nick112207

Hey guys, really interested in getting a play car this spring/summer, and the RX-8 is high on my list.

I do have a few questions though, and i did do searches that gave a little bit of info but didn't answer my questions completely.

First: Recalls/issues/reliability.

Are the 04 and 05's reliable enough to make a good weekend cruiser? I know they had some issues with batteries and i wanna say starters? If i bought one would i still be able to take it to a Mazda dealer and get a stronger battery and starter, or would those be things i'd have to cover?

Second: Oil injection.

i guess since it injects oil/burns it in part of the rotary lubrication process, does that mean it has to be run on regular oil, and not synthetic? With the premixed gas can you run that on a constant basis, or should it only be so often? I'm used to already mixing 2 stroke with my diesel for my truck, so remembering to do it every fill up isn't an issues.

Finally: Ease of maintenance.

I see that you have to replace the spark plugs more often than a traditional engine. How hard is that to do? are they easily accessible or are they a pain?

Uncivilizedracer

Because I'm bored at work I'm just going to answer these. I have a 04 and a car is as reliable as much as you take care of it. Weekend curve hitter for sure. I would def do a battery upgrade and the starter havent really been an issue but I would change out the coils , and keep the oil topped off and yes regular oil. I almost got denied from mazda corp cause my girl used synthetic oil changes. Take the driver side tire/rim off and the plugs are easy to get to.

CrazyJek

This.


The car IS as reliable as you are. If you take car of her, she will take care of you. Maintenance is easy. Just keep the oil from getting too low. Premixing is not necessary. The starter on my 04 is factory and has no problems, even on the couple of "cold shutdowns" i did in the NYC winter cold. If you really want to, upgrade the starter and the coils. It can't hurt. Changing plugs is also easy.

The whole thing about not using synthetic, in my opinion, is based on preference. Sure you might get denied warranty cuz you used synthetic and not mineral, but that is also based on the dealer. It DOES NOT say "Do Not Use Synthetic" in the manual. It also DOES NOT say that using Synthetic will void warranty, but some places will give you a headache, as they dont make money off of warranty claims really. I suggest you stick with 5w-30 Mineral Oil.

The good news is, if the car has under 100k mileage, it will have warranty coverage for 8 years. My 2004 has it until 2012 yay!


Buy the car. You wont regret it. Get it in Velocity red for a weekend car, or phantom blue. They stand out the most.

ZumnRx8

^ you mean Winning Blue

tza0001

iTrader: (2)

If you are looking buing an 04 or 05 make sure the previous owner did all the recalls. The basic ones are upgraded battery, starter, and a PCM that keeps the oil level in the rotors higher (guys if I am wrong on the description of this please correct me). The 04 and 05 are out of bumper to bumper warranty. Thus, in case the previous owner has not done any of the above recalls or TSBs you will be charged for them. However, you still have the 100,000 miles engine core warranty so drive with no fear

Maintenance is not hard. Change oil every 3000 miles. I personally do not use synthetic or premix. Others do....So it is up to you. The only thing I know is that every 1500 miles I check my oil and coolant. The life of the OEM plugs, wires, and coils is up to 30000 to 35000 miles. I change them every 20000 just to be sure.

Very basic is to let the car always to warm up before you rev or turn off the engine. Rotaries flood extremely easy and if this happen continuously severe damage can be caused. Further, our car likes redlining. That will prevet carbon build up and any other related problems. People here say to redline it (or go between 7000 and 8500 rpms) once a day.

As everybpdy else noted if you take care of the car the car will take care of you. I own an 04 with 53000 and have no problems so far!

nick112207

thanks for all the info. the 04's and 05's are what i'm looking at. i've found quite a few 04's with 20 to 30k miles on them for about 12 grand. i've also found 1 or 2 06's for that much with 30k or so on them but they were a lot further away.

i was reading somewhere that the stock tranny fluid in the manuals was not the correct kind? what's that all about?

also i've not seen 1 04 with the sat nav in it. was it not an option or is it just a really rare option?

tza0001

iTrader: (2)

I thnk that some people just like going against OEM stuff Of course I am not saying that Mazda got everything right. I have not change my fluids for 53000 miles and never had an issue. As I told you before you got to let the car to warm up. Some people freack out when they get in the car and drive it while cold. If the tranny is not warmed up changing from 1st to 2nd it is hard and grinds. Once it warms up no problems. The manual suggests changing the tranny fluid and difefrential somewhere around 50000 to 60000 miles. A member told me that after he did it he noticed a difefrence in his gear box (smoother).

ZumnRx8

^even ur OIL? you must have an MS8

CrazyJek

I thought that no matter what, recalls are ALWAYS covered by the manufacture since it is a defect. I mean, the 10 year old toyota's are being recalled and im sure they are waaaay out of their warranty.

Someone please clarify that.

tza0001

iTrader: (2)

I suspect this is for me, right? If you read all my posts you will understand that I change my oil every 3000 miles.

tza0001

iTrader: (2)

In the case of our car this is not true. Mazda made the recalls on 2006 so they believe that they gave us enough notice to upgrade the battery and the starter. If you are out of warranty you have to pay for them