I am now the proud member to be driving a rental car (Altima) for two weeks. I took my car to the dealership 1/8 becuase I noticed that there was a small oil leak and needed to get tires rotated.
So I am there for about two hours because I needed the car to visit some friends when I was done. I then had the Service tech guy send me to the rent a car place because he was trying to get a hold of the head tech guy in California because they cannot figure out why my car is leaking oil. So then I come back about three hours later to have the Service Manager tell me that they are going to have to put in a new engine only 7300 miles and they are going to ship my engine to California so that the tech guys there can take a look at it. So now I get to drive an Alitma for 2 weeks and not my "X". And what really sucks is that today my clear outs and rotary accents arrived.
Bought 6MT on 7/29/03 Blew enigne on 1/8/04
GOD I MISS MY CAR

Really sorry to hear your misfortune. Hopefully this isn't an indicator of things to come with this engine. How hard did you drive your 8? Just curious as to the circumstances...did you notice any power loss or just the oil?

Good luck and hope you get your baby back soon.

Enjoy that loaner ... and when you get your ride back, but Canzooomers ECU mod. Break it in right, and enjoy.

Drive the $hit outta dat bitch! It'll thank you later ... the car that is.

Originally posted by BOOSTD 7
Enjoy that loaner ... and when you get your ride back, but Canzooomers ECU mod. Break it in right, and enjoy.

Drive the $hit outta dat bitch! It'll thank you later ... the car that is.

yea i think thats the mistake i've been making. driving it too slow. i went WOT to redline in first gear today for the first time after 2800 miles. it wanted more. i've been holding my poor baby back. WOW

I've driven 2 8's. One from Lou Fusz Mazda in St Louis, literally 0 miles on the ticker. They were kind enough to give me a full day with the car. With less than .5 miles on the clock I was bouncing off the redline, powersliding around a cloverleaf onto the Intersate.

Who cares how much HP the car really has. Even bone stock it made me forget all about my M3. Rotary 4ever!

Oh, one more thing ... subscribe to the mag before 1/12, and in the mag will be a $50 off Canzoomers ECU mod inside. That'll pay for 2 years by itself.

Because the rotary is built "sandwich style", leaks can develop between the layers. The coolant "O" rings are the most famous, but there are coolant "O" rings on the studs that bolt it together, and there are oil seals as well. These are not generally high failure rate places on a NA car (it doesn't tax the engine as hard as a turbo car). There will be the odd one that fails though, probably due to a casting defect or assembly problem.

At least you get a new engine! And ECU. Dealer will probably need both your keys when he installs the new engine.

Sorry to hear about your RX-8!

Question on the Rotary, years ago there was a woman at my Mazda dealer that was having the Rotary in her 1991 RX-7 replaced. She did not drive it a lot... kept in the garage... and the oil seals started to leak (I think). From what I heard, she only had about 12k on it after three years. Could sitting around a lot cause this?

great, we lost our cars on the same day 1/8 (leaking coolant).ive had a elantra for 2 days but the dealership told me i can have a 6 instead for the next 2 weeks if i want.

I drove it kind of like an old lady. I was shifting at about 3500 RPM's because that would be the loudest range for my exhaust to sound great( Magnaflow). I really drove it cautiously as this was my first brand new car and wanted it to last for a long time. The tech guy also gave me attitude because of the exhaust he thought I was driving the hell out of it. I can not wait to get it back because I do not have people coming up to me and saying what a nice car I have when driving the Altima
PS I am driving the hell out of the loaner car.

That really sucks that you got an Altima as a loaner. At least they don't leave you carless though. Take a couple of long distance driving trips ;)

I remember when I had a rental Focus a few years ago because my Civic got into a car accident (other party's fault). Ford Focus...POS...unlimited miles though. I put something like 2000 miles on there in one week. Found out the thing is governed at something like 107-110 MPH. Got a ticket in the damn thing too...god that was embarrasing...speeding ticket in a focus. "That's not the right car for going that speed son (92 MPH)". Speed limit in the area was 75 MPH btw.

there is no reason for the rotary to do this other than poor Q/A at the factory. Remember its a new engine. The original 10A, 12A n/a engines had many issues before mazda fixed them. in N/A form the 13B was as bulletproof as you can get, I'd expect the same from this engine.

This is a repeat of a post on another thread. When I had mine if for service at 165 miles, the service tech said that break-in on these engines is not required, and to "drive it like you stole it, and quit babying it around".

Sorry to hear about your engine troubles. The 2K2+ Altima isn't that bad a car, yeah the interior sucks though. Were you lucky enough to get a 3.5SE (V6) Altima? If so, have fun! I had a 2k3 2.5L 4 cylinder as a rental once and it wasn't all that bad.

Another guy mentioned the Focus being a POS. I've had two as rental before and even though I don't like American cars and know the Focus has shit reliability, I have to admit it's not a bad econobox. The 1st one I had I think had a 1 weak 2.0L 110 hp engine. The 2nd one was 2.3L PZEV that had ~140 hp and was MUCH better.

The worst rentals I've ever had were probably a Daewoo Leganza, a beatup 2K1 Altima (had 58K miles on it), a beat up old Ford pickup, and a total POS Chevy Metro... man that SUCKED!

Like I told you on the other thread, an oil leak is not a 'blown engine'.

If you drove it till it blew up, then I could understand your/

/Oh, forget it, you WANT to think you 'blew it up', why do I bother?
S

Blown engine may suck, but how about this for luck....

Ordered Canadian GT 6-MT TItanium with roof on March 11, 2003
FINALLY delivered on November 28, 2003

December 3, 2003 - driving with my boss I get rear-ended by a Humane Society van. Front bumper of the van is wrecked....amiazingly, no visible damage to the 8, but being 5 days old I make the insurance report and schedule an appointment with the dealer/body shop to inspect. Driving to work on December 5th, rear-ended a second time by a plumbing van....$8000 damage to the rear end/drivers rear quarter. Today is January 16th and I am still waiting on parts from Mazda Canada. No repair to the 8 yet.....17 working days from when parts are in to complete repair.

Rear-ended twice in 6 days. Won't see the car until mid to end of February.:( :mad:

Sorry Steveo67. I would cry every day when I woke up and then to find out it wasn't a dream.

Stealth TL. You try not driving your car for about a week or more and then we will see how your stupid comments sound. I was just stating what the tech guy said. It is a 2k4 Altima 2.5 not to bad and no my engine is not even at the dealership yet I am calling every day trying to figure out where the engine is and how long it is going to take until I can get back in my X

I am now the newest member of the new engine club :(. I began to notice the smell of coolant and asked the dealer about it when I took it in for routine service at 7500 miles. After a few minutes at the dealership, the news came. It's gonna take a week to replace it. This can't be good for resale value! (a stripped down Protege as a loaner).

Originally posted by ONOFIVEO
I am now the newest member of the new engine club :(. I began to notice the smell of coolant and asked the dealer about it when I took it in for routine service at 7500 miles. After a few minutes at the dealership, the news came. It's gonna take a week to replace it. This can't be good for resale value! (a stripped down Protege as a loaner).

You mean BLOWN engine club. They told me 2 Weeks for the replacement.It has now been 26 Days and still counting.

Originally posted by Chef RX-8
I drove it kind of like an old lady. I was shifting at about 3500 RPM's because that would be the loudest range for my exhaust to sound great( Magnaflow). I really drove it cautiously as this was my first brand new car and wanted it to last for a long time. The tech guy also gave me attitude because of the exhaust he thought I was driving the hell out of it. I can not wait to get it back because I do not have people coming up to me and saying what a nice car I have when driving the Altima
PS I am driving the hell out of the loaner car.


Chef RX-8,

How many miles did your car have on the odometer when you bought it???

Thanks.

There should be a 'buy back' policy from Mazda for such occurrences!

Originally posted by complex
You mean BLOWN engine club. They told me 2 Weeks for the replacement.It has now been 26 Days and still counting.

Now that's service! I feel for you man....

So how many blown engines belong to this forum now?

3 i think.

Originally posted by complex
You mean BLOWN engine club. They told me 2 Weeks for the replacement.It has now been 26 Days and still counting.

Check your State's Lemon Law! You may be elegible for it if they keep your car for 30 or more days. Have it bought back and get a new one!

I was just told i SHOULD be getting it back tommorow.The new engine is in, theyr gonna do some testing etc. and they will beat the 30 day deadline.

Tell them you can't pick it up yet hehehe...

I would....but it has $1800 worth of audio equipment and aftermarket alarm in there.....and it would be expensive to get it all taken out and reinstalled in another car!

I had .8 miles when i bough the car.7/29/03

Originally posted by zoom44
3 i think.
I've counted 10 so far including Chef RX-8. Here are the other members who've needed new engines:
ectomort
rx gr8t
miata2rx8
Kas
canzoomer
ShawnC
Judge Ito
JaChTsai
JeFfUcF

Any more, or am I mistakened about any of these guys? I have URLs to some of their engine replacement threads.

Originally posted by Chef RX-8
So now I get to drive an Alitma for 2 weeks and not my "X". And what really sucks is that today my clear outs and rotary accents arrived.
Bought 6MT on 7/29/03 Blew enigne on 1/8/04
GOD I MISS MY CAR

No big deal. Just install the clear outs (whatever the hell that is) and accents on the Altima. Will probably make the Altima look a lot better.

Are you just loving the Altima's luxurious, well-designed interior? I would like you to look/stare at the Altima's center console (where the radio is) as often as you can. Tell us if this makes you go insane.

For an art project, please compare the Altima's center console stack to the Nissan Quest's. Then reconstruct both using Legos.

Originally posted by Maximus
There should be a 'buy back' policy from Mazda for such occurrences! For what possible reason?

Engines are replaced on all kinds of cars now as a regular occurance. It's just another "part" - no big deal...

Originally posted by BOOSTD 7
I've driven 2 8's. One from Lou Fusz Mazda in St Louis, literally 0 miles on the ticker. They were kind enough to give me a full day with the car. With less than .5 miles on the clock I was bouncing off the redline, powersliding around a cloverleaf onto the Intersate.

Who cares how much HP the car really has. Even bone stock it made me forget all about my M3. Rotary 4ever! I certainly would feel sorry for the people who get stuck buying the cars you beat the cr*p out of; perhaps they will be future members of the "blown engine club"... :confused:

Side marker clear outs for the turn signals. I recieved my car back a week ago and it is running beautifully.

Originally posted by ArXate
Are you just loving the Altima's luxurious, well-designed interior? I would like you to look/stare at the Altima's center console (where the radio is) as often as you can. Tell us if this makes you go insane.

For an art project, please compare the Altima's center console stack to the Nissan Quest's. Then reconstruct both using Legos.
Haha... just to throw this more off topic, it looks like Nissan is finally fixing the Altima's interior for 05. Take a look at http://www.nissannews.com/multimedia/nissan2005/altima.shtml . It's a pretty big improvement and borrows some cues from the 04 Maxima and the Z.

Originally posted by cwerdna
Haha... just to throw this more off topic, it looks like Nissan is finally fixing the Altima's interior for 05. Take a look at http://www.nissannews.com/multimedia/nissan2005/altima.shtml . It's a pretty big improvement and borrows some cues from the 04 Maxima and the Z.

Looks much better, at least on the inside. Will be much harder to duplicate using Legos, thus passing my critical Lego Test.

I like how they copied the RX8 driver's instrument tripod.

Forget Altimas, Proteges, and other junk, none of them are Xs. Isn't that what this forum is about!

Has anyone complained to Mazda USA regarding the engine failures?

Anyone been offered anything other than a replaced engine and a piece of crap to drive while theirs was replaced?

Originally posted by cwerdna
I've counted 10 so far including Chef RX-8. Here are the other members who've needed new engines:
ectomort
rx gr8t
miata2rx8
Kas
canzoomer
ShawnC
Judge Ito
JaChTsai
JeFfUcF

Any more, or am I mistakened about any of these guys? I have URLs to some of their engine replacement threads.

i dont know the last 2 people and i don't count canzoomer or judge ito. but that is still more than i remembered.

as far as JeFfUcF his was blown when he got it. it wasn't anything that happened while he had it. it was obviously thrashed by someone while it was still at the dealer. he didn't get a new engine he got a new car.

so onofiveo the answer to your question is- most people who have had an engine fail have simply received a new engine. zeltar use the lemon law to get rid of his car and JeFfUcF got a new car because he only had his car 3 days.

What's up w/ Canzoomer and Judge Ito?

judge ito was beating that car. and it wasn't even his. i remember reading some posts where they were saying things like "the hell with break in, don't baby this engine" then they broke the tranny. go figure.

canzoomer was using his personal vehicle to research and develop his stage1 ecu mod. i dont remember what actually broke on his(well the coil packs did) but given the amount of testing the car was used for it leaves some doubt in my mind as to whether it was the engienor something they did to it. i'll search his may have been a coolant issue.

Mine definitely smelled of coolant, although very subtle.

I don't usually buy a new car very often, so I assure you that I followed every step of the book regarding break-in. So this really concerns me. I need this car to last.

here is one of canzoomers' posts about his engine :

For example I ran about 650km completely stock just before the engine went.
Also, it did not "blow".
It threw a check engine light, then stumblred and deteriorated.
Mazda told me that the failure was due to an oil injection fault.
I tend to agree with you that a oil injection failure is unlikely.
Bearing failure is much more likely.
The engine was comprssion tested after the failure, with no reduction in compression loss, so seal failure is NOT the problem.
It showed all the signs of seizing. Whether that was a bearing failure, as I believe, or an oil injection failure, as Mazda said, we can not tell without stripping down the engine.
.A friend of mine who rebuilds and modifies rotary engines tells me that he feels it is likely a bearing failure as well.

I do not exactly KNOW what killed my engine. We did not have a chance to tear it down and find out.

That diagnosis is what Mazda Canada told me.

Originally posted by ArXate

I like how they copied the RX8 driver's instrument tripod.
You mean the 350z's (came before the 8) :D

Originally posted by BillK
For what possible reason?

Engines are replaced on all kinds of cars now as a regular occurance. It's just another "part" - no big deal...

Because you didn't pay 30,000 to have a blown engine after just a few hundred miles. God thats terrible! What about resale value? What if the replaced engine gives you further problem since its no longer the original thing? How do you guarantee your new engine was replaced with same amount of quality assurance as was done in Hiroshima!!! I mean HELLO!! WHAT MORE CAN GO WRONG beyond a blown engine? This should be a 100% buy back case. (...and same goes for other cars as well)

Originally posted by hasg
You mean the 350z's (came before the 8) :D

Look more closely. It's closer to the RX8's than the 350Z's because on both the RX8 and new Altima, the right and left circles are occluded by the middle circle. The 350Z's isn't like that.

The RX8 did not copy the 350Z, by the way.

Originally posted by ArXate
Look more closely. It's closer to the RX8's than the 350Z's because on both the RX8 and new Altima, the right and left circles are occluded by the middle circle. The 350Z's isn't like that.

The RX8 did not copy the 350Z, by the way.
However, the 2002+ Altimas have always had a 3 pod design. This is what a current Altima's dash looks like http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com//pictures/VEHICLE/2004/Nissan/100347442/026162-E.jpg .

The tripod design has existed for a long time, like in race cars. It didn't start with Nissan.

It's nothing really that new. But I don't think I've ever seen a car before the RX8 with the center pod occluding the left and right pods. Do you know of any?

I'm crying about my RX-8 and you guys are nitpicking over the origin of the Altima's gauges? One of us has too much time on thier hands! ;)