I'll start it off with mine which I bought 10/31/03 and I just turned 12,450 miles! I'm wondering if I should sell it before the miles get too high. I do alot of travelling... I'm curious to hear how many miles other people are up to...

Also, any problems that have arisen.
Here's my list of probs so far:

1. Door jam emblem fell off and dissappeared (dealer replaced).
2. Driver side visor has broken and just now dangles in my face (new one on order).
4. Air bag recall. (rental car provided)
3. Engine light came on and dealer flashed the CPU with new code. (rental car provided)-took two days b/c computers down...
4. Flat tire (tire inflation kit did nothing for me) had to get a tow and a $231.00 tire! (no spare-they should have provided "run flat" tires in my opinion)-tire was ruined of course.
5. No floods yet...

Guess that's it so far... Other than these items I still love it though!

Thanks,
LRTRX8

Looking forward to hearing others experiences...

18,xxx miles since 29 July 2003.
NO Flooding.
NO Hard Starts.
3 door dings PDR'ed beautifully.
Some door rattle in colder weather - completely gone, now.
Reported a hard start to get the 'L' flash, which I love.
Airbag and tranny damper recall (free rentacar provided).
4-wheel alignment at stealership.
Many great oil-changes by me -
1 bad oil change by dealer: drained filter onto motor and front suspension subframe. Car reeked of oil for 2 weeks. :(

B-Nez,
"Reported a hard start to get the 'L' flash, which I love."
Please elaborate...

I fibbed...said my wife flooded the car and was hard to start. So they gave me the 'L' flash. I like revision 'L' very much. Not sure how I'll like the cold plugs they are installing on Friday, however...

3,500 since I bought it a about month ago with 16 miles on it. I drive 120 miles to work and back Monday thru Friday. I'm on a deployment for a few months, so i'll save some miles not driving it. No problems so far.

Just reached 15,000

4 hard starts, getting the M flash Friday at 1:30.

Wouldn't trade it for anything.

19000 miles as of this morning - since July 20th last year.
No problems,
No flashes,
average 19 mpg.
Had the damper and the airbag fixes done - 3 hrs at dealer.

I keep my cars a loooong time so baby with 3.5k oil changes.
When out of warranty will do some engine mods.

I have 22,815. No problems at all except replaced tires at 15,000 miles with better rubber.

What did you replace them with?

Originally posted by Smoknjim
I have 22,815. No problems at all except replaced tires at 15,000 miles with better rubber.

15,300 miles since july 27th
5 oil changes
no problems

Picked up my car Nov. 20th
now have 2,830 miles
1 oil change at 1000 miles
some door dings, (have to get them taken care of)
no flooding
had L flash done
rotated my tires
had airbag and tranny damper recalls done
Having differential replaced (real bad whining)
and 2nd oil change also
got a nail in a tire..have to fix that(low pressure light comes on every 3 days)

Other than that this car has been awesome!!

Picked up on start of Dec'03,
done 5600 miles
no oil change,
no flooding
L flash done this on 4/19 - no noticable difference with butt dyno, maybe gas, but will see at next few fillups, was getting around 17mpg...
airbag/tranny damper recalls done
rattle on driver side door fixed with recall service

also tracked the car for like 80miles (at 3000miles on the odo) around PacNW Raceway for a day, spun the car once when they wet the track down for controlled spin/recovery, end of day, everythin still felt solid... only thing i did was replace the brake fluid before track...

2k when i got it now its 7k
1-BREAK or Clutch fluid LEAKING
2-Cig light Blown a Fuse
3-I think its Still Loosing OIL somehow 2 quarts a week or one I cant remember. With 7k so far.

hell i am slacking. had the car since july 31st 2003 and have 8k on the car. how do people have 19 and 20k? anyway

1 cel-fixed with pcm flash(false evap test failure)
recall work-airbag and dynamic damper
lost a grommet the other day for the engine cover
getting it replaced friday per tsb also getting M flash friday at 1:30

8k miles - Purchased the car Feb 1st

a. 2 oil changes
b. Airbag Recall - Loaner car not received because I'm under 25 (argh!)
c. No major problems
d. Averaging 15 - 18 mpg (w/ consistent spirited driving)

10,500 miles.

1. Two oil changes (at 5k, haven't been driving terribly hard during the off-season)
2. Taken in for recall
3. Two tire rotations
4. Averaging 16-18mpg in mostly city driving.
5. NO dings or scratches (yet), aside from a few nicks in the hood from rocks.

15,300 miles since August 8th.

Couple of dings, plenty of rock chips, recall work done, reflashed to L so far. No real problems except for a mysteriously pockmarked windshield. Usually get about 17mpg in city driving and 24 or so on highway. Getting 15,000 service done on monday.

Oh, and need new tires pretty soon.

6K miles - 95% highway driving.
2 oil changes so far and a 'M' flash.

the 'M' increased my gas milage up from 20-21 MPG to 22 MPG...not bad.

Originally posted by Genom
15,300 miles since August 8th.

Couple of dings, plenty of rock chips, a mysteriously pockmarked windshield.

I traded in my Miata for the 8 - it was a 99 model. People remarked that they couldn't believe I could even see out of my windshield - it literally looked sandblasted and really was hard to see out of. I just didn't realize it until I got behind a windshield that wasn't all jacked up :D I've already noticed on my 8 the same issue - lots of chips on the nose already, and lots of nicks in the windshield :(

Got mine a little over a week ago and havent driven her the past 3 days.

In the first 4 days I somehow put 1200 on her tho, no problems whatsoever. Got the recall stuff done (no rentacar provided, tho I didnt need one) and I do have 2 random problems:

1) Tire Pressure Light comes on/off randomly
2) Oil Light comes on/off randomly

dunno why they do :(
taking her in for a full checkup soon tho so hopefully I can figure those out..

I replaced the original tires with Potenza RE 750's. 245x40x18's. They are the same diameter as the OEM's, so they will not affect your speedo. They ride better, handle as well (better on wet roads), and last at least twice as long as the originals. They are also about $40 cheaper a tire. I previously replaced the Goodyear crap that came on my Grand Prix GTP with them and was very satisfied with them. They are also quieter. I was able to get my dealer to order them for me @ $169 each. Tire Rack is $161, but you gotta pay shipping.

Oh Man, you guys and ladies are great! I defend this car
from many haters, especially HP junkies, who say our beloved
8 is hard to maintain.. Newbies should chk this thread out.
So far, just normal wear and tear, and I will definitely check
out a clear bra when I get my baby, and looks like the engine
gets better with use.. as I thought!! You great pioneers keep
the faith and our car is just going to get better!

I'm at 5k. Mileage is running 17.9mpg with no reflash yet. 1 oil change at 3k and about a quart or so of oil added. Recall work done and no rental needed. My wife flooded the car once, and it was towed and at the dealer 6 days being unflooded (covered under the warranty after some fighting with dealer). I have one minor ding on the hood that you'd have a hard time finding and a tiny, tiny scratch on the trunk that'd be even harder to find. I've got the "Milky oil" issue but doesn't seem to be a problem. Surprisingly, I've had no trouble with the NAV system whatsoever... it's always worked perfectly.

I was warned not to buy a first-year model from everyone with any sense... seems that I may have beat the odds, with the exception of the flooding issue which is always a concern. On balance, I'm quite happy.

Bought 7/19/03 -------8900 miles

Oil changes - 3 (at dealer)

A/C compressor bearing failure - replaced compressor

keyed front fender after first week = touched up

broken plastic tab on front air dam - plywood on road flew up and hit

replaced wimpy temp control knob - TSB

long start engine turnover 2X - no flood though

Rock flew out of landscape truck and hit hood - CHIPPED

Door threshold nameplates loose

Not sure on this one but I though I remembered the DISP button shutting off the display area - does not do that now.

flat tire - huge roofing nail in tire.

air bag/trans damper recall

Most of these are minor issues and yes, I still like the car.

Currently 8888 miles

Bought from Alhambra Mazda on 12/31/03 (New Year's Eve!) with 2 miles - still had the protective white polyvinyl film all over it.

Oil change at 3000 and 6000 at dealership
Airbag recall
Tire rotation
Washed once every weekend

Road debris (giant pipe actually) left a major ding on lower edge of driver side rear door.
Front bumper banged up in 5mph fight with Accord.

Averaging 20mpg with 70-80% freeway driving - 50% slow traffic.
K&N intake made the car louder than some Hondas with racing mufflers...

Otherwise, never anything out of the ordinary that I can blame the car for...

Present milage: 22,610 (purchased July 03)



Problems to date:

One cel out of nowhere; I had the "L" reflash done; seems great .

airbag recall; no problems.

Last oil change; oil leaking on driveway afterward. Took back and found out that they had tightened the pan bolt so tight, they and split the brass washer. Mechanic replaced washer and put in 3 new quarts of oil, since he had to drain it to diagnose.

First few months, oil light would come on/off near oil change - I just waited to get the oil changed, since it was so close. I mentioned it to the dealership about the "baffled oil pan" update - said they'ed order one (this is late last year sometime). As the miles have accumulated, the light doesn't come on anymore. When the washer split, I mentioned the baffled pan to the mechanic and he told parts to order one for my next visit. Turns out that they have one in stock (no one is connecting "A" with "B" - in other words: that was probably my pan that they ordered for me last year, but no one remembered when it came in, to contact me about having it installed).

Changed out tires two weeks ago. Got the Pirelli Zero Nero M & S 245/40/18. They are quieter and smoother but just slightly less responsive than the original tires. They look great and the tread ware is listed at 400 compared to 140 for the originals. I thought 21,000 for the originals was pretty good.

NAV system: yesterday, I had to drive to Bakersfield to drop off my daughter. Turned on the NAV switch, the screen popped up but with no display. Finally I came on. I've noticed for about the last month that when I open the screen, there is a "clicking" sound at the very last part of the positioning before stopping. I wonder if some wire harness is getting loose or something. We'll see if it continues.

This car really is great......compared to my 4 door Geo Metro 3 speed automatic; huge paradigm shift for me.

Bought 7/03, approx. 9000 miles so far.

CEL light came on sporadically for a while, will get L (or M) reflash with next oil change (at 9200).

Quite a couple hard starts, but no flooding.

Some A$$HOLE hit me YESTERDAY, so it'll go into the body shop sometime next week probably :-(.

Right at 9K miles, got it on 11/25/03

*1 oil change and tire rotation (I'm up for my second one now)

*Airbag recall

*Broken driver's side sunvisor (waiting for new one to come in - covered under warranty)

*No flooding

*Had to have the bumper replaced because some jacka$$ rear-ended me at a red light back in March. Mazda dealership did the work and it looks just like new.

Everything's been great and I still LOVE my car!

I'm at 23,000 miles now after 11 months and my latest problems:
# shock sensor diode kit installed incorrectly (by dealer)
# temp-control knob broke
# slight brake squeal

Hey David I think i'm catching up and will pass your record-setting mileage soon.....purchase 5/18/04....as of today I have 4706 miles. Hahaha I fell so bad for my baby 8, but still gotta go to work everyday.

I just hit 20,000 miles last night. Since my last post I've had my leading coil packs replaced twice (most likely from stage1 issues), had 1 more oil change, and replaced my worn out OEM tires with Falken Azenis ST115's.

My temp knob broke a few weeks ago, just been lazy to go to the stealership to get a new one.

Still lving the sexy beast.

Well just hit 5000 miles, having oil change done

AC needs to be fixed, cycles on and off now....very noticable.

Diff is whining again, not as bad as before but it's there.

Center console gets real hot.

All will be taken care of soon...I hope.

On a 500 mile roundtrip with real crappy bumper to bumper traffic, jaunts up tp 100mph, but mostly 75mph cruising, I averaged 21mpg....not bad.

Bought three weeks ago yesterday, and just turned 1000 miles. No problems, nothing, nada, niet, zippo, zilch, nine, nothing.

Been perfect so far ;-)

Originally posted by Jeffjett
Bought three weeks ago yesterday, and just turned 1000 miles. No problems, nothing, nada, niet, zippo, zilch, nine, nothing.

Been perfect so far ;-)

A a black base model...that's what I wanted...but I got one with the sport package unknowingly...man I hate the DSC/TCS....


And mine was absolutely perfect up until 2800 miles, when I had the diff replaced. I still love my car and wouldn't give it back for any reason. Just got to get some stuff taken care of(there are known fixes, TSB's, for my complaints). I am happy with my car.

18,500 since 7/2/03.

Had the 'L' reflash for a recurring CEL, as well at the transmission damper and airbag recalls.

I plan on exercising my rights on the A/C and 'wheel click' TSBs, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Mileage is between 19-21MPG every fillup since September '03. I do make the car beep at least 10x per tankful.

All oil changes self-inflicted, using stock filter and AMSOIL XL-7500.

My only gripe with this car is that my seat makes a creaking noise.

Other than that, I love it like I loved my 2nd gen RX-7.

33,217 miles since 8-6-03

8,000 miles on 2nd set of tires

Best gas mileage 23.9 mpg
Worst gas mileage 15.9 mpg
Consistently get 20-21 mpg

No major problems-

CEL light at 10k miles - false alarm

Squealing/pulsating brakes at 30k miles - had rotors resurfaced

all minor wear/tear issues.

July 5, 2004 update:

I may have you all beat on miles per month/week/day/hour/minute!!!
Purchased my Nordic Green 6spd with the 1MT package 3/12/04 with 169 miles (mostly two test drives by me) and as of 7/05/04 have just under 15k on her!!
Going to stealership for fourth oilchange this week before leaving for trip to Mt. Rushmore and into Wyoming and Montana Monday. (Live in North Florida)
Only problem, AT ALL, has been warped rotors and I think that might be all the braking from over 100!!
I'm now averaging just over 20 MPG in combined driving (70% two lane hiway)
MY baby had the RoadBlock vinyl covering on the nose, before I got it and this crap SUCKS. It isn't nearly as glossy as the paint and is IMPOSSIBLE to get bug stains off of. If you rub it with even a soft cloth to try to remove the bug splatters, it scratches the vinyl and you can't get them out. The guy who sells/installs the crap hasn't responded since I told him I want it taken off. I guess he doesn't know I don't care about the 300 bucks, I want my car to shine!!
Therefore, I will tell ALL OF YOU GUYS - DON"T BUY THIS SHIT!!!!

Originally posted by XUrotaryrocket
33,217 miles since 8-6-03

8,000 miles on 2nd set of tires

Best gas mileage 23.9 mpg
Worst gas mileage 15.9 mpg
Consistently get 20-21 mpg

No major problems-

CEL light at 10k miles - false alarm

Squealing/pulsating brakes at 30k miles - had rotors resurfaced

all minor wear/tear issues.

Oh my god you have high mileage. I also bought in 8/03 and have what I consider high mileage of 20k. But 33k, that's crazy.