Excuse if already posted....

Got a return phone call from Mazda NA HQ. They will be sending out new oil pans to US dealers for replacement at the end of September 2003. (We were speaking of US market only...not sure of others). Mazda did not mention a new oil sending unit...just pan.

This will address some of our issues with oil light coming on at speed and G's with normal oil levels.

A thank you to Albert with Mazda NA HQ and a note that your local dealer (mine anyway) thinks info via boards such as this is unreliable. Not so in this case.

Thanks to all for the oil light information. Helped me and others not panic when we saw it.

Is this something they will automatically do when we bring our cars in for service, or will we have to bring it up with them?

I am scheduled to go in tomorrow for the dealer to replace mine. Dealer was aware of the issue.

Hmm.... is there like a range of VINs this is affecting? I havent seen mine do it .. yet.

yeah there is a range but i don't that info. just the first ship, i think. check with the service dept at a dealer. they "should" know by now.

If you dealer is like mine - they no nothing of the new oil pan. They should by first week in Oct.

When I asked my dealer how much for the oil filter, the parts man said "What size engine...?"

Ummm...never mind.

First time i noticed this, was on my recent trek about the western US, predictably, on long steady downgrades, my light would come on. Just a simple press on the gas, or the brake, would cause the oil to slosh in the pan enough to clear the sensor, but, i went ahead and had my wife call my dealer back here in washington and ask about it. They didn't know anything about the pans, but when i asked further, they looked it up and saw a couple different part numbers, they said they would contact Mazda and find out what one is correct. I got a call a couple days ago that the new part is in, so now i just have to get around to going down there... luckily, i'm about due for an oil change anyways!

my 8 was on first allocation but my oil light has never come on

My car was on the first allocation also and I have never seen my light come on. After reading all theses posts, I thought my car was the only one without the problem..... or my light does not work.

Mostly I'm a fan of Mazda although I do scratch my head sometimes with some of the ideas they come up with. In this instance.. How does something like this slip through testing of a vehicle? Surely the light has come on sometime when they are running flat out at Laguna? Ok.. the pan looks like a transmission pan.. it's flat.. now, does the light coming on mean that the oil level is low, from sloshing side to side. Possibly a sensor set a little on the conservative side? Or is the actual screen not picking up oil and there is no oil pressure? Probably the first is true and it's the level sensor. They really sould have picked this up in testing.

Originally posted by myrx8
My car was on the first allocation also and I have never seen my light come on. After reading all theses posts, I thought my car was the only one without the problem..... or my light does not work.

Not necessarily. The conditions are not those that everyone might do.

For me it takes:
Oil down 1/3 or more on dipstick.

Travel at over 155kmh (95mph) for 10 minutes or more.

The only times mine have come on were out in idaho and utah where there are plenty of long steady declines, at around 90mph... only happened twice... and it is the level sensor, Mazda did realize that the sloshing would possible cause problems, that is why they put in the baffles in the oil pan to begin with, they just weren't sufficient so the newer pan has larger baffles (well, smaller holes) so it takes the oil longer to migrate to the sides of the pan. It really isn't a big issue, as long as you still have pressure, the oil is going where it needs to... the light comes on LONG before the pump will lose suction.

My experience was similar to Crazifuzzy's
The dealer thought I wa crazy, until I supplied the part # for the new oilpan.
Once they looked it up on the parts system and saw it existed as a newer part #, they realized there was something credible about the request.
I too find it hard to believe that Mazda never took an RX-8 out on a track or road and ran it for an hour or two at this speed.
Maybe the problem is that it does not usually show up if your oil is completely topped up.
And, of course, in testing their mechanics are likely to keep the fluids topped up.

I recall reading that one of the port campaigns was to install new dipsticks. I heard that the original ones showed the oil level as full about half a litre lower than present.
Maybe those original dipsticks were actually correct, and this is a way to raise the oil level to mask the problem.

It is good to know this, I may take my car to be dealer for a checkup.

Hi
Want is the new part number for the revised oil pan?

N3H8-10-4AXA

I knew a forgot to ask that question about the part - Thank you.

I took a print out of this thread into the Mazda dealer today (picked up my mud flaps!). My salesman took me out to meet their #1 RX-8 technician to hear my story. I've started noticing the dreaded oil light while driving. Started showing up at 2370 miles. This is what I learned.

Most everyone knows that the dip stick was replaced as part of one of the port campaigns - either 03F02 or 03F04 (only ones I had). The tech said the original dip stick was too short and can be identified by a white stripe.

He also said he was finding all the cars being prepped had about an extra quart of oil. He asked his Mazda training staff and they said - warm the car up, turn it off and wait about five minutes, then check the oil. The tech said they've been working on a fix so you can check the oil like any other car, but hadn't heard that they've resolved it yet. He mentioned about the path the oil has to go through - both the oil coolers and that this has something to do with the weird oil light. He was unaware of the upcoming oil pan replacement, reported earlier in this thread.

My oil light did not start coming on until the level was down about a half quart. I haven't topped it up... yet.


Mileage continues to hover about 18 mpg. No performance complaints. Hell! No complaints at all - its a totally new car with a totally re-engineered engine. I really don't think the Mazda crew bites baby heads off when they go home - they're trying to make it right, give 'em a chance! If you're getting 12 mpg, have them buy it back and get another one!

ccope VIN # 00502

My VIN ends with 1791 - earlier than quite a few cars that have demonstrated the problem. On a road trip in August, I had plenty of time running at high speeds for long periods, both up and down grades. At around 4000 miles (while on the road trip), the oil level was down 2/3rd of the way from the full to add marks on the dipstick (ie about 1 litre down), at which point I added 1 litre of oil. My car's oil light has never come on, and I've certainly driven similarly to others who have experienced it, and it's an early VIN. Quite puzzling - I'd be certain mine is in the affected range, yet never any problem with the oil light.

Like I've said, mine's a keeper! :D

Regards,
Gordon

Definitely.
I thought i was clear of this symptom for quite a while too.
I had done some pretty fast and long runs up to about 2500km, when it hit me, and only on one trip to Fort Mac.
Since then i have religiously topped the oil once it got down 1/4 and it has not yet come back.

Count ye blessings!
BTW, did you get your floor mats yet?

I have never had oil light come on and I just hit 3300 miles

I didn't have any problems with the oil light, until 2995 miles. then it came on at a level grade, at 80 mph speed after about 5 mins.

My oil was probably about 1/3 quart below full. Keeping it topped up keeps the oil light away..

Need to call the dealer to get the new oil pan..

To all,

Thank you for the good information. My car has 1950 miles on it. I have had it three weeks. I followed all break in guidance. I was running about 85-90 today and the oil light just scared the crap out of me. I let off and it went off. I was in the middle of nowhere so kept going to the next exit. I had crept back up to 80 and it came back on. I let off and got off and checked the oil. I am less than a half quart low. I added some and will keep an eye on it until I can call the dealer.

Thanks again.

Contacted my dealer's service department and described this problem and they immediately state that there was a tech bulletin on this and that the oil sensor was "too sensitive"... To fix, they are replacing the pan and sensor.

Tech staff stated that anyone having this problem should schedule an appt for replacement.

Just a note on that light coming on.

If you swerve a bit back and forth, kind of like people do on race tracks running under a yellow flag, it will go usually go off.

Apparently the problem is that the oil in the pan tends to move away from the sensor. If you "wiggle" the car around the oil moves back around.

Just don't do it too hard and drive off the road!

Originally posted by CraziFuzzy
The only times mine have come on were out in idaho and utah where there are plenty of long steady declines, at around 90mph... only happened twice... and it is the level sensor, Mazda did realize that the sloshing would possible cause problems, that is why they put in the baffles in the oil pan to begin with, they just weren't sufficient so the newer pan has larger baffles (well, smaller holes) so it takes the oil longer to migrate to the sides of the pan. It really isn't a big issue, as long as you still have pressure, the oil is going where it needs to... the light comes on LONG before the pump will lose suction.

Agreed on the declines.

I get it and I just stopped by the dealer to inquire about it. Mine is on Sahara if anyone knows Vegas.

The want the car for 2 days, possibly more to diagnose what they are calling a "low oil light". They were not aware of the problem, and showed me the full name and address of a girl in the computer that they could not reproduce the light, and that she was low on oil.

I'm going to try another service dept and see what they say.

The service bulletin has been out for a couple of weeks in the US.

Find another (more competent) dealer!

Oh, on the line of service bulletins, it seems the optional shock sensor upgrade for the factory alarm system has been withdrawn.
Some kind of problem with it apparently..

See:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com/rx8/docs/03-23.html

I found Charles Cope's posting interesting, as the oil in my car when I picked it up was overfilled about a quart. (I checked it after driving home, and letting it sit about 5 minutes)

Regarding the oil pan; I have two port campaign stickers under my hood, and one in the trunk. (I forget what is written on them at the moment) I did notice a lot of 3-Bond or similar sealant had been used on the oil pan gasket in my car, I can't say it looks sloppy really, it just makes me wonder if some of the oil pans might have been replaced at port.

I haven't had the low oil light, (at app. 2600 mi.) but I don't let the level fall below 1/4 from full.

My oil light came on during my road trip to Arlansas. (VIN#1130)Two things needed to happen simultaneously for the light to come on.
1)speed of 75 or higher 2) oil at least 1/2 quart low
When I slowed below 70 the light would go out.

I talked to the service manager a couple weeks ago about changing the oil pan. He, of course, didn't know about the new oil pan. But after contacting Mazda Regional he had one on order for me the same day. It came in last week and was installed on Saturday. Only takes a couple hours. And most of that is for the oil to cool off before they open it up.

Now I just need to wait for the oil level to drop and go cruising through the mountains:D

Originally posted by canzoomer
The service bulletin has been out for a couple of weeks in the US.



Is there a service bulletin ID number or something like that? I just spoke to the folks who I will most likely get the service done through (John Hine Mazda in Mission Valley) and they were not aware of any issue. I'd like to supply them with enough information so they can see the service bulletin and fix the issue withouth giving me the run-around too much...

Thanks,
Simon.

Don't know anything about the service bulletin number, but the service manager at my dealer made one phone call to Mazda (regional rep, I think) and got the information needed to order the pan as a warranty item.

I just got off the phone with the dealer at John Hine - there is no TSB or other such information in their systems at the moment, however they did ask me where I heard about the information and I pointed them at the forum here.

They then called Mazda HQ and they were informed about the issue and the part number for the replacement oilpan, which they will be getting in tomorrow. So it sounds like you just need to have a cool service manager who's willing to call Mazda and ask about the issue.

Cool.
Simon.

sferret
thanks for getting the ball rolling

Sorry, but there are no tsb's on this oil light issue,
I would know, seeing as I get all new/updated bulletins every morning. The problem of taking it in to the dealer is the they
have to be able to duplicate the problem. So if they cant, your car goes out the door as, no problem found/ unable to duplicate
customer complaint. I worked on one such customers vehicle,
no problem found, but out of curiousity, I called my tech-line.
Yes they are aware of this, yet i beleive not enough vehicles
have produced this problem to warrant a bulletin. I currently have a new oil pan on order for this customer, going on a few weeks now because of back order. The new oil pan is being
released because the sensor is adhered to the pan, plus there
is enough adhesive that tech-line told me that i would destroy the pan trying to remove it.
So the bad part is that taking in posts
of the net is not exactly a good thing, kinda looks bad. Of the sort that everyone here is trying to diagnose their own car and that just cause you saw it on the net, your car must have that problem too!
Just a re-cap, the dealer needs to be able to reproduce the problem to fix your car..... i know can be fustrating cause every time you take it in, seems like the car knows its going to "the doctor", suddenly acts all fine. Can be very fustrating on the dealerships too. Those surverys you recieve, where you mark that the vehicle was not fixed right the first visit, is a huge deal in the eyes of Mazda.

I can reproduce it 100% of the time, with the oil at the top of the fill line now.

Only problem, you have to be on a hill, and the closest one is 40 miles out of town.

It's about 70% of the time in the one hill on the freeway, and it's 5th and 6th gear, but the dealer is saying that they don't want to drive out 5 miles to try it.

Damn, it's even 4th gear now :(

How's that for "self-diagnosis"?

When my car was at the dealer, he said there is a problem, but no official word. I still have not been able to create the problem so many are talking about.

It is a bit awkward, but here is how I can reproduce it 100% reliably:

Oil at or below 3/4 full mark
Cruise at 150kmh (93mph) or faster for 10 minutes.

I know, this requires a highway where you can do that..

I was told by the Mazda Canda head PR guy about 2-3 weeks ago that they are doing a TSB at least in Canada, but it would take a little while as it has to be done in English and French. And then parts had to be brought in.