maybe that is the data that should be collected and evaluated.
And if Sames has been contacted then the service manager at Sames is lying to me when he says he never spoke the Mazda, only the tech. called the hotline for assistance, they told him to recheck the flash on the computer.
From: Mazdavisitors <mazdavisitors@mazdausa.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 12:16:44 -0700
Dear *****
Thank you for contacting Mazda North American Operations. I appreciate
the opportunity to respond to you.
You have noted that you have written to the Consumer Compliance
Department to initiate a Lemon Law request. Please note that this
office does not process any such requests, but your correspondence will
be reviewed by the Consumer Compliance department. Once reviewed, a
representative will be assigned to your case and they will contact you
directly for any further handling.
Be assured, I have confirmed through records in our corporate data that
Daniel DID in fact send correspondence to your dealership, their
technical services AND their District Representative regarding your
vehicle concern.
Again, thank you for contacting Mazda.
Regards,
William ***Specialist, Customer Assistance E-Business
Original Message Follows:
------------------------
Form Message
Subject1: Ownership & Maintenance
Subject2: Warranty Coverage
Current Mazda Owner: true
Model: RX-8
Year: 2004
VIN: Message Body: I have taken my rx8 in 4 times because of a very rough
idle, nothing has been done because there are no fault codes showing,
the condition has been witnessed and documented by two service centers,
I have talked to your customer service about the condition and it is
apperant Mazda does not intend to make the car correct, I have now begun
a Texas lemon law complaint and have notified Mazda in writing of the
condition of the car and lack of response. Your customer service person
by the name of Daniel told me he could request a factory service rep to
look at the car, another one told me today the service manager had to
request it, therefore the action will be determined by the Texas lemon
law board.
R&R Engine ASSY to Replace Intake Manifold PLN Q.A. F0008XDX F0101ARX
Since I've gotten the car back, the shaking has stopped. Hopefully this will provide you some insight to your problem.
I don't blame any of you a bit for taking your experiences to the next level.
Graphicguy- You were right on the horrible around town mileage on my new Vette. Darn, I am getting 24.5 mpg around town, compared to 30.4 mpg on the highway. I attribute the lower gas mileage to increased gas peddle travel from dusting upstarts at lights. lol
can the car drive safely for an extended period
of time without the same.
Drive it to your dealer (if the car is driving OK). If you've got plenty of oil, and it's running OK temperature-wise, driving it shouldn't be an issue. They can hook it up to see what the codes tell them. I doubt it is anything very serious, though.
If it does need a new cat according to the dealership, that's very odd for a new car, is it not? Is it a manufacturing fault in the cat or is something else wrong with the car that caused the failure? That's the question I'd be worried about.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
The dealership ordered new cat converter and it will be installed tomorrow. I was surprised that at 1500 miles that it would need this kind of service. Anyway the dealership said I can drive car. Also, they were very nice about it they have a loner car lined up etc.
Yes, very odd that the cat would be bad. Were there any warning signs, or did it just go out all of a sudden?
I do have the sticker on the underside of my hood w/ the id# ending -M...this is hand written.
So far I see no improvement in my 16 MPG ave I had before reflash....drove until light came on and then filled up....we'll see...I'm no lead foot and shift in the 5K-6K range with a once or twice a day romp into the 8K+....16 MPG is pretty rough on the wallet running premium gas, but love the cars handling....damn temp knob on AC is falling off....first year production bugs I figure....
That is, I would do a 1st to 3rd to 5th shift sequence. Most in-town cruisng is done in 5th gear anyway.
Like I said, I don't do it often and only tried it a couple of tankfuls and only with in-town driving, but I hit 19 MPG by practicing the skip shift technique both times I did it.
On the other hand, if I'm only accelerating moderately in the first 3 gears and getting into 5th quickly (which I find perfect for in town cruising), I can net 18 MPG.
Highway driving always yields "low 20s" MPG if I stay in 6th (with occasional speed bursts downshifting to 5th or 4th when challenged). I've hit 25 MPG on a tankful in all highway driving in 6th driving 75 MPH with cruise control on.
I would cruise the car at no lower than 2500 RPM, and preferably 3000 and above. Starting off at lower RPM is ok as it can't really be avoided without attracting a lot of unwanted attention ;-).
Remember though that the 1.8 l engine probably needs to be off to enjoy the highend tourque.
For this price, you cant beat the handling and performance.
i've had the same issue with my AC blowing really cold, then cool, then back to cold. It's been "fixed" 4 times now and still does the same damn thing. They replaced the amplifier, or whatever, destroyed my dash, broke the cover on the cig lighter thing, and after the last "repair", it now pulls to the right like some kinda oval track racer.
What's with the moron's who work in Mazda's repair shops?
They did replace my dash (after i raised a BIG fuss). When I went to the dealer (Hillard Mazda) the service manager said she thought the dash was already screwed-up...yea right.
They did fix the ashtray cover door. And they will fix my AC! I did not pay $34 large for a cool sports car that cannot keep me cool in texas' 100 degree heat!
The last "fix" for my AC problem took 2 weeks.
Let's get a flight to Japan and go kick some [non-permissible content removed]!
Anyway, vtlc, don't tak any crap from those clowns. Don't ask them to fix it. Tell them.
It's your right.
Good Luck.
jp
Front/Driver side impact, deer running left right, hove went right thru top front bumper about 4 in to the right of Mazda emblem! Impact down on component below bumper did about $1600 worth of damage, hood was bent upwards in front of latch.
I love the way this car drives, but my karma with it hasn't been worth cacca. The deer got up and ran off!
Again, glad to hear you are ok!....
Things were definitely out of alignment, but it looked most cosmetic...keeping my fingers crossed!
Thanks for your concern.
Now I will await the response from the dealer then request a hearing by a judge.
I believe eventually all 8 owners will find the same to be true, I have a 1985 rx7 that is as healthy as this thing.