Kavindha

Hey there guys, i recently bought a 07 rx8 with 41k KM on the clock. I have just a few questions regarding the car and was wondering if you could help!( The car is originally from japan)

1. When at idle, the rpms never sit at 1k but occasionally drop down to around 7-800 ( at which point the car judders a bit) and then shoots back up to slightly over 1k and then settles down again. Is this normal?

2. I live in Sri Lanka, and it gets pretty hot over here. Now i know that the temp gauge is a "dummy" gauge and should always sit at the middle mark, but sometimes when sitting in traffic, i find that the engine temp rises ( the needle moves towards red, but NOT into red) and this also sometimes causes the air conditioning to warm up. I've just had the thermostat replaced and new coolant put in, but the problem still occurs ( i've also just done an oil change). Can anybody give some insight into a fix for this or is this something that is going to happen in the warm climate?

As a new owner, i just want to make sure that everything is normal with the vehicle

Thanks a bunch in advance,
Kav

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

1: Ignition failure, vacuum leak, O2 sensor problem, MAF fouled, ESS fouled, or ESS profile drift. Can't suggest anything more specific without some actual sensor data

2: If the temp needle moves at all, you are already in critically dangerous temperatures. New fans, fan upgrade, and new or upgraded radiator are the next steps.

Kavindha

thanks a bunch for the speedy reply RIWWP, but when you say specific sensor data, what exactly are you looking for? i'll most likely be taking the car back to the garage soon to get them to have another look at it. It puzzles me most because the temperature only really rises on a hot ( 30 degrees celcius + ) day in traffic (heavy stop start traffic).

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

for the idle problem, you are going to need mroe than a shop will be willing to do. It would be best if you get an OBD2 device that you can use to read data, a bluetooth or wifi one that you can pair to a smartphone works great. Most shops won't bother with that kind of diagnosis. MAF, and short term fuel trim mainly, but also be behavior of how they react to the idle points and such. It's not a simple "this value means this", it's behavioral interpretation.

For the temp problem, that sounds like you aren't moving enough air through your radiator. A better radiator will help with shedding heat into the airflow moving through it, and new fans, or upgraded fans, will help get air through it even when moving slow.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

A thought, should help...

Look through the things in my $100 thread below. They deal with cooling and idle on an older vehicle. For the idle, the ones on cleaning things and grounds. For the temp, the foam and fans on low... The biggest difference will likely come from the foam.

Not sure if it will work with a Japan car, but should if there is an ODBII port. Get an Ultra-Gauge II. It will tell you what you need to know, and allow you to set alarms.

And, the first 2 posts in RIWWP's signature.

Kavindha

i'll take a look into this, i think i'll have the fans checked on first as i feel like the temperature problem is a more pressing issue? (correct me if i am wrong here). Once i can make some progress on that i think i will try fix the idle issue.
Cheers

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yes. You very likely could already have damage to your engine.

Steve Dallas

Hmmm... My 2011 MT with 20K miles idles at 800 consistently and shudders a bit every 10 or 20 seconds. The RPMs do not move at idle. I thought this was normal. Is it not?

I mentioned it to the dealer at my last service interval, and they said it was normal. Hmmm...

Reading this site is like reading WebMD and falling into the self-diagnosis trap.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

@ Kav
For you, I would say the foam mod is the priority. It is dirt cheap, and keeps the hot air that has already been through the radiator, from being blown back around the radiator to go through again. No matter how good the fans are, if they are pushing hot air into the engine compartment, and it is leaking back around to in front of the radiator, you will run hot. I ran very hot in the summer until I did this. Problem solved. And, the fans on low mod is a great way to test the fans (the factory fan on temp is stupid high, like over 205 degrees F).

@ Stvn
When car is happy, will idle and not move at all or shudder. Even with my light flywheel, mine is as smooth as silk. Clean the MAF, clean the ESS, let us know if it gets better. Also, may be plug and coil time, but do the MAF and ESS first...

Kavindha

taking it to the garage now, let's see what happens

*UPDATE: Engineer at the agency is claiming that the secondary radioator fan ( a/c cooling fan) is malfunctioning and so we are hoping this will give us a fix for the temp issue.( The part is being replaced)
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