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thank you very much.
iv left my car for over 2 months without driving it coz i hav to go overseas n it needed it plugs changed n when i came back it wouldnt start (Flooding) so iv towed it over to the nearest garage to fix n changed my plugs at 11am later i receive a call from em (3hrs later) saying they cant fix my car cos it has compression failure n advise me to see a specialist so i came there 2 c my rx8 in its position that i left it there like it hasn't been touched n got charge $55 bucks so i wasted my time n money n now decided to fixit myself by changing the plugs myself as the specialist advise that the car needs to plugs to be able to build compression.
thank you.
afta replacing the ignition coils was the car fine after n did the odor go away,..is this why the engine light is on???
can you tell me what exactly the problem is with the Rx-8 according to what you know please?
can you also tell me how long and how much you know about the Rx-8 rotary engines please
So, yes, they are weird. She bought the car from a used dealer, so it's a given that they had no way of knowing about the flood/restart procedure.
i moved the car into the garage...and then 30 mins later went to go start it up again and it wasn't starting. figured maybe it needed to be jumped, but that didn't work. we had a buddy of ours come over and check it out. found out the spark plug wasn't sparking. got that fixed up..and went to try and start it again, and it still wouldn't start. our buddy tried to figure out what was up for hours. we've never had any problem with our car until now, and have had it for a year now. kind of upsetting... =/
its been sitting for a while. and we got no clue what to do. we decided to look online for ppl who have had similar problems. anyone got a clue of what could be wrong....or give some advice of what to do? anything will be helpful
I was just surfing through the Rx8 Engine failure problems forum. And I came across your post. I'm here by having alot of problems with my rx8. I want to get some info on the lemon law attorney you've had. I have a 2005 Mazda Rx8, as I'm writing this letter. My Rx8 is at the dealership getting its 2nd engine replaced. I have 93k miles on the body and have 24k miles on the 2nd engine when it went out. Please reply back to me as soon as you can with the attorney info. I'd greatly appreciate that. Thank you
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I'm a new rx-8 owner as of 4 months ago. Bought a 2004 for my son for his first car. Wish I hadn't done that. He went to start it last week and no spark. $750 later at the dealership and the spark was back but they say the engine was blown. I've read a lot online since then regarding these engines and see they are lemons. The Mazda dealer says they'll replace the engine if I can show history of maintenance records. When I tried to contact the previous 2 owners the dealerships won't give me their names, so I have no way to do that.
I've got a claim in with Mazda customer service and waiting to hear back. Anyone have any other advise as to other course of actions?
Thanks.
To clear your car try pushing the gas peddle to the floor (this will shut off the fuel injectors) and crank the car for six seconds. Try this 2 or 4 times waiting in between and always press the gas to the floor or you'll just make the flooding worst. Now try starting the car normally with foot off the gas. If this does not work you have to remove the spark plugs and then do the outlined procedure again. Let the car sit a few minutes between cranks. Reinstall the spark plugs and you should start. You can also pull start the car if you have a manual. Have another car pull the RX to 20mph then dump the clutch in 2nd gear. This will start the car.
The flooding prevents the apex seal from sealing well and causes weak compression and no starting. In 2005 Mazda installed a stronger battery and faster starter. This spun the engine fast which increased the sealing force of the apex seals which helped greatly with the flood issue. If your car is an 2004 confirm it received this update.
If you are a little careful, you will never flood. If you car is at normal operating temperature you will never flood. If you move the car a small amount let it idle for a minute or two rev the car to 5,000rpms and turn off the engine while it is revved to 5000. I have done this for 6 year and never flooded once.
I've just run into some of the same problems that others describe about RX8 engine failure. I have a 2005 Shinka with about 47K miles, and it started having troubles starting. So I took it to the dealer, and $1000 later I had a carbon-free engine with new coils and plugs, a clean fuel system, and few other bright and shiny improvements. Ran great, idled great as I drove it away. I parked it at my house, and Monday morning it started great. Stopped at the bank a few miles down the road and it took 3 tries to start it. hmmm. Left it at the airport for a week, started fine, drove great to the house. Turned it off, and just for fun tried to start again... Nope--just cranked. 10 minutes later, still no start. After it cooled, it started and I took it back to the dealer. Now they say it needs a new engine.
My question: they tell me that Mazda requires them to do (most of) the $1000 in fixes before they will replace the engine, and that I'm stuck with that. Is that true? Is it really a warranty repair if I have to pay for a lot of other stuff to get the replacement? Is there a way to recover this money?
You could call Mzada corp. (Not the dealer) to complain and ask why they did all this work rather then check the compression. They might refund some of the money. You'll get no where with the dealers so skip him. Just be nice and professional with the rep and see what happens.
http://www.racingbeat.com/manuals/rx8warranty.pdf
You have a 100K warranty with the engine so if it does fail you are covered. If you want to change it out for other reasons, that is your call.
Good luck.
However, you may research putting in a replacement pipe. Racing Beat offers 2. I bought mine a while ago and it’s never given me an issue... just a few extra horses
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ClaireS, Host
Automotive News & Views | Coupes & Convertibles
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responding a year later to my original post regarding trying to get Mazda to replace our engine on the 2004 RX-8. I had spark problems and it wouldn't start. that cost me $750 to find out the engine was bad at the dealership, then $1000 to get the engine replaced. I will say that Mazda does realize they have issues with this year of engine and did replace it. They originally said I had to show that oil changes had been maintained for the first 40,000 miles but I had no way of doing that. After complaining to them they said they would replace it but I had to pay $1000.
so we replaced it, then the gas tank wouldn't fill correctly at the gas station. the gas pump wouldn't lock and stay on so you had to hold the handle on while filling it and it would click off avery few seconds. getting a full tank took 20 minutes minimum.
after that the engine light came back on and stayed on most of the time. i traded it in to a dealer at a $4,000 loss from what I paid which includes the cash I put into it.
i would not buy a rotary engine again and would warn others to seriously research them prior to buying one. Mazda did replace it because they realize they have issues but it's not worth the hassle and cash. i think mazda makes decent cars, just not this year and engine. so beware. that's my story. i read a few posts on here where others are having good luck with them, so good for them. i hope they continue to have good luck, all i can do is report my unfortunate luck and warn others to do their homework.
I wanted to see if anyone experiences/ have experienced the same problem as I have. I have a 2009 rx8 r3 package.
Every time i get on the highway and i go about 70-80 at around 4000 rpm in 6th gear my check engine light goes on.
If i go faster or slower there is no light.
Is there anyone that can shed some light on this issue. Is it electrical or do I have a leak somewhere??
Otherwise, use the recommended oil... Stay on top of all maintenance. Seriously, if you have even a slight mechanical ability , you can change plugs, wires, coils yourself... Buy them online for 1/2 dealer price... Took me 2 hours first time... Takes me 30min now.... It's important to replace every 30k miles.
Check out RX8club.com great group of support there!!
Good luck! My 2095 has120k!
We just had the third motor and cat installed after 60,000 miles under the 100K/8yr extension.
Symptoms included: Very sluggish during take off, car occasionally dying at stop signs or backing up
The car was flooded, would not start and needed to be towed. The service department started the motor and ran the diagnostics for compression under the service bulletin (~$350). If the car was drivable and we had driven the car to the service department we would have been charged that fee. They found that the compression was low and eligible for another motor replacement at the cost of Mazda. They also found that the cat had excessive carbon build up.
Out of pocket expenses: $520
~$120 to start motor
~$400 for new coils
~$20 for a new belt (one of the ribs was broken)
The cost for motor replacement and cat including labor: ~$7000 (covered by Mazda).
Service center also recommending replacing coils at cost of owner.
Issue per the service department: Driving the car like a honda will cause excessive build up in the cat and plug the cat causing the spark plugs to foul and apex seals to fail (aka motor failing).
Recommendation from service department: Refrain from driving in automatic and drive using the paddle shifters whenever possible or at all times. They also recommended to drive between 3-5000 RPM, the harder you drive it the better it will treat you. On the freeway I can cruise at 75 at about 4000 rpm in third gear. They also suggested not to shut off motor before the car is fully warm, if you do rev engine for 10 seconds at 5000 RPMs.
Mazda should have installed a transmission with a gear ratio that does not lug the motor.
Right now the car drives like brand new. Although, I am concerned when the engine will fail (again) and it will likely be out of warranty. For this reason, we may end up selling the car and buying a new one without the rotary problems, or may just drive it until it fails again and sell it at a reduced cost.
Has anyone filed a lawsuit with Mazda? What was the outcome?
From time to time I've experienced many of the issues discussed here. I've had the car stall on a hill. I've had difficult starting. I have stalled at traffic lights. I've experienced rough idling. And a lack of acceleration. These things didn't happen often and occurred over a period of months. I thought it first it was bad gas. I use premium.
To make a long story short, after having read comments in the RX8 club forum, I went to the dealership and had a compression test. My car went out of warranty on April 24 less than one month ago. The dealership wants me to pay $5500 for a new engine. I've contacted Mazda corporate and they're adamant that they will do nothing for me. They won't even prorate the repair. I tried to explain that I'm 97 months into the engine and for the lack of four weeks out of eight years they're punishing me.
I'm on a crusade to see that every RX eight owner whose car is in warranty knows how important it is to get the compression test done while it's still in warranty and get a new engine. If you know of any other places where I can post this message to reach Mazda owners before they wind up like me, please let me know.
Bob
One day, after about 45,000 trouble free miles, my check-engine light came on. After a diagnostic, my mechanic suggested I take it to a dealer, that there was a misfire warranty issue and there might be a recall. My local dealer start to back-pedal (the ones that had first insisted I had no motor issue at 23,000 miles) so I took it to a different dealer further away. They replaced my engine promptly after running some specific required tests. They made me replace the motor mounts and clutch at my own expense, which was pricey, but the car has been fine ever since.
One thing that happened recently was the driver's side visor cracked in two while I was driving, and was dangling dangerously in front of my face by some wires. I had no choice but to pull it free. This took out much of the security system and dashboard readings. I was alarmed at the number of reports of the same thing, and it appeared to be a safety issue, however Mazda was not recalling cars to replace these. The replacement visor was over $300. and had to be special ordered, so I ordered an identical visor from an after-market competitor for $66 and free shipping.
The RX8 is clearly not the car the RX7 was. I had two of those, and loved them. I'm hoping this is the last of my problems.
I've maintained her by the manual. I seriously red line her every day and I do rev her to 5000 RPM then pull the key. I've never done the carbon build up clean out procedure with the Mazda product or Seafoam but Im curious and may do it soon.
check out RX8club.com there's a thread there specifically for 100,000 milers. One even claims 170,000. That's what I'm shooting for!
I think you have some bad information, why do you have to let your RX rest for a good while? The flooding issue is not related to the car resting. It is related to a cold engine. If you start the car and move it a few feet then shut it down you might flood it, either let it warm up a bit or rev it to 5000rpm and kill the engine while at 5000rpm. This will blow any un-burnt gas out of the engine and prevent a flooded engine. Letting your car sit will accomplish absolutely nothing.
I'm the original owner of a 2005 RX-8 AT that has 147,500 on the original engine. I've changed the oil at 5000 to 6000 mostly. I had a compression check at 97,000 and the Mazda tech typed into the results, "Fantastic compression, doesn't get any better than this." But the numbers were low by the chart when I checked.
My RX-8 easily gets 21 MPG combined if I drive conversatively. I top off the tank every single day and never let the tank get below half empty. I drive 80MPH regularly, but I never drag race getting on the highway. Perfer to use 3rd with the paddle shifting nice and smooth. RX-8s are pathetic highway racers anyway, but on/off ramps can be taken at highway speeds lots of times if no one is in front of you.
Only one set of coils and plugs have been change out at 120,000. I did the change out myself with a few wrench monkey friends. Researched and bought the parts myself for $250 total. Quite an easy job once you get the damn air filter box out of the way.
My daily 80 mile round trip commute from Clinton MA to Boston allows a high rev or two, but never to the red line. I paddle shift alot, and cautiously downshift at low RPMS all the time to keep from lugging the engines. I don't, however, worry about doing 40MPH in 3rd and even 4th because if I use 2nd heat will build up. Heat is the number enemy of the rotary I feel. Carbon buildup can be handled by occasional revving.
Now idle issues have been bugging me in the recent hot weather. Runnning AC on high all the times seems to be teaching the ECU to keep idle up. But I may be getting into that low compression range. I've got $4000 saved for a new engine just in case.
The only words of advise I can give now is have your compression checked if your running towards the end of your warranty. I plan to have mine checked in the fall despite having no signs of an engine issue. This is a little late to help you though.
Had a bit trouble in the last month, though.
Hard starting, was completely fixed with a battery replacement. Only the second battery.
Then rough idle, and inability to run AC in the 90 degree heat wave without keeping my foot on the gas, was driving me nuts. I fell back to my old philosophy, replace the cheapest reasonable thing possible. Iridium spark plug, though not cheap, was still the most likely thing since the current plugs had 36,000 on them. And BINGO, idle held on and AC didn't lug after replacing the plugs. Took three days, to truly get the extra carbon blown out of the engine, with revs to 5700 RPM, once or twice each drive cycle.
There's a rattle in the exhaust at idle, that sometimes turns to a cough. Maybe needs a new Cat or a muffler. The rattle is loud right out of the pipe, so I'm thinking muffler. Do Cats even rattle?
I've go some Sears points to spend on a new set of Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires. Love these tires. They've got 40,000 and still have the DW wear marks. The midline of the tires is down to the ware bars though, because I kept the tire pressure at 32lb. I'm going to keep tire pressure at 28lb. from now on, to he'll with MPG. Although MPG, does not seem to suffer to much with the tires at 28lb.
So keep up on the routine maintenance and drive it like you stole it once in a while. Figure spending $300 every 30-40k miles for coils and plugs from eBay but it's a good investment. It's gonna be $5500 for new engine. Hope this helps.