My RX-8 dead in my garage
11-17-2003, 10:10 PM
#26
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I too experienced the same problem last night. My car would not start and I had to crank the car multiple times for about 15 minutes in total (with 8-10 sec crank each time, with a 5 sec break in between each crank); Had the accelerator full de-pressed. The engine came back to life but spewed out a whole lotta smoke - but after 15-20 min of driving it around everything was fine. The car cranked ok this morning ....... weird. By the way, where's the thread discussing Mazda swapping out "hotter" plugs for the RX-8?
11-25-2003, 11:16 AM
#27
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To close out this thread...
I finally got to the Mazda dealer because of the oil light problem, CEL on, subpar gas mileage, and flooding problem. I wanted to see what the dealer (Cascade Mazda - Cuyahoga Falls, OH) would say. Well I don't really blame them too much but I think their RX-8 knowledge is lacking. I don't think they service very many. I think they should read this forum. :o)
1) They didn't know about the oil baffle problem. They just said I probably made a hard turn which caused the oil to miss the sensor. Actually I think I triggered it on a long drive at 75mph. They did not know about the service bulletin. I'll probably go back next time and indicate the exact service bulletin at my next oil change.
2) For the flooding problem, they first suggested I pressed the accelerator while starting the car. I had to drop hints about problems with the Renesis if the engine isn't warmed up and yes they had heard about it with other cars, not necessarily Mazdas supposedly. I really would like a fix/improvement from Mazda.
3) The CEL on was the real reason I went to the dealer. From reading this forum, I guessed it was a misfire when I tried to accelerate to 6000rpm. The CEL actually went off right before I pulled into the dealer's lot but they looked and said it was a random misfire. No surprise here, probably aftereffects of the flooding. Fault code was P0302.
4) I mentioned the heat problem from the transmission and exhaust but they kind of blew it off and didn't really address it. When summer rolls around again, I'll start to inquire again if Mazda has a fix or if I can fix it myself (e.g. improved heat shielding).
5) I had my free oil change. I checked the oil level because when I first picked up my car brand new, it was overfilled. This time it was underfilled. Doh! It's not low but it is almost 1cm below the full line. Kind of careless considering how much oil the rotary eats. Here's the kicker. I have now witnessed the "COFFEE COLORED FOAMY OIL" anomaly with brand new oil and driving 20miles so the engine was fully warmed up. I never noticed this before and it looks scary when you first see it. I'm wondering if the dealer is using a cheaper oil and/or maybe the 5W20 oil is so light that it foams up more with the high revving rotary.
6) As to gas mileage, they said it would improve as the engine breaks in. Interesting enough, I was reading a magazine review about the RX-8 while waiting. Darn I forgot the name but it's one of the major car magazines. When testing the RX-8, they only got 13MPG with " very spirited" driving, 18-19mpg during testing, and 21mpg with highway driving. That's worse than what I'm seeing. They didn't mention that the EPA estimates are 18-24mpg. How in the world does anyone get 24mpg? I guess I'll let the engine break in more.
I do feel better after visiting the dealer. They were friendly about things. They tried their best and I'll give them (and Mazda corporate) some time to get more experience with the RX-8. They spent 2 hrs checking things out. They did a F0008XDX EGI system diagnostic, whatever that means. I think they also cleaned/checked the plugs. If I have future problems, this visit was logged into their computer records. Maybe it's my imagination but the car seems to run better now.
I finally got to the Mazda dealer because of the oil light problem, CEL on, subpar gas mileage, and flooding problem. I wanted to see what the dealer (Cascade Mazda - Cuyahoga Falls, OH) would say. Well I don't really blame them too much but I think their RX-8 knowledge is lacking. I don't think they service very many. I think they should read this forum. :o)
1) They didn't know about the oil baffle problem. They just said I probably made a hard turn which caused the oil to miss the sensor. Actually I think I triggered it on a long drive at 75mph. They did not know about the service bulletin. I'll probably go back next time and indicate the exact service bulletin at my next oil change.
2) For the flooding problem, they first suggested I pressed the accelerator while starting the car. I had to drop hints about problems with the Renesis if the engine isn't warmed up and yes they had heard about it with other cars, not necessarily Mazdas supposedly. I really would like a fix/improvement from Mazda.
3) The CEL on was the real reason I went to the dealer. From reading this forum, I guessed it was a misfire when I tried to accelerate to 6000rpm. The CEL actually went off right before I pulled into the dealer's lot but they looked and said it was a random misfire. No surprise here, probably aftereffects of the flooding. Fault code was P0302.
4) I mentioned the heat problem from the transmission and exhaust but they kind of blew it off and didn't really address it. When summer rolls around again, I'll start to inquire again if Mazda has a fix or if I can fix it myself (e.g. improved heat shielding).
5) I had my free oil change. I checked the oil level because when I first picked up my car brand new, it was overfilled. This time it was underfilled. Doh! It's not low but it is almost 1cm below the full line. Kind of careless considering how much oil the rotary eats. Here's the kicker. I have now witnessed the "COFFEE COLORED FOAMY OIL" anomaly with brand new oil and driving 20miles so the engine was fully warmed up. I never noticed this before and it looks scary when you first see it. I'm wondering if the dealer is using a cheaper oil and/or maybe the 5W20 oil is so light that it foams up more with the high revving rotary.
6) As to gas mileage, they said it would improve as the engine breaks in. Interesting enough, I was reading a magazine review about the RX-8 while waiting. Darn I forgot the name but it's one of the major car magazines. When testing the RX-8, they only got 13MPG with " very spirited" driving, 18-19mpg during testing, and 21mpg with highway driving. That's worse than what I'm seeing. They didn't mention that the EPA estimates are 18-24mpg. How in the world does anyone get 24mpg? I guess I'll let the engine break in more.
I do feel better after visiting the dealer. They were friendly about things. They tried their best and I'll give them (and Mazda corporate) some time to get more experience with the RX-8. They spent 2 hrs checking things out. They did a F0008XDX EGI system diagnostic, whatever that means. I think they also cleaned/checked the plugs. If I have future problems, this visit was logged into their computer records. Maybe it's my imagination but the car seems to run better now.
11-25-2003, 09:27 PM
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To close out this thread...
<snip>
<snip>
(Don't know how many times this has been suggested previously.)
11-26-2003, 09:59 AM
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Originally posted by red_rx8_red_int
I've never flooded my car or had trouble starting it, but I think my oil might be gassy. Last time I checked my oil I thought it smelled like gas. I was thinking of bringing the dipstick inside to ask other family members but instead decided not to worry about it. It wasn't a real strong smell and I'm not really used to checking oil, so I dismissed it. Now I'm wondering, it gassy oil something particular to rotaries? Or is i t normal for oil to have a somewhat gas smell? Either way, I'm due for an oil change and will not put it off any longer.
I've never flooded my car or had trouble starting it, but I think my oil might be gassy. Last time I checked my oil I thought it smelled like gas. I was thinking of bringing the dipstick inside to ask other family members but instead decided not to worry about it. It wasn't a real strong smell and I'm not really used to checking oil, so I dismissed it. Now I'm wondering, it gassy oil something particular to rotaries? Or is i t normal for oil to have a somewhat gas smell? Either way, I'm due for an oil change and will not put it off any longer.
11-26-2003, 10:02 AM
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Originally posted by johnmans
hi guys this sounds like a typical RX8 flodding the way to clear it is to hold the throttle flat to the floor and crank the engine this will cut out the injectors and it wont allow fuel to be delievered
it may want to start whilst doing this if it does back off the accel pedal a little and it should fire but it is defintly flooding no two ways about it ive seen it before so try what i said and see how it goes but you must hold the accel pedal flat to the floor
hi guys this sounds like a typical RX8 flodding the way to clear it is to hold the throttle flat to the floor and crank the engine this will cut out the injectors and it wont allow fuel to be delievered
it may want to start whilst doing this if it does back off the accel pedal a little and it should fire but it is defintly flooding no two ways about it ive seen it before so try what i said and see how it goes but you must hold the accel pedal flat to the floor
11-26-2003, 10:03 AM
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Originally posted by White Comet
I have flooding problems occasionaly when the weathers hot enough . On the FC though, you can pull the injector fuse, crank, reinstall fuse and crank again and it'll start.
I have flooding problems occasionaly when the weathers hot enough . On the FC though, you can pull the injector fuse, crank, reinstall fuse and crank again and it'll start.
11-26-2003, 10:07 AM
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Re: flooding
Originally posted by mist1006
Welll guys, I hate to say it but welcome to the world of the Rotary...
We've owned 5 7s and only one of them didn't flood and that was because of the oil control rings being bad and allowing far more oil into the chambers than should have been.
Unfortunately Mazda never really fixed the flooding issue with the 7s that i know of.
Several guys wired in a fuel cut off switch so that they'd flip the switch it'd cut the fuel and kill the car prior ot shutting it off.. thus making sure there wasnt any gas in the chambers.... good theft deterrant too..
i went for the pull the EGI fuse.. crank... put the fuse back in an start it again...
flooded my car once so bad we had to put oil in the intake to get back compression...
best of luck with the new rotaries... i want one.
Kerri
Welll guys, I hate to say it but welcome to the world of the Rotary...
We've owned 5 7s and only one of them didn't flood and that was because of the oil control rings being bad and allowing far more oil into the chambers than should have been.
Unfortunately Mazda never really fixed the flooding issue with the 7s that i know of.
Several guys wired in a fuel cut off switch so that they'd flip the switch it'd cut the fuel and kill the car prior ot shutting it off.. thus making sure there wasnt any gas in the chambers.... good theft deterrant too..
i went for the pull the EGI fuse.. crank... put the fuse back in an start it again...
flooded my car once so bad we had to put oil in the intake to get back compression...
best of luck with the new rotaries... i want one.
Kerri
11-26-2003, 08:05 PM
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Let's see, there are only 3 reasons a rotary floods. 1) poor compression, 2) leaky injectors and 3) ecu glitch in 2nd gen rx7s which caused flooding when shut down cold. None of these should be an issue with a new rx8 so it is a bit puzzling. For the record, I have owned 3 rx7s so far and none of them have flooded ever under any conditions.
11-27-2003, 10:29 AM
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Originally posted by TurboSE
Let's see, there are only 3 reasons a rotary floods. 1) poor compression, 2) leaky injectors and 3) ecu glitch in 2nd gen rx7s which caused flooding when shut down cold. None of these should be an issue with a new rx8 so it is a bit puzzling. For the record, I have owned 3 rx7s so far and none of them have flooded ever under any conditions.
Let's see, there are only 3 reasons a rotary floods. 1) poor compression, 2) leaky injectors and 3) ecu glitch in 2nd gen rx7s which caused flooding when shut down cold. None of these should be an issue with a new rx8 so it is a bit puzzling. For the record, I have owned 3 rx7s so far and none of them have flooded ever under any conditions.
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