New to the Rotary
 

Hey all, just got an 05 6MT 8 about a month ago and am loving it. Only had 15k miles on it too.

Just yesterday got my first CEL. I am nervous as hell. Also, the only thing wrong with this car is I can get as low as 15-17 mpg city (which is really all highway, but a couple of stop lights) and at most 21 mpg all highway roadtrip (77 mph). I guess maybe I am driving it too hard, but honestly, I don't know what is hard and what is soft for this car because of the wide band and the rotary, so where do you guys shift? I know others are getting much higher and have read lots of threads on the topic, but I am not sure what I am doing wrong.

Anyways, are there primers for stuff I should replace and/or examine having bought a used 8?

Cheers!

Hello and welcome to the club!

Without knowing the exact CEL code we cannot help, there are many CEL codes for many things. Some autoparts stores will read the code for free. You can also buy a code reader, just make sure it supports CAN BUS (just ask them at the store). Now the bad news, your MPG is not that bad, when I used to use my 8 for work ( 80 miles round trip Hwy) I was getting 21 MPG. Now I am spending less time in 6th gear so my MPG is also in the 17 range. The only way to keep it up around 21 MPG is to increase the miles driven in 6th gear. So upshift ASAP, or just live with it and have some fun. As for the stuff to look for, there was a few minor recalls on the 8, ask a dealer or even call Mazda USA to find out if they were performed otherwise just keep up on the maintenance. I made it to 110,000 miles before I had to do any major work and I could have put that off if I wanted to.

Yeah, I know I need to get the code. I am hoping to god it is just the gas cap thing I have read about. After the light came on, my wife suggested I check my cap and it had come about 1/8th of a turn loose. At any rate, the dealer is replacing one of my flip down visors tomorrow (split in half? warrantable) so I am thinking about having them check the code while it is there.

The more I read here, the more and more scared I get. TSB (whatever that means) recalls, flashes, oil concerns, gas mileage, warranty, engine replacements, wtf should I make of it all?

TSB stands for 'technical service bulletins'. They just serve as a help to dealers to diagnose problems quicker. My 8 was built 5/2003 and only 2-3 of them applied to me. The recalls are also minor issues, if your up to date on the recalls then your up to date on the flashes. This is not a Honda Civic, owning this car does require a little extra care and understanding. If a CEL will cause you to freak this might not be the car for you. My last CEL had to do with a rear O2 sensor. I have a code reader, looked up the CEL, found out the part cost $150 and replaced it in 15 minutes. No big deal, how would you have reacted??

No big deal. The scary part is not knowing whats going on. I will feel better when I understand more of the topics that are at play with the vehicle, but atm I am more taken aback at what I might now know than what might be actually wrong. For instance, after I bought it I had it in the dealership to have a flash done (I will ask tomorrow if it was MSP16) but not only is there no sticker under the hood, there are no stickers in either door jamb. So now I wonder, did they do it at all?

I dunno, the more I read around here it seems like there is tons of conflicting information. As an engineer, I just want to know answers and reasons.

I hear ya. Being a first time rotary owner is a BIG step to some. You are doing the RIGHT thing on reading on this forum. Stick around if you can, you will get to understand the love of the wankel.

cheers,

Bino

dont worry about the stickers. my car have been thru 3 recalls. no stickers at all. yep, damn these lazy bastards, names in order : Koppel Mazda - Heat shield recall, Great Neck Mazda - 4206f, Manhattan Mazda - MSP16. none of them gave me any stickers :(

CEL is no big deal, most of the time they're harmless and will not effect your car's performance in anyway. For example, if your gas cap is not secured, you will get a CEL. If your air pump is not working, you will get a CEL. but were those important parts? not at all.

ask someone to pull the code, Autozone and a lot of garage can pull it for you for free. if they dont know what it means, post it here or search the code on this site. but most codes are shared with Generic OBD II code so, not hard to find what it means.

yeah you def don't need to worry about the CEL just go to Autozone and get it read for free...stick around and learn from all the guys that have been around rotaries for awhile...

P0455 - something to do with evap. off to the googlez!

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ighlight=P0455

Take it to the dealer. Unless you've had your cap off giving a large leak or have the original cap on you may have a problem. Make sure they've done MSP13 to your car. If you log into MazdaUsa.com with your VIN it should tell you what recalls have/have not been performed.

Best case is you take it in and they give you a new gas cap and send you on your way. Either way it won't hurt you to have them check it plus if you haven't been to a dealer yet you can introduce yourself and make sure the dealership you've chosen doesn't suck. Your warranty should be good until at least the end of this year.

Gas cap!
Dealer should give you a new one.