i don't think anyone argues that redlining your rotary is a good thing. the question is: should i do it every day? i mean, how long does it take to develop carbon buildup to the point where you need to clean it?

 

I would say 4 - 8 apply to pretty much any car worth owning.

 

Do not buy an RX-8 if...

you want it in silver and you think you're invincible to the curse.
you want it in red but you don't want it all sparkley.
you aren't willing to say "thank you" when strangers compliment the car.

 

Maybe if you do # 4 often you won't need to worry about # 1 & 2.

 

BRILLIANT <insert picture of British Cartoon guy with hand up in the air> or the closest smilie we have...

 

Don't clean it, prevent it. I toss in some Yamaha Ring-Free every 3 or 4 tanks just to be sure.

 

Nope! Mine flooded for the first time on Sat night. Got it towed this morning (Mon), there were three others towed in before 8 am for the same reason. Who knows how many more showed up later. The tech said that they had not seen any in a while but the weather got cold (first time down to 50 degrees F in SoCal since last winter). He said they are waiting to hear from Mazda for instructions, new hotter plugs for sure, already have the N flash, new battery and new starter are possibilities.

 

I do all of the bolded...

 

You 'mericans have pathetically tiny batteries.................In this case size does matter...get the upgraded battery

 

I posted a similar post to this one, but wanted to get it into this thread as well.

I am not going to bash the -8 for its flooding problem although I think they should do a better job of advertising this. Nothing is in Consumer Reports about it. Mine has flooded twice now in two months and I shouldn't have to do anything special to ensure the car starts next time. Likewise I shouldn't have to WORRY if it will start. But my real problem is this...

Upon picking up my car tonight and discussing what happened, why I think it is total BS, and how dismayed I was after having two Miatas with no issues, the dealer asked me if I got the DVD. I had not. They then asked me if they explained what happened back in Aug when this happened the first time. i had not.

I was then told what to do to prevent this. I told them that I was worried when the warranty ran out. They then informed me that, no, because I was now informed and knew what to do if I brought the vehicle in again and they determined that I flooded the car I would be responsible for all towing, labor, and parts charges. What? BS! I told them, in all honesty, that the next time they saw the car it would probably be on the used car lot.

Can they do this? What are the other dealers telling people?

Thanks. That Volvo S60 is looking better and better and would be a great match to the XC90 my wife has.

jeff

 

First, don't think I am calling you a liar, but I just have a hard time buying into this. I have one of the earliest built cars and live in Wisconsin. I don't have new plugs, battery or starter. I move my car in and out of the garage, I start it up for just a few seconds for friends to hear it and I have never once had it flood in the two plus years I have had the car. Mazda does not owe us all an apology as someone else stated. I thought all this talk of flooding finally went away.

 

so, how do you know when your car is flooded? lol.

according to my car, the temps outside here in the Inland Empire were 40F at 3:30am

oh, and i follow #4 on almost every drive i go in my 8

 

Thanks, my mistake.

 

Then why doesn't my car start? What about the others that are at the dealer?
I hope they are flooding and not something more serious.

 

It's just hard to believe that 4 cars were there for flooding by 8 am as you said.

 

I have an early build (july 03, i think) that I bought in March 05. I've had it to the dealership once for an oil change but haven't even taken care of the 2 recalls yet.

Anyway, we had a really cold (about 20 - 24 degrees) morning here in WV and I was in a hurry, ran out, cranked it up (did crank a little slow), let it run about a minute, popped it into first and headed out. STALLED it. I thought "OH CRAP" I'm flooded in the middle of a parking lot. BUT, not so. Rex fired right back up and ran perfectly.

I didn't find this site until I had bought my car and I really started worrying that I would have all these problems, but that hasn't been the case - it runs great and I have ZERO complaints. Maybe the yellow ones run better than others

 

Everybody got their cars back today :-) (parts arrived around noon) New Starter, bigger battery, hotter plugs. Now the starter spins much faster and louder. It fires up on the first or second rotation instead of 3 to 6 like it did before. I'm happy and thankful that I don't have to drive that POS Ford Focus loaner around anymore.

 

Hey, I have an 05'. The peeps at the dealership or shall I say "one of the sales men" said that my car should already have all the updates. The "N" is the lastest is it? Should I call the service guys to make sure?

 

would a dealership charge for a new flash? as far as i know, my car hasn't been flashed the few times it's been in for service.

 

xrider, if you go in for the thermal recall they'll flash you to the N as part of the service.

 

1. Or you can just follow the cold-engine shut off procedure.
2. Any vehicle can have problems. Are RX8s any more likely to fail to start than other cars? (assuming the RX8s were previously shut down with warm engines or following the cold-engine procedure)
3. I check it once/month or so and dump in a quart in every 2k miles. Do some consider that frequent?
4. It's not a flaw; it's a feature.
5. Never saw less than 15 in-town no matter how much I flogged it.
6. Oh please. Skimming it is fine... you don't need to remember anything other than the cold-engine thing, checking your oil, and not using certain types of tow trucks. The problem is that most people don't even crack open their manuals.
7. True for any car.
8. True for any car with summer tires.
9. Ignore the whiners. Every car is a compromise... if its weaknesses outweigh its strengths, get something else.

 

I'm glad to hear you got your car back and all is well. Maybe the car gods were just punishing you people that get to have nice weather all year long Right now it's 22 degrees with a wind chill factor of 10, and a couple of inches of snow on the ground. I had fun passing SUVs this morning though. With snow tires, this car does remarkable in the winter.

 

Yes, ask any Mazda rotary tech worth his salt and they will tell you to drive the car hard. It will actually improve your engine and add to its longevity (assuming you maintain it properly).

I redline mine everyday. I've put 76000 miles on it since purchase on 8-6-03. It's only flooded one time due to sitting for 2 mos. in the winter and a low battery. The engine is just as flexible (if not more) than when it was first broken in.

I just started using MMO in every tank as I'm prepping to switch to full synthetic oil at 80,000 mi. I should've started alot earlier, but oh well.

And, no, I don't want to hear anything about "don't use synth. oil" That argument is old and total BS. I've put 30k miles on my FD RX-7 with full synthetic and MMO and it runs better now than it did when I bought it.

 

Don't buy an RX8 if you're 6'0 and above. Why can't they make the sunroof optional with the Grand Touring? Ridiculous. I have three friends who would buy an 8 if they could fit in it. I'm 6'3 and my head was just about touching the cieling of the car. Yikes. Figure it out Mazda and do yourself a favor by making the sunroof optional.