Well, after yelling for months about how people need to familiarize themselves with page 7-20 of the North American Owners' Manual, "Emergency Starting - Starting a Flooded Engine," I've apparently got some apologies to make. It seems that the magical procedure on page 7-20 doesn't always work.

The long story: The garage door opener my mother-in-law gave me as a Christmas gift was installed today. I called my wife, who was home, to remind her where the key was in case the installer needed to move the car. I neglected to remind her not to move the car and turn it off cold. I remembered to do that around noon, and when I called she said, "Oh no, I forgot!" No big deal, I assured her, "I've read page 7-20 of the North American Owner's Manual!" (Aren't I smart?)

I knew it was probably flooded, but I was really still surprised that the car did not turn over as always when I got home. It looked absolutely fine sitting there in the driveway, but it clearly wasn't. I did as instructed (on page 7-20, NAOM) and put my foot to the floor and cranked the heck out of it, 10 second bursts, giving it some time to rest between bursts. There was a bit of compression one or two times, but nothing sufficient to do anything with. In the end, the battery died, and I was decidedly beaten.

The story gets worse: I called the local dealer and it informs me they are closed tomorrow, and the following day as well for the New Years Holiday. They will reopen the next day, a Friday, but will then be closed again Saturday and Sunday all day. They didn't even sound real sure that my car could be seen on Friday. In fact, I got the distinct impression that they were sorry I called just 30 minutes before they were closing.

I called Mazda Road-Side Assistance and the woman was nice enough but clueless. She recommended that I leave the car sit a few hours and that might help the problem, but I explained that it had been sitting all day. She told me that my best bet was to leave the car sit until Friday, and then have it towed if needed. "It'll be safest in your driveway." She was probably right.

Frustrated, I called Road-Side Assistance again and got someone a bit more helpful. He suggested that not all dealerships would necessarily be closed tomorrow and located other dealerships on the web that might be open in the morning. He gave me a list of six dealerships and said RSA would be happy to tow me to any of them. I found one that opens at 7 a.m. that was still open to take my call. We'll see how this goes.

It's going to be embarrassing when the neighbors see the car being towed away. It also dawns on me that this may be an expensive garage door opener to install. The other dealer suggested it could take a few hours to clear the plugs. Any info on what this might/should cost?

Thanks for listening...

I think it should be free under warranty.......brand new car, won't start........sounds like warranty to me!!!

Good Luck!

MEGAREDS,

Could happen to any of us. Sorry it happend to you. Let us know how you come out.

MEGAREDS- Work will be under warranty and if you sweet talk them they probably will throw in a oil change. This is from a voice of experience.

Mine was flooded BY my dealer; not a pleasant surprise on the service ticket! If I do it, is it enough to take out the plugs, squirt some oil in the holes, crank the engine a couple of times, and replace the plugs? That's apparently what the dealer did.

MEG sorry to hear what happened. you'll be back in your 8 in no time.

Originally posted by dablues
MEGAREDS- Work will be under warranty and if you sweet talk them they probably will throw in a oil change.

If Mazda does the flood rescue under warranty, I may forgive them for the November Seat Belt Debacle (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14232) -- which I thought should have been covered. As opposed to grabbing the front latch and trying to use it in the back-seat buckle, which seemed entirely intuitive to both myself and my son (no comments about genetics, pls), this one Mazda gave me fair warning about both before and after I purchased the car. It will certainly help me feel better if I only lose a day of work and the car is put back the way it was before this morning which, BTW, was "damn-near perfect, thank-you-very-much."

My wife feels terrible now, but when she starts feeling better I think the "I told you so's" are gonna start flying -- in both directions. I'm trying to keep it all in perspective and not be upset. As my buddy wisely observed a while back, "It's a Mazda, not a Mazzeratti." I don't want to be Cameron's Father, even if he had a nicer car. You may recall the scene:

CAMERON:
Ferris, my father loves this car more
than life itself. We can't take it out.

FERRIS:
A man with priorities so far out of
whack doesn't deserve such a fine
automobile.

Thanks for your support, guys.

yea it was a great scene and a great movie.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS

In the end, the battery died, and I was decidedly beaten.


That sound like an excuse to buy a battery charger/jumper.:)

Can you pull the spark plugs and crank it a few times? May help to purge some of the unburnt fuel from the combustion chambers. Will also allow you to see if the plugs are crapped up.

If you look at the top of the engine you will see where the brake booster gets vacuum from the plastic intake manifold. You can pull this hose off, and inject a cc or so of oil into the manifold. This will improve the seals ability to pump the fuel out. Much easier than pulling the plugs. Don't worry about the oil being in there - there is fuel/oil "standoff" that soaks this part of the engine in normal operation.

I use a "Statpower Truecharge 20" to charge batteries in the car. It's a well filtered switching power supply charger - expensive but very handy. I installed leads with clips on it as well as a power cord (it's designed for installation on a wall).

Isn't some way to install a timer? I know some turbo timers exists in order to not shut the engine down hot. (ie: you remove your keys but the engine keeps running for a defined amount of time).

Is it possible to have a similar system installed that would simply make sure the car would run for a minimum of say, 5 minutes, even if the keys aren't in?

Thanks for the suggestions, but one of the things on my list to do this summer is figure out how to change my own oil. It's an embarrasing admission to make in this forum, but I'm going to let the dealer handle this one, particularly if there is a chance it's going to be a warranty issue.

That is, I'm going to let the dealership handle it if I can ever get their attention... when did New Years Day become an American High Holiday? I called five dealerships this morning; most have no one to do service today or tomorrow. One had a guy doing oil changes only. Another had a mechanic, but no "Mazda-techs" available. As I said earlier, I'm doing my best not to overreact -- I've had 2,000 trouble-free miles and have been getting 18-19 mpg; it was almost time for an oil change anyway and the tow will be free. Maybe I'll use this opportunity to paint the engine bay and interior blue, like WHealy did to his car... ;)

Hang in there MEGAREDS. The holiday wil be over soon and you'll be back in the saddle.

Mat, nice suggestion but for some reason a lot of people will argue with you that since turbo timers are useless in turbo cars (in their opinion) they also are useless to prevent flooding. Of course I completely disagree.
Megareds, my wife did the same thing a month and a half ago, but luckily the car didn't flood. I did fight with my wife about it though. Good luck.

Had mine in last week for an oil change and my dealer service rep was nice enough to warn me about this "flooding" issue. (Apparently several owners in this area have had theirs towed in.)

It seems that the car is not flooding, but since the rotary is in essence a two stroke (burns oil), if the engine is not allowed to run long enough to heat the oil (when starting in cold weather), the oil congeals on the plugs and fouls them. The fouled plugs are preventing the engine from starting, but prolonged cranking in this condition would certainly lead to a flooded condition.

One of the previous posts mentioned the dealer pulled the plugs, squirted oil in the chamber, and then the engine started. Do you know if the original plugs went back in, and if so, did they have to clean them at all?

Tim

Originally posted by labrat1123
Do you know if the original plugs went back in, and if so, did they have to clean them at all?

Tim:
I don't know if the fouled plugs are ok to put back in, but I don't see why not.

As far as cranking making it worse, my understanding is that putting the pedal to the floor and holding it there engages the ECU's "no gas" function, and that this is a new feature of the RENESIS engine designed to mimic what many RX-7 owners used to do when they flooded -- pull the fuse on the fuel pump.

Before I had my experience on Tuesday, I was under the impression that if I didn't give it any gas and carefully followed the manual, it would start with a great deal of black smoke. Perhaps it is the cooler weather, perhaps my wife gave it a lot of gas when starting the car (she says not) or perhaps I misread the manual. I'm disappointed it didn't work for me, though.

Has anyone tried kick starting a car when it gets flooded? Give it a push then pop the clutch?

Originally posted by i3man
Has anyone tried kick starting a car when it gets flooded? Give it a push then pop the clutch?

I've read that doing that always works, but I decided to buy the "high torque" engine that comes
without a clutch. ;)

I don't think you want to install a turbo timer. You have a "chip in key" security system. The ECM will not allow the engine to run unless the chip is within about 1 ft. of the key cylinder. To use a turbo timer, you would have to hide a key close to it. Same for remote start systems. Not something -I'd- want to do. ;)

As far as the fuel cutoff when you press the gas pedal to the floor when starting, RX-7s have had this too since 1989.

Rx8 friend, the reason the tt fix would still work is because I am not suggesting the tt as a device where you should walk away from the car and leave it running (its real use in a turbo car). It is only to remind you in case of a cold turnoff to leave the car running, disable it at all other times. I know it is an expensive device just to remind you of something, but a day or morning away from work arranging tows, picking up car at the dealership or whatever can be expensive as well.

I certainly realize that there may be times, in an emergency, when the most important thing is to get the engine turned off, but a five second buzzer might be nice. A red light over the key that turns green when the engine reaches temperature? No doubt the decision was deliberately made that the best way to handle the problem was simply to warn drivers not to do it, but it is very counter-intuitive not to shut the car off when it gets to where it needs to be. If my wife hadn't done it, I'd very likely have done so sooner or later. As I said, I was under the impression that the "Emergency Start" procedure would simply work - it didn't.

Anyone know why there is this patch of oily stuff behind my car - it's only on the left side:

Sorry to here about your troubles. I had the same thing about 1 month ago. I stopped trying to crank the car when the lights starting getting dim. Mazda towed it to the dealer and they handled it the next day. Didn't cost a thing. While it was their I got the tires rotated because the milage met maintenance schedule. They said the pulled the plugs and cleaned them and spayed something in the chambers. I don't know what but they got it running. Hope everything works out well for you.

well..... This thread answers my question about the remote car starter i was interested in getting for my soon to come 8. I wouldnt want to leave a key anywhere in my car lol that just yells i'm easy to steal.

are there a lot of problems with the 8's starting under cold weather conditions? i live in southern vt and it gets very cold here.... sometimes below 0. My 8 will be stored outside during the winter under a cover obviously but i was wondering about the problems i may run into. Even if i got an offsite storage unit to store the car in, they are not heated and we do not have a garage here.

Megareds, I'm in exactly the same situation this fine New Years Day. Got my flooded '8 sitting in my garage. A coupla strange wrinkles to my story. First, on Dec 30th I drove 500 miles from Sunnyvale to San Diego without incident. Parked the car in my garage and went to bed. It was 40 degrees outside that night.

Next morning, got in and cranked it: Nothing! Only heard the starter churning, but the engine didn't even try to catch. did the 10 sec/10 sec thing with the throttle about 10 times over with no results. Took my wife's car to run errands.

Now here's the most frustrating part. I called Roadside Service at noon. They called AAA, and they called a local towing company. I specified flatbed (this is necessary, right?) 90 minutes later, here comes a tow truck, not a flatbed. I sent it back, the driver called his company, I called AAA and roadside service. An hour later, nothing. Another hour, nothing. About 4:00 pm they say they are 10 minutes away (they've been 10 minutes away for about an hour.) I called and cancelled the tow, and took off for a New Years celebration with the wife.

Today, the dealer is closed. It'll get in Friday and including the oil pan change, a/c TSB, and 10K checkup and they will keep it overnight. That means I won't get my car till Monday cuz they're closed weekends. This is for flooding that occurred Weds, 5 freakin' days without my baby. I can unequivocally say the frustration of dealing with the tow service is worse than the actual flooding. I shoulda had my car today if the truck had come ontime. I heard someone else gripe about this once. Has anyone else had trouble getting prompt tow service from RSA?

My wife would never turn an RX8 off cold, because the need for warmup is one of the many things she has been taught. When we had out of town guests and there was a suggestion that we drive to a theater about a mile away, she told them, "I'll take my Camry; Mitch can't drive Precious." (Her original name for the 8 was Toy Car, but after observing me wiping off brake dust after each outing, she switched to Precious.

My wife would never turn an RX8 off cold, because the need for warmup is one of the many things she has been taught. When we had out of town guests and there was a suggestion that we drive to a theater about a mile away, she told them, "I'll take my Camry; Mitch can't drive Precious." (Her original name for the 8 was Toy Car, but after observing me wiping off brake dust after each outing, she switched to Precious.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
I specified flatbed (this is necessary, right?)

Since this is an important question for me right now, I checked the manual. Page 7-25 (NAOM) shows three possible tow configurations: (1) regular tow truck, rear wheels lifted; (2) regular tow truck, front wheels lifted, rear wheels on dollies; (3) flatbed.

I'm taking the day off tomorrow just so I can ride with the car and push the dealership to work on it right away. As I said, if Mazda picks up the bill, I'll forgive them their design. They told me this would happen. (Unlike with their lame manual advice about snow tires that "may" be necessary - but that's another post). I won't allow this to happen again.

As for starting the car in the cold weather, I suspect it will be okay, even for a car stored outside in Vermont. I've always noticed that the car runs rough in the cold weather for a few minutes and struggles a bit more to start, but I think that the slight difficulty starting the car is inherent in the rotary design and that the ECU is programmed to handle this. You may want to rev the car to 3k or 4k just as you shut it down with the key. I think this is the best way to assure yourself that there is no unburned gas in the chambers because the chambers will be turning when the fuel injectors shut down.

It is also my suspicion that those of us who have to cold start the car often are suffering in the mileage department. Once it gets warm it stays warm for quite a while, but the 2-3 mile trips spread out over a couple hours at a time are hard on it. Almost all of my 2k miles have been "fun" miles - drives that last between 30 - 90 minutes. When the rust killing my Honda finally does it in and I start commuting with this car, I'm probably going to be unhappy with the fuel-economy issue.

I keep saying it, but thanks everyone for posting... this would have been a great deal more frustrating if I were at the mercy of the dealerships.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
Tim:
I don't know if the fouled plugs are ok to put back in, but I don't see why not.

As far as cranking making it worse, my understanding is that putting the pedal to the floor and holding it there engages the ECU's "no gas" function, and that this is a new feature of the RENESIS engine designed to mimic what many RX-7 owners used to do when they flooded -- pull the fuse on the fuel pump.

Before I had my experience on Tuesday, I was under the impression that if I didn't give it any gas and carefully followed the manual, it would start with a great deal of black smoke. Perhaps it is the cooler weather, perhaps my wife gave it a lot of gas when starting the car (she says not) or perhaps I misread the manual. I'm disappointed it didn't work for me, though.

Pedal-to-the-floor fuel cut was introduced in the Series 5 RX7.

Brian

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
Megareds, I'm in exactly the same situation this fine New Years Day. Got my flooded '8 sitting in my garage. A coupla strange wrinkles to my story. First, on Dec 30th I drove 500 miles from Sunnyvale to San Diego without incident. Parked the car in my garage and went to bed. It was 40 degrees outside that night.

Next morning, got in and cranked it: Nothing! Only heard the starter churning, but the engine didn't even try to catch.

Are you sure this is a flooding problem?

From the description on this board, it seems the flooding problem only occurs when the car is cold and you start the car and then turn it off without letting it warm up

thanks for the info MEGAREDS :)

It sucks that these cars can flood so easy... can someone point me in the direction of thread that explains why our cars are so susceptible to flooding? Sorry.. we have some many posts on flooding, I got tired looking for the one that explained how and why..

Originally posted by Carguy
Are you sure this is a flooding problem?

From the description on this board, it seems the flooding problem only occurs when the car is cold and you start the car and then turn it off without letting it warm up Actually, no; I'm not sure it's flooding. I'm making an assumption. Since I did no actions that typically lead to flooding it really makes me wonder. From my description above can anyone tell me is this what flooding sounds like? While holding down the gas and cranking for 10 seconds, occasionally I will get a mild backfire popping sound, but nothing remotely like the engine trying to catch.

Also, like I said this almost happened a couple days earlier. I drove about 15 miles, parked for an hour in 55 degree weather, then when I started the starter ran alone (kind of a whirring sound) for about 1.5 seconds then the engine started. Had no problems whatsoever for the next two days of intermittant driving. I didn't really hear the sound that first time cuz I was talking to my passenger. I said "What's that?" but by then it was idling and my passenger didn't even notice it. Yesterday, when I had my "flooding" problem -- if that's what it really is -- I immediately recognized the starter as the same sound as before.

As stated above, to avoid flooding, fully warm up the car before shutting it off. Just drive around the block if you are moving it for washing. Reving it to 3-4k RPM and turning off the key will let the engine coast down without the injectors firing, and should pump out any excess fuel, but some report they did this and still flooded it. Most important, DO NOT touch the gas pedal when starting.


Those of us with older RX-7s call the tailpipe stuff "smoot" (attempt at humour I guess). It's a mixture of carbon soot and half burned oil. In the case of the RX-8 it's mostly the carbon soot, but there is always some oil from the oil injection.


To meet the above mentioned 120K mile cat life, Mazda had to cool the cat when the engine was above 6000 RPM. To do this they programmed in excess fuel without air to burn it. Yes, they produce HC. No, this isn't tested for so is considered ok. I'm told they are more concerned with NOx than HC.


FYI, an aftermarket tuner group that I've been working with has come up with a modification (electronics) that fixes the extra rich mixture (and sets it correctly at almost all RPMs and loads) and gives about 25 extra HP. We saw the extra fuel in our dyno tests, just to confirm what a Mazda rep. told the community at the Seven Stock 6 rotary gathering last fall in California.


Of course, we would expect the cat. on cars so equipped to not last 120 k miles, but personally I think that is a silly thing to expect anyway. What the govt. body (CARB?) that mandated this should have done was require cat replacement after XX k miles, so HC and NOx would be controlled at all times.


Joys of having the Govt. tell you what to do.


http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?50@18.yO5XcoTOgjQ.1081402@.ef067e7/1615!make=Mazda&model=RX-8&ed_makeindex=.ef067e7

Thanks for the post, flatso. Hopefully that stuff on the driveway is "smoot" and there won't be any unforseen problems.

If the 120k cat rule has resulted in Mazda dumping HC into the air to enable it to meet the requirement, the rule needs to be changed.

what are all the acronyms here?

HC
NOx
Cat

i suspect cat means catalytic converter but not clear

Originally posted by idle0ne
what are all the acronyms here?

HC
NOx
Cat

i suspect cat means catalytic converter but not clear

HC - Hydrocarbons
NOx - Oxides of nitrogen (NO or NO2)
Cat - Catalytic Converter

This web page (http://www.castle-comply.com/Pages/articles/RSGDAN.html) seems to sum it up.

Originally posted by RX-Nut
Can someone point me in the direction of thread that explains why our cars are so susceptible to flooding? Sorry.. we have some many posts on flooding, I got tired looking for the one that explained how and why..
See the following:
A little technical info about rotary engines and flooding (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16123)

Latest update...

oh man i hope i never get to take that picture!

That's my pic from this morning. Took my beautiful red '8 to the shop, as we pulled in another flatbed was just leaving. Like a damn production line. At least I'll get the oil pan, a/c fix, 10K check and fix the flooding problem all at one stop. My car won't be ready till Monday cuz the sealant on the oil pan has to cure.

[i] My car won't be ready till Monday cuz the sealant on the oil pan has to cure. [/B]

Sealant has to cure? My dealer didn't mention that to me when my oil pan got changed. Crap, if they screwed that up I'm gonna be seriously pissed.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
as we pulled in another flatbed was just leaving. Like a damn production line.
Funny, after checking on my car this morning, I passed a flatbed coming into the dealership with another Gray RX-8, just like mine. Since I've only seen two on the road since I bought mine in late October, it was a bit of a surprise. They're parked almost next to each other.

If you could keep the odometer running while you're taking that ride on the flatbed, that'd be one way to increase your gas mileage :p

Originally posted by Chrisbert
Sealant has to cure? My dealer didn't mention that to me when my oil pan got changed. Crap, if they screwed that up I'm gonna be seriously pissed. This is something I heard on this forum from several people. There's no gasket, but they put sealant that has to dry like 17 hours. Better ask! My car got in 10:00 am Friday; it'll be ready late Monday cuz they had to order the oil pan from Irvine.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
I'm not sure it's flooding. Since I did no actions that typically lead to flooding it really makes me wonder. From my description above can anyone tell me is this what flooding sounds like? While holding down the gas and cranking for 10 seconds, occasionally I will get a mild backfire popping sound, but nothing remotely like the engine trying to catch.

Also, like I said this almost happened a couple days earlier. I drove about 15 miles, parked for an hour in 55 degree weather, then when I started the starter ran alone (kind of a whirring sound) for about 1.5 seconds then the engine started. Had no problems whatsoever for the next two days of intermittant driving. I didn't really hear the sound that first time cuz I was talking to my passenger. I said "What's that?" but by then it was idling and my passenger didn't even notice it. Hey, big news. Turned out I didn't flood after all. This was puzzling, cuz I didn't shut down cold and I couldn't figure out why I should flood.

Dealer just called and said the flywheel got damaged somehow. It engages the starter, and being damaged the starter is spinning but not really engaging. They have a flywheel on order. I've been without my car since Weds, but as long as they treat me right and I can keep the loaner I'm not gonna rush them. So when I first heard this sound before the actual problem came up obviously the flywheel was already damaged but "good enough" to keep starting. Good thing it waited: I was 500 miles from home and the car at least got home before dying on me. :)

Wow talk about a close call from getting stranded . . . thank goodness you got home and I am happy to hear your problem wasn't a flooding problem . .

Nothing is better then finding out the solution to a problem . . . I hope you get your car back quickly !!!

Glad to hear it 8_wannabe. I was concerned you had bigger problems in that your car had flooding without cause. Nice to have a solid, repairable diagnosis.

As for me, I've got mixed news. My dealership called today and told me that the car was being deflooded, but that Mazda would not cover it under the warranty. I called Mazda, and they told me that they would cover it. I was very pleased, as you can imagine. When I came to pick up my car tonight, however, here is what my invoice said, right over the signature line:

CUSTOMER STATES THE CAR CRANKS AND DOES NOT START.
TOWED IN
FLOODED
R&R PLUGS AND CLEAN, DEFLOOD VEHICLE, CLEAR CODES AND TEST DRIVE
ONE TIME GOODWILL PER MAZDA. CUSTOMER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FUTURE FLOODING CONDITIONS. PROCEDURES FOR STARTING AND RUNNING VEHICLE ARE DETAILED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL
GO102XRX .4 .9

This needs to be its own thread... As I read this, Mazda is planning on not covering flooding. The comment that the "procedures for starting and running vehicle are detailed in the owners manual" is a crock... I have been telling people to read the manual carefully for several months now. I followed the procedure to the letter.

The dealership told me that deflooding would have been approximately $150 had it not been picked up by Mazda. When I asked about whether the tow would be free if needed it again, he said, "probably." When I asked if there had been other defloods, he said "not really, no."

"Houston, we have a problem..." Mazda did not tell me it was a one-time goodwill fix when I spoke to them on the phone... they told me "we'll cover it." I also don't believe that my dealership has not had other flooding calls. I feel I'm being lied to, and that is a real problem for me. If we don't get up-front open clarification from Mazda on how this will be handled in the future for all of us, I'm not able to recommend this car... it's just that simple.

I'm going to make this its own thread, but since some people may be subscribed to this one, I'll repost my info here as well:

My dealership called today and told me that the car was being deflooded, but that Mazda would not cover it under the warranty. I called Mazda, and they told me that they would cover it. I was very pleased, as you can imagine. When I came to pick up my car tonight, however, here is what my invoice said, right over the signature line:

CUSTOMER STATES THE CAR CRANKS AND DOES NOT START.
TOWED IN
FLOODED
R&R PLUGS AND CLEAN, DEFLOOD VEHICLE, CLEAR CODES AND TEST DRIVE
ONE TIME GOODWILL PER MAZDA. CUSTOMER WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FUTURE FLOODING CONDITIONS. PROCEDURES FOR STARTING AND RUNNING VEHICLE ARE DETAILED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL
GO102XRX .4 .9

As I read this (I don't think there is any other way to read it), Mazda is planning on not covering flooded engines under warranty. I suppose that's fair enough, but people need to understand that up front. Also, the comment that the "procedures for starting and running vehicle are detailed in the owners manual" is a crock... I have been telling people to read the manual carefully for several months now. I followed the procedure to the letter. I also would like to point out that the "short-trip" procedure is not in the owners manual.

The dealership told me that deflooding would have been approximately $150 had it not been picked up by Mazda. When I asked about whether the tow would be free if I needed it again, he said, "probably."

When I asked if there had been other defloods, he said "not really, no." I'm just not believing it. Unless and until Mazda makes plain that the defloods are not covered and tells people what the costs they can expect when it happens, I just can recommend this car... Too many people here told me that they were covered, and I think Mazda is encouraging that ambiguity.

This sux, and we don't have to take it lying down. I don't see how Mazda or a dealer unilaterally can decide not to honor their warranty. Stick to your guns and they'll service their cars.

On the bright side, per our poll "Who has flooded more than once" seems like only two in this forum have flooded two or more times.

Originally posted by flatso
Most important, DO NOT touch the gas pedal when starting.


I have been wondering if that has contributed to the flooding problems some people have been having. Being a brand new rotary owner, I was pushing the pedal to the floor once while cranking it until I read the specific instruction in the manual. Now I just push in the clutch and turn the key. So far, no problems, but it is mainly thanks to the clear warnings I have gotten from this forum.

Also, my salesman (who is a senior, 7 year Mazda salesman) never mentioned this at all to me, even AFTER the deal was closed. Kinda pisses me off. Twice he asked me to give him all "excellent" when I get my custormer survey form from Mazda, so he could win a vacation or something.

I don't think so!

Originally posted by gingersrus
...Now I just push in the clutch and turn the key. So far, no problems, but it is mainly thanks to the clear warnings I have gotten from this forum.

Thanks, Gingersrus. Now you added that to this forum, and I'll use that info... the great 18" chrome wheel of karma...



Also, my salesman (who is a senior, 7 year Mazda salesman) never mentioned this at all to me, even AFTER the deal was closed. Kinda pisses me off. Twice he asked me to give him all "excellent" when I get my custormer survey form from Mazda, so he could win a vacation or something.

I don't think so!

Yeah, I got his vacation right here...

Flooding...I am getting to the point I don't even want to start the car now - too scared.

Maybe I can con someone into running behind the car and pushing it down the road with me pretending to drive it...just avoid the problem altogether.

It looks real good in the driveway though...heh heh

Originally posted by Katchoo
Flooding...I am getting to the point I don't even want to start the car now - too scared. Katchoo, are you saying you actually have a bad flooding problem, or are you just getting freaked out by all the stories you're reading online?

If your car floods chronically (except if you're obviously not taking heed to the cold-shutdown processes), then keep taking it back to the dealer until you can sell it back to them as a lemon. I think that people experiencing chronic flooding issues have something up with their car - battery, plugs, something - and should be pestering their dealers to fix it.

If it's not flooding and you're just worried it will - forget about it and drive it. Otherwise it's like walking around each day looking up and worrying that space-junk is going to come out of the sky and hit you. If you spend all your time looking up for space-junk, eventually you'll walk in front of a bus. The analogy being (in case I'm being too obtuse) that if you worry about it and modify your behaviour due to excessive worry about the issue you're more likely to inadvertently do something to cause a problem.

If you can't stop worrying that it will flood then you should probably sell it.

Simon.

Originally posted by sferrett
If it's not flooding and you're just worried it will - forget about it and drive it. Otherwise it's like walking around each day looking up and worrying that space-junk is going to come out of the sky and hit you. Space junk!? Damn, now something else to worry about. I'm just gonna stay in bed tomorrow.

Flooding problem? Solved!

Take the worry out of starting. Since the cause of flooding is usually situational (like a short trip without warm up), I have figured out the answer...

Buy a second RX-8! Then, you'll have one to drive, while your plugs are getting changed out! I'm saving up, anyone want to contribute send check or money order to: Buy Me Another 8, c/o Icanrel-8, PO Box 888, Burbank.... :D :D

Also solves the question of color selection!