Stavesacre21

Not to sound derogatory, so try and take it as constructive criticism...

But for chicago, rush hour, stop and go traffic, I wouldn't expect must more then 14mpg tops. That's some pretty heavy driving there...and people get awefully hatey in a hurry, making you run it up quicker, shift later, etc. Constant stop and go traffic certainly never ups the milage either.

I'd think this might be really overstating the obvious, but those conditions are really rough, which would most definetely take a dampering toll on MPG. If you've always drive yur 8 in that kinda traffic, day in and day out since you have had it, yur ECU has adapted to yur driving styles and conditions, which would techinically set your MPG inevitably lower then most...even if you eventually get outta town into more leisurely driving. Have you ever driven a WHOLE tank (not in theory) on the highway?

Where do you usually shift at? Red it daily? Just wanting to get an idea here...

New Yorker

Yes, Raptor, I'm curious, too. Apologies if you've already done this, but what would happen if you drove up I-94 to Door County at 65mph with cruise control??

Raptor75

Highway is not bad, only driven a few full tanks and they have ranged from 18 to 22mpg depending on the level of driving I do, no cruse control. This is normal which could well mean that the city is in line but I still find it hard to believe. I am looking for closure one way or another. If 11 to 12 mpg is normal for this car so be it, people should be made aware and know what to expect. If Mazda would at least make an effort to try and resolve this it would go a long way but for them to do basically nothing and say go way it's normal when many other report better, I can't take that as closure. Hell, I've asked the dealer to switch cars for a few days to show me that another RX will get the same mileage, sorry not going to do it.

Here is what really keeps me hot on this matter. Another member had a RX-8 AT and was getting 10mpg doing all city driving. He went through the same Mazda bulls&$t I have and was ultimately told it was normal go away, he excepted it as a cost of owning the car. A year or so later he wanted a RX-8 MT so he sold the old car and bought a new RX. Suddenly his mileage is at 17mpg driving the exact same route. This is what really pisses me off. We now have proof over the same roads that some of these RX have something very wrong and Mazda is not willing to fix it.

Sorry if I get a little heated on this issue it really bugs me and I think Mazda is completely shrugging off it's responsibility. I'm looking into taking them to small claims court to try and recoup the gas, I really hate to have to go this route but I have little recourse. This is why I say Mazda sucks!

Stavesacre21

wow...as awesome as that would be, it would totally be a david-and-goliath type of feat! Best of luck if you'd go that route...you'd certainly need it!

As for your mileage, I think that hwy mileage really does create a reasonable argument for driving styles varying city gas mileage. Not to say its right by any means, but it does seem like it all falls into place. It sucks that it seems so excessive for you, and I hope that it all works out for the better under these circumstances. Have you tried resetting the ECU/unpluggin the battery to drain the ECU memory? It'll set you back to default, meaning the the car will start to learn all of your driving styles over again. It might be worth a shot to see if it gets any better.

Just a last thought!

New Yorker

I understand your frustration, but there's absolutely no way you'd ever win this case. The fact that another driver went from an AT to an MT and got 7 more mpg doesn't prove anything, unfortunately. Besides the obvious fact that he should get better mileage from the MT, this anecdote proves nothing. Unless you can prove that he drove the same route in the same weather at the exact same speeds, this is just anecdotal. It's possible the guy drove differently when he got his new car, in different weather, and in different traffic situations. In fact, I suspect that even if you could prove that the the only difference is the car (which you can't), Mazda could still say mileage varies a little from vehicle to vehicle. Again, if I had your city mileage I'd be frustrated too, but I think taking Mazda to small claims is just a big fat waste of time.

cornrowdpantha

I've seen a lot said on this board about MPG, but even though I drive a lot of heavy traffic and light to light, I STILL get 20-21 consistently. The worst I've gotten was high 17s... Odd...

My personal opinion on the original topic of this thread is that the neither the MPG nor the HP are really that bad, and I feel that Mazda would benefit appreciably by being more aggressive in marketing the car. As I zip thru and around rush hour traffic, there's not a single one of the aforementioned "comparison" cars that can leave or keep up with me. Case in point, just this morning I had a crossfire (may have been mentioned in this thread, but...) trying to get pissy with me because I merged in front of him. First chance he got (after tailgating me for a mile or so...) he switched lanes and flew by me. I let him go past me cause I didn't want to waste the gas at first, considering that I drive 90+ miles round trip to work every day, but I quickly decided "What the Hell... Y not..." After about 4 miles (up hill) of this guy trying to cut thru spaces to get some seperation, he eventually realized that he wasn't gonna get away from me.

Point being, it's all about perception.

PS -- I must admit though that I'm glad that the car isn't marketed that well, cause like the rest of you, I get a myriad of questions like "What is that...?" (the ladies love it...)

Xtasy94

If Mazda, or any other car maker, were smart, they would hand out coloring books for kids with their cars in them. Start the kids young with Mazda etched into their eager brains and it would also force the parents to look at it from time to time. How cool and cheap would that be? Booyah ka shah!!!

Raptor75

Thanks but I have cleared the ECU memory and reset it a couple of time, no effect. I have to admit sometimes I think maybe the car is normal and other times, no way. The court strategy is based on Mazda not feeling it is worth the money to fight it. Still don't know if I'll follow through with this I hate these type of things, I guess it will depend on how bad Mazda jerks me around.

Paul_in_DC

You might try cleaning the MAF sensor too. I've heard a couple people say their rough idle and mpg improved considerably after that.

Stavesacre21

As delightfully tacky and corny as that may sound, it'd probably reign more true then you'd imaguine. There's a lot more of this kinda subliminal going on then most think. Foods are by far the best example.

Although it could lead into another WHOLE debate, the fastfood industry has proved this one over and over again. Now before anyone barks up the wrong tree, I know that buying a $30K sports car is a little different then a $4 happy meal...but it's just the thought that counts.

Xtasy94

Thanks for the great analogy but I was referring to giving out coloring books for free like the brochures or make them free with a test drive. Kids could learn about cars and how to read and they will remember when they get older that it was the cool Mazda coloring books they had for free. I sent this to Mazda USA but they just gave me their canned response that they would consider it and thanks. If anyone knows someone in Mazda, please forward the idea. AND if you buy a car, they should throw in a toy Mazda car for the kids. I'm telling you, it IS genius. Mark my words, if Mazda doesn't do it, then Honda or Toyota will.

Raptor75

Good idea, I'll give it a shot. It will also give me a chance to see if I have any oil in the intake.

zoom44

you just did basically. mazda reads the forum all the time and have taken more than one idea from here and used it. or conincidentally have come up with the same idea

in september of 2002 https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t=kid#post6663 i suggested on here that Mazda should take a couple of 8s and run them around a track for 24 hours with no breaks except driver changes fueling. this was to address reliability concerns. in october 2004 they did this

http://www.triplezoom.com/news/publi...icle_253.shtml

if i had the time i could find you another idea of mine plus one from wakeech and at least one other that this happened with. so keeep an eye out

Tirminyl

That is true Zoom. So if Mazda is reading this, hire me :-). Seriously.

zoom44

heheh i sent my resume out this morning