2005 Bad Engine
 

my new RX-8, 3,000 miles, they told me had a defective engine and would have to be replaced. I am asking for a new car and they so no, we will get you a new engine. Has anyone had a similar problem with the 2005s?

auto or manual? What were your symptoms?

automatic, rough idle, sluggish, engine knock

Miles? Do you drive your car hard?

no, it is my wifes, she drives it to and from work, never revs it up or drives it hard

you can't expect to get a new car. if the engine is what is wrong, a new engine is what you get. there's nothing wrong with the rest of your car.

Why would they replace the car?? it is the engine thats it, have them pick up the little keg of beer and put in a new one and you are good togo.... I have an 05 no problems here...and you need to tell your wife to drive that thing!! hit some high RPMS!!

That's a shame. Really, there should be an education program for buyers of these cars. It's common knowledge to long time rotary owners (or long time forum members) that these engines need to be revved fairly hard and often to stop them coking up.

They are not the car for the typical mild mannered female driver.

I think that just goes for mild mannered drivers period. I know men that drive like old ladies.

I'm anything but mild mannered when it comes to driving my car! :crazy:

:suspect:

so much for listening to the dealer, the sales guy told us to take it easy for the first 3,000 miles until its first oil change and then we could let it loose.

that would actually be the problem right there^^

actually, there's the problem :p:

Glad I went in the right direction with the questions as I suspected that was the issue.

lonecow- At about 3k miles you are to vary your engine rpms and possibly able to redline it. There are many break-in procedures that people follow. Though with that low of mileage I am curious if it could have been another cause.

i've always told people to break the car in like they are going to drive it...no sense getting the car used to being babied then running the crap out of it later....might as well do it from the start....lol

She only had the car for 3,000 miles. No motor should die after 3,000 miles from taking it easy on a new engine. Sounds like Mazda has recognized the problem and are fixing it.

when you get your car back, with its new engine, this page has a some guidelines to help do it right. also, red line the car occasionlly (only when at normal operating temperature though). the car needs it.

http://racingbeat.com/RX8%20Break%20in.htm

thanks for all the advice

With only 3,000 miles, it can't just be attributed to carbon buildup/lock-up from weak revving. In fact, that's barely enough miles to pass before the 1st oil change. Any further explanation given by the service dept. on the engine??

Just a bad engine, no way around it. There's bound to be a bad one every now and then and he just happened to be the guy who bought it.

Tim

Lonecow....

How many trips to the dealer did it take before they realized you needed a new engine? I have an 05....never had any problems at all....not one.

Good luck man.....I hope they do it right....regardless of who the driver may be.

Rev happy....and often!

518!

Yep! That's what I do with my cars! :wiggle:

I agree. Sometimes in the manufacturing process things just don't go together the way they should. A substandard seal got through inspection - a pinhole imperfection in a casting - just some off-beat thing that slipped through the inspection process. And that's what happened here - I bet. I've put 18,000 miles on my car and about 50,000 on a previous rotary (in a truck) and I was entrusted with the care and feeding of my sister-in-law's Gen 1 RX-7 and I'll say categorically that these engines are not that temperamental. :icon_no2: True, they're built to run, but when one goes bad with 3,000 miles on it, it's because something is wrong in the engine.

At least they can admit that nothing is perfect, and they're replacing it for you. Good luck. Hope you get it back soon.

I was just in contact with the dealer and I am not happy. Mazda says it was their engines fault a defect and they will put in a remanufactured engine, not a new one, and I can take them to court for a buy back.