I KNEW IT, dammit!

Finally got in today and well guess what... they confirmed my suspicions. The poor guy that came to the lounge to tell me was shaking he was so scared :rolleyes: and I said before he could even open his mouth "Its blown, huh?"

I am at home now, waiting on compression tests to confirm for sure, and then the new engine will be ordered. I will go back later today to pick it up and get all the info I can..

Now what. :icon_no2:
I'm sad.

Wow...a new engine on a 2006 SE???
I feel for you, that's bad news.

I always thought the engine problems were for pre-2006 years.

Let us know what happens and how long you'll be without the 8.

Maybe you posted elsewhere, but how did you "know"?

whats wrong with your engine? i have 05 rx8 but how come i havent noticed if there is any problem with engine? i thought the only issue is the pcm reflash and spark plug replacement which are all about drivability.....

Ditto. I have an 05 rx8.. What did you do to notice a problem with the engine and how do u know it is blown?

Dang. I have to be careful now.. more paranoia :((

Well, I bought it in June 2006. I have never had a rotary before, and tried to do my research as best I could, including lurking on here before I joined in Jan 2007. I remember one of the things I read, someone said it should run smooth as silk. It doesnt and never did. It had a hard idle that got worse obviously when the fan/AC/defrost was on, but I didnt think much of it. Its new, right? Needs to break in.

So at my 1st oil change, I mentioned the hard idle. It was waved away. "Normal" they said. First red flag.
Winter came and went. Idle still the same. Mentioned again. "Well leave it here a few days" I cant, its a daily driver. "Oh well make sure you can and we will tear it apart". 2nd red flag.
Mentioned again, and again and again. Did the recall. Said all was fine, even after I told them to check the idle. "This should fix it". My trust was gone then. No dice, still rough.
Spring and summer. A little worse. Keep mentioning. Its fine. "Hows your fuel economy?" "Not bad" "Then its fine".
Recently, I insist there is something seriously wrong, and I think the motor is finished. I insist on coming in and waiting as usual, and refuse to leave without answers. "Highly unlikely, but bring it in". I suggested motor mounts, plugs and coils, which were all apparently checked before and fine. It doesnt really do it when I warm it up, just after the engine gets hot. All these things would be present all the time, no? Hence blown motor theory. "No no, it'll be fine, probably new plugs or something".

And then the quivering guy coming to deliver the news.

This is going to be a battle, and I know it is. I had a new service tech (like a week under his belt) and a service manager that tried to explain to me what the recall was for (nothing to do with running, strictly emissions.. I have the document printed and I am ready to go back soon and throw it on his desk) and how an apex seal works. I told him I was well aware, and that I have been complaining and complaining for a full year, and now its suddenly toast, why was my concern not checked before when I mentioned it?

I should have gone screaming back in there 25000km ago.
31000km. And finished. I am sure that it was done last summer when I got it right from day one.

Maybe I'm jumping the gun, who knows. I am armed with acceptable compression numbers and will post back later today after I get mine..

Oh and incase anyone wants to know, on a seemingly blown motor, I get 404km average on a tank of fuel before the light comes on. LOL. Impressive.

wow....sounds like it was blown since early on with that idle issue.

Ever noticed a lack of power at all?

Your mileage is fine.

At least you are armed with all the information. Plus you are still well within the warranty period, so it shouldn't be a problem.

When you got the 4206F recall done they were supposed to check for this kind of thing I thought !?!?! :banghead:

I'm ultra paranoid now as I have a 2006 SE which I also purchased in June :Eyecrazy:

wow....sounds like it was blown since early on with that idle issue.

Ever noticed a lack of power at all?

Your mileage is fine.

At least you are armed with all the information. Plus you are still well within the warranty period, so it shouldn't be a problem.

When you got the 4206F recall done they were supposed to check for this kind of thing I thought !?!?! :banghead:

I'm ultra paranoid now as I have a 2006 SE which I also purchased in June :Eyecrazy:

Lack of power.. no. Noticed a surge that started a few weeks ago, almost like a transmission skipping kind of feeling (now how the hell to describe that..?)

I thought they were supposed to check that too. And according to the recall I just printed, THEY WERE, if a customer mentioned drivability issues such as hard starts and ROUGH IDLES :rant:

When's your build date? Maybe they are sisters :) lol you can have the good sister, since I have the bad.. ;)

cceptable compression numbers and will post back later today after I get mine..

Oh and incase anyone wants to know, on a seemingly blown motor, I get 404km average on a tank of fuel before the light comes on. LOL. Impressive.

my light comes on at around 380kms...maybe I should make my motor blow to get an extra 20 kms :lol2:

^^ that would have been really funny had I been in the mood..

It did make me smile a little though!

1.5hrs to compression #'s and the final word.. :crying:

Sorry about your bad news. You are still under warranty, right?

^ nevermind, stupid question as you do say that you will be getting a new motor if it doesn't pass the test

I just got back from getting my #'s. Please help me decipher. I was expecting KPA or PSI, I dont know what these mean.. they tell me they were perfect (??).

9.1, 9.0, 9.4 rotor 1 @282rpm. 9.0, 8.7, 9.1 rotor 2 @300rpm.

So what gives? They checked the plugs (which apparently have been checked already twice before) and they were fouled, from flooding I am told. I have never flooded and follow all suggested procedures for warm up, drive and shut down.
Allegedly plugs were replaced and it was fine, they let it run for an hour and no issues reported.

I'm so mad, I suggest something, they agree, I am devastated and now its a non issue. I'm so confused. LOL. What a day!

We will find out for sure later.. its still there for now until I can get it home.

I need a beer.

I don't know much about this but those numbers look good from what I can see elsewhere on this forum, e.g.:
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=122337&page=5

^ thank you.. i will search and find some others..

Wow! At least a two beer day.

Take it for a spin (to 9K) and see what happens.

Keep us posted.

Well, its home now. Sounded better upon startup and idled down smoother. Stopped at two lights on my way home, and what do you know? Same damn thing, just as bad, no better at all.
Still idles rough down to wanting to stall.

I did take it up to 9k, twice, just so see.. and it revved up a little better I think.

So if it has new plugs, compression is good, what is it then?? :(

Well, its home now. Sounded better upon startup and idled down smoother. Stopped at two lights on my way home, and what do you know? Same damn thing, just as bad, no better at all.
Still idles rough down to wanting to stall.

I did take it up to 9k, twice, just so see.. and it revved up a little better I think.

So if it has new plugs, compression is good, what is it then?? :(

er....i think its ok though....the only thing which could prove engine blown was just that check-engine light? if it is so, i think the idle sounds fine cuz i think mine also has that kinda feeling but never had check engine light on.
i am not sure, i just guess and i also guess there probably is another reason why motor was finished

Well, its home now. Sounded better upon startup and idled down smoother. Stopped at two lights on my way home, and what do you know? Same damn thing, just as bad, no better at all.
Still idles rough down to wanting to stall.

I did take it up to 9k, twice, just so see.. and it revved up a little better I think.

So if it has new plugs, compression is good, what is it then?? :(

what dealer have you been taking it to?

So are you supposed to get a new engine or something? What does this rough idle feel like? What RPM does it go down to? My idle vibrates the car and I can see the shifter vibrate, but I got used to it. Is that considered rough?

omg sorry to hear what happened!! same Question as Slowlude, wat does a rough idle feel like?! i'm a little worry about my 06 too now aiya

So are you supposed to get a new engine or something? What does this rough idle feel like? What RPM does it go down to? My idle vibrates the car and I can see the shifter vibrate, but I got used to it. Is that considered rough?

I am wondering the same exact thing. I have almost a faint whistling or chirping noise at idle, I don't like it one bit but the dealer keeps insisting that it's "normal". My warranty just ran out last month, I have an 04, and the paranoia is setting in......:Eyecrazy:

So are you supposed to get a new engine or something? What does this rough idle feel like? What RPM does it go down to? My idle vibrates the car and I can see the shifter vibrate, but I got used to it. Is that considered rough?

this is what i meant upstairs, i have pretty much the same feeling, especially when u trun on the knob controlling the air "w/o air conditioning", the shift knob vibrates much, as well as the whole car. but its not like continously vibrate, i should call it discrete vibration, i guess.......

I have the same feeling too, how the knob vibrates when idling.. I thought thats normal though and thats why the OEM knob ( or mspeed) is so heavy, to help w/ this vibration.

I think everyone, except OP, needs to take a chill pill and relax. There's always a small amount of vibration on the gear stick in any manual car.

No big deal.

If you have a rough idle, lack of power, CEL etc. then you can start worrying.

I am wondering the same exact thing. I have almost a faint whistling or chirping noise at idle, I don't like it one bit but the dealer keeps insisting that it's "normal"

Mine just started this aswell recently... Only after it warms up a little bit, and is only noticable at idle really when at a stop light... When I press the clutch down, the noise goes away... It will get slightly louder if I just lightly touch my foot on the clutch... Getting it checked out Monday morning...

Well the shifter vibrates, and its idling rough, but when the idle drops (three marks between 0 and 1000) it goes to the 1st and 2nd mark. It just DROPS, like you fired up your AC, rear defrost and the fan is running all at the same time, its brutal. It shook so hard sometimes, I couldnt identify the vehicle behind me other than in color in the mirrors. Rearview would move on its own over a few days time. Keep in mind, I have THREE lights on my highway commute to work, and really dont go anywhere else. Give it some gas, it hesitates for a second, and it goes away and runs fine.. until the next drop. On the average light of what, two min it will do this three to five times. The best way to describe the drop is when you mistakenly take your foot off the clutch and you arent giving it gas? It starts to lug before it stalls.. thats it to a T. Instinctively when it does it I press the clutch in further. Didnt take long to realize I had it to the floor already, I was not the issue.

THe new plugs helped, but its still there. I could identify vehicles today in the side mirrors.. :) but something else is wrong. Its just not right.

There are no, or have there ever been, engine lights at any time. Fuel economy has been fine (or as fine as it gets). It seems to afterfire, I mentioned last winter in another thread it would pop exhaust rings with a little thud.. didnt have those today.

I had suggested motor mounts some time ago, could this be it..?

I had it at Kramer Mazda.
What I dont get is I give them several problems of what I think is wrong, based on what is happening, and has been happening. They agree with the worst one, and tell me they will advise after compression tests when the new engine will be here.
And then they tell me its fine and we were all wrong, but its still pretty much the same issue (after it ran for an hour and had a road test.. 3km, and if it ran for an hr, pretty sure my gas gauge would have moved alot further than it did..).

So confused..

Thanks for the detailed description. I haven't had my idle that rough, although once or twice, the RPM has dipped down and shudder like a bitch, but nothing like what you described. I know that all rotaries have their shift knobs vibrate at idle so I wasn't concerned. But it's not true that BMW or Honda vehicles are like that. You can put your hands on the knobs of a BMW or Honda and not feel a thing.

Thanks for the detailed description. I haven't had my idle that rough, although once or twice, the RPM has dipped down and shudder like a bitch, but nothing like what you described. I know that all rotaries have their shift knobs vibrate at idle so I wasn't concerned. But it's not true that BMW or Honda vehicles are like that. You can put your hands on the knobs of a BMW or Honda and not feel a thing.

not only BMW and HONDA, even HYUNDAI and Mustang(like some American and Korean cars), dont have vibration on the knob when idle.......

Dont sweat guys.

You know the GM-Holden here in Oz has serious reliability issues.

Its V8 engine has the pistons go oval shaped after a few thousand KM. Owners complain to dealerships about the enormous oil consumption until the engine just loses compression & fails to start.

GM-Holden send the same car to the USA (+ Canada??) as the Pontiac GTO. Its a well known issue here but unsure if you guys would know about it.

So dont think the rotary engine is an unrelaible one. Its very reliable for the power to capacity ratio & if treated well can last 300,000km if required. Unfortunately, Mazda have found its the first time rotary users that have the most engine failures.

Most common cause is the rapid heating of the engine from drivers who give the engine some decent revs whilst its cold or just warming. The over expansion of the aluminium rotor housings crush themselves into the cast iron side plates & the engine starts to leak water into the combustion area after that. Little by little at first then after time. Enough to make the engine lose compression or just fail to start from too much water inside.

REgards

Dont sweat guys.

You know the GM-Holden here in Oz has serious reliability issues.

Its V8 engine has the pistons go oval shaped after a few thousand KM. Owners complain to dealerships about the enormous oil consumption until the engine just loses compression & fails to start.

GM-Holden send the same car to the USA (+ Canada??) as the Pontiac GTO. Its a well known issue here but unsure if you guys would know about it.

So dont think the rotary engine is an unrelaible one. Its very reliable for the power to capacity ratio & if treated well can last 300,000km if required. Unfortunately, Mazda have found its the first time rotary users that have the most engine failures.

Most common cause is the rapid heating of the engine from drivers who give the engine some decent revs whilst its cold or just warming. The over expansion of the aluminium rotor housings crush themselves into the cast iron side plates & the engine starts to leak water into the combustion area after that. Little by little at first then after time. Enough to make the engine lose compression or just fail to start from too much water inside.

REgards

fortunately, i really be careful about it.....but what i exactly heard is that to warm up car at idle is not really good for engine, we need to drive it to warm up but very slow

Well the shifter vibrates, and its idling rough, but when the idle drops (three marks between 0 and 1000) it goes to the 1st and 2nd mark. It just DROPS, like you fired up your AC, rear defrost and the fan is running all at the same time, its brutal. It shook so hard sometimes, I couldnt identify the vehicle behind me other than in color in the mirrors. Rearview would move on its own over a few days time. Keep in mind, I have THREE lights on my highway commute to work, and really dont go anywhere else. Give it some gas, it hesitates for a second, and it goes away and runs fine.. until the next drop. On the average light of what, two min it will do this three to five times. The best way to describe the drop is when you mistakenly take your foot off the clutch and you arent giving it gas? It starts to lug before it stalls.. thats it to a T. Instinctively when it does it I press the clutch in further. Didnt take long to realize I had it to the floor already, I was not the issue.

THe new plugs helped, but its still there. I could identify vehicles today in the side mirrors.. :) but something else is wrong. Its just not right.

There are no, or have there ever been, engine lights at any time. Fuel economy has been fine (or as fine as it gets). It seems to afterfire, I mentioned last winter in another thread it would pop exhaust rings with a little thud.. didnt have those today.

I had suggested motor mounts some time ago, could this be it..?

I had it at Kramer Mazda.
What I dont get is I give them several problems of what I think is wrong, based on what is happening, and has been happening. They agree with the worst one, and tell me they will advise after compression tests when the new engine will be here.
And then they tell me its fine and we were all wrong, but its still pretty much the same issue (after it ran for an hour and had a road test.. 3km, and if it ran for an hr, pretty sure my gas gauge would have moved alot further than it did..).

So confused..

kramer...figures! I hope you haven;t been talking with George. He is a f&ck-stick! He will deny any problem possible.. Take it to another dealer and have them look at it.

I have an appointment with North Hill next Friday. I have a few things I need done:

1) Oil Change
2) Moisture in a tail light
3) Temperature control is not working properly....again!
4) Rough Idle. Not like yours but it has come close to dying a couple times and my mpg has dropped quite a bit


I can't wait till my lease is up. I'm really getting tired of Mazda Service center waiting rooms.

9's for compression means around 115-120 psi. Motor looks good, and rotaries always idle hard. If it idles for 30 seconds and doesn't try to stall, I would be concerned.

shit!!!what can i say???? the same thing finally happened to me!!!!
rough idle? yes, it is, i think even worse than rough!
last night, i had my KN type filter cleaned at my buddy's house. when i was on the way back to home, my car started to run roughly. i knew thats the problem we have discussed so many time on this forum. i was so worried cuz i didnt want my car to stall when its running but its possible. cuz if the car stalls when running, steering wheel will stop working, it would cause a crash!!! But high way is not infinite, i eventually had to stop at the lights. i saw my rpm needle dropping from 1k to 500 and back to 700 and 0, it stalled. i started my car again, it wasnt hard to start probably because i had the recall already. i had to keep my foot on the gas pedal all the way.
This morning, i drove my car to north hill mazda, but the guy said they cant do anything today cuz then only have two people working for service part. i left my car there, there are gonna call me tomorrow to let me know what the problem is. but i hope i dont have to replace the engine cuz i had an intake on there, i probably have to pay for 5100 dollars to get the engine replaced or even more!!!

^^ I hope its something else, other than your engine.. something nice and cheap. I forgot about this thread. I should have updated it with now its stalling.. idle is better with the new plugs, but it stalls..

Going to have to leave mine somewhere for awhile too. :(

crisis, didnt you get a new engine replaced?
i just talked to north hill mazda, i couldnt believe they left my car at where i parked when i brought my car to them for the whole weekend. they havent even had a look at it.
one guy told me that i could just buy a oem air box and put it on, then drive it to kramer mazda to let them do the engine replacement for me. also, when the guy drove my car, it didnt stall, its just had a really rough idle and i can tell from outside: The airflow is not straight, cuz the rpm drops too frequently.
i wonder if you car is still about to stall everytime you drive it? what did they really do to fix your previous problems? i remember last time when we touched your car, it feels really smooth. why does the problem still happen? i am going to sell my car this winter after the problem is fixed. i will probably get a s2000 from US or an elise....i dont wanna have this problem again and agian.

crisis, didnt you get a new engine replaced?
i just talked to north hill mazda, i couldnt believe they left my car at where i parked when i brought my car to them for the whole weekend. they havent even had a look at it.
one guy told me that i could just buy a oem air box and put it on, then drive it to kramer mazda to let them do the engine replacement for me. also, when the guy drove my car, it didnt stall, its just had a really rough idle and i can tell from outside: The airflow is not straight, cuz the rpm drops too frequently.
i wonder if you car is still about to stall everytime you drive it? what did they really do to fix your previous problems? i remember last time when we touched your car, it feels really smooth. why does the problem still happen? i am going to sell my car this winter after the problem is fixed. i will probably get a s2000 from US or an elise....i dont wanna have this problem again and agian.

No, no new engine for me. We went from that, to new plugs and they claim it was fine. :icon_no2: Why not do a compression test before telling your customer their going to gut your car under the hood?
It was smoother when we were out on our cruise, to me it felt the same. This weekend out and about my dear spouse commented "What the hell is wrong with this thing?" and its back to ol shakey again.. mirrors going like I'm pounding some 80's dance music *which i would never do* lol.

Let us know what happens Phil...!

And if you do sell and get an Elise, I so want a ride... :smoker:

No, no new engine for me. We went from that, to new plugs and they claim it was fine. :icon_no2: Why not do a compression test before telling your customer their going to gut your car under the hood?
It was smoother when we were out on our cruise, to me it felt the same. This weekend out and about my dear spouse commented "What the hell is wrong with this thing?" and its back to ol shakey again.. mirrors going like I'm pounding some 80's dance music *which i would never do* lol.

Let us know what happens Phil...!

And if you do sell and get an Elise, I so want a ride... :smoker:

i dont know yet, but 70% i would get a S2000 cuz i dont wanna drive a car which is even better than what my dad has. if i have enough money to get an elise by the time when i buy a car, then of course elise cuz its the only car that i really like now.
by the way, can anyone find a law about warranty and slightly modified car? cuz i wanna get ready before fighting with mazda, i have seen some people found the US code for that, but i dont think we use the same law in canada, do we?

Guys with the vibrations get your motor mounts checked. I had a similar problem and it was a cracked mount. Supposedly Mazda updated the mounts to stiffer ones at some point. Because of that some vibrations are transferred to the transmission instead of the chassis. If the whole car vibrates than you have cracked engine mounts. If you feel a shudder in the shifter than you have updated engine mounts and all your feeling is vibrations transfered from the engine. If you have a rough idle with no vibrations than its possibly fouled plugs. Check your coils to be sure. Also if your car hesitates at certain points your cat may be clogged. Get that checked out. Your engine is fine unless there's a serious loss of power, but then again that could only be a bad cat. The problem with the clutch thing could be some improper alignment of engine and transmission/ trans axle and of the clutch components. I dunno maybe something got loose and isnt working properly. The noise you hear with the clutch disengaged is a worn throwout bearing. Its something like a whirring, growling sound. If you have those symptoms get them check out when you get a chance cause it may lead to wear on the pressure plate. Just get a heave duty clutch and a lightweight flywheel and you'll be happy. Hope this helps. :)

bad luck on the shaky engine/car... I hope all goes well in the end.

philsbluerx8: Elise are still relatively expensive (even used ones)... if money is a concern, I would buy a S2000 from the states... the states has cheap used Elises, but too bad you can't import Elise to Canada from the states... I have been in a Elise before and it is hardcore... getting into and out of the car is a task. I definitely would not recommend it as a daily driver... it is very fun though on the track.

well, everything will be concerned after my 8 is fixed. it is the second day since monday, i have received any phone call from them. They told me they have to take care of all the appointments first then have a look at my car; i understand this. All i am waiting for is that they firgure out the cause of the problem is not the intake.

well, everything will be concerned after my 8 is fixed. it is the second day since monday, i have received any phone call from them. They told me they have to take care of all the appointments first then have a look at my car; i understand this. All i am waiting for is that they firgure out the cause of the problem is not the intake.

Think positive!
Dont worry about it until you have to worry about it.. maybe its just something lame and we'll all have a good laugh when you post it.
Hopefully tomorrow they'll give you a call. Mondays/Tuesdays are bad anywhere..

:)

i guess it is the time to worry about more but looks like i am still under warranty.
i went to mazda yesterday cuz they called me about my starter......my car, now, is not even firing any more... i was so confused cuz even though my car had idle and stalling problem but it was still able to be started.....how the fuc its not firing anymore. anyways, they told me they are gonna bring in a starter on Monday and install it for me to see whats gonna happen...."to see whats gonna happen"????? they are not even quite sure what they are gonna do.....but fortunately its covered by warranty, about my intake, they are gonna bring in a new undertray since i cut mine, and install it for me with a new filter. they said they were gonna get me a K&N filter....do they usually do it??????

oh yeah, i required them to do a engine compression test for my engine....hopefully its gonna be done by next week......

If they say the compression is good. I'm wondering if you have either a plugged cat or bad ignition coils. The fact that the plugs were fouled even tho they were changed recently makes me think that the coils are faulty.

Insist that they change all of them, with the updated ones.

Before you do that tho, Dunno if you have the OEM airbox installed or a CAI, cuz when I had my CAI installed, the idle was BAD. All ok since the stock box is back in, just using a K&N drop in and that seems to work fine.

Good Luck.

If they say the compression is good. I'm wondering if you have either a plugged cat or bad ignition coils. The fact that the plugs were fouled even tho they were changed recently makes me think that the coils are faulty.

Insist that they change all of them, with the updated ones.

Before you do that tho, Dunno if you have the OEM airbox installed or a CAI, cuz when I had my CAI installed, the idle was BAD. All ok since the stock box is back in, just using a K&N drop in and that seems to work fine.

Good Luck.

Is this for me, or Phil? :)
Phil how is your car anyway.. any word?
Mine shocked the hell out of me today with a flashing CEL on my way home.. in my usual daily (if I can) redline spot in my commute.

Coils? Bad CAT? Both? SIGH.
Time for a beer...

i havent received anything from them; probably with the new starter, they still cant figure out what the main problem is....i cant trust them...anyways, i still have the 3 year & 60,000 km warranty till Dec 18th. Hopefully, they can fix it before that date....
but why does your car have so many problems? is every rx8 not reliable at all??????

Don't feel bad, it happens to a lot of us. I love this car to death, and planned to drive this car into the ground when I first bought it. But after having all kinds of engine trouble, it will be gone the day the powertrain warranty runs out.

Just be warned, once your bumper to bumper warranty runs out in December, you'll be paying $100 a pop to have your engine looked at. If the dealer cannot satisfactorily resolve your engine issues by that point, you might want to think about getting rid of the car.

i havent received anything from them; probably with the new starter, they still cant figure out what the main problem is....i cant trust them...anyways, i still have the 3 year & 60,000 km warranty till Dec 18th. Hopefully, they can fix it before that date....
but why does your car have so many problems? is every rx8 not reliable at all??????

Make SURE they fix it before Dec 18. Although, if they tried and it still does it, you might have some sort of a loophole.. I hope for your sake Phil!

My car doesnt have many problems. I've expected SOMETHING by now, I'm a pessimist ;). If compression is good, its got to be one of a few things.. and they refuse to check any of them. Other than plugs.. which the condition of believes me to think a) they werent changed on delivery and b) they werent checked in the recall, I just cant think they could get that bad in less than 10K km.. or c) its still doing it, maybe they didnt change them and showed me someone elses plugs.. I just dont know.

I dont have a problem with the car, or things going wrong, its the guys 'fixing' it. I dont like being told "How many times have you flooded it? Its a rotary engine you know, are you sure you know how to drive it..?" Makes me want to scream..

My words are being waved away like I'm stupid, and thats a big problem. To a degree, I understand they deal with paranoid customers and customers that break things and expect them to be covered, BUT, listen to what I am saying and please check it out, then make your judgement of me. I joined this forum so I could learn more about the car and make educated choices in parts, and help me to self diagnose so I would be more armed with information. Its awful to know there is something wrong, and they won't even take the time to help you figure out what it is. Funny thing, if I was PAYING for them to help me figure it out, they'd probably be all over it and find a whole pile of things wrong.

They want me in and out in 20min or less, wham bam, thank you ma'am and I enjoy none of it. LOL.

they havent done the compression test for my car and i forgot to ask them this noon when i went there; there was a news for me, but i dont know if it is good or no. they said they were gonna replace the ignition coil, with the new ignition coil, the problem would be fixed. I believed them at that time and when i got home late tonight, i knew i made a stupid mistake.....this noon, i was actually gonna talk to the service manager about replacing engine but when the service guy told me about the ignition coil, i felt a little more happy then just left without talking to the manager....no comments to myself

I dont like being told "How many times have you flooded it? Its a rotary engine you know, are you sure you know how to drive it..?" Makes me want to scream..

My words are being waved away like I'm stupid, and thats a big problem.

Heh you too. I'm done with Mazda dealerships. Only rotary shops will work on my car from now on. I don't have time to deal with people who waste my time *and* try to rob me at the same time.

hey everyone, thanks for talking to me on the thread these days. i think its the time to update it;
basically, they replaced a set of spark plugs and a pack of coils for free of charge cuz i am still under warranty. (it really surprised me, cuz i thought spark plugs were not covered). A new starter and a new battery have also been replaced. however, i paid 150 for my battery cuz they count the life of the battery by how much time you have used on your battery before the warranty retail date.
which means i paid 85% for the battery cuz i have only one month left till the end of my bumper to bumper warranty.
they also came up the other problem: the part (i dont know whats that called) after the intake should open different amount at different revolution level, but it stucks open. the service guy told me when he was first told about this problem, he thought it was not gonna be covered by the warranty cuz its very close to my sr intake but......yeah, i guess 150 is all i need to pay. i dont know if i should say "i am lucky" or not cuz if the problem happened after my Dec 18th, i guess i will have to pay something more cuz i think one day, the coil will still be dead.
just went on s2000 forum for a bit; found out some people had same problems, and what they did was also just to replace the coil. dunno if this would happen to other types of cars beside sport cars, but its quite common.
therefore, if any of you faces the same problem, dont be too afraid of it. its a common issue and remember that nothing can last forever.
i still left my there cuz i told them my headlight washer doesnt work. just try to fix everything before the end of the bumper to bumper warranty....lol

i forgot to say one thing; Northhill mazda is a good dealership actually even though they did some stupid things like replcing the starter. cuz the starter wasnt even dead.

So how does it run now? Or do you know yet.
Oh hey and I wanted to ask you.. whats your km at just out of curiousity...?

i guess......damn, they were supposed to call me around 5 after fixing my headlamp washer, but they didnt; i called them at 4:55, they said that i could go to pick it up but it still needs #$%^#, i dont remember what it is cuz i dont even know what he was talking about but he said this part is necessary cuz my car doesnt stall now but it just doesnt run smoothly. then its gonna be directly shipped from Japan cuz US mazda doesnt have this part in stock!! dammit!!!its gonna be a week! " idont wanna leave my car under the snow!!"
so far, my car has 43000 km.

through a little search, i think he was talking about the control valve.......this should be about the whatever stuck open.....i mentioned above there!!!

He's talking about the intake manifold SSV stuck open. They get carboned up and are insanely expensive to replace.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=79403&highlight=P2070