BlackPHL8

Hi,

Just got my RX-8 last week, from a guy who owned an RX-7 and is a mechanic, so I am assuming that he took pretty good care of the car. He also said that he got the ECU reflash so that the engine would not flood.

When turning the car on it usually hesitates to start, but then kicks in. I think this is just the way the RX-8 starts, instead of firing right up like other cars. At least that is how it seems after viewing several youtube videos.

Last night, after filling my tank with gas, I went to turn the car on and it wouldn't turn over after about 4-5 seconds. I let it sit for a second then tried again, nothing. I tried it again the third time and it finally kicked in. Does this mean I am due for a new starter/another part? Also, do you give the car a little gas while you are turning the ignition or will this cause the engine to flood?

Appreciate any responses I get

Hidef1080

Not true.

You Tube is good for fun but please take anything posted on there with a big azz grain of salt.

I never give my car gas when starting.

What year do you have?

jmc23200

Buying a mechanics car can be a good or bad thing. Good if he does indeed take care of the car(I wouldn't just take his word for it) and bad if he doesn't take care of his car because he is tired of working on cars at the end of the day. It's usually bad, but sometimes you will find a mechanic that actually cares about his cars.

This could be your starter, but it could also be the battery, spark plugs or coils. If you are having this issue, I will guess and say you have a 2004-2005 model. When I got my RX8, the first thing I did is changed the battery, plugs, coils and oil just so I knew what was done. I never take ones word for it because you never really know.

BlackPHL8

I have an '04 GT with 63k miles on it. All spark plugs, coils, new belts, oil change, coolant flush, etc. were just done. Nervous about what this could be, hopefully nothing too expensive.

jmc23200

Come to think of it, did you turn the car on, go to the gas station, turn the car off, fill up, and then have this issue? It's possible the engine wasn't fully warmed up when you turned it off and you may have slightly flooded it creating the very hard starting condition. Make sure you let the engine warm up before turning the car off and some people will rev it to 3K for 5 seconds prior to shutting it down. Good luck

Did you change those things, or did he claim he did those things?

BlackPHL8

He said that he changed all of those at the shop where he works. He was a nice guy, friended me on facebook, gave me his number and said if I ever need work done to give him a call and he will do it/not charge for labor costs if it appears to be something he should have taken care of. Maybe he was just putting on a front to sell the car, but it did seem genuine.

I drove the car for about 5-10 minutes before pulling into the gas station.

Hidef1080

Driving to the gas station I would guess that it should have been warmed up enough.

There is a procedure for starting a flooded engine.
If I can find the link I'll post it but 04's and some 05's got bigger starters and batteries to help deal with flooding. I don't know how to check to see if you have the "new" starter and battery.

Hidef1080

http://www.vimeo.com/2351138

jmc23200

It could be a front or he could be a really nice guy. Too bad it's really hard to tell now a days. 5-10 minutes should have been long enough. I know I have a gas station less then a 1 minute drive from my house. The needle doesn't even have enough time to move if I drive straight there.

I would go to your local Mazda dealer and have them look up all of the TSB for your car and tell you which have been performed and which are still open. Also, if you have any mechanical background or would like to learn, you could look at the DIY spark plug removal. If you take out one of the spark plugs, you should be able to tell if he changed them recently. They should be fairly clean and not brown or ash white.

BlackPHL8

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the help/support on these boards! Hopefully I can figure this out, put on the few mods that I am waiting to be shipped to me and get some pictures up

EinHeisserSchrei

If you want this to stop happening altogether, get the AccessPort from MazdaManiac. I used have dreadful trouble with starting the engine. MM retuned my ECU to send more air than petrol into the combustion chambers and since I loaded it onto my ECU the car has never had any trouble since. This includes starting it, moving it and turning it off. It ALWAYS starts without hesitation now no matter what

MM is a decent, honest guy and he is unbelievably excellent when it comes to anything to do with the RX-8. Highly recommended.

CaptainEggs

i have the same problem and the car warms up before i get to the gas station. i fill her up and i want to start but it takes a while before it finally kicks in.. i had a problem last night, i went to my dads friends house to put away his trash bin and i come back to start the car up and it was doing the flooded sound thing then it started after like 3 trys... idk what was done to this car before i bought it its an 04 sport. the guy that had this car did NOT take good care of it... but today I'm going to switch out the spark plugs and see whats up...

Razz1

When was the battery replaced?

It should have it on the top.

You don't know how to read it? Go to Autozone.

new battery size is 35, need 540 CCA minimum.

04 has the old starter. It has been upgraded.

Charge your battery.

Some of the worst cars on the streets are mechanics................

GTConversion

Coils. My car would turn, turn, turn, turn, turn.. start as my coils gradually failed. It got worse and worse, then a CEL, then misfiring under load.

After replacing the coils, it goes turn..tur...start. It's hard to diagnose coils failing, as they gradually lose more and more power over time. I'd get em checked/replaced, especially if you're nearing the coil replacement mileage.

04RX8man

I think it sounds like battery or starter...make sure the cables on the battery are tight!

EinHeisserSchrei

I'm tending to agree with GTConversion. Same thing happened me. I replaced the coils and the plugs (one of which was cracked) and it's now turn...tur...start. The AccessPort did a lot to help before I replaced these 2 things