Curley

Hi folks. I recently discovered this board after being sticken by RX-8 fever. Thanks for all the great info!

I'm thinking seriously of buying a new 2005 RX-8, but frankly I'm worried that I'll be spending too much of my time in a loaner while my RX-8 is in the shop for various reasons.

I've read many horror stories about problems people have had with theirs -- from brakes to transmissions to ***** falling off, etc. -- and it's causing me to think that buying an RX-8 might be a horrible mistake.

My wife and I currently own three Toyotas, so I'm spoiled by having cars that are virtually 100 percent reliable.

So tell me, should I be worried about the reliability and quality of the RX-8?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

tiggerlee

Owner of an '05 since Oct. 04. No issues at all other than brake squeal, which is now gone. I couldn't be happier with this car. If I had to do it all over again I'd make the same decision to buy it. Just remember when reading these forums is those that have something to complain about are often the ones who do so the loudest.

expo1

Your going to get mostly posts saying go buy the car it's great so we here are a bit biased. Or even post from people like me with 56,000 miles, 20-mpg avg, and no serious problems. You will need to pay attention to routine maintenance, checking the oil and the minor issue of not shutting off a cold engine but other than a few minor things it’s not that much harder to live with this car than a Toyota.

Go48

The hardware and software updates to the car since it's release have made the car reasonably reliable in my opinion. I don't drive mine much but I've had no problems in nearly 2 years and 10K miles. Others will chime in with the same kind of experience and there are many, many threads discussing this topic endlessly. I suspect you have read some/most of them so I won't tell you to search and read.

Apparently the car will not be your daily driver so reliability should not be a big concern for you. By that I mean I suspect you will not be putting 20K+ miles/year on this car and if you need to have some warranty work done, you have your Toyotas to drive. The warranty is very good, BTW, and Mazda has been very good in taking care of teething problems for the most part.

But, if the supposed reliability issues worry you to the point that you pass up a chance to own and drive one of the most unique and exciting vehicles available today, you will be making a mistake. It's not like you will be commiting to a 30-year marriage or anything. If for some reason you have problems with the car or don't like it at all (not possible) then you can always sell it.

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

oh my god - ***** FALLING OFF!!!!! ARGHHHHHHH!!

Raptor2k

The problems you mentioned can happen to any car.

Animagix

my car... has been in the shop for two recall jobs. Reliability isn't even an issue with my car and I have an '04, it's very solid. They gave me a rental and I only paid 2 dollars a day for it.

RX8_GT

If you are really concerned about the reliability issue of the Rx-8 compared to a 'comparable' Toyota - not sure which one - you pick - visit one of their forums. I'm sure that there will be issues with them. Every car made has 'issues' - the issues of the RX-8 are comparable to other sport cars I'm sure.

BUT there is both uniquiness and practibility in the RX-8 - you wll not find elsewhere in a sub $30K sports coupe.

John

therm8

Look at it this way...No one's going to go to the tech section and rave about their problem free Rx-8. They go there to figure out problems. If you had read that much into a troubleshooting guide for your computer, you'd never have purchased it.

typej

Autos seems to have more problems... get manual and i think you will be fine

Raptor75

Consumer Report now recommends the RX-8, last quality report was normal. It's the cost of gas that will kill you;-)

agoodcave

It ain't a Toyota in many ways.

My '02 Sienna brake discs warped at 20K. The pads squealed like crazy. My wife begged me to look at the brakes. Replaced the pads again at 50K. I have to go get the rotors turned again as they are badly warped at 60k.

At 32K, the Sienna would intermittenly die. Had to have intake system control valve replaced. Know several other Sienna with the same issue.

Oh yea, two weeks ago the Sienna was towed to the shop. It died returning from a ski trip. Ended up the clamp between the air filter and intake manifold came loose and was sucking too much air in downstream of the MAF. Had to have my wife retrieve 3 kids, me, and 4 snowboards in my RX-8. It took two trips.

Don't get me wrong, Toyotas are great but they are basic worryfree transportation. When I went car shopping, I had full intentions of getting a camary. My mistake was driving the RX8.

Like I said, an RX8 is not a Toyota.

Oh yea, 23months of ownership 16K miles. No problems except some cheap gas in Yuma.

Mike

alcimedes

You own three toyota's that haven't failed so you have faith in them. Yet go to a Toyota forum and you'll find plenty of problems with Toyotas.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/f16

People post problems on forums looking for answers. People who's cars are running fine are a lot less likely to post a thread about it working perfectly.

VikingDJ

I think this depends on what you consider to be reliable. I sold my RX8, and purchased an S2000. I had minor annoying problems with my RX8, and it saw the dealer 3 times in only 13k miles. Now if I had to place a bet, I am gonna place a large amount on the S2000 not only lasting longer, but being more reliable, with less headaches long term. Is this statement valid? Based on percentages, I think so, but every car is a risk, and I truly do not know if I will win that bet. The RX8 is not the lower risk sports car out there, and it will require more TLC. I think if you are looking for a car, and long term reliability and less keeping up with the car is a key, then the RX8 is the wrong choice. A car like this can become your worst nightmare, just as easily as a long lasting reliable car if you don't keep up with it religiously. Long term is where this will get you, being 5-6 years from now and over 100k miles. This isn't the type of car you can just drive around, take it to Jiffy Lube every 7500 miles, and beat the hell out of it and expect it to last. I did that with my 95 GTI, and I ignored service intervals, and it went 220k miles with only needing oil changes every 5-7.5k miles, brakes, tires, exhaust, tune up, struts, and a timing belt. I traded it in still going strong. Sports cars don't work that way, least of all the RX8. Just because you take car of a car religiously does not mean you will have it last a long time, but the odds will increase. It's all a risk anyway you slice it, but if you want better odds, I recommend choosing another car.

dillsrotary

my 8 calls me stupid and puts me down, don't get one

tiggerlee

^it's cuz your in Jersey

Krankor

Having previously owned 3 extremely trouble-free Toyotas, I know exactly where you're coming from. But sadly, Toyota doesn't have anything remotely comparable to the RX-8. But Mazda doesn't exactly suck in the reliability department. My 8 is my second Mazda; I had the first one (a '95 MX-6) for some 9 years and well over 100k miles, and had maybe one noteworthy problem in that time (relatively minor problem with the transmission).

I've only had the 8 for maybe 9 months, 12k miles. But so far, so good. No problems at all.

typej

RX-8 placed 14th overall in 2005 top gear survey based on 76,000 people giving evaluation on various aspects of their ownership experience.

http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ies/01/19.html

The first place went to S2000 for second consecutive year.

http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ies/01/20.html

So, overall RX-8 is in upper echelon of best car to own. I had problems on mine but I am planning on holding on to it longer because I think RX-8 is one of the kind

Roaddemon

I own a 2004 MT GT ,14k miles. Had to go through 1st year model re flashes and recalls but otherwise it's toyota quality. No real problems and I love the rotary. Get a 2005. You can pick up left overs cheap and most of the recall issues are solved now. It's as reliable a sportcar as anything out there.

VikingDJ

The jury is still out long term., so we'll see how this car holds up after 100k miles. I'm gonna regret selling mine if years from now everyone is driving their 150k+ mile RX8 with nothing but basic maintanence needed, and it's regarded as an extremely reliable, durable, long lasting trouble free sports car, and I'm repairing my Honda S2000 all the time. j/k That would be nice for Mazda if this car can prove to be the type of vehicle that stands the test of time, and keeps on rolling many years after it's made.

mkaresh

I'm still waiting for enough RX-8 owners to join my panel before I start collecting any data on this car. I require at least 25 for a model year. I'll be reporting real world stats like times in the shop and days in the shop. For details go to www.truedelta.com.

For now I can just contribute to the anecdotal evidence--after nearly a year with his RX-8 my father has had no problems. Loves the car--after rarely driving the 350Z he used to own.

I suspect that my research will find that the absolute differences among cars are much smaller than most people think. Even an "average" car these days is quite reliable.

As for durability, I've never seen a figure of how soon people expect a Renesis will have to be rebuilt. But if it's like past rotaries rebuilding one will be much cheaper than rebuilding a conventional engine. Figure in that just about any Toyota requires an expensive timing belt replacement every 60,000 miles...

srm858

I've had my 8 for 2 1/2 years now. It has without a doubt, been the most unreliable car I have ever owned. I trust my Fiat more. It's using a quart of oil every 400 miles now. The dealers are no help at all. I'm going to try to sell it again, since I had no luck last fall. My advice, stay away.