RX8 ~18k miles on engine. After the car warms up, say 15-20 minutes the engie stutters/hesitates when a go to WOT. For example I put the car in 2nd gear and go to WOT at 3500 RPMS, RPMS climb and then stutter at ~6,500RPMS and then the engine cuts out and drops the engine down, I move forward against my seat belt at the sudden slow down. No CEL (Check Engine Light) ever comes on during all of this.

BUT

If I am in 2nd Gear at 3500 rpms and slowly increase the RPMs, I can push the RPMs up to redline with out any problems, but I increasing hte RPMS at a rate of ~250 RPMS per 2 seconds or so.

Also

If the car is not underload I can Rev the engine to redline and the engine does not choke out either.

So basically the engine stutters and hesitates when warmed up and under WOT, in the higher RPM bands.

So any thoughts what it could be? I do no think it is an engine internal mechanical issue because I can hit high RPMS with the slow RPM rate of increase or quickly with revving.....and the car idles fine.

The car goes into the dealer on the 27th for this and for the Thermal damage recall.

which flash do you have?

which flash do you have?


Good questions...I have the N Flash

Oo.. I had the same exact thing happen on my 8.. Except I believe it was WOT in 3rd, not 2nd. Foot to the floor, and all of the sudden the car is coasting not accelerating, and after a half second it "remembered" wtf it was supposed to be doing. It was lovely. :(

Could be Plugs or coil induced misfire, also how much fuel is in the car?

A little side question. You say you're bringing it in on the 27th for the thermal damage recall also. Did you already officially receive the recall notice from Mazda to bring it in? Or did you just request to have it done early.

Oo.. I had the same exact thing happen on my 8.. Except I believe it was WOT in 3rd, not 2nd. Foot to the floor, and all of the sudden the car is coasting not accelerating, and after a half second it "remembered" wtf it was supposed to be doing. It was lovely. :(

This will happen in any gear, but normally I only go WOT in 2nd or 3d gear and still have enough road left...did you get this issue resolved on your 8?

Could be Plugs or coil induced misfire, also how much fuel is in the car?

It was on the highway...have ~ 3/8ths of a tank of fuel

A little side question. You say you're bringing it in on the 27th for the thermal damage recall also. Did you already officially receive the recall notice from Mazda to bring it in? Or did you just request to have it done early.

I called the Service Dept and they said....what Recal. So I started reading them the July 8th letter from MNAO VP of Sales and Field Ops. Service dept said he was aware of that but had not received any directions as to the fix. I hope they have the solution given to the dealers before the 27th. :-)

My car had a similar hestation/loss of power.. right around the same milage point. The cat decided to fail, blocking the exhaust (somewhat) causing the loss of power..

New cat, felt like a new car.

My guess is that it might be the system pulling the timing due to too high of a knock count from the detonation sensor.

What kind of gas are you running?
Could you have heavy carbon build-up? This can cause pre-ingnition as well.

Chris...

My guess is that it might be the system pulling the timing due to too high of a knock count from the detonation sensor.

What kind of gas are you running?
Could you have heavy carbon build-up? This can cause pre-ingnition as well.

Chris...

Would I not get a CEL with engine knocking?

You would get a CEL if there was a misfire, not just for regular knocking. I would also expect a CEL if there was a problem with the cats too.. 02 sensors get cranky with blocked up cats.

I haven't taken my car to the shop for it, since the problem has only happened a couple times. Especially when I've brought the car in previously for a fuel pump that was squealing like a stuck pig and they "couldnt find anything wrong.." I wouldn't expect that they'd be able to sort this out either.

I'm taking a "head in sand" approach at this point.. I'll keep puttin in 93-94 octane fuel and driving normally, and if the motor takes a colossal dump on me, well.. thats what warranties are for. Maybe I'll end up with a motor that gets over 13mpg next time ;)

I didn't get a CEL until a few weeks after the problem started.. by the time I did get a CEL, I was getting 16 MPG (freeway) on a good day..

I drove home yesyerday from work and had the same issue, but after sitting in traffic the RPMS started cutting out sooner in 2nd gear around the 4,800 RPMS. It seems the longer I sit/crawl in traffic, the lower the RPMS will become when the stuttering will start at WOT..

Jaguar_MBA, that sounds exactly like what happened on mine... (only my CEL came on when I did the WOT).

compression loss and probably coolant leak from overheating i bet. you should get it in

this has happened to me before and i found out that it was my master cylinder brace which was on too tight, and after i loosened it, it was fine.

but if u dont have a master cylinder brace, then i dont know sry

cat was getting clogged with the stuff thats inside that proby is breaking apart and clogging up and restricing air flow..

I had my cat replaced tech took my cat out and it fell apart and shit was clogging the rest of the cat...

There was a TBS out on replacing the cat

Took back way home from work, less stop and go traffic. after driving for ~ 30 minutes at ~60MPH, the car started to bog down again at 7,200 RPMs in 2nd gear. No CEL.

Also I had a brand new tank of gas with 93 octane from Mobil so bad gas can't be the issue, this last time.

Car was brought to the dealer yesterday, the Tech could not recreate the issue so I drove the car over my lunch brake for ~45 minutes until the hesitation started, then drove the Tech. The Tech (very knowledgable Senior Tech) agrees that something is off...hopefully tomorrow or tonight thet can tell me what is wrong. I did get a flashing CEL today for the 1st time. By the way, they gave me a Mustang rental car :-)

My dealer still has my RX-8, they could not find anything wrong with the car when the poked around and looked into the ECU's memory. Cat is good. They had to call the Mazda Hot line for guidance. They decided to replace my coil packs on Monday/Tuesday. If this does not work then they are going to order me a new engine.

Same problem heer. Engine stop at 33mph at 7500 rpm in 1st, 53 mph at 7250 rpm in 2nd, and 75 mph at 7500 rpm in 3rd. I'll be seeing the dealer tomorrow to get the cat looked at. No CEL, and I think that I got the R flash several weeks ago

jaguar did they actuall look inside the cat?

Hi Zoom, I specifically asked them if the cat was ok and they said it was...I doubt they actually looked inside the cat. When I talk to them next I will ask if they removed it off of the car.

if you remember i posted soem pics of a dead Cat:eek:;) before and that cat had not caused a cel. if they just looked for pending cels then it could still be the ccat.

Ok Dealer replaced the Coil Packs and this did not fix the issue....the dealership appears to be stumped and have suggested replacing the motor .....I will talk with them today and see what they say about the CAT not causing a CEL but still being bad. Thanks Zoom.

The dealer just called me and they are Fed-EXing in a new fuel pump after today's problem shooting session. The tech thinks this might be the issue. I did ask the dealer if they removed the cat for a visual inspection and the reply was no.

I was having the same problems...They replaced the cat first, the fuel pump 2nd and now a new engine.

I got a call from Mazda asking for my sales contract so they can start the paperwork and to fax it to Mazda.

I am awaiting a call for them to buy my car back, I am so glad they decided to buy it back from me. :)


Hopefully you don't have as much trouble as me.

Well, 2 days have gone by. The dealership has no idea what the problem is since I've got the latest flash and they claim to have checked the cat. They say the car is running very lean and tghey don't know why. Apparently they've called Mazda for some tech help. Right now I'm really missing my 8. The Kia Rio loaner just doesn't cut it! :(

Car is fixed....it was a faulty fuel pump. My Capital of Cary (Raleigh Area)dealership is first class ....they even detailed my car for me and filled up the gas tank because it took longer then expected to find the issue. :-)

Ok this is the final write up from the Tech:

Fuel Pump losing pressure after warmed up. Test drove car ~ 200 miles for complete diag. Replaced crank sensor and drove, still had miss, had mill ilumated. WDS test P0302 #2 misfire code, called hotline. They said to replace all 4 coil packs. R and R 4 coils and test drove. Car still acting up after coils replaced. Checked wires monitor PIDS. Everything seems to be working according to PIDS. Run compression test on both rotors. Had 7.2 7.2 7.3 on #1 rotor cold and had #2 was 7.7 7.7 7.8 cold. Ran compression test hot too had marginal readings. Did not have a fuel pressure gauge from Mazda. Had to makeshift a fuel pressure gauge and test. Drove car and found fuel pressure dropping off after car was warm. Pressure was dropping to 15PSI at high RPMS. Checked circuit for high pressure pump, all ok. PCM readings OK, also switched relays for fuel pump. Ended up replacing fuel pump. Retest all, all ok Fuel pressure staying at 60 PSI............... END

So basically I should have had 60 PSI at all times in the fuel lines, but after the pump warmed up and I went to WOT, the pump would start to fail and drop the PSI down to 15PSI.

I am very pleased with all that they had to do, plus I had a 2005 Mustang rental car.

Also they are sponsoring our Mini / Mighty / Pee Wee Tackle football with a corporate membership and full page adveristment in our program. What a world class act.

www.hsboosterclub.com

They say the car is running very lean and tghey don't know why. The Kia Rio loaner just doesn't cut it! :(

They say the car is running very lean, could be lack of Fuel. Give your dealership my tech's wrtie-up and see what they say...it could be something else of course.

Lean, yeah sound's like a fuel pump. or your plugs are to hot, also tell them to check the lines to the fuel rails. and test the presuer coming from the pump. I think it should be above 60psi but I could be wrong.

Well, it's been almost 1 week already and apparently they haven't figured the problem out yet! I'm starting to get really annoyed because I feel like they should be able to figure it out by now. I even faxed them a copy of Jaguars write up and verbally explained to them what most likely needs to be done. The Kia Rio loaner is driving me nuts (no power, automatic, and downright ugly!) Am I being unreasonable and impatient or just naive to expect quick, reliable service?!

Well, it's been almost 1 week already and apparently they haven't figured the problem out yet! I'm starting to get really annoyed because I feel like they should be able to figure it out by now. I even faxed them a copy of Jaguars write up and verbally explained to them what most likely needs to be done. The Kia Rio loaner is driving me nuts (no power, automatic, and downright ugly!) Am I being unreasonable and impatient or just naive to expect quick, reliable service?!


I don't think so, I mean A week is plenty of time to fix this.

I'm wondering if I should call them tomorrow and let them know that if they can't fix it by the end of the day, I'll be picking it up and taking it to another dealership (who I should've taken it to in the first place but they couldn't take the 8 the day I called...)

Rider, doubtful they can have it fixed by EOD. The issue is that everytime my dealership needed a part, they had to Fed Ex it in next day delivery. Thus, once they find the issue, it will be at least the next day when they get the part and then install time. Have they replace any parts yet?

Just let them keep on replacing parts. I picked up a new crank angle sensor and 4 new coil packs plus the fuel pump. Once the test parts are instaleld they do not take them back out. From what I have heard people have had coil packs fail, thus I am pleased to have a brand new set for a bonus.

Title tells the story. Basically, the engine was bogged down at 6000 rpm in every gear and it wouldn't go beyond that. Even pre-6000, it wasn't pulling nearly as hard as it should. So, I took it to a dealership last Tue. They told me they'd take care of the problem and they'd also take care of the recall issue since they just go the parts. I've been calling them just about every day to see how things are progressing but they have no clue. One whole week went by and nothing got done!! I layed the hammer down when I went there today and told the service dept. guy that they're incompetent and I want my car back NOW! I demanded to kow what was done (or not done) but Mr. service guy says the tech is out and he's not sure. He'll mail it to me he says! So as I start my car, the engine coolant light comes on (and it wasn't like that when I dropped it off. So I go right back, tell him to fill it up right NOW and I'm out of there. Let me tell you, the Kia Rio loaner certainly didn't make my week without the 8 any better. Now, the 8 is having a hard time pulling at any RPM, it basically sucks now. I filed an official complaint w/ MNAO. I'll be getting serviced at a diff. dealership this Thur. so I'll let you guys know how that goes. So, I'm justifiably quite pissed right now. On a good note, I got the new Valentine v1.8 radar detector and hardwired it so it's real stealth. This thing rocks! Too bad I can't go fast enough to test it out.

I never understood what the problem was, I mean the engine bogges and won't go over 6000rpm's or it cut's out and the car is running lean. Sounds like a simple fix, But I guess the dealership u took it to are really slacking on the job. Sorry to hear about your misfortune, I was really hoping this would get fixed. U did the right thing though I know I would have done the same.

rider check your pm's

Thanks Zoom. Priscilla Ls1, basically what's happening now is that the engine is really struggling to accelarate at any speed all across the band. Once I get passed 4k rpm, there's basically no more acceleration. What's also happening now is that it seems like the engine cooling fan goes on everytime I shut the car off. Clearly though, I haven't had any spirited drives. I can't break 4000 rpm for crying out loud! So, I'm not sure if something is malfunctioning with the temp sensors too?!

Thanks Zoom. Priscilla Ls1, basically what's happening now is that the engine is really struggling to accelarate at any speed all across the band. Once I get passed 4k rpm, there's basically no more acceleration. What's also happening now is that it seems like the engine cooling fan goes on everytime I shut the car off. Clearly though, I haven't had any spirited drives. I can't break 4000 rpm for crying out loud! So, I'm not sure if something is malfunctioning with the temp sensors too?!


Are you asking me? I'm not a mechanic. But I would first check to see if you are getting a sufficient amount of fuel to the engine, you said you were running lean right. If that is not it check both the spark plugs, sounds like one of them is not putting out much voltage, because you are only getting out half your power. If that is not it check your ignition system, if you have a oscilloscope set it on the roster setting to see both fire simultaneously to check the voltage. I have a hunch that it's the ignition system and about the fan problem, the only thing I can come up with is that there is somthing wrong with the coolent temp switch. You can look for it in the radiator, the coolent temp switch messures the temp in the radiator and turns the fan on when the temp. gets hot. But In some cars the fan will turn on even when the car is off so don't panic if this is happening to you when you turn off your car it's normal, the car is just cooling it's self off.

Thanks Zoom. Priscilla Ls1, basically what's happening now is that the engine is really struggling to accelarate at any speed all across the band. Once I get passed 4k rpm, there's basically no more acceleration. What's also happening now is that it seems like the engine cooling fan goes on everytime I shut the car off. Clearly though, I haven't had any spirited drives. I can't break 4000 rpm for crying out loud! So, I'm not sure if something is malfunctioning with the temp sensors too?!I'm NOT an expert, but did have a friend w/this symptom w/aftermarket Hi-Flo CAT. CAT was fried and blocked the end pipe 90%. He though everything else was wrong (coils/plugs/compression/ECU/etc) before finally taking the exhaust apart. Zooom...problem solved...but he was very pissed it took him a week of himself & dealers screwing around to discover why.

Think constipation...how fast can you go with that :eek: :D up your tailpipe!

BTW NO CELs, NO anything to tell this had happened. I even drove his car, just no ommph. He had to LOOK INSIDE at the CAT core - a major PITA litterally!

If that is not it check both the spark plugs, sounds like one of them is not putting out much voltage, because you are only getting out half your power.

are you aware that the renesis uses 4 spark plugs?


if you have a oscilloscope set it on the roster setting to see both fire simultaneously to check the voltage.

which 2 plugs are we looking at and how do we get them to fire simultaneously?

are you aware that the renesis uses 4 spark plugs?



Sorry about that, well it makes so diff just check all four.



which 2 plugs are we looking at and how do we get them to fire simultaneously?

You don't get them to fire simultaneously the oscilloscope does it for you.

Well, after picking my car up after a week sitting at a crappy dealership, I took it to another dealership Wed. night. Apparently they have a lot of customers who have been mistreated by the first dealership who now come to them too. Anyhow, like we've been saying all along, it was the catalytic converter. They replaced it with a new one and my 8 is running great once again. Thanks to all you guys for your advice and input.

So it was constipation. :D

Also they are sponsoring our Mini / Mighty / Pee Wee Tackle football with a corporate membership and full page adveristment in our program. What a world class act.

www.hsboosterclub.com


This was a smoke screen. They are not doing this. Dealership GM said he wanted to do this and gave me the name of a person that says "no" for dealership. Basically a way for the dealership to look like a good guy and have someone else say no for them. :(

So are you saying rider was full of crap? LOL got to have a good sense of humor when you have car problems.

There such a PITA

Hi everyone, a little late but I also got exactly the same problem of losing power and cutting out after warm driving and with more throttle.without my 8 for 3 days now and miss it.they replaced the plugs reloaded newest software and it then looked ok and ran much better, until it got hot again and wham, they are actualy replacing the fuel pump now and I will have it Monday afternoon.i actually heard the pump going a bit loader at the back after it was hot and that didnt sound right.
My worry is now if so many has this fuel pump problem how long will the new pumps last before we have to replace again.it cant all be faulty pumps,I stay in South Africa,I think it is maybe a design flaw of the exhaust heating up the fuel too much on long driving and then the fuel doesnt cool the pump down.bit by bit it deteriorates the pump until the friction gets too much and then one day this starts?
what do you think?

If it is your pump my theory would be a problem of fuel quality (Contamination). Or perhaps do you ever run it out of fuel all together? That would cause pre-mature pump failure.
Paul.

Make sure to tell us how it runs on Monday.

My car is in right now for the same problem (car cuts out at high RPM uner WOT, surges and is throwing a code for misfire on rotor 2.

The dealership replaced the plugs/wire and reflashed my ECU to make sure I was at the current flash....and said it was fixed, 8 miles of driving home from the dealer and it was back, so I went back to the dealer.

The started work (again) on the car yesterday, checking it out...

Mazda Tech Line told them to :

Check the output from the coil packs, replace if not in spec.
Check the valves in the intake manifold for proper function.

Thats what they are working on today.

I told them I want the plugs/wires replaced again if the coils turn out to be bad, and I want a compression check, and a visual inspection of the cat, and they fed me this line of crap about "your car is the best running one we've ever seen, you dont need all that". I tried to tell them with all these miles of misfire and their test drives while the car is having a misfire that I want those things done, to make sure that the misfire didnt spark any other problems.... They still said no.

What should I do?

ky,
mine did it also, but i got no cel. you have to kinda wait for the tech line. i think we both might have the random intake manifold leak and it will have to play out.

read this thread.
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=52522

the reason i think this might be my random problem is.

had an odd wistle at idle for a couple of days. now gone. also i saw the inside of my cat yesterday and it looked great.

beers

Well, got my 8 back monday and its fixed, actually feel lots better after new flash and plugs.

I do think our fuel here at times are a bit contaminated, but I will check to refuel before getting the fuel light as I did do that a few times before, but I never ran it empty

SWOOPE : maby, i dunno, Ill have to see what the tech says when I get him to ride with me, to me it feels like the car runs out of spark in the upper RPM range. They say that the whole ignition system has been checked and replaced with new parts...so I dunno.

are you working with andy?????

beers

are you working with andy?????

beers

Is andy the tech or the service advisor?

My advisor is now Dustin (doesnt know much about cars but he is nice) and the tech working on my car is Bryan and whoever the 'Master Tech' is. I got them to ride with me yesterday, and they saw the problem first hand AND drove it with the problem. They kept pushing the car, while it was doing it (i back off when the problem happens) and when we got back to the dealer the car was REALLY hot, and there was a smell of something burning under the hood. I hope they didnt mess anything up, he did take a freez frame of the ECU when we first got back, and everything on ALL 3 pages was 100% normal and inspec, even the coolant and oil temps....so who knows.

andy is the master tech. he is english and owns a rx8. well at least they have seen the problem. cant wait to find out what it is.

just got my car back for the weekend. amazing how much you miss it when it is gone.

beers

my car did this for the first time wednesday. I have never had this problem in 2+ years. I am guessing it is the huge cold front that came in on Wednesday. I have yet been able to recreate this problem.