I've not had any bad experiences at Walser with my '8. However, I've also never had them do ANYTHING with the wheels, brakes, tires, etc. I won't let them near the rims!

I learned a long time ago that you have to find a good wheel shop to do even the most basic thinks with rims you are about.. or you have to do it yourself..

So far I've had them fix a number of problems, including a dent removal.. Both interior and exterior and it's been done well.

Last time I was there was last summer.. the window molding -- the plastic at the base of the glass on both the driver and passenger side -- was cracking.. they replaced both sides [not under warranty] for $75, that included labor and part cost...

Morries is the other dealer I've heard good things about, but they're on the wrong side of the cities when you live in the Apple Valley area. (I don't know anything good or bad about any other local Mazda dealers...)

I've done all the warranty work for my mazda5 at walser. I also had them do some stuff on my last miata. I think they are "ok"- I've not had a really bad experience nor a really good experience.

I just needed some suspension stuff looked at so I ended up going to AutoMax, a local husband/wife shop. I still have my eye out for a local shop with solid rotary experience for future work..

this diy is awesome i had the same problem... damn heater...

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-no-heat-repair-heater-control-158200/

wow... what you should do next time is take the video the day of and talk to someone in there and have them state the date, make sure its uncut from the rims to you walking in the place...

and i can see the "set up" part from them...fiddle with some settings on the camera and blah blah... but a place you trust to bring your car shouldnt do that..

the few times i brought my car in to walser of Burnsville(not sure if there are others) they seemed like normal people to me..

correct me if im wrong, but cant you bring it somewhere else and just have that shop send walser the bill?? I know they let you do that with thier oil change program, not sure about the warranty..

Anyone in the Twin Cities area have a compression tester for the rotary? I am not having any obvious symptoms, just want to see how my 40k old engine is doing? (I got the car at the end of Oct.) Thanks!

Ya, I kind of wanted to get this tested on mine too. Better safe than sorry, IMO.

I talked to Walser and they will do it for $160.

Courtney Truck Service tested mine in '08. Mike has prior experience with race rotaries. They could tell it was obviously low, which was enough of a reason to take it to the dealership and have them "officially" test and replace under warranty.

Was it running strange when you brought it in, or did you just test it for the heck of it? Just curious.

Puked out some white smoke on 2 occasions. But otherwise started and ran seemingly fine. Took it in because it had 59,900 miles, and at the time I wanted to have it checked before the warranty expired. Coincidentally, Mazda's announcement about extending the core warranty to 100k came out the week it was in the shop.

I have a compression tester. To make it compatible with a rotary, you just need to remove the stem core to allow it to bounce for each corner.

If it is weak on any of the three you will see the difference.

Generally if there is one weak corner it is a apex seal.

If there are two weak corners then it is likely a side seal that is cracked.

If you still need to test it PM me.

Well looks like I will be getting mine tested sooner rather than later. My engine died tonight with a clunk clunk (while driving). It won't start either, if it gets to where it wants to start.. clunk and then nothing.

I had the car towed to Walser (closest dealership). They were closed by the time I got there but I talked with them and they are going have a look in the morning and let me know what's going on.

<SIGH> I sure hope it's something the warranty will cover...

Ouch, sorry to hear that. Do you know any history on the car? If not, I got the Maxda Warranty history from the Burnsville dealership - nice to know when recalls were done. Turned out that was the place mine was worked on, so they also had their dealer records there too. Please let us know how this works out.

Walser said it's a compression issue. They are still working with MazdaUSA on the details- they have to send a bunch of tests over etc. I'm assuming everything is going to go through ok and I'll end up with a new engine, but haven't heard the final word yet.

I don't know much about the car's history, but it's in fantastic shape and seems to have been very well maintained. The dealer had a number of records on file for warranty work etc done by the initial owner. Plus all the aftermarket work was "Authorized" and done at a dealership, so that will not void the warranty.

Wow. 2010 is starting great. Sorry to hear Groo.

I have had just those minor issues, not fixed yet. Unfortunately in Nov I moved from a Townhome with Garage and now in an apartment with no space to work :crying:

Basically I need to do what JD said with my climate control, with the soldering and such. Tail light now has condensation in driver side. And now I believe my MAF may have condensation from that weird rain storm in Jan. Car seems to loose power at high RPMs (6000+) I have had water log before and seems to feel like that.

All are easy fixes, but I wish I had my garage back :anger: or summer.

But apparently Hankook Winter tires can go through deep snow better than a 2 Ton Truck. :rofl:

Well when it gets warm again we all need to get together again.

Mazda denied my warranty claim because I don't have oil change records.

I've been contacting previous owners, and I have records of at least 5 to send them now (according to the manual, there should be 4 done by 33k miles. So hopefully they will accept that. If it comes down to it, I'll phone-a-friend and see what legal recourse I might have to pursue the claim.

Ouch, well if it comes to it.. I've got the DIY-RE 13B videos. We could attempt a rebuild party.. ;)

I now have 10 documented oil changes. I can't believe the hassle and hoops they make you jump through. I still don't have a decision from them yet. I will definitely be looking for a lawyer if they deny the claim. :-(

groo - how did it go with the replacement?

Hey, Sorry that this is a little delayed buttt. I will be celebrating my 18th birthday tomorrow at Treasure Island in Red Wing if anyone would like to join me. I will prolly be there around noonish.

Thanks,

GerryE

The warranty claim went through. The engine is on order though, I may have it back by next Friday. Although I'm saving my excitement until I get my car keys back with a new engine in it

Hey, congrats on 18!! :-)

Congrats!! Are you going to do anything like a Sohn for the new motor? I am thinking about it.

After all the reading I've done, this is really the only post-factory solution for lubrication that makes any sense to me. I would definitely consider it, but I would have to find a good solution for the install- I'm not really up for a bail wire and duct tape install for my brand new engine.

Has Mazda ever said anything about replacing the OMP and using 2 stroke oil? I'm also leery of doing anything at this point that might void out the engine warranty.

The warranty is why I am concerned also. I have till June 2012 (I would not hit 100K before then). I would at least premix to have enough oil in more places. Did you have any history on the car you bought? Mine sounds similar (bought 2004 with 33k; at 40 now). It'd be nice to do some comparisons - even have you drive mine to see if it pulls silimar to what yours did before you had to have it fixed.

Glad to hear your diligence paid off with the warranty being approved. My re-man'd engine has been holding strong for the last two years. In case you haven't already, confirm with the dealership that the car has the latest PCM flash. Oil metering has been increased since your original engine was put into service.
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...13-08-1925.pdf

The only "post-op" issue I had was a small leak from the oil pan RTV gasket. I eventually re-sealed it. Looked like the tech who did the re-man assembly probably just slid the pan enough to wipe off the RTV in one spot.