Bornnatural

I have an 04 Mazda rx8 and I'm having a lot of issues. I took it to Mazda only to pay over $2000 and it come back the same. I have a run down of issues heat nor defrost work so no driving in the rain. My power steering comes and goes after Mazda said it was fine. The biggest issue is stalling. She stalls at red lights when I'm putting her in reverse. Any time the RPMs drop she stalls. Help!!! I love this car and will keep upgrading forever if I can. I don't want to park her. Thanks for reading

UnknownJinX

For the heat issue, there are some DIYs on the forum that walks through a fix for it. I believe it has something to do with broken solders. You just need to resolder the wires.

As for the power steering, the main culprit is usually the 2 connectors for them under the intake tray. Get the airbox and the tray out of the way, disconnect the connectors, and spray them with some electronic cleaner and that usually helps. Also, reroute the coolant overflow rubber tube - in stock position, it will spray coolant onto the connectors and cause poor connections.

Stalling will need more information. Could be vacuum leak or compression problems off the top of my head. Automatic or manual? Do you have trouble starting the car when it's warmed up?

Bornnatural

It's automatic with the option to drive in manual.(switching gears without a clutch) .. it stalls when I stop at a light or stop sign and also when switching into reverse. Because of the warm up time after it stalls I have to wait 15-20 mins to get it to start again. Which sucks in high traffic times. When I'm driving and I approach a stop I have to throw it in neutral before hitting the brakes and while stopped I have to remain in neutral while revving a bit until I can put it back in drive to move forward again.

UnknownJinX

So a few possibilities here.

If you drive the car hard, does it struggle at higher RPM? If so, that's a fuel pump problem, which would also match with the wait 15~20 minutes to start again symptom.

Have you ever performed a rotary-specific compression test before? Hot start problems could also be a sign of low compression. Your car will feel fine at higher RPM even with compression loss.

On top of these, you could also have a vacuum leak, which tends to cause idle stall issues. If you have access to an OBD2 reader capable of live data, a quick glance of LTFT will tell you. If you have something like +10% then that's a vacuum leak.

You can also try cleaning the MAF sensor with MAF cleaner.

What kind of intake do you have? If you don't know, upload a picture of it.

Also, if the transmission fluid has never been changed before, I would also recommend a change.

Ricky SE3P

iTrader: (10)

sounds like you need a rotary specific engine compression test, if there isn't someone in your area willing to help then you'd have to head back to Mazda to have them do that. Sounds like low compression, and if it is you will need to consider rebuilding the motor at a reputable rotary engine specialist (there is a list on this forum), replace it with a Mazda remanufactured engine, or part ways with the car.

If I were you I would get the compression test done before you go any further.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

What all did Mazda do and charge you $2000 for?
The first thing they should have done, given the symptoms, is check the compression health. This is in the shop manual.