Engine light was on when I started her up. Checked the gas cap and it was loose so I fixed it. After I came back out to the parking lot I turned the car back on and both the oil light and the engine light were on. Had no choice but to I to work, but halfway there the oil light went off. After work they are both back on. There is still enough oil in the car. Any thoughts?

 

Well ahhh,
So like did you check the oil?

You need to get the code read at a PepBoys or AutoZone.

Until you do those two things, not much more can be said.

Except you shouldn't have drove it, you honestly couldn't afford to stop at a gas station and check the oil and buy some oil if required.

How many days of work will equal a new engine?

 

You do NOT want to run a rotary (or any engine for that matter) without enough oil in it...

Lack of oil in a rotary can/will result in spun bearings (all of them) possibly ruined irons and rotors (if the rotors collide with the irons as a result of crapped out bearings) and other nastiness of that nature...

Rotary engines consume oil as part of their self-lubrication process in the combustion chamber. They are designed this way. If you're new to rotaries than you MUST get in the habit of regularly checking, and refilling, your oil level...

 

Sorry gf's car (and we share this account). I'll make sure she has oil and we'll check it out at autozone tonight and get back with what the code it was


I try not to give her too much **** about it bc she doesn't know... Any of us would stop and check it obviously but she didn't tell me until she got home -___- aha yeah

 

Ouch
Yes please update us.

Thanks

 

Totally believable and understandable

My wife does **** like that fairly regularly... she drove around with a shredded serpentine belt in the miata for days before complaining about the ps and ac not working (thankfully no perminant damage there), she drove to and from work with the low coolant alarm going off on my 335i (cracked hose going to expansion tank, followed later by hole in the water pump housing) and didn't think to mention it...

Let her know that rebuilds start at about $3k, and the closest GOOD shop (Speed1) is about an hour past Harrisburg, PA... taking an extra moment here and there to check, spending the extra 10-20 cents on the right gas, etc., will pay off in the long run.

 

Cool, and unfortunately you guys can relate lol. I'll post tomorrow what happens when we check the oil level, more than likely add some, and maybe disconnect and reconnect the battery aha thanks

 

I would not disconnect the battery because this will erase the CEL. You need the CEL read and reported back to us so we know what the issue is and what to tell you.

 

P0455
Large vacuum leak? Intake and high flow cat have been on for a while? Anywhere specific I should look?
And it did need oil too... Hahaha

 

P0455 is one of the codes for the evaporative system. Usually just a loose or bad gas cap.

BTW - the oil light on this car indicates level, not pressure. Not great to drive with low oil, since you lose cooling, but as long as the oil pressure gauge did not drop you didn't do any damage.

Ken

 

I stressed how important keeping oil in the car is.
And she said she checked the gas cap? Any other things it could be I should check? Maybe the sensor?

 

Getting that code for anything other than the gas cap can be expensive. If you search this site for P0455 you'll get a rundown of everything it could be - but most of the time it's the gas cap. The seal can look good but still not seal.

There was a recall-like program for caps on the 8 and a bunch of other Mazdas of the same vintage. MSP-13. Since this is emission related, it may be a freebie if you're still within the emission warranty period. If not, I think a new cap from Mazda is maybe $15, and certainly less from a discount parts store. Does she have a birthday coming up?

Ken

 

Sweet, and no but Christmas is right? Thanks man. Can you recommend a off Mazda directly retail store to get it?

 

All of the finer purveyors of auto parts - Autozone, Advance Auto, Pep Boys, etc - should have it. Probably cheapest at Walmart, if they carry it.

Make sure you put it in a Tiffany box.

Ken

 

Call up Malloy Mazda (in Woodbridge, Va) and ask to speak with Ray Crowe, he's an old RX-7 guy and tends to have the best prices for anything OEM Mazda. I'm not sure if he runs discounts for RX-8 Club association, but I've been buying from him since I got my 7 about seven years ago. You CAN NOT beat his prices on genuine OEM parts (new, obviously).

His number is 703-490-5296.

 

It might not hurt to erase that code though and see if it pops up again... if it comes back then you'll know its probably moar then an untightened gas cap. If not than you'll have that $15-$20 to put towards your new "rain tax" MD's progressive leadership signed into action this year

(Don't mind me, I'm mildly drunk and post-whoring to gain... yeah)

 

I'll play with it today, unfortuanly I got it read at autozone and cannot clear it myself, well I mean, I'll disconnect the battery. Maybe play around with the seal, we'll see. Thanks much!!

 

I had that code pop up a couple of times with my original gas cap, and I could not see anything visually wrong with the cap. Popped up once after the MSP-13 replacement, but I think I was just careless about tightening it that one time.

In the long run you might consider getting a scanner so you don't have to run to Autozone every time a code pops up, and so you can clear them yourself. Check out Amazon - you'd be surprised at how little you need to spend for a basic one.

Ken