My RX-8 Stalled today
 

It has very hot and I was driving in stop and go traffic on a very busy road. While sitting at a traffic light, I noticed that the RPM's fell below 500. When the light turned green I gave it the gas and the engined died. The only way I was able to re-start was to go through the de-flooding procedure by flooring the gas pedan and cranking the hell out of the engine. After a minute of solid cranking, the engine finally started. When I rev'd the engine over 4 or 5K, I got the famous "Rocks in a Blender" sound.

I guess I need to take a trip to the dealer. In the past, I have mentioned the loud grinding noise when the engine was hot, but they have not been able to re-produce the problem. Any ideas in what is wrong and what I should tell the dealer? BTW I have the automatic transmission , and the AC was on if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance you any help.

Damn. Sounds to me like you need a new engine. There are various threads about this, do a search.

I've heard of some auto's stalling, it was taken care of by a new flash. I dont know if heat had anything to do with the issue though. You might want to search for those threads if you havent already. What year is your 8? Also, there have been a few "rocks in a blender" threads as of late. Have you checked those out? They help you out.

compression test. and are you having any sort of hesitation or lack of power?

Yea, the same thing happened to me last week. Rolling up to a light in neutral with the A/C on, the car died. There's been a few times recently, both with the A/C on and off, that it felt sluggish going up to 6000rpm, then it feels like it's banging on a rev limiter around 6500. The car shudders, and I'm wondering if its a problem with the fuel injectors or something more serious.

crossfire!

but they are getting smarter.

beers :beer:

took it to the dealer and after 3 days of messing around they ordered a new engine. Thanks for your responses

I have to say that I find this replacement of an entire engine rather disconcerting... as a recent RX8 convert! Seems like there are quite a few of these reports in these forums. Just seems to me that in normal conversation replacement of a whole "conventional" engine is a fairly rare occurance.

hmm... my friend got the reflash for his automatic and hasn't had a problem with it yet.

Well, I think it is sometimes easier or cheaper for a tech to swap an engine than it is to fix it. I've had the engine in my 04 8 replaced because they could not get it to stop making the "marbles in blender " soud. Another example would be my 05 Ford F350 PSD. Its engine was replaced with a new one because of a warped bed plate.

John, please give us all the details,oil change intervels,probs,manufac-date,what driveing style did it get,agressive? What ever you want to let us know?

Oil was changed every 3K miles, dont know the MFG date off hand. My driving style is rather agressive. It would get redlined at least one time a day. I am looking to trading it in and the trade in value is horrible. The guy I am dealing with called around to some import dealers and commented that its hard to keep engines in these cars :tear:

build date is on the drivers passanger door.

beers :beer:

My 04 is doing the exact same thing!! Its really pissin me off! Im gonna take it to the dealer tommorow.

My dealership, Mazda of Roswell, told me that these issues are only happening on the Automatics not the Manual. Anyone know why?

The service Manager at my dealership told me that the automatics have only one oil cooler rather than 2. He feels that this is the cause of the problem. After getting the new engine, I traded mine in for an 06 Mustang convertible. I got $18,600 trade in for it. Afterward, the used car manager told me that the RX-8's were going for around $15,500 at the auctions. My intent was to unload the car before the word hit the streets regarding the engine problems.

John, did they replace your engine and was it under warranty or was it goodwill on the dealership. If they did change out the engine, how long did it take and did you notice any differences?

The engine was replaced under warranty. The problems did go away, but keep in mind that it took 20K miles for them to develop.

I agree. It sounds to my like its an ecu issue. Like a simple flash would tell the injectors more/less fuel or whatever. I think its a really boneheaded move for the dealer to just order a new engine. THat actually makes me really mad. Sounds like a bunch of idiots don't know what they are doing so they are just gonna order a new engine and hope it fixes the problems.

Sorry, I am hungover right now that's why I am so pissed off.:banghead:

Just a simple flash will not cure your problems if your engine has already crossed the life line..

in that case you will need the flash and a new engine so that the ecu won't ruin the new engine.

Just a little clarification regarding the one oil cooler. All JDM (even the Type-S 247bhp 6-speed with I own) have one oil cooler so I don't think the oil cooler would be a cause for engine problems.

I think it's pretty well known in RX-8 circles that the 2004 engines, particularly with automatics, are problematic.

Also its pretty well known that RX-8 resale is pretty awful.

Sorry to hear that your experience was so poor, hope your GT treats you better.

This whole situation bugs be so much...Are there any dealers rebuilding these engines or are they just swapping them out with new ones from the factory? . Also, I wonder if these swap out engines are Factory new or Factory rebuilds? Also, I wonder how many are compression checking the engine before replacing it. Shades of the 70's. When Mazda got their "steam car" reputation and started replacing engines like crazy, THAT
really hurt them deep. In some circles, mazda had the reputation of having only a "50,000 mile engine" I love the engine and the car but why would anyone buy one new at near MSRP when you lose 40% in only a year or two? I hate to say it but buying used is the only way to go 'cause the depreciation hit is so friggin hard to swallow.

It has a horrible resale value because it has no demand.

In this market. especially in N.A., where people always "look for" high hp spec rather than overall balance. so in the end, no one wants this car.

and Do you guys know that, rare things attacts attention ? How many people actually have their engine replaced ? and how many of 8s are out there? I dont know the excat numbers but Im PRETTY SURE that the failure rate is pretty low, maybe equal or less than 1% of the owners.

Is that high? I dont know. but I can tell you guys one thing, all cars have engine problems. Rotary or not.

Did I mention that Nissan actually have to replace lots of 04 2.5 engines cuz of bad CAT ? check it on Altima forum. Does that mean Altima's 2.5 suck ? nope. shit just happens.