casual

I'm almost embarrassed to tell this story. I have an inclined driveway. the second day I had my 8 I parked it without putting it in gear and about a half hour later my neighbor came to my door asking why my car was in the middle of the street. Thank God it didnt roll into anything or get hit by another car going down the street. I felt like such a moron I always park it in gear now.

khtm

I think the more embarassing thing is the fact that you actually owned a Focus!

SpacerX

Concur -- the original joke was funny, but, c'mon guys -- let's not "pile on"

We've all made mistakes before...

I think we've determined that the e-brake may be something to pay closer attention to when operating the RX8. The best solution is to just know what works (in-gear on an incline, 1st or R, as appropriate, in addition to the e-brake) and make that another good driving habit.

Ciao!

Rotario

I probably wouldn't have even said anything, but then made an exception when I saw his attempt to lay the blame on Mazda rather than himself. Another one of those "Something went wrong, so who (besides myself) can I blame it on?" kind of attitudes. Everybody makes mistakes. Most people own up to it, but some prefer to spend more time pointing the finger elsewhere.

Bill

beachdog

No, don't do that.

It might have been operator error and it might have been an out of adjustment cable.

People get very sloppy in their driving and car control because they "never had a problem before".

Own an automatic? Do you just put it in park and then walk away or do you put it in park and set the parking brake. You should do both. Maybe you never had an automatic pop out of park and roll away, but it happens all the time.

Same for a manual. Set the brake and put in gear. Then you have no problems.

I don't need the NHTSA files on the 8 filled with trivial complaints that will only serve to increase depreciation.

Hellbreed

Are you still talking about the parking brake? :D

LoveMy8

Was this really necessary?? Huh? I assumed that I didn't need to put the car in gear, I guess I was a bit wrong. I would expect a little better performance from a $34,000 car though, guess I was a bit wrong there too. I don't think this makes me a person born without a brain. I think that is a bit harsh. I made a mistake which was based on other "cheaper" cars. Now I learned my lesson that I have put the car in gear as well when I set my "parking" brake.

LoveMy8

Okay, Here it goes. For everyone blaming this **** on me, saying that I might not know how to drive and how to set a parking brake, your wrong. Ive been driving for almost 5 years, no tickets and no accidents and only 1 pull-over. I know how to ******* drive. It was a malfunction in the e-brake. I have owned way cheaper cars then this with absolutely no problems. I wasnt even on a hill in my 8. Apparently, there is a problem because I am not the only one this has happened to. My Mazda Dealership is going to take a look at it Sat. and give me a free oil change service for my inconvience. BTW, I will be getting the money back for the tow-truck from the dealer and they are going to fight Mazda for me. They said the e-brake is supposed to hold the car regardless of whether or not it is in gear. The manager said "Hell, thats what the "emergency" brake is for." So all of you know-it-alls better hit the books and keep reading on. I posted on here so I could get solutions, but instead I got criticized and flamed on for something that was completely out of my hands.

To answer some questions..... Yes the e-brake was pulled 4 clicks high, the car did not roll after I released the brake pedal, and for the last time yes I know how to drive. You people make it seem as though, I did this **** purposely to blame Mazda, believe me no one is more of a perfectionist then me. I would do anything to endanger my car. I wont even park next to people who park retarded for the fear of a scratch or door dent.

Enough said...

Razz1

"we know why Morgan couldn't get it up...she didn't pull hard enough
the guy who started the thread maybe he couldn't get it up either"

Really, I don't have a problem I use Cialas all the time!

Makes my Biceps nice and strong.

dwynne

No one said you didn't know how to drive, they said you didn't know how to PARK :D

Seriously, lots of folks seem to not know that cars with disc rear brakes usually have crummy parking brakes. And it appears that some folks don't know you always put the car in gear as well. Hopefully if they have read this thread (and ignored the flames) they will know this now so that this will not happen to them.

None of us was born knowing anything except how to breathe, drink, pee, and cr*p. Everything else we either learned the hard way or someone taught us. Too bad for you it was the hard way, lucky for the others reading the thread that the learned the easier way.

Sound like your dealer is trying to take care of it - which is good news.

Dennis

Tim Benton

Just from reading this thread a person can tell that a lot of people must have missed out of leave it in gear (for a manual tranny) when parked, and also use the emergency brake. I'm just glad I wasn't the one whose car got rolled into, cause then I'd be bitching at you and not Mazda for not knowing something that simple.

Tim

sferrett

To reeduce the chance of flooding you should be making sure the car is warm before you shut it off, not before you drive it...

For the leave-it-in-gear crowd (of which I am one, btw) you should also note that 1st or reverse gear is not sufficient to stop the car rolling on anything more than a slight grade alone... The engine doesn't have enough compression resistance at slow rpms to stop it from turning over on anything but the most boring of inclines.

Sounds like you need to get your e-brake adjusted at the dealer. Do this - take it to them, put the ebrake on (on flat ground, in neutral) and see if you can push the car. If you can move it by pushing it then it should be obvious even to the most obstinant service person that it's not adjusted right.

Simon.

Rotario

Based on your next sentence, I'd say yes.

Still trying to blame it on the car, I see. Perhaps at some point you'll place the blame where it belongs (on yourself), and actually learn something.

FWIW, my intention was not to flame. I just get tired of the same old blame-game in lieu of accepting even basic personal responsibility.

Bill

fredw1

Ditto. I, too, get tired of people blaming others for their own actions (or lack of them).

I initially had a hard time grasping the fact that LoveMy8 still thought it was Mazda's fault after all the discussion in this forum. The fact he does not seem willing to accept responsibility for his part bothered me. The fact that he did not know about leaving the car in gear is really no one else's fault, but it really has nothing to do with not knowing how to drive, being stupid, or having a brain.

It was not until I went to the owner's manual that I thought he might have a point. There is a big warning on page 5-2 that says that "Leaving the driver's seat without setting the parking brake is dangerous. Unexpected vehicle movement could occur if the parking brake is not set. this could cause an accident." Although it does go on to say to leave the car in gear, the initial text implies that the use of the parking brake would help one avoid 1) unexpected vehicle movement, 2) a dangerous situation, and/or 3) an accident. I'd say that the brake did not function as intended.

A more-careful reading of the owner's manual would, however, have likely prevented what happened. This reading part is the driver's responsibility, not Mazda's.

rotaryjoe

Hey guys sorry for the post if someone already said it but there is an adjustment just inside the center console, top right corner there is a piece of plastic you pop out and there is a screw or something u can adjust to make the brake stronger. just my .02 cents.

hotpot

I haven't check this yet, but if what rotaryjoe is saying is correct, then it is worth much much more than 2 cents.

I think that lovemy8 has reason to vent if his parking brake is not working satisfactorily. He was parked on a spot which appeared level to the eye. There is no reason why the car would roll if he applied the parking brake. There should be no need for him to put it in gear. The brake obviously was not well adjusted. He would have expected the brake to work properly on a newish car.

ptiemann

Finally something good comes out from this thread.

I am surprised that it wasn't posted earlier. I will adjust my RX-8's parking brake this weekend. Thanks to rotaryjoe.

Air Force RX8

Have Snap-on verify if that is indeed the adjuster for the parking brake...

Tim Benton

It's not a matter of being on flat ground or oh so slight incline or a hill, but the fact no matter where you park put the manual tranny in gear. Am I missing something in that maybe my dad, mom, whoever else was around when I was watching and learning to drive told me to do was make sure it's in park or in gear before you get out of the car. It's similar to look both ways before you cross the road. At some point someone told you it was a good idea and you followed through on it, seems like you missed out on the similarly good advice of always put it in gear.

Tim

snap-on

Rotaryjoe is correct the adjusting nut is under the small plastic cover you see when you slide the armrest back.

LoveMy8

Well, I was at my Mazda dealer yesterday. "They" took complete responsibility for the car rolling. In return they gave me 4 oil changes for nothing to cover the towing bill. They also buffed the front bumper where the spot was where I bumped the other car. They also tighten my e-brake and checked my brakes and whatnot to make sure it would not happen again. I also received a car wash and wax while I was there for my inconvience. Seems to me like they took the responsibility. Again I want to thank the people who also believe that it was not my fault. For all others, all I can say is, damn I love proving ******** like you wrong! :D I would suggest other people fight this problem if it has happened to you. Just make sure you have a bill and a witness to claim that the e-brake was engaged.

Happy reving everyone!

Roland

I've always put my cars in gear along with using the hand brake. That's just a precaution and there really shouldn't be so many cases of cars rolling with the brake on. Especially since if I move the 8 just to let my wife out of the drive I'm supposed to leave it idling in my inclined drive for five minutes.

I do notice that the angle and position of the parking brake (it's a reach across the tunnel) requires a bit more effort than normal. I would guess that combines with a relatively weak brake to cause the problem.

LoveMy8

My point exactly. When owning an 8 you must allow the car to warm up before you are supposed to drive it. Lets say 3-5 minutes min. Now if it is 10 degrees outside, a person does not want to sit in the car freezing when they could be inside in the warm while the car warms up. If the engine needs to warm up and the person cannot or chooses not to be in the car at this time, wouldn't you think that Mazda would have made the strongest e-brake ever? Mazda should be then held responsible if the call rolls. My dealership completely agreed with me!

Rotario

Who exactly did you prove wrong? Go ahead and continue to park with your car in neutral. You've already had your stupidity rewarded once, and perhaps next time you'll be rewarded with more than a bumper scratch. And I can't say strongly enough that it will be well deserved.

Bill

Rotario

Says who? You? The whole thing about warm-up with the '8 is to not shut it off until it's warmed up. There's nothing that's ever been said by Mazda that the car needs warmed up for "3-5 minutes min." before it can be driven. Let's not confuse the facts with your attempt to fabricate things to suit your silly argument.

Bill