SymSym

Noted that over the past few months the car has not been revving out as cleanly as it should. STill able to get to 9k but not as clean. Also began to burn a bit more fuel than normal Last week car began to run roughly and lacking power. Stopped. TUrned off for a few minutes and restarted and all was ok.
Had my 70000k service today and asked them to check the coils as they are a known weak link in the car. Dealer (John Newell) found the coils to be not up to spec and are replacing under warranty. It seems taht the coils are only good for about 50-60k. My advice is to get them checked if you are under warranty and if not buy them from the USA and have them fitted. Poor coils with a poor spark can cause massive problems for our engines and for the catalytic converter.

shaunv74

Yup. There are also two aftermarket replacement solutions. One from Mazsport and one from Charles R. Hill.

I have the mazsport coils and love them!

rotalution

I just changed my coil yesterday @ 48,888 KMs

the car idles like a dream and rev like no tomorrow.. ... some different you can feel. Might upload some pictures soon, the Leading has significantly more white marks behind coil compare to trailing ~

takahashi

Everytime changing ignition component I get better engine response... is that a real weak point of Renesis?

I have a set that I should put in now!

erx8s

Definetely a weak point , changing ignition coils INITIALLY gives you a power peak but unfortunately it doesnt seem to last , has anyone else found this to be true ?, i may try the US Mazsport ignition system later if i keep the RX8 .

Cheers
Michael

Revolver

Having gone through coils, plugs, leads, starter motor and battery all before hitting 40K, I've been carping for a while that the ignition system is a weak point of the Renesis design.

I wonder if Mazda considered addressing it when releasing the udated model?

labrat

Gotta problem. Just started the car, only seems to be running on one rotor. Scared to drive it out of the garage. I had the car serviced two days ago (82k for the 90k service), ran perfectly yesterday without any missing or loss of power (in fact, ran like it always does). Bugger, it's Saturday. Waiting for the RACQ, but with my luck, it'll be a tow to the dealers on Monday. Any ideas? Plug(s), coils(s), lead(s)?

shaunv74

Here are two threads on aftermarket options that won't need replacing at 40K kms

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-major-horsepower-upgrades-93/mazsport-ignition-solution-134081/
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aftermarket-performance-modifications-23/bhrs-ignition-system-offerings-145128/

erx8s

Classic case of ignition coil failure my front rotor died as well , the ******** at Mazda said that i needed to rebuild my entire engine after ordering my coils in the US for a grand total of $160.00 it cost me another $40.00 for installation .
In total a $200.00 Fix .(With the strong Aussie dollar it should come in even cheaper )

Revolver

Labby,

If you're out of warranty DO NOT get the coils though your dealer - they will charge you an arm and a leg for them. Order them from the US as Michael, myself and others have done.

If you need them urgently I have a spare set I can mail to you on your agreement to replace them once your order comes in from the States. Recommend everyone out there orders them and sticks them on the shelf for when the inevtiable occurs.

Of course you can also go the aftermarket ignition kit route as in the threads above.

takahashi

Revolver's set will be at your place in one business day.

Online mazda parts .com has it within a week normally.

Jaycee

I had the same problem as Labrat about six months ago. I took the car to my dealer (Eurocars in Artarmon). They diagnosed the problem as the coils and replaced them. MA picked up 80% of the cost (even though I'm out of warrenty). According to the deal MA said it should have failed at this mileage (around 70K), so they were willing to absorb most of the cost.

It seemed like a good outcome to me

Revolver

Ahh, nice to see stealerships being so consistent...NOT!

That very same service centre charged me full whack and were most unco-operative about waiting for me to get parts in from the States. Cured me from ever taking my car to a dealer for service again. *********.

enforcer

That very same dealership screwed me over when they lost my mats, and then caused me no end of grief by accusing me of not paying them the money. I then had to launch my own bank investigation to prove I put the monies straight in their account. Despite this proof they still didn't believe me!!!

After then sending my goods to Melbourne and taking 15 days to get to me, I did the right thing and edited out the **** in the appropriate thread to make them look good, and also gave them positive feedback. They then leave ME negative comments which affected my 100% ebay rating.....am I bitter and twisted?.....you bet I f%cken am.

Just when you thought people couldn't get any lower some ***** comes up and trumps them....and they're from fricken Mazda. Not only that but I got treated like **** over a set of bloody RX8 mats, so beware when buying from them on Ebay.

Anyhow, back on topic Michael is right. The US dollar has never been any better and you can get the job done locally. On top of that you won't cop any **** and it will take less than 2 weeks to get to you.....good luck.

matt13b

My car is at Eurocars Artarmon right now getting serviced and Ipod thing installed(no I can't even do that myself)..Havn't been impressed with them over last year or so but it's a bloody long way to walk home from the next closest Mazda place(car is still in warranty).

labrat

Got a call from the dealer an hour ago. Seems like it isn't the coils. It is either the O2 sensor ($800) and/or the ECU (~$1200). I'm not jumping up and down about cost relief just yet until the problem is finally fixed. I don't know if they have to get the parts from Melbourne, and if so, it will be a couple of days before this pans out. Don't they keep anything in stock in Brisbane?

I'll probably go ahead and order some coils from the USA anyway, since with my luck, they'll be next to blow.

BTW, apropos coils - the RACQ guy who came out on Saturday said that he had seen a few RX-8's, mainly with oil levels so low you couldn't see them, but no coils. Audis however (he said) are a different matter - you should keep a couple of sets in the boot at all times with Audis. This was confirmed by a mechanic I was talking to yesterday at a BBQ at my daughter's place. He refers to Audi, BMW, and VW as "Euro trash", and said that Audis and VW's were bad on coils. Hi shop does work for dealerships all over the Sunshine Coast, so he able to compare and contrast. For what it's worth.

Revolver

Keep us posted on what the final diagnosis is Labby.

Jaycee

Come on, give the dealer a break. It's MA who decides whether a repair is under warranty or not - especially if it's out of the normal warranty period as mine was. And it's MA who sets the price of parts. I've been using these guys to service my various Mazdas for around 10 years and I've always had good service.

enforcer

You can count yourself lucky Jaycee because I can cite several instances where warranty has been accepted or declined just on the say so of the dealership.

Theres not a lot of consitency out there because there are people getting shafted both inside warranty, and conversely getting looked after outside it.

Mazda provide the RRP and the policy, but at the end of the day it all comes down to the bloke across the counter and his or her Service manager. Like I said, you're very lucky because far as I'm concerned they don't rate....

enforcer

Jaycee, you've also just got to ring around to see the price variations and what they can and can't do for someone. We are very fortunate that we have people on this forum who can provide an acute insight into issues before they happen.

Mazda also moderates these posts (probably more than the moderators) and we can only hope they are listening to this so they can take on board some of the issues raised....

Revolver

Oh, the poor little dealers! Are you kidding me!

Even assuming you're correct (and I know they have discretion in some matters, not to mention the ability to co-operate with their customers, if they choose to do so), these tools promised to follow up my problem with Mazda Australia (no doubt to shut me up and get me to pay up). Result? Not a damn thing heard since. Not even to tell me that MA had said no! Good service? Don't think so.

After my last service at Crookie I sent a lengthy email of complaint. Result? Not a damn thing heard since. Being treated with contempt or just plain ignored does nothing for my satisfaction levels.

Mazda's dealers simply do not provide the specialised service and support this particular model needs, especially given the common problems experienced with ignition. They'd much prefer to fleece the owners of 3's and 6's and leave us to either pay through the nose for overpriced parts and service or go elsewhere. So I've voted with my feet.

labrat

I ppreface these remarks by saying that my dealer hasn't yet contacted me with the final diagnosis on fixing my car and what it's going to cost. Yesterday, I was talking to a colleague who has in his words "just a Holden". He said his dealer offered him (and he accepted) an extended warranty out to 6 years if he undertook to have all servicing done there.

I get the impression that the whole thing about warranties and repair costs is very much a moveable feast. My opinion is that loyalty in the mercantile world is a commodity to be bought and sold. If you don't think that MA or your dealer doesn't put sufficient value on your loyalty, then you should go elsewhere.

I'll keep you all posted on my experience.

enforcer

Very true Labrat, its every man (and woman) to fend for themselves these days. Strategic management expects their own companies to improve customer relations, which will then increase the loyalty base of customers. But when things turn to ****, 9/10 they don't back up the customer...

It sounds like you've got a reminder call coming up yourself...good luck with the car mate.

Revolver

Agreed. I've got zero brand loyalty to Mazda and think even less of its aftersales servicing. The only reason there's two Mazdas parked at home is because they happen to be the best fit for my current needs and budget. As soon as this little black duck can afford to move up, it'll be bye bye Mazda.

enforcer

Jaycee we can see you're a loyal Mazda customer and the reason why you're sticking with them. I hope it dosen't happen but when the day comes you get shafted remember this conversation....