So I took my car in for an oil change yesterday and while I was there, I wanted to get some warranty work done. I have an '04 MT. Anyway, I asked them to:

1) Oil Change
2) Brake Squeak TSB
3) Fix the RX8 sign on the driver side kick panel. Mine was coming off.
4) Check out the whistling sound that I hear from the engine when at idle after driving for a bit.

I've had this whistle for a few thousand miles. Others in the Orange County meet have heard it. It's a recurring sound that's like "toot toot toot" sound every half second or so.

So the dealer called me today asking how I liked my rental car. Then the news came that I need a new transmission. I haven't had any problems getting it into gear or anything, just the noise.

Very briefly, he mentioned that there was a loose bearing inside the transmission. He didn't know which one, but he said it might have been an output shaft bearing or something to that effect. Mazda advised him to just replace the entire transmission.

So now I have to wait a couple of days for the transmission to arrive and they said it'll won't take but a day to put it in.

I guess I'm now a member of the transmission club. If I get any more details on the cause, I'll be sure to post.

edit: my car has 20k miles on it

Sounds like a good deal for you. Which dealer?

John Hine down here in San Diego. Service has been good so far. In LA though, I like Galpin. I went to high school with the service writer.

I cant stand galpin... They were rude, not helpful, and SLOW! I wont go anywhere but Thousand Oaks. Its far, but worth it.

so apparently if you go in for one problem and THEY find you have a tranny issue the get you a new tranny in a hurry BUT if you go in with a tranny issue they claim abuse or anything else to try to get out of replacing it under warrenty.

moral of the story?

if you have a tranny issue set up an appointment for an oil change and let them find the problem on their own.

so apparently if you go in for one problem and THEY find you have a tranny issue the get you a new tranny in a hurry BUT if you go in with a tranny issue they claim abuse or anything else to try to get out of replacing it under warrenty.

moral of the story?

if you have a tranny issue set up an appointment for an oil change and let them find the problem on their own.

that's true. i had no idea that the whistling sound came from the tranny. at first i thought it was the tsb regarding the vacuum tube noises. i still have my doubts, but we'll see. if they wanna give me a new tranny, i'm not gonna complain.

I cant stand galpin... They were rude, not helpful, and SLOW! I wont go anywhere but Thousand Oaks. Its far, but worth it.

you're not talking about the galpin in santa clarita, right? if you wanna try galpin in north hills, ask for scott and tell him that chris sent ya. they work on commish so they're usually willing to do warranty work as long as it's not unreasonable.

my tranny is bad! it grindS! its in the dealer now! i think ill get the waranty guy to call ur dealership about the issue!

i just got a call from the dealership. apparently, i'm not getting a new tranny. they are rebuilding the current one. this in itself doesn't bother me, but it's gonna take way longer now. i'll just have the abuse the mazda 3 that they gave me.

Any possibility that one of their mechanics damaged the transmission somehow? Sorry to be so cynical, but . . .

My dealership rebuilt my tranny in 2 days. However it took almost a week for them to get the parts.

i just got a call from the dealership. apparently, i'm not getting a new tranny. they are rebuilding the current one. this in itself doesn't bother me, but it's gonna take way longer now. i'll just have the abuse the mazda 3 that they gave me.

Took my dealership ten days to do it. They rebuilt it. Replacing gears 1-2-3-4, synchros 2-3. Shift fork for 1-2, 3-4 and 5-R [atleast thats what the papers say]

I'm starting to think my 1st gear is going bad again, the other day i came to a complete stop, put it in neutral and when i went to take off, i slammed the clutch [to the ground] and put it in 1st gear and ALL that happened, was grinding. Now, this happens atleast once a day. :[

dUDE! This is your OWN fault! I hope they don't fix it for free! I mean, 1st gear is the RACING gear! You shouldn't even be using it!!!! Driver abuse is not covered under warranty!


I'm starting to think my 1st gear is going bad again, the other day i came to a complete stop, put it in neutral and when i went to take off, i slammed the clutch [to the ground] and put it in 1st gear and ALL that happened, was grinding. Now, this happens atleast once a day. :[

so apparently if you go in for one problem and THEY find you have a tranny issue the get you a new tranny in a hurry BUT if you go in with a tranny issue they claim abuse or anything else to try to get out of replacing it under warrenty.

moral of the story?

if you have a tranny issue set up an appointment for an oil change and let them find the problem on their own.

Didn't work for me. At my last oil change I mentioned that the car:

1. Often grinds 1st to 2nd when cold.
2. Difficult to downshift 2nd to 1st when stopping.

The dealer said it was "operating within manufacturers specifications".

#1 1st to 2nd when cold.. mine does that but only when I was in TN. It's never happened in FL even when it was cold. Other people see the same issues, try a different lube.

#2 Depends on what RPMS, anything more than oozing along at 6 mph, you cannot shift unless you rev match/double clutch. If you are stopping, I believe most people, (i do) simply go to neutral to stop and change into first as you start to go forward from an already completed stop.

Didn't work for me. At my last oil change I mentioned that the car:

1. Often grinds 1st to 2nd when cold.
2. Difficult to downshift 2nd to 1st when stopping.

The dealer said it was "operating within manufacturers specifications".

yea i had the same result as abbid except mine went back in after they rebuild it because i lost 6th gear so i have to wait for parts again and i doubt it'll take them two days because they have some sort of grudge against me and think i'm a street racer.

Didn't work for me. At my last oil change I mentioned that the car:

1. Often grinds 1st to 2nd when cold.
2. Difficult to downshift 2nd to 1st when stopping.

The dealer said it was "operating within manufacturers specifications".

Which dealer did you go to?

Which dealer did you go to?

128 Mazda in Wakefield, MA.

They replaced the brake rotors without question, but I guess they are going to resist fixing the tranny.

128 Mazda in Wakefield, MA.

They replaced the brake rotors without question, but I guess they are going to resist fixing the tranny.

That's not a good sign, because I'm bringing it in soon to have them check out the tranny. I'm probably seeing the same thing you did. The grinding is intermittent, so I doubt they're going to get anything done considering their complacent attitude towards customers' concerns. :(

still waiting for my transmission to be completed. 3 weeks now with my rental car. last week, they rebuilt the tranny. it wasn't shifting properly so they've torn it apart again and found another bearing destroyed. the part is on the way and it'll be another few days after that. this sucks.

Hey downshift, update on my car.... check out this post I just made on another thread: http://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php?p=835984&postcount=13

Its at Wellesely Mazda, I should get more updates tomorrow or thursday.

*keeping fingers crossed*

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the loaner car. A brand-new mazda3 2.3 4 door, much better than the crap ford taurus or focus they used to loan out. They have all new loaners, 2 4 doors and 2 5 doors. Moral of the story, if you need long-term warranty work done in Mass, take it to Wellesely, hehe.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the loaner car. A brand-new mazda3 2.3 4 door, much better than the crap ford taurus or focus they used to loan out. They have all new loaners, 2 4 doors and 2 5 doors. Moral of the story, if you need long-term warranty work done in Mass, take it to Wellesely, hehe.

Nice! Enterprise rental at 128 Mazda has some very interesting rental cars. I've driven a Cavalier, Trailblazer and some huge Nissan minivan (I think it's called the Titanic). Hmm... more and more reasons to take a longer drive to Wellesley for my future RX-8 services.

Well, here's another reason...

Mon. morning: in for service, complaint about reverse and problems downshifting from 5th or 6th.
Mon afternoon: call from sm, upgraded shift fork and transmission service manual on order, will drop the tranny and inspect on wednesday.
Wed afternoon: call from sm, tranny "is cooked", fluid was black, metal everywhere, got authorization from mazda to do full transmission replacement under warranty. I also asked him about the pressure plate bolts and he said they were fine.
Thus afternoon: I should have my baby back with a brand new tranny (w/ updated fork)

I have no idea what really went wrong, but I'm not surprised as it just hasn't felt 'right' since 4k miles, and with the reverse able to be demonstrated with the service manager in the car, they finally are gettin it fixed.

I'll probably start a thread with my whole story after I get the car back.

That sounds nasty... but good to know everything is getting fixed. Next time we meet, we should do a comparison to see if mine is going to see the problem or I'm just getting paranoid. Good luck with the new tranny!

That sounds nasty... but good to know everything is getting fixed. Next time we meet, we should do a comparison to see if mine is going to see the problem or I'm just getting paranoid. Good luck with the new tranny!

Thanks, I haven't heard back yet, I'm expecting the call any time today. I'm thinking I might not get it until tomorrow though. I'm planning on being at NER#2 at NHIS on the 1st and NESCC#2 on the 7th of may, so If you're there, we can definately compare notes, wierd noises, etc haha.

BTW sorry for hijacking the thread ;)