Man, I go to turn it on this morning, after shutting it down cold last night, and the friggin thing started right up no problem. I take it for a drive it pulls nice and hard, barking 3rd even....crazy. To top off all the problems I'm getting crappy mileage, like 18mpg city...this is nuts. The dang check engine light refused to turn on. Turned on the AC to cool off(it was 60 degrees here, after a week of 35-45 degree days, that was hot), cold air came out! I think I got a lemon....got to write Mazda.

I want J, K, L, M, N an P flashes ASAP!!

Hotter plugs!!

Dunlop Tires!!


I paid $26k....I shouldn't have to go through this....







P.S. If I offend anybody with my obvious sarcasm, you are just too damm uptight. Sorry.

Just go tell your dad to buy you another one :)

Originally posted by Sea Ray
Just go tell your dad to buy you another one :)


Ha...yeah....after I get him to buy me another house and put my kids through college....

What's the point of this thread?

Originally posted by 310Guy
What's the point of this thread?


To show that some people's cars are fine, the world isn't going to end, one day there will be no homeless people, the whales will be saved, Bin laden will get caught, money will fall from the sky,
there will be cures for every chronic disease, uptight people will relax and enjoy life...etc.

I just used a little sarcastic humor to show how my car is fine, and not a piece of junk that 9 out of 10 threads make it out to be. And like I said...if you take offense, relax.



Back to topic...where do I send my Mazda hatemail?

Beautiful comments N...
I joined this forum to start hooking up with others who drive this dreamcar. The more I read from these people, Im starting to wonder if I am the only one with no problems. I think it is dollar for dollar the best sports car ever made. Are there some imperfections? Sure there are. Its just a machine people...get over it.
Guess what? If you spent 10 million on a yacht, there would still be things wrong with it. Enjoy what you have...a damn fine piece of engineering.

Originally posted by picosrx8
Beautiful comments N...
I joined this forum to start hooking up with others who drive this dreamcar. The more I read from these people, Im starting to wonder if I am the only one with no problems. I think it is dollar for dollar the best sports car ever made. Are there some imperfections? Sure there are. Its just a machine people...get over it.
Guess what? If you spent 10 million on a yacht, there would still be things wrong with it. Enjoy what you have...a damn fine piece of engineering.

Amen!!

no problems here...

except the ones i make up to try and get the L flash :-/

No problems here. From all the compaints I sometimes pretend my car is sick so I can fit in with the rest of owners who have sick cars all the time.

No, you aren't the only one. I can't find a thing wrong with mine (knock on wood). The gas milage is around 18 - 19 mpg, the idle the rock steady, it can bark the tires in 2nd and 3rd, and it handles like it's on rails. I'm having a hard time trying to convince myself that I should get the L reflash since I don't want anything tom is this up. The car just hit 3700 smile-filled miles.

keep on singing the praises!! Keep the negativity away!!

Listen, I love mine, too!

But, until I found this site 3 days ago, I thought I was insane. The dealer had me thinking 10 MPG was how a new "rotary" breaks in. Because of all the threads and negative reports, I now know what to do, who to ask, and what to look out for. I'm grateful.

I've never been a car geek, but this RX-8, to my girlfiend's chagrin, is taking me over completely. Hell, I even tinted the windows! Never did that before.

...Or I could be having a mid-life crisis.

don't worry, all of these positive comments will be promptly ignore because somebody will have this ONE friend would have this ONE 350Z which are trouble free but then when he logon here and found out that his car MIGHT PROTENTIALLY get flooded !!! Therefore ..... I MUST HAVE a LEMON TOO !!!! Help Daddy, buy me a new Car !!!

No problems here!!!!

My best mileage so far is 23 on some very twisty mountain roads :) Of course there are the issues of having to replace the rear tires.

hey you guys - I'm loving my RX too - a few issues - all were solved or explained by helpful soulmates on this forum - thank you, thank you. Mileage - well getting better. Automatic - originally getting about 13 mpg - switched to Auto/Manual and getting about 15-16 now. Still working on it. Some quirky stuff - sure - but that's what makes these sweeties so unique. At 3400 - thinking of an oil change. Needed 1 qt. so far. I'm a little skitzy on the startup - never knowing about the flooding - don't valet it ever - people think I'm nuts. Am I just being too cautious?

It must be nice for those with no problems with their RX8. But it sure sucks waiting for a new engine for my 8 that has less than six hundred miles on it. I have this empty slot in the garage where my car is supposed to be.Do not bother telling Mazda about your promblems they could care less!

Niles - well done!

Topgun - you should have bought a lottery ticket because you had some rare luck - albeit bad. sorry to hear about it. look on the bright side, you will get to enjoy the feeling of satisfaction of picking it up fresh all over again.

hang in there

Craig

Originally posted by Topgun
Do not bother telling Mazda about your promblems they could care less!

I assume they didn't give you a rental car (loaner if you will) either right?!? :mad:

No they said that it was not my primary car so I did not need a rental.Hell I brought my 02 volvo in for regular service last week and they gave me a rental. It is all in the the mind of of these dealers.Buy a high end car from a low end company you will be treated like crap. If Bmw and Volvo can treat me right why can't Mazda or Chevy. I got the same low end service on my 50K Corvette. The high end dealers do a much better job of customer service.

I would demand a rental, it is in your warranty!! Don't take no for an answer.

Originally posted by Topgun
No they said that it was not my primary car so I did not need a rental.Hell I brought my 02 volvo in for regular service last week and they gave me a rental. It is all in the the mind of of these dealers.Buy a high end car from a low end company you will be treated like crap. If Bmw and Volvo can treat me right why can't Mazda or Chevy. I got the same low end service on my 50K Corvette. The high end dealers do a much better job of customer service.

The dealers around here give me a loaner or a rental just for an oil change.
Sounds like a crappy dealer.

I have not experienced too many problems with my 8, other than those that were self imposed. I flooded it once, but no problems since. My mileage is 15-16 with about 90-95% city type driving ~ short trips, lots of stop-n-go. Warmer weather will cure that.

Bad dealer experiences should not be blamed on the car.......

The car needing a new engine at 580 miles is the dealers fault.I do not think so. The car is a P.O.S. made by Mazda not the dealer.

Topgun, having to send your brand new car back to the dealer with only 580 on the clock is a major bummer. They'll fix it though, and it will all just be a bad dream soon. Hang in there.

I got mine just over a month ago and have 3300 happy miles on mine. No leaks, 19-20 mpg and loads of fun driving. I absolutely love mine!

Originally posted by Topgun
The car needing a new engine at 580 miles is the dealers fault.I do not think so. The car is a P.O.S. made by Mazda not the dealer.

Sometimes people get struck by lightning, but it doesn't mean that all clouds suck - just one every now and again.

Sounds like you got some bad luck and your car broke, and it's getting fixed. That's too bad, but it's a big jump to label the car a POS because you had a bad experience. Sometimes I buy stuff from the store and it doesn't work when I get it home, so I take it back and get another one. Luck of the draw.

I knew this guy once he had a cousin who's friend was like driving a mustang and the brakes gave out so no way will I ever be caught in that POS ford.

Actually, on the topic of writing things off as a POS...

I recently bought a cable modem from Fry's - I hate Fry's because a lot of the time the stuff I buy there doesnt work and I have to take it back (where, presumably, they just put it right back on the shelf again). So, being a typical hypocrite that I am, I wrote Fry's off as a POS store. Sometimes, however, it's an unavoidable evil so I go back.

Anyhow I get this cable modem home and after plugging it in and getting nothing other than a power light, I read through the documentation, everything looks normal but none of the lights are on (it says the cable light should flash when the cable is hooked in, and the LAN light should come on when the ethernet is connected - I get nothing). I talk with Cox and they can see the modem on their network but it's not responding. So I chalk it up to POS Fry's and take it back and exchange it for another one. Bloody POS Fry's garbage.

I get the new one plugged in today and it does the same thing. Power light, no other lights. WTF??!? Anyhow - I do some further investigation and there's this black button on the back I didn't notice before - there are some symols on it that supposedly tell you what it does but they don't make any sense at all. Just for kicks, I push the button and low and behold the proper lights come on and it looks happy and starts working properly.

Intrigued by this mystery work/malfunction button, I scour the documentation for what this button is and it's not mentioned *anywhere* in the manual except on one diagram of the unit where there's an arrow pointing at it with "WAN Disable" labeled on it. What a nice feature to not have documented in the manual, a button which when pressed makes the unit look like it's malfunctioning. None of the setup or install documentation said "And make sure the WAN disable button isn't pressed", they just say stuff like "when you plug the coax in, the cable light will flash" and in the troubleshooting section of "no lights", there's no mention of it - just if that the lights dont come on, the unit could be defective.

So in this case it was user error on my part due to woeful documentation causing me to once again write off Fry's and everything they sell as a POS.

Not sure this story has much point.. but hey, I typed it all up I might as well press submit.

They promised me a new complete engine last week. They only shipped a block of a new one and are taking the rest off the old one.It seems like a lot could go wrong after taking apart most of the engine.

All there really is to swap is the manifolds.....relax pal, as bad as it seems, it's not really a big deal.

Well the story keeps going. They put the moter in yesterday and they say it keeps putting out codes and do not know why. Waiting to hear from tech support. It may not be all bad if they keep it a few more days I can lemon law the car.

Look, no sun should be shining where it shouldn't here. You had to take a brand new car back . That sux.
But at least they aren't just rushing to get you back into something that isn't right. They pulled the old and put in the new. Lots of wires and hoses could get forgotten. They just need to track down whatever they didn't plug back in. I've built several engines in my time and it's hard not to forget something. You fire it up and look for problems. That's what they are doing. I can't pretend to make you feel better about it and I would be plenty upset if it happened to me. I've been there though. It's especially tough when you do the work yourself and still have to debug. A little patience is in order. You made a big commitment in buying a new car. Now they are having to stand by their machine. Let them, You'll get a thoroughly tested car back. It's worth a few days of stress. Plenty of others have over 10,000 miles on their cars now and still love 'em. Canzoomer was a huge crybaby when he got his and now he makes one of the best mods for the car. Now he's having to stand by his boxes when something odd comes up and he is. I'm gonna buy one as soon as I can. Please hold out a little longer. You'll be a much happier guy in a few more days.

Back on topic. Even if the topic is sarcastic :)

My car ran perfectly again today! As it has from day1.

Thanks for your support musclecarconvrt. They called a couple of hours ago and said they got a reset procedure from Mazda. I should get it back tomorrow. I will let you know how it came out when I pick it up.

Originally posted by Topgun in another thread
I had no problems with performance on this engine it ran strong.
It did have a fair amount of pinging in it. I noticed coolant on the floor of garage a few weeks ago. Do these engines have VIN #s on them? I would hate to have to explain that the car is on its second engine after 600 miles. I buy a new toy car every year and that hurts enough without having a horror story on top of it.



So did the pinging start before or after the coolant leak?

It is hard to say because I only noticed coolant on the floor on one weekend. I checked the level of the coolant and it never even looked that low. When I brought it in to have the airbag recall done I just told them I had some coolant on the floor a few weeks ago and to check it out. That is when they said it needed a new engine.I have only put gas in 3 times and it was Costco premium. Maybe that was my pinging problem.With only 580 miles on the car in 3 months who knows if it leaked from day one.

The reason I ask is, the coolant leak my be a result of the pinging.

I think of it like this: The rotory spins around on both the x and y axis. Now if detonation is happening it is possible for the rotor to move on the z axis only slightly. This movement would just be a small vibration that would put stress on the seals between the rotor housings. This is only a theory.

If the above is even close to being right then your dealer might be "fixing" the wrong problem. The pinging could have been cause by a bad sensor or ECU malfunction.

Did you tell the dealer about the pinging?

Yes I did and they say it might have been the coolant leak. I am looking forward to trying the new engine tomorrow.

Any coolant in the fuel mix will reak havock with combustion, and could certainly cause pinging due to poor ignition.

I had an old Camaro once that cracked a head so badly it turned the oil into a miklshake like sludge in a hurry. When I took the oil filter off,, the "oil" actually stayed right where it was in the block and did not drain! When I tore the block down there was heavy galling on all surfaces and even rust inside the cylinders. It was a real mess. After all that, All had to do was remachine the block, replace the internals and pony up for a new head. After a couple of weekends my car was running smoothly again.

Make sure they flash your PCM to at least the "L".

Let us know how things go.

I'm looking forward to a post from you saying "I drove my 8 today and I didn't have any problems" :)

Well I got my 8 back today! It runs the same as the last engine. Good news bad news. It runs strong but still has a fair amount of pinging in the engine. The dealer said no problem found with pinging.I put a full tank of Shell 93 octane in with the tank about empty and drove it a hundred miles today no change it still pings.Any thoughts on this. FYI the engine cost 7832.00 plus labor total 8460 paid to dealer by Mazda.

My friend works at a Mazda dealer...he offered to change my oil for nothing, he even reprogrammed my PCM to the L.....I did notice a waaay smoother idle. Not much else has changed....Anyway, all is still very well with my car. Topgun...hang in there pal...things will work out.

Check to see if they upgraded your PCM.

tap the brakes 20 time in 8 seconds while the key is in the on position but the car is not running. Watch your Oil pressure, it should sweep from low to mid back to low.

If it does not sweep it your PCM is not at "L" or above.

I did the test andI have the L flash. They did the flash when they did the engine. I just got off the phone with the service manager and he said they all ping and it is the nature of the engine and I am still new to the car. But he did say I am not the only person he has had complain about this problem. He said he is on the quality control board and will bring it up at the next meeting with Mazda next month in Las Vegas.

You can literally hear the knocking? Whoah....that's not good. The new engine probably won't last too long either.

Oh, I did the test....yep oil pressure needle did its thing....

That Service manager is a dumba$$. They do not ping at all. Actually if you read in one of the Canzoomer threads I think RX8friend stated the RX8 has a really good knock sensor.

If you can, take your car to another dealer and report that one to MNAO.

Something is wrong with your car and I'm willing to bet its not the engine, its got to be a sensor or something else.

Yes it sounds like a piston engine with the timing advanced to far.It pings the most at 3-4k rpm in third and fourth gear. It is not that bad at highway speeds in 6th or above 5k rpm. Trying not to beat on the new engine.I guess I will have to live with it until it breaks again because they say it is normal. I am about ready to take my lumps and trade it for something else.That kind of blows. It is a fun car to drive. I would just like to have one that works right.

Don't live with it!!!!! It is not right and the Service center is fu**ing you over!!! Don't put up with that! Take it to another dealer, ask around on this forum for some advise on good service centers in your area and take it to one of those.

And report that crappy dealer to Mazda!!!

Thanks for all the help on this guys.I called Mazda the other day and they said I had to write a letter to the consumer dept before they can do anything for me.So I will do that tonight and see if I get a reply.I only have one other Mazda dealer in town and I hear they are even worse.

Please do us all a favor, Topgun, and see this thing through to its conclusion. Don't give up or give in.

You mention this is your "toy"...please don't trade it until it's perfect as it will end up riding the auction train out of state and into the hands of someone else.

Sounds like there's little wisdom in your dealer's service department. They are using trial-and-error techniques which will cost them big. You need to up the ante next time you need to have it in for service: tell them you've sold your other car(s) and that the 8 is now your daily driver. You must have a loaner. Things at some dealerships get done better and faster when one of their cars is out being driven with little financial return for the dealer.

Unfortunately, Florida is a miserable place to find a good dealer (spoken as a native Floridian, now an ex-pat.) The constant churn of people in and out of the state leads to short-term and shady practices.

You may have to drive to Tampa to find a better dealer. There used to be a good one in Clearwater...can't remember the name...but they took good care of me years ago when I bought my 323GTX.

Top Gun please tell me why they replaced your engine. was it becasue of the "pinging"? was coolant leaking into a combustion chamber? what was the reason they said that the engine needed sawpping?

I hate to sound like a pampered pet but time is money. This is a toy car for me and was meant to be a fun thing to do and relax when I am not out teaching people how to fly high end airplanes.I buy a new toy car every 12 to 18 months but not every three months like this is leading me to do.It will be up to Mazda to do something for me at this point. But they do not seem very interested in customer satisfaction right now. I do understand everybodys concern and appreciate all the feed back. Maybe the answer is here in this group somewhere if enough people here about the problem.Thanks again!!

Zoom 44 They said it needed the engine because of a coolant leak in the block. It had dripped on the floor of my garage a few weeks ago and when I brought it in for the airbag recall I told them about the coolant on the floor a few weeks ago. I do not think I was burning it but they say it might have been and if they did not replace the engine it could cause major damage down the road and fail.

ok thanks. now if you would humour me some more? can you describe the pinging you hear between 3 an 4k rpm in 3rd and 4th?

edit: others here may see where i am going with this but please wait until after his description as i may want to ask another question or 2.

Zoom 44 I just did a few posts ago. It sounds like a piston engine on bad gas or a piston engine that the timing is set wrong.If you have any idea's please let me know. But I am not looking to play games with you. Thanks in advance

sorry i am not trying to play games with you. i do have an idea but i want to make sure i have an understanding of what you are hearing before i jump to conclusions.

so it sounds like a metallic pinging/slightly rattling sound? sort of a high pitched metallic rattling?

if so i would like you to try something for me. take the car out for a spin. in 2nd 3rd or 4th(3rd or 4th maybe better since that's when you hear it) bring the revs up slowly from 3500 to @3700 until you start hearing the sound then hold your rpms there if you can and see if it continues to "ping" when you hold it at that rpm. don't zip right past that point but try to hold the "note" longer. if it does even a little then i know what it is.

Zoom 44 Are you talking about the rpm where the intake valves change?

yes. are you sure that is not what you are hearing? don't take offense please but we have had people on here who mistook that sound for pinging. i didn't want to just say it without getting an idea if you knew about the intake system or not. sorry that's strike one for me i guess. do you always hear it between 3k and 4k even in the new engine?

Zoom 44 I just took it out for a spin. I do hear what you are talking about only in 4th at 3700 That sound is a higher pitched sound and is a faster tempo than the one I get. I did stomp on it in 2nd from about 2k to 8k.It ran strong and it even seems to me to have more power than the last engine. I could be wrong because I have not driven it in a few weeks. But it did starting pinging under high load at about 5k in 2nd but stopped pinging at about 6.5 to 7 on the way up to 8. By the way what is making that noise in the intake valves at just that rpm if you happen to know?

ok we have gone far enough astray from the thread topic. lets take your problem and question over to another thread....

No problem I am done with it and the car.

here is the new thread (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24649)

Im at 10500 and around every 3000 im a quart low. My first rotor, but from what Ive read it normal. Mines automatic also and gas mileage is the same as yours. I just got 282mi on a tank (trying to control my lead foot). I was happy with that. If I wanted better milage, Id would of bought a 93hp Civic Hybrid! And for the valet issue...I have only once. Back in December my wife and I went to a very exclusive restaraunt and they had the usual suspect sports cars lining the curb. When we pulled up the guy said to me that he was going to park me in front. When I came out, she was shining like a diamond between a porshe and a ferrari. I was so proud I couldnt possibly valet it again!!!!!

I'm courious. What do you call "pinging". When does your car do this? Under load? At a steady state of driving i.e. highway? High RPM or low? Does it sound like a meatal hammer on an anvil or is it more like '80's Pop Rocks? There are some normal sounds that could be mistaken for "pinging" that are harmless.

I ask because your tech is doing a dis-service to the car when "he said they all ping and it is the nature of the engine". That's just not true. Mine has never made any odd noises and I regularly wring the pee out of it. My gas milage has ranged from 17-22. They run pig rich which is why the tail pipes get so sooty and why the power was down from the prototype. That alone would keep it from pinging unless something in ignition was way way off. If the ECU was managing a pnig, your CEL would light up too. If it really is pre-ignition or detonation something else is up. I would not let my service rep get away with such a broad and dismisive statement. Thanks for keeping us updated.

Sorry for doubling up on Zoom44's Q&A. I jsut cought it. Excellent new thread on all the rpm tune changes. Very cool.