So I went to the local dealership this morning, Mazda of Great Neck (not the one I purchased the car from) to drop my car off for the recalls. In addition to the recalls, I also mentioned to them about checking for the rubber plugs that are supposed to go into the holes on the frame rail under the car, since I did not see them when I looked under my car. The guy had no clue what I was talking about. So then I proceeded to ask him about the PCM Calibration, and he looked at me like I was from Mars. I mentioned the TSB about the hard starts and flooding and he denied any existence of such. He was telling me that the reason people flood their engines is because they don't know how to start the car. At that point I was sure this guy was full of sh*t, so I just gave up because it was obviously pointless. I should have expected this beforehand and printed out the TSB.

Has anyone had any luck getting them to flash the PCM? Can anyone recommend a better service department that actually makes it seem that they're concerned about customer complaints? I originally was going to bring it in to Wantagh Mazda where I bought the car from, but I could not work out anything with them to fit into my schedule.

My only concern now is them breaking the glovebox damper, I'll be sure to check that when I pickup the car.

 

Manhattan Mazda said they couldnt doenload the flash- it wasn't on Mazda's site. I even took them the TSB's- they really dont know their product.

 

That really sucks... Do you plan on trying some other dealerships around here?

On a brighter note, I picked up my car the same day and everything seemed to have been done right. My glovebox damper wasn't broken and they installed the rubber plugs under my car. There's still some slight noises coming from the transmission with the clutch engaged and in neutral, but it doesn't seem as loud as before so I guess those are just normal.

 

Clair Mazda in Saco,Maine knew EXACTLY what I was talking about an hour ago when I went in to make an appointment for the L reflash,and said they'd be happy to make sure the whole deal was up-to-date....and check wether anything else was available to update/upgrade my new 8 while they're at it....
They'll be adding the mp3 module,clear markers,and fr splash gds for me,so I'll take a loaner to the mall while they're tightening it all up for me.
This dealership's BY FAR the finest that I've ever dealt with....and
I sold cars,back in the day....so I'm not blithe to the "we don't know what you're talking about"//stonewall bullsh*t that some dealers toss....but not at Claire.
Go to this link:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ocs/index.html
and print the 3/
and get this:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com.../01-011-04.htm

Tell them your 8's starting rough,and bring a copy of this to the dealership....if they don't comply,threaten to call Mazda's coporate offices-the one/two thing dealers fear most is low marks on quality surveys and home-office complaints about their shortcomings.

Kill 'em with kindness,and if that doesn't work....go at 'em with a vengeance.

 

have u tried contacting wantagh mazda i am gonna take my car there when i get off my lazy *** to get this recall fixed

 

Thanks for the info Preacher I think I will have to just print all that stuff out and say I'm having problems with the car.

Shocka I am going to wait a little bit before I contact Wantagh Mazda. Can't deal with getting rejected so many times in such a short period... :D Let me know how it works out for you if you happen to stop by them first...

 

Did you go into the Mazda of Great Neck service center place like I did? And let me guess who you talked to, some ******** with an attitude + an accent, I couldnt tell where it was from but he wasnt born in the US right? The guy is a complete *****, you know what works? EMBARESS HIM OUT OF HIS MIND.... Let him turn purple from embaressment, because when there are people around and you start talking about his attitude to the people in the waiting room a lot more gets done, and make sure he knows that you want to talk to his supervisor about how big of an *** he really is, and dont be afraid to cuss him out either, he thinks he is the big bad wolf of GN Mazda... The sales people may be nice, but the service there (once your car is purchased) is another topic.... Also ask him to bring one of the two RX-8 techs to speak to you so they explain to his ignorant *** what your talking about... Of course whenever you bring any of these things up and tell him how you heard from reliable sources that the L flash will make the MPG of the car better, he will proceed to tell you (the desk guy) that you have no idea what you are talking about and read it on the internet... lol... I told him, hey ******** at least i know how to use the internet you ignorant *****....

it worked for me
lol

 

I bought my car from great neck and im never going back . The sales people werent helpful during the pre-order group and i could imagine how bad the service dept is.

 

dam man im glad i went to wantagh mazda.. even if something goes wrong the people are so nice its comforting. even when they are trying to rip my off for a dam alarm!! but its ok cuz their nice while they try to steal my money!

 

jniamehr, yeah I think that is the same guy.. you're right, you can't be nice to him.. If I end up there again next time I'm definitely not going to hold back...
I was almost going to purchase my car at Great Neck also, but they did not have the one I wanted in stock and Wantagh did so I just got it from there, the salesguy I got it from was great, but of course I let him know beforehand that I wasn't going to take any bullshit...
I haven't had any experience w/ their service dept. yet but I plan on going there to get flashed if I can work into their schedule... hopefully they're more knowledgeable/accomodating...

 

Hey Guys,
I live in NY and I got the "L" flash done.
I have just purchased my 8 from Wayne Mazda in NJ. Before I signed anything I went to a few garages in the area to compare. I checked out Wantagh, Manhattan and Great Neck. After having serious problems at Manhattan and some blank faces at Great Neck I ended up purchasing my 8 from Wayne in NJ. It is a 45 min drive for me but there's certain things I wanted done, the L flash being one of them and the service guy new exactly what I was talking about and did it in 5 mins without any preaching to me about how not to flood it. Having said that the sales guy had no idea what I was talking about!!
Anyways I have lots of accessories I've put on and I will be posting them soon,
Hope I have been helpful

 

Yes, I think Im going to go to Wantagh for my recalls etc as well, Im going to go and get the L reflash from them

 

Congrats on the purchase XELLR8. Do you plan on taking it back to Wayne for future service?

jniamehr, what did you bring your car in for at Great Neck? Let me know how Wantagh goes...

 

errrrr i just called wantagh mazda and wanted to make an appt for the recalls i got an answering machine

i thinkima drive over there... hey gives me a reason to drive the 8 huh

 

I just bought my 8 March 25th from Adzam Mazda in Bedford Hills and the service guys are really friendly. Not especially knowledgeable service writers but the tech is pretty good. After joining this forum I went in to the service department with the TSB for the L flash and told them my car was "difficult" to start in the morning and they flashed the car while I waited.

 

Supposedly all RX-8s are now required to receive the latest "M" Flash whenever they are brought in to the dealer for any repair or maintenance, which should be good news to us all!

 

I'm picking up my new RX-8 this week and specifically asked them to apply the lastest ECU flash. I'll let you know if they do it.