Rx8 Check Engine Light
 

Just to share, esp those of u who wanna buy a PI '8' that's about 2 years old.
Gotta "Check eng light" months ago, managed to find a garage to diagnose it, and found that it was the O2 sensor problem. Fixed it for $500+++

Then, the light came on again 3 months later! Damn pissed but went back to the same workshop only to find that they couldn't diagnose it. i went to a total of 3 workshops all round town and each came up with the same answer... No joy.

finally found a workshop that could service it and it was an ignition coil prob that cost me $850!

anyways, to cut long story short. the 8 seems to have some problems, rather 3 main ones.
1) o2 sensor (costs around $500+++ for me)
2) Ignition coil (cost me $850 when i finally could find a garage)
3) Some steering column electronic problem (which i have not experienced yet)

anyways, just to share that if u r going to buy one PI that's gone abt 45,000km. do be prepared to have these costs added in.

still, It's worth it!

is yours a auto or manual. could you share which garage which helped you solved the problem,

manual 6 spd. Garage R managed to solve the problem! :)

How many kms have you done with your 8? I have 13k kms on mine. When did it start to give you problems?

Also, I think we may need to add the engine mounts to your list too. (but without CEL lights)

mechanic reckoned that out of 100 cars he saw, 60 would have at least one of these problems from abouty 45,000km onwards. which was what happened to mine anyways,.

02sensor at around 45k, ignition coil at around 49k

Quite unusual. Cars and its parts should last at least 60k kms / 3 years. That should be the mean time before failure manufacturers calculate exposure to warranty claims and such.

But this also does not mean confirm will not have problems before then, there are always exceptional cases especially with higher performance vehicles.

Maybe it the heat or the way a person maintains the car, drives the car, etc?

changing 4 coil yourself will cost u only $357 inc GST, Rear O2 sensor is around $230 inc GST + another $10 to ask ManExh to put it in for u. Still wondering why G.R. have not apply to get themselve listed on the SGX with that over 100% profit they earned on most car. Most 8 will have e rear O2 sensor & coils problems after 2 yrs

Their prices is high compared to other workshops. But they can do things other workshops cannot do and maybe do it better.

What i really don't like is they never list prices and quote off-hand; not a very honourable way of conducting business.

Seems plausible that the o2 and coil will run into problems around 2 years. High performance car in hot weather and lots of city driving.

wat about the steering problem....wat is the actual problem?

I think we should have a useful thread that gives us solutions to problems and when (mileage-wise) we can expect to have them. The best contributors will be those guys who have had the 8 for a while now like what Roulette or tems900 suggested and in addition to his suggestion of GarageR's IPO. :anger:

850 for ignition coil!!!! Garage R making a handsome profit

did you explore the possibility that the light is on because your gas cap is not fully closed?

yes, it's unbelievable man. they broke it down to $250 for diagnostics, and the rest for parts and gst... oh well. least it was fixed.

roulette, i hav the same problem about ignition coil, the mazda service centre want me to buy a new computer to my 8..

what should i do?

Just get a new ignition coil, not expensive actually..... What do you mean get a new computer??

get a new computer? that doesnt sound right to me. Would recommend u change ur ignition coil first. (ensure that that is the correct problem, u can get the mechanic to show u the error readout on their diagnostic computer)

If the check eng light goes out after that, then u shouldnt need a computer. If ur service centre still insists on it, ask for a second opinion. :)

HI guys,

Am drivin a 4AT. Had the engine check light problem too. CHanged my ignition coils and no problems after. Infact noticed the response was better after. Apparently this is a common problem.

DAVE

Hi guys,

I have my CEL came on yesterday. On another thread where started up by 'three2eight' who solved his eventually by just revving hard while the car is on still. I've not try that, will do so later.

Anyway, I have a few questions, please do chip in if you have these experiences/knowledges:

O2 sensor
Does anyone here experiences drop of mileage with CEL due to the 02 sensor? My mileage drops a little the last few tanks, and it went down almost 40k on the last tank when the light came on. Not sure is it due to more city/slow driving with the past tanks.

Ignition coils
I'm not very sure how this particular parts work... do share with me if you know. Is there any form of experience one would feel with a faulty ignition coils? cos i dont feel any different at all with the CEL coming on.

Thanks

bro, the CEL came out can have many many faults.... best is to get it diagnosed to have a more accurate analysis. Can be either one of the O2 sensor, can be ignition coil of cos, can be air intake, can be some socket came loose, can be many many things...

to pinpoint where the fault lies, u need to plug in the diagnostic tool to noe...

Cel
 

M-ster,

I have experienced all of the above. You cannot tell by feel. The only way to tell is e-diagnostic. Sometimes it may be multiple problems turning on the CEL at the same time. GR and MG are both capable of diagnosing and fixing.

Some thoughts :

O2 sensor. Once I left the CEL on for weeks refusing to spend on replacing O2 sensors front and back (again). I experienced poorer fuel consumption, and stronger petrol smell at warmup. I reckon the ECU will be off a little in measuring the optimum amount of fuel when one or both of the O2 sensors are faulty. Eventually replaced at next service. CEL off. Consumption back to normal.

Ignition coil. I thought I knew a lot about cars. I was out of date on coils, never knew they now come in individual coils per spark plug. No more single large coil with mechanical distributor. Timing must have gone electronic I reckon. Great idea. You may think that may save you $ as in separate coil replacement. Really depends on the condition. Likely all 4 are about the same age and state of deterioration and wear that you should replace all. A little like tyres - for heavens sake replace all at the same time !

Hpoe this helps.

-Ringer-

Coupe07, thanks bro. MG do have e-diagnostic rite?

Thanks Ringer, haven't seen you for a while! Thanks for sharing your experiences.
My guess is that it could be the 02 sensor that's failing on me. I didn't know there were 2 units of it though.
Anyway, will try and get the car diagnosted.
Thanks

You guys might want to invest in a scangauge II or something like that. Had a CEL in the middle of the expressway yesterday and car totally lost power - thank god for the instant diagnostics of my scangauge - allowed me to pinpoint exactly what the problem was, fixed it, and zoomed off.

Well worth the few hundred bucks i paid

where to get that thing ah gfoo?

do a search trav, someone here is selling i think

the diagnostic tool is available...