I am looking for a RX-8 mechanic/expert in the GTA to help determine root cause of a low power issue with my '04. Can't be a dealer.

RMAC

 

Loss of power can be many things, but in complete seriousness, the people of this forum will be able to diagnose it more accurately than all but a handful of rotary shops on the continent.

I'd suggest that you describe what you are experiencing as precisely as possible, including how long since coil change, plug change, what RPM ranges you feel it at, what kind of mileage you are getting, how you drive it typically, etc...

 

^ +1 We need more info to help you dude.

 

^^^ +1
give us an in-depth description of what you are experiencing, exactly when does it happen, and we'll do our best to point you in the right direction.

I'm sure there are compotent mechanics in Ontario but we might be able to give you some advice since 'loss of power' has been discussed quite frequently on this forum

 

^ And save you some money

 

"can't be a dealer???"

 

if its low on power or bogging and running like hsit, check you cat..thats is all..

 

Thanks for the input. I kept it short, because my story is long and sad. The long and short of it is I need a new engine (low compression test by dealer proved that) and Mazda is not going to replace it for me even though it is still under warranty.

Here we go.

I am the 3rd owner of the 8. I bought it at 125,000 Kms. It now has 130,000 Kms.

I reported the loss of power issue to the dealer I am working with. They replaced the cat (under warranty). This did not fix the loss of power issue. The dealer then suggested I replace the coils and wires. While researching new coils and wires, I started a conversation with Charles at BHR. I was about to place my order with BHR when I thought I would share my story with Charles.

He suggested I get my Mazda dealer to test the compression. I did that and the test indicated that the second rotor produced results that were under spec. The dealer told me they were going to order me an engine. Then they came back to me and said I needed to provide proof that the previous owners followed the recommended maintenance schedule before they ordered the new engine.

I gave them what service order information I had and Mazda made the decision not to replace the engine under warranty based on the lack of service performed by the original owner.

Told you this was long.

I contacted APA (Automotive Protection Agency) and chatted with one of their lawyers. The lawyer indicated that I needed to build my case indicating that the engine failure is related to a manufacturers defect and not the lack of maintenance. Which it is well documented in this club and on the net that '04 and '05 8s do have an issue with engine failures regardless of the maintenance schedule followed.

Therefore I need expert testimonial that my engine failure is related to a manufacture's defect and hence my requirement for a Rx-8 engine expert.

APA has pointed me to Rotary Dynamics. I am going to talk to them next week. If there are others out there, I would like to talk to them as well.

RMAC14

 

RMAC14, which dealer did you use?
Railton

 

Ouch! This sucks dude.

If your dealer down there won't replace it under warranty I know a dealer who doesn't do this kind of bullshit. The only catch is you'd have to come up to Ottawa for it. Anyways PM me if you want more info.

 

Achilles Mazda in Acton.

Ottawa? Hmmm. You never know.

 

I would suggest you keep your fight up with Mazda. Mazda extended the warranty on those cars for a reason. Low compression is most likely not a result of maintenance issues, a burnt rotor bearing etc could be. pm me and I will give you some direction on how to proceed with your issue.

 

ya put up a bit of a fight. Usually they'll make an excuse as to why they cant waranty it and hope you buy it.

My engine gave out, wouldnt start and I tried changing coils/wires/plugs and they gave me a call and told me that since I had the plugs installed incorrectly they wouldn't warranty the engine. I got pretty pissed off and explained that I've installed sparkplugs before and know i didnt over tighten enough to crack the rotor housing. and that I would like to see the housing itself for proof. They called back a few hours later saying they would warranty it haha.

 

I raised this question to the used car dealership where I bought my car and they indicated to me that even if they had the service history they couldn't release it to me because of Privacy Laws.

If this is the case how is anyone in our case ever able to get the service history for our vehicles when we buy them used? Am I, and all us other used RX-8 purchasers, doomed to the same fate if my engine fails - knock on wood?

 

And what if the dealer claims a duff Oil Metering Pump led to the downfall of the engine? OMP not covered under the main engine warranty.
Railton

 

I had that discussion many times with Mazda and it seems a way for them to save money. It is not reasonable that if you buy a used car you will have the service history with the car, however the warranty does state that you have to provide history to prove service has been done. Now if no one bought a used Mazda for that reason.........things may change. If you modify your car while under warranty that is your own decision and it clearly states that modifications will void your warranty, especially if you have modified the oil metering system.

 

It is very unlikely that an "expert" could help you.The situation you describe,ie loss of compression,is likely due to a stuck,worn or fractured seal--all of which could be caused by lack of regular maintenance,abuse or manufacturing defect.

The used car dealer sounds like a waste of space,but there are some ways you could try to establish the maintenance record----
a)try to track down previous owners --you can get the names from the sellers package.

b) get your dealer to give you a copy of the warranty history for the vehicle--this readily available to the service staff.

c)that history,if there is any,will tell you which dealer did the warranty work.you can then approach that dealer and have them check their maintenance records for your car.

 

I could be in the same boat as the OP, since I have no history for my vehicle. (I've yet to go to Mazda and run my VIN to see if it was serviced by a Mazda Dealership, but lets assume there are NO records.)

Would it help any future cases with engine replacements if I were to get a compression test done NOW to prove that it was in perfect working order?

I'll be honest, if I realized that Mazda was going to be THAT sticky about replacing engines I probably wouldn't have purchased my RX-8... It's certainly my ignorance that I could be in this situation, but hopefully we can help future owners and other current owners like the OP where we don't have the service history.

Thanks for taking the time to chime in on this topic,
Shawn

 

I was not implying that the OP had modified the OMP or anything else for that matter, I was simply asking the correct way to respond to the dealer if they stated that the reason for engine failure was a faulty OMP, even if no codes were thrown indicating it was faulty.
Railton

 

Well if you look at the 2009 RX8 with its higher capacity main oil pump and the additional oil injectors fed by the OMP you might conclude that lubrication is an issue with 2004-2008 RX8 engines(and the use of the recommended 5W20 oil does not help matters either).If you did you might be right and perhaps this is why Mazda extended the engine warranty.
The thing is not adhering to the scheduled maintenace program specified by Mazda could produce similar damage.

 

Sorry I miss understood your response. Like I said before its and easy escape from having to provide warranty. Hopefully enough people will take them to task on this policy and get the repairs done.

 

Sorry, guess I missed you response the first time. A dealer taking the "low road" would be unwaranted seeing as to how the engine block is covered to 160k and Mazda is picking up the bill. What would the dealer have to gain other than hitting the customer for a large bill and possibly turn the customer off Mazda for the next car buy?
Railton

 

Theh only issue a dealer would have would be if they replaced the engine under warranty and then the claim got charged back to them. Most would want to make sure it was pre-authorized before doing the repair or replacement.

 

After making lots of calls, I have found 2 Rotary engine shops that know there stuff.

Darryl at Rotary Dynamics. www.rotarydynamics.ca.

Dave at Mazdees. www.mazdees.ca

Both guys have been working on Rotary engines for a long time and know there stuff.

 

New Mazmark Auto. He built my 1 gen race car and al's racing engine for his 2 gen he knows alot about rotary's and better yet he knows about the rx8 not just the rx7. He's located near scarboro mazda