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Mazda RX-8 Problems and Solutions
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Comments
Have ocassionaly filled up with 89 octane, will that cause problems?
Thanks
FlatpickHippster
Charlotte NC
04 RX8 14K miles
Purchased Oct 2003
Oil Indicator Recall
M Flash
Ave 17 mpg, 7 mile stop and go work commute
Cruising rpm 2500 - 3500
I had the foamy dipstick issue, but convinced my dealership to order the 05 dipstick tube and dipstick to help with that one.
I love this car!
-DJ
If you need to know more about what I am talking about do a search here and you will see what I have been through.
Although my RX8 met with an unfortunate accident, I owned mine for about 1 1/2 years. Bought one of the first ones to hit these shores.
Mine was great. It ran like a scalded dog. It always brought a grin to my face whenever I drove it.
There were some teething problems with the very first ones, but I think Mazda did a great job in handling them...at least with me. I think the latter '04 models and certainly the '05 model has been sorted out pretty well.
Some frustration came from dealer service depts...at least initially. The RX series had been absent from Mazda's line-up for a while. Many service techs that knew of the RX series had moved from the dealer's service depts. Consequently, there weren't many service techs that were familiar with the car. Now, after a couple of years, the experience level is up and the service depts should be familiar enough to address an owner's issue.
My dealer had two RX service techs that were very experienced. They had stuck around. One of them was so senior, all he did was work on RXs. I got to know him on a personal level because he was also an enthusiast and we'd run into each other at RX shows. He kept mine in top condition and was alwasy aware of any issue that cropped up.
Other dealer service depts weren't really focused on the RX when it was released. That meant they didn't have much of a clue when it came to solving customer issues.
Bottom line....there are tens of thousands of RX8s on the road today (lost track of how many have been sold). Dealer techs are more experienced. So, I'd buy one without hesitation.
BTW....I really like that Shinka!!!!
Interestingly, while you have several options available that we do not, such as NAV and auto-dimming RV mirrors, we have the auto climate control that you guys seem to be lacking. So while I don't experience your "cycling" problem, I do notice an audible hiss coming from the AC unit every 20 or 30 seconds while driving. Annoying. Will be asking the dealer about this one shortly.
In my local car market, sports cars are somewhat rare (Mazda has sold maybe 500 of these cars here), so dealers tend to be even less knowledgable about the car. I'm hoping I can find a service department with qualified mechanics/technicians. Considering the RX-7 was never officially sold in this country, we don't even have any of the older RX techs lurking about.
I had my first glitch the other day when my immobilizer refused to deactivate. I eventually had to drive home in a friend's car to fetch my spare key, but while fiddling around I disconnected the battery. As I am still reading my way through the manual (only had the car about a week) I now see many functions require recalibration/reactivation if the battery is disconnected, such as DSC and power steering. Interestingly, most of these functions were inactive immediately after getting the car started (as stated in the manual), but I never performed any of the recalibration techniques and yet they seem to have reset themselves. Any ideas?
No major issues yet, though I must say I can notice a lot of the smaller quirks mentioned here (misfiring occassionally when idling, whirring tranny sound when the car idles in neutral, solid "click" when moving into and out of 1st gear, and when engaging/disengaging the clutch when idling). Gonna bounce all these off the dealer next week, but just to confirm (there are a LOT of messages on this forum) are any of these cause for concern?
One last question (promise) does anyone know if the ECU reflashes (L, M, N) apply only to NA or are worldwide (would imagine the latter)? Fuel consumption is worrying (I expected this) and if you guys think you pay a lot for gas in NA you should try it over here, close on 4 times the price, so anything that may help in this department would be a good thing.
Thanks guys and sorry for the lengthy post!
I had the problem during the winter ( live in RI) but since the weather warmed up it has disappeared. I suspect the cause may be the lock access that penetrates the light fixture, allowing moisture to enter.
No problem with vibration. Just awful gas mileage. 18 MPG is a dream, even driven conservatively.
Others have noted the whirring sound when the clutch is engaged in neutral at idle, but has anyone noticed gear noise when downshifting into 2nd (6-speed MT)? Also, someone mentioned here the clunk heard from the front wheels when pulling away after startup is the "ABS calibrating", but that sounds dubious to me and my mechanic agreed. Any clarification on this?
Otherwise my service department seems pretty good. I had a chat with their rotary mechanic and he seemed to know a fair amount about the car and engine, so I'm feeling a little more relaxed.
most cars i've seen that have wheels that let you see much of the brake drums have rust.
Unless you are talking about something very different, brake rotors are manufactured from high carbon steel and will "rust" very quickly( my old Volvo rotors would show "rust"after a car wash!), go into a dealer of any manufacturer and look at the rotors on the cars with disk brakes and I would guess you will see a film of oxidation, in my experience this is normal, and is not a safety issue.
I would not take Mazda to task over this.
Ps. there are other rotor materials, ie ceramic, used on very expensive performance cars that might not rust but why spend all that money for a car that doesn't perform that much better?
And those light dustings of snow in the early spring tend to be extremely slippery. The ground is usually a bit warmer and melts the initial snowfall. Then the snow keeps coming and freezes the melted layer to create very slippery conditions. An AWD vehicle with dedicated snow tires will have a tough time negotiating roads covered with black ice.
I just bought a leftover, untitled 2004 (lots of those still out there) and got a really good deal (I feel). I shopped on e-bay and autotrader for used cars and it seemed that most with the options i wanted were in the 22K to 24K range (that's for a 6 spd, autos seem to be less) and i financed 21,500 on a new one. I don't have to deal with someone else's prior miles and I have a full warranty.
I saw a few "new" 2004's had been listed on e-bay. you might look at those. Good luck, I love mine. loads of fun to drive!!!!!
Lisa
I just picked up my 04 RX8 200k on odometer. While driving it home from the dealer the engine light came on. The dealer said the code indicated the catalytic converter was the source. They say that the converter may have been contaminated with fuel vapours.They are going to install a new converter
When I picked the car up they told me not to shut off the engine and restart it if it was not completely warmed up. I have owned other Rotary cars before and never had this sort of problem.
Any comments on these two issues?
Bulletins for 2004 Mazda RX8 2RTR-1.3L
Service Bulletins
TSB # Issue Date TSB Title
0700204 MAY 04 A/C - Lack of Cooling or Temperature Fluctuation
0101104 APR 04 Engine - Cranks/No Start
0901104 APR 04 Windows - Rear Quarter Window Glass Lock Loose
0900704 MAR 04 Antitheft System - Dome Lamp Flashes/Clicking Noises
0900404 MAR 04 Interior - Tire House Trim Lifting
0100104 FEB 04 Engine - Engine Cover Grommets Loose/Fall Off
0200104 FEB 04 Suspension - Shock Absorber/Strut Replacement
Guidelines
When i try to get my car started last sunday during a heavy rain,
the car starts but all the dash board light up and there was no
power steering and the gear can't change when moving.
The workshop guyz still can't figure out what wrong with the car!!
Any advice would be greatly appricated.
Thks
pls e-mail me
The dealer replaced the catalytic conv. yesterday. The difference in the performance is like night and day. When the engine light was on the car would rev to about 6K and then start to lug. There must be a safety feature in the engine module program that restricts the RPM when the engine light is on.
The dealer neglected to tell me this... They just told me that it would be OK to drive the car until the part was in. I had never experienced a hard starting problem with the car. But it had 300KMs on the car when I bought it....so maybe the dealer had a problem with hard starting at some point.
Any-way my car runs great now. I have about 1200KM on the car right now. I will be keeping a log of my fuel and oil consumption and, periodicly post the results.