about to buy 04 RX8- what to check for?
 

any suggestions? I know many have had motor issues, so should I just check compression?
thanks

Try searching to see what you come up with. Don't buy an 04.

make sure its not salvaged

-sigh- 04s are fine, quit talking smack you numnut. As long as you check it out thoroughly, you'll be fine. You should get the compression checked, and also ask to see maintenance records for oil changes & the like. Of course they may not have kept this docs, but it don't hurt to ask.

Drive it around and make sure it doesn't make any "funny" noises. If you've never driven a rotary, it sounds different than a piston engine, but that's normal. listen for buzzes, hisses, etc., and make sure the car handles correctly and doesn't pull.

Get the VIN number and do a CarFAX report to check up on it, make sure no accidents, wasn't totalled, etc.

hmmm, if so many have had motor issues then why are you looking for one?


I call troll.

Why not buy an 04? I bought an 04 earlier this year. original motor, original clutch/transmission. I have had mine for about 12k miles now and I have had no issues what so ever car now has 65k miles and going stronger then when I bought it.


Listen to simplyphp his advice is good.

Source: Automotive News
Automaker: Engines failing vacuum test must be replaced

MONTEREY, Calif. -- After suffering a black eye from disclosing that it won't count RX-8 owners' opinions in its internal customer-satisfaction scores, Mazda says it may have to replace the engines in many of its flagship sports cars.

The voluntary recall of all 2004 and 2005 vehicles, and some 2006s, is expected to be announced this week or next. It involves damage to the catalyst resulting from oil leaks in the RX-8's rotary engine.

Any engine that does not pass a vacuum test must be replaced, said Robert Davis, head of product development and quality at Mazda North American Operations.

Engines prone to failing the test are mostly in hot climates and use synthetic oils.

Mazda also will check each RX-8's battery and starter, which tend to fail in cold climates.

"We're going to give these cars the white-glove treatment," Davis said. "We would rather replace the engine than have the dealer crack them open."

Davis would not disclose the projected failure rate of the engines or the cost to replace them.

Mazda has a remanufacturing center in North Carolina that will rebuild faulty engines and return them to service.

The recall comes after a video Webcast by two dealers who attended the July 11-13 National Dealer Advisory Council meetings in Newport Beach, Calif., was leaked on the Internet.

In the video, dealers said problems with the RX-8 were unfairly lowering Mazda customer-satisfaction scores.

Mazda informed the dealers that RX-8 owners would continue to be surveyed, but that the responses would not factor into dealer
customer-satisfaction scores.

Mazda has issued service bulletins on such trouble spots as squeaky
brakes and engine flooding.

Thanks for the input guys.

When I was in the military, my friend deployed and left me his 04 RX8 for 3 months, and that's when I fell in love with the car.

I was considering an 04 because 8 out of 10 RX8's for sale out there are 04's! haha

Right now i'm actually considering the 09 R3 if I can find it in blue and for a discounted price ( the mazda dealer is looking right now)

I did consider other cars like the G37S, which feels wonderfull under wide open throtle, but its 40K. I believe the R3 can be taken for $31XXX- especially with the gas prices and everyone looking for econo-boxes.

I also found an old man that has an 06 RX8 with 9K miles. He wants 20K for it, but the color isn't what I am looking for ( its silver). NOt that I dont like silver, but the last 4 cars that I have had are silver, so I want to move to a blue or black.

Thanks again.

PB Rules Zulu. Go PB, you be a'ight.

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ropsmaller.jpg

So, no synthetic oil? If not... why?
(sorry, I'm new here, also looking to buy)

WOW! This is a bar fight waiting to happen......


You could more easily kiss another RX-8 owner's girlfriend than argue for/against synthetic oil with an RX-8 owner who has taken a side in this debate. :eyetwitch

There are Many Threads on this site dealing with this question.

This thread has 700+ posts! Cumulative Synthetic Oil Discussion




For your research, just a couple of points.

* There have been a significant number of engines which have failed compression, which leads to the engine being exchanged or rebuilt.

* These failed engines don't seem to have broken apex seals (which you would commonly find due to improperly lean air/fuel mixtures, or due to pre-ignition in boosted application).

* These failed engines seem to have a large amount of carbon deposits which prevent the seals from moving freely in their grooves - to create sufficient compression.

* There is a school of thought that says that these engines gain the abnormal carbon by virtue of being 'babied', or not being run at high enough revs for long enough to 'burn off' the carbon.

* Unlike a piston engine, rotaries inject a small-ish quantity of engine oil via an oil metering pump (OMP) into the combustion chambers (the rotors) in order to lubricate and/or cool the apex seals (the corners of the triangular rotor) and the side seals.

* There is also a school of thought that says that the OMP does not inject sufficient oil (or oil of the right kind) at high revs to protect the seals.

* there is a significant group of owners who add a special oil (think 2 stroke oil) to the gas tank in order to add lubrication to the rotors. Look at the Gas/Oil Premix Thread.

* there is some controversy about injecting synthetic engine oil into the combustion chamber through the OMP.

* there is an alternative to injecting engine oil into the Rotors: The Sohn adapter uses a separate oil tank to inject a special oil (think 2-stroke oil again) into the combustion chambers using the existing OMP.

* And, as a final data point, in the RX-8 Owners manual, Mazda states: "CAUTION. Do not use either synthetic or semi-synthetic motor oil. Otherwise engine starting performance could worsen."


Also, there is a significant group of owners who do not follow Mazda's suggestion to use 5w20 oil. They prefer a 'thicker' oil, arguing that outside North America Mazda does not specify the 5w20 oil, and also arguing that an oil of a higher viscosity is less likely to suffer thermal breakdown at oil temperatures commonly seen in the Southern USA, and during 'spirited driving'.


Hope this helps!


(I stand to be corrected on any of the above, for the good of the discussion)

i actually just got an 04 about a month ago. mine had 61k on it, and it runs just fine. no problems at all. the previous owner did regualr maintenance and even kept a log in the owners manual. but yeah. i dont know much, but if its been maintained well and theres nothing funny about i dont see the problem with an 04

I'd say it's hard to "listen for sounds" as the RX-8 tranny is louder than most normal cars gearboxes in normal usage. Listen for REALLY loud abnormal sounds :P

LOL......said to happen right before your engine blows. Hopefully your not experiencing some carbon build up.

Oh.....and my 04 runs fine too.

my o4 is running good has 36k of i put 7k in 8months since i bought it

If he was experincing carbon build up he would be losing power. :eyetwitch

make sure it has had all service bulletins up to date.

I've heard that before this loss of power, 13b's may seem like like they are running better than ever and may even seem quicker.

I know what you mean though.

74K on my '03 built '04, and still running strong on the original drivetrain.

If you get the VIN you can also enter that into the Mazda official site under the owners section and see if there are any Recalls that haven't been done, and if the previous owner entered a service record, you should be able to see that as well.

The R3 is also very cool. I just don't like the black front bumper, but other than that it is a very nice car.

don't get an 04 or 05..

Make sure the steering wheel isnt upside down.

Make sure it runs, I hear that's a good point in a car.

That is true but with the renesis you'll get carbon-lock before that point :yelrotflm

^Haha.

Good info on the oil stuff, compliments of Silver 06.

Look, I have a 2004 and have no engine issues I'm aware of. So many people were encountering problems most likely attributed to the carbon buildup. I make it a point to redline my car every time I drive. If I don't, which is happening more and more with the approaching winter weather, you should at least rev your engine up to rougly 6K RPM, THEN shut the engine off while it's still on its way down. This not only helps to clear the carbon after driving, but also clears the rich mixture sitting in the engine. Your car will start easier the next time. Do this everytime you shut it down. I've had my 2004 8 for roughly 10,000 miles (now at 47,000 miles on the clock) and have not encountered any engine issues. My 4th gear syncro is failing, but that's it.

Like purchasing any car, just once it over really well before purchasing. I read so many negative comments about the 8, particularly the 04's and 05's on this site, that it almost completely scared me away from purchasing the RX-8 alltogether. Take heed with all the information out there, but don't let it scare you away. The new R3 is tits, but you can save at least $15,000 if you buy a used 04 or 05. I would rather do that and spend that extra cash on upgrades. Good luck!

I purchased an 04' 6spd, used 16 months ago. It has run strong for 18K miles until about last week when it started getting hard to start and faltering under acceleration. It still red lines, but it is significantly slower on the way up. I also have some problems meshing second and fourth gear if I go over 7k. Also the rear struts are failing total miles on car is 59,5K. It has an airbag light on the dash that has been on 8K miles.