rotten42

I wanted to know if anybody else out there has experienced this problem. My RX8 which I had only had for 5 weeks (4000km) is acting up. Ater I do a short trip and stop at say a store and try and go again, my car will not start. If usually takes about 15 to 20 mins of starting attempts and waiting to get it going again. All it does is crank over.

I know what you're thinking but it is not the ECM/PCM "M" flash rededy. The car has already had that done. This is not a flodding problem; just the opposite. The car isn't getting fuel. When you do get the car going again, you don't get any white or black smoke that you might see in a flooding situation. The dealer also noted that the engine dispays an obvious rattle at 3000rpm.

The dealer is up to date on all their service bulletins and sounds like they have half a clue about things. At this point they said that they are going to fly someone up from Toronto to Calgary to look at the problem.

Anybody have any ideas?

..and to top it off they gave me a Cavalier as a rent-a-car

Oh the shame!!!

TownDrunk

I've never experienced that problem, however, I have noticed the following:

If the car is completely cold it doesn't matter whether I put the key in, turn it to "on", wait 5 seconds then start it, or if I just put the key in and start immediately... It just starts.

However, if the car is warm and I turn it "on" but wait 5 seconds then start sometimes, only once in a very great while it will take maybe 4 or 5 cranks to start instead of the usual 2 or 3. When the car's warm I've never had a problem just putting the key in and starting it.

Either way, however, I've never had a problem where I couldn't get it started on the first try after a max of 5 cranks.

My car is 13 months old, 11K mi.

rotten42

The car is warm.....this happens after a 10 to 30 min drive. It started happening last week. At first it only took a couple tries and then got progressively worse. By the end of the week it was a disaster.

ezrider55

My thoughts. Spark plugs or fule filter.

Mr M

1st, you need to have a compression test done. The rattle at 3,000 rpm could be due to a broken side seal or something, and of course low compression will cause hard starting. Then I would check the MOP delivery, a lack of oil could also cause lack of compression and noise. Doing a cooling system check wouldn't hurt either, just in case you have an internal coolant leak.

That gets the big things out of the way, so now you can start looking at the control system. Ignition coils and spark plugs are easy to replace, but they may not solve the problem. It really sounds like you have an oil pump problem from your description, so have the MOP system checked thoroughly. Also, your fuel pump has two delivery rates, slow and high. It may not be delivering enough fuel at start up, or not delivering at all.

Let us know what your dealer finds....

bgparsons3

Agree with ezrider and Mr M - try the plugs first, then coils. Easy and (relative to the other potential causes) cheap.

rotten42

Got a call from the dealership and it looks like they are going to replace the engine. They are expecting the results of the oil sample that was sent out the other day back soon. They are expecting the worse. A new engine @ 3100 miles. Makes we wish I had trashed on the old one.

Mr M

Too bad about the inconvenience all this is causing. I hope the delear knows what it is doing and doesn't cause any new problems if/when they replace the engine.

It sounds like the internal water leak problem some other members on this forum have reported. I have not heard of any problems since their engines were replaced, so you can probably rest assured you will get a long life out of your new engine.

Keep us updated on what is going on...

rotten42

You're right on the bright side I will probably get an engine with all the bugs worked out. Maybe I can convince then to ad a turbo?!

I'm just really pissed because I've only had the car 6 weeks. I waited for 6 years to upgrade my car while waiting for my kids to get old enough not to puke in daddy's new car and now this.

I'll post the post- mortem when I get it.

rotten42

I received a call back from the dealer and they have ordered me a new engine. The old one is being shipped back to mazda. They want to rip it apart. I won't have the details until Monday but they said it had to do with one of the rotors knocking?

I will have soon had my car for 2 months and once this engine swap is done I will have a driving/service split roughly the same as the weight distribution 52/48

..more than a little pissed!

Mr M

I really think you are better off with the new engine, better that than some electrical fault that the dealer can't find and causes your car to die in the middle of nowhere!

Mazda still have a black box policy on engines in the US I think. What that means is that every engine replaced gets shipped back to Mazda in one piece, and their engineers study what went wrong.

No real compensation to you though, all I can say is...chin up! It is a great car, you'll enjoy it in the long run!

rotten42

I'm not as much pissed about the engine going as I am that I won't have my car for another 2 weeks. I love the car. I have a trip thru the mountains in British Columbia planned for nect week and I was looking forawrd to some of the twisty roads near Golden....tight, narrow turns on a grade...lots of fun!!

Mazda Canada seems to have the same policy .

ezrider55

So make them give you an RX 8 as a loaner. :D

rotten42

Ya, wouldn't that be nice!.....I don't think I'll hold my breath. They are going to replace the Cavalier I'm driving now with a Mazda 3. That's ok with me because its a fun little car....not the same as the 8 but not horrible either.

Mr M

So now you can thrash the life out of the Mazda3 on your trip and not worry about the consequences! Perfect!! Vent your frustration on that pitiful Mazda3 brother !(or sister...)

RotaMotion

Quote:

Originally Posted by rotten42

I received a call back from the dealer and they have ordered me a new engine. The old one is being shipped back to mazda. They want to rip it apart. I won't have the details until Monday but they said it had to do with one of the rotors knocking?

Tell them the engine will be lonely if it isn't shipped from Japan with a J-Spec PCU--don't want to break up the family :D

rotten42

On the bright side the Mazda 3 will hold more beer than my RX8. A bunch of my buddies are doing the househboat thing for our 40th birthday. We thought we'd set up the band on the boat and see how much beer we could consume over the course of the long weekend....Actually, I can also fit more Guitar equipment in the 3 also.

I wondr if I can get the Mazda 3 to rev to 8500rpm? :D

Mr M

That's the spirirt!! (pun definitely intended)

Don't mix alcohol and cars or boats (moving boats) though. We want to see you around a while longer on this forum!

rotten42

I got my Mazda 3 rental today. I also had to drop by the dealer to retreive my cd's still in the player. It took me about 10 minutes to do that. I just sat in the drivers seat gripping the wheel.....tears running down my face

...must....drink.....beer!

rotten42

Well I have more news:

1) I was rear ended in my Mazda 3 rental car. My son is ok but my back feels like crap. So now they put me into a Mitsubishi Outlander SUV. (Oh the shame ) What is this vehicle for anyway? It doesn't have 4 wheel drive; it doesn't carry much cargo and it gets worse gas mileage trhn an RX8 with a "K" flash.

Anyway my new engine is being installed and should be ready on Friday. They still can't tell me exactly what was wrong with it but afer the oil sample and a bunch of other tests came back they conculded that one of the rotors failed.

I can't wait to get it back, it feels like I'm buying the car new all over again. I admit it...I am hooked in the RX cult. :D

Mr M

Good to hear you got out of that accident safely.
Your 8 really will be better than new. Those engines are hand built, and with all the improvements made to them in the last year I'm sure you will have many years of happy driving ahead of you - if you don't get rear-ended again!

Have fun.

rotten42

Well I finally got my car back with the new engine installed. I had forgotten what a great looking car the RX8 is!

They are sending the engine back toi Japan, but by the oil sample taken it appears that a bearing went in the engine....man, it feels like Christmas now that I got it back.

Mr M

Yaaaaaaaaay!!!!

Rx867Camaro

Congrads on getting your car back. Hope everything runs smoothly from now on.

rotten42

Its running very well. I could tell right away that this engine was different from the last one. The new engine is smoother at idle...revs much freer than the previous one and has less of that "George Jetson Flying saucer sound" at idle. (A friends description, not mine - I think he was refering to that machine noise it has)


Interestingly, I asked the dealer for their opinion on breakin and they said none is needed. To be on the safe side I'm going to go easy on it. No full power bursts - no redlines - I am going to keep it under 500rpm for the first while. I thought I might try for 4000rpm but found that that is impossible.

...I can't beleive how many women look over the car when you drive it.....it can't be me, my wife tells me I'm too ugly! :D