Hello,

I'm a new Mazda RX-8 owner and I'm also new to the rotary life style.

Last night 10/07/2017 I purchased a Manual 2004 Red Mazda RX-8 with 89,000 miles. I'm the 5th owner and is a clean title vehicle with services done up-to-date according to Carfax VIN history. The car does have 2 open recalls that have not been completed. I am wondering if Mazda is still addressing these recalls since I want to get them completed.

Recalls; 1017E & 1117E.

The car is also giving me code P0302, I made research before purchasing the vehicle and it seems to be a common problem in the RX-8 world. So I figured is an easy fix, car does have rough idle most of the time - vibrating.
And also me A/C comes and goes, meaning I get really cold A/C and then it blasts with warm/hot air and back again. Other than that, I don't see any problems with the car.

I do have plans on purchasing a new bumper since the one it has has a crack and left fog light bezel is broken. I also have plans on purchasing new headlights since these lens are ugly yellow.

I'm located in South Florida, I really want to take the car to a shop and do a check up to see what's bad and what not.. I'll appreciate tips and hints to help extend the life of my new purchased RX-8.

Thank you.

 

Did you get a compression test? Did you get it from a dealer or private sale? If you got it from a dealer get a rotary compression test right away, if it fails you might still be able to return the car.

The code is from a misfire, if it isn't taken care of quickly it can damage the engine and require a rebuild/engine replacement. It might already be too late. The compression test will tell you.

 

I bought the car from a private seller.. Yesterday I had a mechanic took a look at it and he got under the car and checker the spark plugs. He said one of them was "loosen". So he took it out and put it back in right, the CEL was gone.. But shorty after the day it came back on..

I'm also having issues with the A/C going out cold and coming in hot air.

 

First things to check when buying an RX8: ignition coils, spark plugs and wires, catalytic converter, compression. It's a lot better to find a rotary specialist than trust random mechanics who haven't seen one before.

If the car is showing symptoms, that's extra reason to get those looked at. Usually you want to test compression before purchase, but now that you have it, get on that ignition. Dead coils kill engines. Did the previous owner have anything to say about the CEL or other maintenance he had done?

 

Previous owner said "The check engine light is the second cylinder misfire, but I haven't fix it because the car still runs and it doesn't worry me".
But that's not my case! It worries me.. I'm thinking it could be the spark plugs, yesterday the mechanic played around with the spark plugs and the CEL disappeared, but later that day it came back on.
Turbo Clinic is a rotary shop here in Miami and they specialize with RX-8s. I want to take my RX-8 there to do a full inspection to see what needs to be replaced or whatnot.

 

Previous owner wasn't worried about the CEL.
Turbo Clinic is a Rotary shop here in Miami. I'm planning to take my RX-8 there to do a full check up.
My mechanic yesterday was playing around with the spark plugs. The CEL went away but it came back later that day.

 

Welcome to the madness! Get ready to empty your wallet lol Kidding

P0302 is a rotor #2 misfire, try cleaning the code after your tune up and see if it persists. You can OHM out your plug wires with a multi meter to see if they need replaced. There are multiple ways to check your coils. As for the plugs, a visual inspection is the first step.