New to the Mazda scene
 

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Ok so here's the deal. I recently bought an 06' Mazda RX8 from a used car lot. All my previous cars have been hondas and acuras so you can say im new to this make and model. When i picked it up of course i paid no attention to the check engine light that was on but now it has me a little concerned. My daily commute of about an hour and a half over an about 8% incline hill is feeling like it's taking a toll on my car. I say this because of the fact that the code came back as a misfire for the CEL and last night my coolant level light came on. I live in about 95° weather so idk if that's the reason i had some leaking from the radiator cap or the obvious lag when getting to work or if it really is misfiring and causing real damage. I obviously want to get this fixed asap so anyone with a similar experience please help me out. I will add that when climbing the hill it doesn't go higher than 3/4 temp but like i said before im not used to this and want to take care of my car as much as possible. Thanks 👌

Search here, these are common issues. Start by reading the "New and Potential Owners" Thread in this section.

I cant find it... Any way u can share the url plz

Go to 'Forums'- 'General Topics'-
'New Member Forum'.

Misfires are usually caused by bad coils.
They are a known weak point, and it's recommended here that they be changed every 30k miles along with the wires & plugs.

They in turn can damage the catalytic converter, which can kill your engine.
It should be taken off and inspected to be sure it's not clogged or broken up.
Hesitation or stalling at high RPM is a classic symptom of a bad cat.

Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.

You can get decent aftermarket coils from Advance with a lifetime warranty, and use Internet discount coupons.
Avoid eBay coils, many are counterfeit.
If money is an issue, you can test the coils and just replace the faulty components.

The coolant issue also needs to be addressed ASAP.
Overheating a Renesis can also lead to a quick engine failure.
If you have an actual leak, it needs to be fixed, but the coolant sensor does fail causing the light to come on.
If it's full and not leaking, that could be the problem.
The whole tank has to be replaced, around $125 from Mazmart.
DON'T disconnect it, fix it.
It's very important as the factory temp gauge is borderline useless, and if you do get a leak, you probably won't notice until it's already overheating.
If you do fix it, be VERY careful getting the hose off the plastic radiator nipple.
They break easily, necessitating a radiator replacement.

If you have some mechanical aptitude, most of these things are easy to do.
The 8 is pretty easy to work on.:)
There are plenty of DIY threads here, and many of us would be glad to help walk you through it.

Just please do some research first before you start trying to fix it by changing parts.
You'll get a lot more help here if you make the effort to learn about the issues first.
Good luck!

Ok nevermind i found it and yes it's been very helpful

Thank you very much I've found all the information i was looking for so far and hopefully i can get these issues fixed asap

Did the coolant level low light come on or did the temp gauge move? Or both?

Don't drive the car if it's overheating. One bad overheat can kill this engine. If it's leaking from the cap, you need either a new coolant cap or a reservoir. Check to see the tabs on the reservoir neck are intact.

You need to fix that leak first. Then we can see if it's still overheating while climbing the hill.

I can't help with the CEL without the codes. Check the CEL codes. You can get a small Bluetooth OBD2 adapter and pair it with an android phone to check it (or just take it in to a shop and get them checked). It also helps with monitoring coolant temps. The stock temp gauge doesn't move until it's too late (which is why you should get it fixed ASAP!). If you do end up buying one, make sure the coolant temp does not go above 220F. Anything above that is bad.

Good luck and keep us posted :)

I'll stop by Autozone today and get those codes read but as for the low coolant light it turned on on the way home and yes the reservoir was empty so i had to top it off. Not sure if i did it rite but like i said im not used to this car yet 😕

Alright you definitely have a leak. Check for leaks. Don't drive it! You're taking a HUGE risk by driving it. And don't use tap water when refilling. Use distilled water.

If you can't find any visible leaks, pressure test the cooling system. Any roadside radiator shop should be able to do it. Pretty cheap.

Well see that's where i have an issue, i have no choice but to drive it everyday due to the fact that I'm the only one with a car in the house. All i can do is check my levels and really hope for the best until i have some money to fix it 😔

That is an issue, because if you continue to drive a broken car, you won't be able to drive it any more.
Especially when cooling and ignition coils are concerned, you're risking your engine. If your temp gauge moved up to 3/4 as you say, the damage may already be done. You really need to fix this.

I'll be investing in a full tune up this weekend tho so hopefully all is well till then 🙏

Ok, have a good look at your coolant reservoir to see if the neck or any other part of it is cracked. Replace ignition coils and spark plugs, that should clear up the misfire. We usually also recommend having a compression test done before you buy a rotary, but since that train has sailed, you might still want to look into that to know what you're working with.

Ok thank you i'll be sure to keep everyone posted 👌

I have seen OMP lines and vacuum distribution blocks melted to the engine from driving it hot. Unless you can afford a new engine, park that thing man.

By driving it hot you mean 220-225F kinda hot or the temp needle at 3/4 kinda hot?

Needle should never be that high what the hell? We drove back in my car we brought from the east coast. 110 for 3 hours it never went more than 3 ticks before center.

That's what happens when you drive with a leak.
They are always running hot in a normal state, letting the coolant get low raises it into the danger zone.

So here's the update, took it to Mazda to get the airbag replaced due to the recall and when they did the 360 inspection they noticed the obvious coolant leak so after raising hell at the dealership, keep in mind I've only had the car for a week and a half, i got them to replace plugs, coils, wires, reservoir and radiator at no charge to me 😀 let's just hope that after this all will be well. Thanks for all the input guys it's good to be part of this club.

Where was it leaking from?

It has a crack where the hose connects to the reservoir. Mazda told me there's a good chance the radiator will crack as well when replacing the reservoir so more than likely it'll be getting replaced along with it.

Whoa. You're lucky man. All good then. Get an OBD2 scanner and watch your coolant temps while climbing that hill, just in case. These cars can overheat with working cooling systems too.

Did you ask the dealership for the rotary specific compression test? If it's a Mazda dealership that you bought the car from they should provide you with the compression test.

I'll have to pick one up thank you

I bought it from a smaller dealership but i have a friend that can let me borrow it to test it