:mad: Ive had my new rx-8 for 2 months. I parked it out side my house which is at an incline. I put on the e brake at ten o clock and checked the alarm was on around 12 before i went to bed. Around 7 the next morning my neighbour called to show me my new car had rolled out my drive the way it came in and hit the wall across the road from me. I ran over to the car and the damage was slight. The car was locked and no sign of forced entry was seen. i got into the car and quickly moved it away from the neighbours house. The car had knocked part of the garden wall down. The car was not in gear when i parked it and if i didnt put the e brake on properly i would be run over getting out of it. Im the only one with a key so it wasnt any one taking it for a drive with out my knowledge.
Ive went back to mazda but they say the car is fine! They have told me it will cost 1250euro to replace the back bumper and light. 10 hours work they say. Its a BUMPER not an engine rebuild. They dont seem to care about my problem and never return my calls . Has any one else had this happen to them?

you didnt have the car in gear- thats parking a manual transmission 101. you had only the inertia of the tranny to stop it from rolling- and with it in neutral that isnt very much to overcome. you should find a wrecked 8 in a junkyard that has a clean bumper or if you cant find one buy a new one. save some money and do the swap youself. learn a little about your car as well. chalk it up as a learning experience.

well i know now to have it gear and iv'v put body kits on cars so i know it takes approx 1 - 2 hrs at most to replace a bumper but why is mazda saying 10 man hours and i'd expect when spend 42,000 euro on a car sulely the hand brake should work! What happend to a good will gesture towards the repair? They said they couldn't rule out an intermitant fault. Should i have to fit all the bill!

the hand brake works- but it is not meant for nor is it designed for holding the car on its own.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_brake

well that telling me. Cheers. But again i say i've had no problem like this with any other make of car ive had. I'm only blessed it didn't happen during the day when kids where playing on my road so know i wounder if there are other people like my self who never leave there cars in gear and have never had this problem. Who are now thinking of buying an RX-8 and if this was to happen to them and some one was hurt i'd be devastated i didn't try to raise this issue. Only when you raise an issue can you see if this has happend in the past. Iv'e found 2 others on this site who have had the same problem so far.

i have read the posts other users have sent about this problem and it seems there is no symphaty for those people. No one seems to think mazda should be even slightly followed up about it. Do we have alot of people who work for mazda on the site or just people who think "mazda right ,owners wrong"

!

I don't think it would matter though, even if your parking brake were a little weak. By not putting the car in gear when you parked it, you were relying solely on a device that's designed to be secondary to the transmission's resistance. An analagous claim would be getting into an accident while not wearing your seatbelt, and getting upset at mazda because the airbags didn't prevent you from getting hurt.

I don't want to add insult to injury, but incessantly saying how the result of your incorrect parking procedure is somehow Mazda's fault is just asinine. Besides, it's in the manual.

:spank: it happened to me also but was lucky the wheels were turned a little and my car made a perfect turn between the mailbox and sidewalk.it ran over a little bush but no damage at all.i came home pulled up the driveway set the e-brake locked the car when my wife said who's driving your car down the driveway!!! i freeked out and ran out front to see the car still locked up and no one in sight!!!lesson learned i always put it in gear no matter what!good ole saying is when it's an automatic it's safe but a manual will run on or over you ! :Eyecrazy: :nono:

its not safe to leave the AT in neutral when parking either ! you need to put it in park- there is a pin when placed in the parking gear that prevents the tranny from turning.

i dont work for mazda- i dont care what make/model you put in your original paragraph- you did not follow proper parking procedure. i have no sympathy for you because if someone had got hurt it would have been YOUR NEGLIGENCE that caused their injuries.

Observing your use of euro i suggest posting this same story at http://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/ to see if you can get any sympathy from the Brits. Since Europeans in general , and britsspecifically, have a high opinion of their driving superiority vs Americans - especially when it comes to manual transmissions and the use of the hand brake- perhaps you will find them a better audience. In fact since im amember there ill post it for you and return their opinions as well.

there ya go

http://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?p=178093#178093

it is common sense to leave your car in gear on ANY type of incline. counting on your emergency brake to hold your 1 1/2 ton car on a hill is ridiculous.

you can pretty much count on getting no sympathy here for such a bonehead manuveur.

!

I dont put it in gear most of the time, but at incline. I always do it.

Manual Transmission car parking 101 :)

Sorry for your lost, but its clearly your own fault.

cheers for posting that. didn't want give some brit my hard earned IRISH money to join and post it. Slan abhaile

i havent LOST anything.

its not safe to leave the AT in neutral when parking either ! you need to put it in park- there is a pin when placed in the parking gear that prevents the tranny from turning.
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You can't even remove the ignition key from the AT unless it's in park either.

i havent LOST anything.

nothing except rx8 board member's respect. :spank:

I would question them on the 10 hours. That sounds like crap. Unless they feel they need to paint the bumper to match the car. If so it looks like a good excuse to buy a body kit! :)

It's a parking brake. It's supposed to hold the car still when you're parked.

Automotive proving grounds include a hill of a standard gradient (30%? Been a while, don't remember exactly) for testing parking brakes. Magazines that do good road tests of cars include testing whether the parking brake holds on grades. If one looked, I'd guess that SAE would have a standard.

The safety backup when parking on a steep incline is to turn the front wheels toward (if facing downhill) or away from (if facing uphill) the curb. Leaving a MT car in gear when parked invites inadvertent motion when starting. If you're counting on the transmission to hold the car, what's going to hold it when you step on the clutch to start it? What if someone just hops in and turns the key without stepping on the clutch?

The "P" on an automatic is park. It locks the transmission. It's made to hold the car when parked.

When parking, I put autos in Park and don't use the hand brake. With MT, I use the hand brake and leave the gears in neutral. I have never had a parked car get away from me in over 40 years.

Ken

well it looks like im well and truely shafted and sympaty. But as you pointed out it is a good excuse to get a body kit. Well thats how i will put it to the girlfriend or i will get all picture and no sound for the next month for needlessly spending more money on the care. Every cloud has a silver lineing!

i have never had a MT car get away from me either and this is why i want to see if anyone else had this problem with the RX so i can stick it in the dealers face.

It's a parking brake. It's supposed to hold the car still when you're parked.

Automotive proving grounds include a hill of a standard gradient (30%? Been a while, don't remember exactly) for testing parking brakes. Magazines that do good road tests of cars include testing whether the parking brake holds on grades. If one looked, I'd guess that SAE would have a standard.

The safety backup when parking on a steep incline is to turn the front wheels toward (if facing downhill) or away from (if facing uphill) the curb. Leaving a MT car in gear when parked invites inadvertent motion when starting. If you're counting on the transmission to hold the car, what's going to hold it when you step on the clutch to start it? What if someone just hops in and turns the key without stepping on the clutch?

The "P" on an automatic is park. It locks the transmission. It's made to hold the car when parked.

When parking, I put autos in Park and don't use the hand brake. With MT, I use the hand brake and leave the gears in neutral. I have never had a parked car get away from me in over 40 years.

Ken

One would think with 40 years of car parking experience, you'd know that modern cars, at least in America, have clutch safety switches that don't allow you to start the engine without depressing the clutch. Furthermore, the first thing they tell you in driver's ed when starting a manual car is putting your foot on the brake before the clutch. If putting the car in gear when parking it wasn't recommended, it wouldn't be in the manual (or in every driver's ed class in the country).

Unfortunately, as much as safety regulations try to idiot-proof cars, there will still be people that ignore manuals and their driving classes in the name of laziness.

If you're counting on the transmission to hold the car, what's going to hold it when you step on the clutch to start it?
Ken
Your other foot... on the brakes.

They did not have driver's ed when I was growing up. Back then there were simply not enough gym teachers with holes in their schedules.

The 8 is the only car I've had that requires depressing the clutch to start. But I've driven cars that would not start unless the seat belt is buckled. Also driven cars where you could not turn the headlights off, which was really great for sentries when approaching military base gates at night.

Just because an interlock is government-mandated does not mean it makes sense.

Depressing the clutch as you start a car doesn't do you much good if, after the car starts and you let it up, the car is in gear.

If your 8 floods, and you need to keep your right foot on the accelerator and depress the clutch, and you used the transmission instead of the parking brake when you parked, what is going to prevent the car from rolling away?

It's not laziness or ignoring manuals. It's doing things the way they should be done, not the way specified by some pinhead bureaucrat who never ventured outside the beltway.

Ken

i don't get it. why is it so hard to put your car in gear as insurance? would it be THAT difficult to take the extra second to put the car in gear before you get out of the car? jeez.

It's not laziness, just belief and procedure. On MT cars I've always used the parking brake for parking. If there was a park position (like there is on ATs) I'd use that.

Never had a parked car get away from me. But I have had some interesting moments getting into a car that was already in gear.

I also start the car before buckling my seat belt.

Ken

Just because an interlock is government-mandated does not mean it makes sense.

Depressing the clutch as you start a car doesn't do you much good if, after the car starts and you let it up, the car is in gear.

If your 8 floods, and you need to keep your right foot on the accelerator and depress the clutch, and you used the transmission instead of the parking brake when you parked, what is going to prevent the car from rolling away?

It's not laziness or ignoring manuals. It's doing things the way they should be done, not the way specified by some pinhead bureaucrat who never ventured outside the beltway.

Ken

I believe the interlock was mandated as a safety for those people who would start a MT car without depressing the clutch. Nobody is saying not to use the emergency brake in conjunction with putting the car in gear- both things should be done every time you park the car.

If your 8 floods, in that special situation, I'm sure that you could make the call as to the best thing to do. However, most of us don't have that happen on a daily basis.

I don't like to get into arguments over silly things, but this "what-if" old-school propaganda that you're saying is reminescent of those people who don't buckle their seatbelt, because if they wrecked their car, they'd be trapped. Yeah, maybe in some weird scenario your method could in fact work better. However, in the day to day reality, the method that's mandated by Washington pinheads (and every car manufacturer in the world) is the safest, most efficient way of parking your car.

Sorry, but you're wrong.

I believe the interlock was mandated as a safety for those people who would start a MT car without depressing the clutch.

Yes - that definitely has to be the reason. Not a problem if the car is in neutral, but a hazard if it's in gear.

I see the owner's manual says to put it in 1 or R when parked. First car I've had where the manual said that. Also the first I've had with an interlock. I'll have to give the new way a try.

Ken

They did not have driver's ed when I was growing up. Back then there were simply not enough gym teachers with holes in their schedules.

The 8 is the only car I've had that requires depressing the clutch to start.


what was your previous car? or i should ask "your previous MT car?".

1987 Honda Accord.

I still have it - it's been demoted to winter beater status.

Before that (going backwards) there was a 1980 VW Rabbit, a 1971 BMW 2002, a 1953 Chevy, and a 1958 Alfa Romeo. Couple of AT beaters in between.

The clutch interlock is a bit of a pain when changing oil. I always step on the clutch when I'm sitting in the car about to drive, but for that first leak-check start after an OC I'd rather not get in.

Ken

but u gotta keep one thing in mind, the *Parking brake* is a wired device, you have to pull it to use it. and theres a VERY high chances that some people might NOT apply enough forces to it. It might hold for a short time, but after a while its going to slide, and the sliding force adds up, meaning its going to slide faster and faster. until it hits something (or flat enough places so it would stop)

There you go. Put it in 1st, problems resolved.

Yikes! Just when the other folks (as well as the instructions in the owner's manual) convinced me that putting it in gear is the right thing to do, you're saying that it's really one of those least common denominator rules? So as long as I think I'm smarter and more competent...? :)

Actually, I did see the light on the parking brake, and the thread has drifted toward the clutch interlock. As I recall from other posts, you change your oil pretty often. How do you deal with the clutch interlock when you need to start the car for the traditional post-change leak test, but you're still wearing your dirty clothes? I've only done one change thus far in my 8, and I did kind of an off-balance acrobatic maneuver that I was not at all comfortable with.

Ken

Yes - that definitely has to be the reason. Not a problem if the car is in neutral, but a hazard if it's in gear.

I see the owner's manual says to put it in 1 or R when parked. First car I've had where the manual said that. Also the first I've had with an interlock. I'll have to give the new way a try.

Ken


I've never seen an owners manuel that didn't say this,...

I usually just leave my car in gear unless i'm on a hill then I leave it in gear and set the brake, in nuetral the car is free to roll.

Also think of it this way, when you set the parking brake, the brakes are HOT from driving, as the brakes cool off, they shrink, so the parking brake is now much looser then when you set it. This combined with dew on the rotrs = ownage.

yes- and thats why when you set the hand brake you should first fully depress and hold the foot brake pedal. itll take a stronger hold and will have a lesser chance of slipping when the brakes cool.

This just happened to me last night.

My car was in my garage, very very slight incline, locked and all. About 30 minutes after I get home, my dog goes nuts and I look outside. My car is in the middle of the street with my neighbors standing around it. Well my car had rolled down my driveway which is a steep incline 10' down over about 25' or so(It's steep enough that I have to pull in sideways to keep from scraping with my S-Techs) and hit my neighbors Ford Explorer. My car hit their towing package and totally distroyed my rear passenger side bumber, light, fender, trunk, and spoiler. It's trashed. The Explorer only has some scratches on the bumper since I hit their tow bar. I've never seen a car roll like that and I've always used just the parking brake unless I park on a hill where the incline is to steep for the brake or tranny to hold seperately. Needless to say this will be an expensive lesson.

Oh, and it's Silver.

USE 1ST GEAR TO HOLD IT!!!

Cel

Forgive me if this was mentioned already, I'm still stunned reading what happened...

I see its been mentioned that 'it takes 2 seconds to move it into gear' etc etc.. and 'several' insist neutral is fine..

How did you get in your driveways/garages/parking spots what have you? In neutral? You were in gear, you took it out!

Dude, I'm sorry about your bumper.. please be grateful there were no pedestrians in the wake of your driverless 8 while it was silently coasting backwards...

Wow. bummer. Count yourself lucky at least no one was hurt. definitely a good example for everyone out there. The curse claims another one...