I tried to start the RX8 this morning and to my surprise it wouldn't start. From reading the forums it seems many of us have been experiencing this. I could smell that it was flooded again. I have had all the recalls done including two spark plugs and the most recent flash. I went into the dealer in Sarnia, Ontario and explained the situation. As usual they said they would take a look at it. They called a tow truck through mazda roadside assistance and had the car towed in. Later in the day I received a phone call explaining that two plugs were foiled (not the two they replaced a month ago) and needed to be replaced. No problem right? They then explained that I would have to pay $245 to get the car fixed, which included the tow charge. Unfortunately I don't have my owners manual. Does anyone know what the roadside assistance covers? I thought everything was covered for towing for the first three years? I have 30,000 km on the car and purchased in May 2004. Does anyone know if the plugs are covered under warranty? Thanks for any feedback received. I would like to go to the dealership with some info.
Cheers,
Yella.....

Plugs are not covered under warranty.
Plus the plugs have not failed, they have become fouled, dirty in other words.
You could have a chance getting this covered under the emissions warranty, if the dealer was really stretching it.
Have you started the car and not allowed it to warm up properly before shutting it off?
Have you read the owners manual?
Was this explained to you in the past?
Talk to the service dept. about this.

I thought that any sort of flooding issue would be totally covered by mazda.

This would include towing, and replacing the plugs.

Also if this is your second time, change your habits. Let it warm up before turning it off when moving a short distance or throw some revs up before you turn the key to the off position like between 3000-3500.

Ahhhhhhhhh Let it begin :D:

This is like deja vu

Sorry to hear that.
I always follow the shutoff ritual: rev upto 4000 and then turn the engine off.

There is NO reason why you should pay a cent.

I'll bet your right bsteimel.
I'm sure Mazda would own up to the unique habits of the rotary for a few times and simply replace the plugs.
Informing the customer to change their habits would be the most sane procedure to follow up with.
Let's wait and see what the dealership does.
Keep us updated!

BTW gang.
Since this is a hot topic at the moment, for those who do not know, what is the best procedure to keep the engine from flooding?

BTW gang.
Since this is a hot topic at the moment, for those who do not know, what is the best procedure to keep the engine from flooding?


Well the most advised answer is DO A SEARCH

Should be covered. Strange that if it's had the battery and plugs recall performed that the same problems are cropping up again.

This happened to me back in October, except an autobody shop flooded my car.
Towed to dealer free of charge via Mazda roadside assistence.
Spark plugs replaced, deflooded, plus a brand new battery AND starter free of charge, all covered under warranty. This was done shortly after I had the "2 spark plug replacement" recall done.
Sounds like you need to find a new dealer.

Well, here is the update. The Sarnia Mazda dealership would not cover the plugs under warranty. All in all it cost $170.00 for two plugs. I wasn't very happy when I dropped into the dealership to see the progress. My car was sitting in a bay hooked up to a battery charger. The mechanic explained that the car flooded again after he replaced the plugs, so he removed them and was drying them out before reinstalling them. Apparently my battery went dead overnight as the door was left open??? I am leaning towards he couldn't get the car to start and killed the battery trying.
Here is hoping this doesn't happen again!
Cheers and happy New Year.

Hey Yella,
We live pretty close to each other and I just wanted to say Hi.
I pm'd you
Rasper

Well, here is the update. The Sarnia Mazda dealership would not cover the plugs under warranty. All in all it cost $170.00 for two plugs. I wasn't very happy when I dropped into the dealership to see the progress. My car was sitting in a bay hooked up to a battery charger. The mechanic explained that the car flooded again after he replaced the plugs, so he removed them and was drying them out before reinstalling them. Apparently my battery went dead overnight as the door was left open??? I am leaning towards he couldn't get the car to start and killed the battery trying.
Here is hoping this doesn't happen again!
Cheers and happy New Year.

Just a little note here...Same thing happened with my RX8 a long time ago and it was my mistake (I admitted, move the car twice without proper warm-up) Anyway, I didn't pay one cent for the repair and on top of it , Mazda Belleville installed a brand new stater that really spin faster than the old one !!
Never again that problem show-up... :rock: