As our '8s age...
 

Every car model has it's wear and failure points. What do you think will fail to gracefully survive the test of time?

Here are my observations:

> Center arm rest cover -- there's already a thread devoted to this one.

> Inner door sill plastic cover -- wobbly from the factory, mounted atop a serious bundle of wiring. Definitely subject to major scuffing. I'm tempted to buy replacements now to install at trade-in or sale time.

> Outer door sill aluminum 'RX8' plate -- caught mine lifting up the other day. Stuck it back down, but I expect to see it fall off soon.

> "Bits between the doors" -- I've gotten into the habit of opening and closing the passengers doors (front and back) due to occassional confusion on the part of passengers: "Which door should close first?" I'm waiting to see the results of a front-before-back forceful door closing...

> Passenger seat rear pocket -- age won't be kind to the nylon zipper interface next to the pocket.

> The Carpet -- with only 3000 miles on it, I've noticed serious wear to the point of the little, boxy carpet bulge underneath the accelerator pedal. This carpet is not tough stuff -- it's light though.

> Engine cover -- whether it's to show off the ugly, but technically superior rotary or for the 300 mile oil level check, I notice that the cover over the engine needs to come off a lot! Would feel better about fasteners which don't rely on pressure and rubber banding to keep the cover on.

> Exterior light covers -- they're soooo clean and clear...plastic, too. These babies may not look too hot at 40K miles. Lets hope Mazda used better Lexan than Mercedes did in the late 90's!

> The BIG cover behind the nose -- has everyone looked closely up under the front of their cars? The angled radiator is way cool...but the huge plastic cover below it might not survive to 50K miles. The cavity behind the smile is large enough for a family of cats to take up residence!

none of my stuff is going to last long
I'm gonna replace most of it with aftermarket parts

I agree with the arm rest cover and carpet. appears they won't last too long. I've seen no evidence of the rest, but i realize you're making predictions. I've got about 8000 miles on mine now.

I have kids, so, I don't expect much of anything to last.....:-)

Re: As our '8s age...
 

that is my biggest fear :(

Don't forget the silver-tone plastic running down the sides of the driveshaft tunnel.
Mine look good now, but someone is bound to hit them a few times with the seatbelt buckle and gouge them.

Shift knob is going to get burnished.

Aluminum pedals scratch easily.

Wheel well plastic and FABRIC (yes - the rear wheel wells are lined with carpet! Go figure) will get dingy very fast.

Exterior black plastic will very quickly turn gray.

External mirror plastic mounting plates are going to warp.

Plastic in the trunk will scuff.

Brake rotor backing plates will get grainy looking/oxidized in less than a year in most places where we live.

My stock exhaust system is already starting to rust badly after 2200 miles.

Oil coolers and air conditioning condenser will get dinged up fast.

There is a significant amount of paint on the front of the RX-8 that is exposed at relatively sharp angles to the airflow around the nose. It will all get chipped.

Soft interior plastic is easily scratched.

Gray/taupe parts of interior and headliner will quickly get dingy.

Vinyl parts of the seats will get wrinkly and the leather will develop creases.

I could go on, but it is depressing....

Ok, most of the ones you mention are typical things that happen to cars. If you want to keep them showroom-new, keep them in the showroom. Meanwhile, the rest of us will drive their cars. :)

But the plastic tunnel had me thinking, and you will soon find out whether or not that's a good or bad thing. :)

Would it be possible to apply some of that "clear bra" vinyl to the painted plastic to keep it from getting scratched up but still look ok?

When I first saw my car in the back lot, unprepped with 5 miles on it, I was tempted to ask them to keep all the blue [I think] plastic-protecting film on the inside.

But then I remembered what happened the last time I failed to remove that stuff: it was on the kids' basketball backboard...it welded itself to the lexan, cracked, and is still on there to this day.

-----

I'm pleased to see so many responses to this thread. I'm hoping that it will serve as a 'time capsule' for future reflection. Or maybe it will help engineer the 2006 M.Y. cars.

Over all, I'm with racerdave, I'll drive the piss out of this car and evaluate when my 7 yr/100K bumper-to-bumper extended warrantee expires. I have 6 yrs. 9 mos. or 96, 500 miles until then.


[that carpet in the rear wells is sort of bizarre...one of many 'clues' to my hypothesis that Mazda will make this car over in a future year and raise the price by $5-10,000]

Fortunately my only thing is the silver rx-8 doorsils are loose. I noticed it last wash (it's been 5 months more or less) that I removed and re-aplied with some 3M tape as mentioned before. We shall see how it lasts.

Other than this I am incredibly happy with the car and still get in it every time expecting to have a fun drive.

The nexttime I go to the dealer I am getting the center arm rest replaced b/c it is very loose and the plastic knobyou push to slide it back is sometimes tilted out of place. Oil panhas to be installed. Alsothe temperature knobfor air conditioning needs to be replaced its very loose. I am goingto show them how loose the Rx8 sills are and the plasticthat is coming off around them---and they are going to have to check the brake rotors sincemy car is squealinga lot now whenever I start braking. I dontthink I have driven it once thisweek without hearing the brakes squeal andits pretty humiliatingto have a brand newcar w/brakes that are already squealing below 5000 miles. It lookslike theyre goingto have my car for a while.

Now that's funny. Spoken like a true parent!

I dont own an 8, but my friend has one.
As far as the stuff you guys already mentioned I really dont know.

One thing that I notice is the plastic around the side view mirrors.
It seems to be seperating from the car, especially at the top (where it comes to a point), its sticking out probably 2-3mms. WHen I first noticed it wasnt sticking out very far, but the gap seems to have grown.

Yeah, that was on my list, above.
Mine appears to be separating as well.

ok...I have one....the material behind the passenger above the pocket and attached to the underside of the molded plastic will come loose completely......if you have a chils sitting back there that is. With his feet plastered up against the seat I noticed today the material was coming apart from the plastic....I tucked it back in but it is a little puffy and not flat now! I have scraped up plastic too.....yes, the silver down the middle of the car is getting a little scratched up and I am very careful! P.S. Ordered my Dunlop winter tires today....$490 plus $70 shipping online at a place someone else sugggested in a thread(hubby ordered them....will get name of co. if anyone needs it. The size is slightly off but dealer said it would work...they are a little wider and lower I was told. Here in 3 days. I fish tailed today on some little icy patches.

Oops a few typo's and one word left out...seat and chils=child! Sorry...in a rush.;]

I fear those carpeted linings of the rear wheel well. What was mazda thinking? Carpet in a wheel well?? It looks awefull in the snow and wet, dirt seems to stick easy.

First, let me say - punctuation and spacing are our friends. ;)

I believe there is a TSB on the climate control knobs. So, the dealer may have those on hand.

i had a paint chip on the nose when it came off the truck, luckilly my dad was able to see it before i drove off the lot in complete darkness. I also have a nick in the silver tunnel. The armrest is pretty flimsy.

my mirrors are separting also

here comes mazdaspeed to the rescue

IMHO, the interior design, actually...
 

Don't get me wrong, I love the way the interior of the 8 looks, but it also seems obvious that the dash (not the instrument panel, but the center area with the radio and climate controls) is going to look really dated a few years from now.

This is not unique to the 8; most Japanese cars tend to look dated inside rather quickly compared to other brands. This may be because they go for edgy styling in the first place, which can quickly turn passe...

so it sounds like it will be a good market for plastic trim pieces, carpet patches, and mirrors for the RX8. I bet the 350 Zed has the same problem.

With so many companies making exhast kits and aero kits, someone could start making the interior pieces and really do well.

greese

jonalan ifyou make one of my car payments for me I will go and buy a new keyboard that doesnt have a messed up space bar just tomake you happy. So Do we have a deal??

i dont think this is the best page that future 8 owners want to see like my self but its very good to have people who are honest about their cars to inform us. any future 8 owner dont let this page get you worried this is pretty much wear and tear on any car. and this is just a few . mazda has sold bout 38,000 8's and all good feedback

my shift knob has dried out and instead of being black, has some lighter colored cracks appearing. I used some leather cleaner that came with my zaino, and it's back to being jet black.

the center console is the most likely to not make it.

the center rear view mirror makes a lot of noise when I move it. It acts like it's 10 year old plastic.

There is something like a "Door Inner Trim Protector" that you can buy that will also help minimize any problems from this. It's really just a rubber pad that glues to the inside of the rear door. Hopefully when it does happen to me it will serve it's purpose.