NoVa

I thought i was the only one with this problem. I was driving my car last night and it was around 5 degrees. At first my e-brake wouldnt go all the way down and i had to hit down to get it down finally. Then when driving my car it felt like it had a flat tire and felt like the road was bumpy. I think i was in my garage for about 10-15 min trying to warm that thing up. I guess it wasnt meant for the cold. Is this normal or should i go to my dealer see whats wrong?

rx8ntexas

this must be the way the rotary works in the cold..my 2nd gen 7 does the exact same thing on cold mornings...i'd say it's normal for a rotary engine car

cueball

Looks like a Mazda thing. Someone mentioned their Miata does the same thing and the no the FC does it (with confirmation from rx8ntexas). I don't know about the FD, but it wouldn't surprise me if it did.

If it really bothers anyone than, than do what KKMmaniac said and just hold in the clutch.

scott1

I just got my RX8 about 2 weeks ago. I have noticed when I first start up in the morning and its cold, around 6000 rpm it feels like it want's to stall out. I am goiny to take it back to the dealer next week to see whats going on.

rx8ntexas

I promise that this is normal on a rotary....i've owned 2 Rx-7's and now the 8 and they have all done this...i don't know the cause though but i don't think its a bad thing...only takes about 3 min. of driving before it warms up enough not to do this

canzoomer

Yup, mine did this too. Still works, but it tends to pop up a bit, making the light on the dash light up.
Annoying.

I too have had the 2100/1500 rev cycle on warm up when it was really cold last week.

Seems to do no harm, but sure chews gas.

I found the reason the door was reluctant to close is that the aluminum sill plate sticker is popping up at the centre when cold, and it rubs the bottom of the door.
Almost knocks it off.

ChrisW

Do you mean the rev limiter? When the engine is cold the rev limiter kicks in at 6000 rpm, not 9000. This is to protect the engine - you really shouldn't rev cold engines too hard or you can seriously damage them (that goes for pistons as well as rotaries). Personally, I try to keep it below 4000 rpm until the temperature is in the centre of the dial.

f1michel

It was -20C yesterday, my 8 had not been used for 12 days and it started right up, cycled up and down a bit but bothing else, it sounded great !!

jtdwab

I've got a different starting problem to describe. Maybe needs a new thread but I will start here.

Lately my car has been harder and harder to start. When I first got it in the summer it would start almost instantly. As things cooled off I expected to take a little longer to start because that is normal. Now its taking almost 5 seconds on the starter for it to fire. As for temperatures I'm in South Carolina and we are only getting down to the middle thirties at night and our days have been in the fifties. Most of my drives are to and from work which is 20 minutes with at least 10 at highway speeds so I am not worried about flooding. Also this does not happen all the time. Usually if the car has sat for a few hours. The worst is drive to work and let the car sit for 8 hours then start it to come home. Turn the key and wait several seconds for the engine to fire up. After it starts everything is fine.

Anybody got any ideas?

LiquidChick

im ight have the same problem if it is a problem...first rotary engine...i'm afraid to even ask the b/f...don't wanna hear the "i told u so" anyways..i live in florida..and yeah while everyone is freezing in snow..i'm in 60 deg. weather...anyways..this morning..i went to start the car..and it seemed like it took forever..like it wasn't gonna start...finally it did...then i drove to work..went out for lunch hours later..and again...it seemed to take forever...hearing that sound just worried me especially a car with just 1000 miles on it.. should i be worried?

93rdcurrent

I think that both of you should take the cars in to the dealers and let them diagnose it. Most of us in the really cold weather are not experiencing that problem. There have been a couple of times that mine seemed to hesitate for about an extra second to start but nothing that took 5 seconds. And again think of the cold conditions we have had here. I put a new battery in my wifes Audi 2 months ago and it didn't start one day. Too cold...

Speed-ER doc

Is Ike your b/f?
Seriously, I'd take it in before it WON"T start. Sux being stuck, and some have had delays with roadside assist.

LiquidChick

lol no..it's funny u mentioned ike...cuz when i see him post...i think of my bf..and his best friend...who has a wrx..and always rags on me....it sux that i can't ask him things like this...cuz he knows alot abt cars..gets frustrating to hear it all the time....

f1michel

I say ask you BF about it and warn him very clearly : "you bug me again with my wonderful RX-8 and you will not touch me for a month" Might get him off your back... :-)

LiquidChick

lol i can't make a threat like that...god knows i can't hold up to that promise..lol

hasn't happened today.no problem..

91vert

I have had the same concern about mine. When it gets cold here.....like below 35.....when it first fires up the idle surges about 5-6 times between 2-3k RPM and then stabilizes. I assume it is something that the ECU is doing on purpose to maybe heat up the catalytic converter???

This is my hypothesis because I have a 91 RX-7 convertible also, and in the cold weather the idle does not surge like the 8, but as soon as it is started it jumps up to 3000 RPM and stays there for about 17 seconds and then an air bypass valve opens and drops the idle down to around 2k. This is supposedly normal for it to do that. As it warms up it slowly drops down to normal (750 RPM). I have been told that the ECU runs that 17 second 3k RPM speed to heat the cats up faster. If I tap the accelerator in the 7 right after starting it, it "cancels" out the 17 second cat warmup routing and jumps right down to around 2k.

I have the e-brake issue as well. When I release it, I have to hold the button in and press it down into the fully disengaged setting and let go of the button to make the light go off. Almost like the cable is slow to retract because the lubricant (if there is any) in the cable might be sludged up from the cold temps.

Literatii

I've noticed that sometimes my 8 doesn't start right away -- it takes a 4-5 second crank. It's usually after I drive it really hard. Most times it starts right up though.

Try this: if you're driving it moderately hard just before parking it(say >6krpm shifts), let it idle for 60 seconds before you turn off the engine. Also, before starting it, turn the key so the accessories come on and then let it stay there til the seat-belt ding goes off (about 5 seconds). Then crank it. It could be my imagination but these things seems to help.

93rdcurrent

I rev my engine to 3,500 rpms for 10 seconds and that seems to help.

scott1

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by jtdwab
I've got a different starting problem to describe. Maybe needs a new thread but I will start here.

Lately my car has been harder and harder to start. When I first got it in the summer it would start almost instantly. As things cooled off I expected to take a little longer to start because that is normal. Now its taking almost 5 seconds on the starter for it to fire. As for temperatures I'm in South Carolina and we are only getting down to the middle thirties at night and our days have been in the fifties. Most of my drives are to and from work which is 20 minutes with at least 10 at highway speeds so I am not worried about flooding. Also this does not happen all the time. Usually if the car has sat for a few hours. The worst is drive to work and let the car sit for 8 hours then start it to come home. Turn the key and wait several seconds for the engine to fire up. After it starts everything is fine.

Anybody got any ideas?
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Just talked to my service rep at the Mazda dealer. He told me that the battery that came with my car is only a 575 cold crank amp battery. He said that this is part of the problem starting it up because there are somany electronics in this car. The Mazda 6 comes with a 600 amp battery and has less electronics. They said they would change it out for free and install a stronger battery. I'll let you know if this really helps.

Elara

I need to apologize to you guys, because I thought you must be imagining things. Guess what mine did this morning (and after work when I started it)? Vroom, Vroom, Vrooom. Scared me at first, because I was like "what the hell is this car doing" but then I realize it must have been what you all have been referring to all this time. Not the normal slower cycling between 1500 and 2000rpms it always does. Apologies.

Eirulisse

I'm reading through the forums trying to find an answer for my issue which is similar to what is described here. What's the solution though? In my case, I just fixed my clutch switch (which was nonexistent when I bought the car... go figure... CEL is gone now too), and I turned on my car this week. It was cold AF outside. I let go the clutch, and the engine is pulsating between 1k and 3k RPM. I was freaking out, thinking it was some vacuum leaks or something. When I push the clutch in, it doesn't do taht anymore. So I pushed it in manually, and with the other hand played with the clutch switch. When the switch is activated, it pulsates like that. After the car warms up a little, it doesn't do that anymore. Any idea what's going on? Is this normal for the rest of us that have to suffer -10F weather?

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

It's normal, usually only in extreme cold, it's happened to me a few times.
I don't remember the cause of it, but it's nothing to worry about.

Dokuji

^^ Mine also has done it a few times this winter. only under extremely cold ambient temp. startups, like less than 10 degree F,

I would imagine it is a combination of poor oil delivery as well as a poor air/fuel ratio due to extreme cold. It certainly seems like an ECU programmed behavior. Nothing to worry about unless you're getting this at normal temperatures

muythaibxr

Mine does not do this no matter how cold it is. I'm in an S2 if it matters.

rxgt08

Supposedly the car is designed that way to safely warm it up faster. Remember the owners manual tells you to let the car warm to running temp before driving. Also interesting but I also have am 02 f250 ford diesel. Below 40 it does the same thing until warm coolest thing about that is the massive turbo spools up and you can hear that thing from half a mile away and it sounds like a freaking jet engine. So amazing.