Pretty sure my engine is finally dead
 

Long story short:

I posted here a while ago about my failing compression numbers. Well below spec. However, car still ran OK and turned on fine, although it took a little longer to fire up. Fast forward to last thursday.. Flash snow storm. So I can't drive it. Car is on street so fire it up, run it for 25 mins, making sure car is fully warmed up. I then proceed to rev it a couple times while warm and get it into the garage waiting for storm to end and roads to clear for me to drive it to my storage place. It sits in the car for only 5 days. Finally today the roads are clear and plan to get her in storage. Go to fire it up. Nada. Won't turn over. Figure she needs a boostm. Hook up my booster. Booster shows green. Battery is fine no problems. Try firing her. Nope nothing. End up getting it towed.

Car is past warranty in years. But only in km/miles. Its only got 108k or 66k miles or so. Pretty sure the engine is gone and I'm gonna fight tooth and nail with my dealership to get a replacement engine at no cost. My family has purchased Mazda's exclusively since 1991 when they first bought a 626. Since then they have owned a protege, two Mazda 6s a Mazda MPV and I owned my rx8. I assume loyalty holds weight in this case despite being out of warranty. I'll let them know I will stop recommending Mazda if they dont work with me here.

Will the engine not rotate via the starter or is it cranking and not starting?

What he said.

If it won't even crank, check your fuses and relays.

If it will crank but won't catch, check air/spark/fuel.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck, particularly with a Mazda product and its generally innovative design and engineering. I’ve had no engine issues in over 11 years of ownership, but have already decided that, should engine replacement ever be necessary, I’ll drop the $3-4K necessary to replace it. In the grand scheme of things, a relatively small price to pay for the privilege of owning an RX-8. Anyway, good luck.

It sounds more likely that you lost a fuse or the starter died.

ftfy

Thanks for the replies. It cranks but wont start. Also, it makes a wierd whirring noise after I stop turning the key its a wierd noise that I never heard before.

Anyways, I know the engine is on the way out. I e-mailed Mazda Canada this morning and I also told my dearlership do what they can to get me a new engine put in, on Mazda's dime. Me and my family have been loyal customers of Mazda since 1991 when my parents purchased a Mazda 626, and have bought several Mazda's since then. Plus all services done at the Mazda dealership. I think loyalty in this case should count for something.

Not sure if this will post here, but if you look at the video on this thread, its more or less what mine is doing/sounds like:

Yah, good luck with that.

Ok it wouldn't let me post the thread with the video on it but if anyone is a member of the Mazda RX-8 group on FB its on there.

Whirring sound from the fuel tank, perhaps?
I'm all for getting a new engine but just be careful that actually fixes the problem. Would be an expensive way to find out it was something else.

Engine is dying, had a compression test done a few months ago after I started noticing longer start up times. These were the numbers I got:

PERFORMED COMPRESSION TEST.
ROTOUR #1 278RPM #1-6.0 #2-5.4 #3-5.5 - KG/CM
ROTOUR #2 286RPM #1-6.0 #2-6.3 #3-6.4 - KG/CM
CORRECTION: COMPRESSION TEST COMPLETE, COMPRESSION IS LOW SHOULD BE UP
AROUND 10.2 KG/CM.
REQUIRES FILLING FUEL TANK AND ADDING IN SEA FOAM TO CLEAN
AFTER 1 TANK OF FUEL AND SEA FOAM DRIVEN THREW VEHICLE.
REQUIRES SECOND COMPRESSION TEST.

So yeah, that engine is bad, I was actually surprised it still ran decently with those numbers too. Hence why Im trying to get a new engine in there.

Right right, that all makes sense. It's just odd that it up and failed completely one day. That's more of a fuel pump, fuse or starter symptom.

Engine life is measured in miles, not months
 

I currently have over 41K miles on my Renesis with no issues to speak of. Anyone who understands engines will tell you that's quite good. Anyone who understands the Renesis will tell you that performance is exemplary.

You see, people who understand engine technology measure engine life in miles, not months; that's what we coastal people call a "fact". That's why, when shopping a used car, people ask "how many miles are on that engine?" You've heard people say that, right? They don't ask "how many months are on that engine?" now, do they? So whether my 41K trouble-free miles happen in two years or twenty doesn't really matter. Yes, over 11 years of ownership with zero engine problems is impressive. But the fact that it occurred over 41K miles is what really matters.

I have similar compression numbers and mine still runs like a bat outta hell.
I'm guessing it's a simple fix, loose terminals, corroded ground, bad starter/alternator.

But if you're trying to get a new engine instead of actually troubleshooting the problem, good luck.

Oh, I am troubleshooting it. I told them to get back to me when they have a look at the car so we can go on from there. I cant understand how one day it fires up ok and a few days later won't fire. Feels like its flooded to be honest but I let the car run for 25 minutes, waited until it was fully warmed up, AND revved 3 or 4 times to redline before shutting off. My thought is that if it is flooded, the root of that is a weak, failing engine. Healthy engines dont flood.

Lol, no. The military, race teams and aircraft maintainers all measure life in operating hours. This is not a good place for a crusade, take it somewhere else.

Lol, I have no need for a "crusade". In fact, I don't believe it even applies here:

"an organized campaign concerning a political, social, or religious issue, typically motivated by a fervent desire for change: a crusade against crime."

Sorry, just not the crusade type.

The life of an engine should be measured in how many miles it has been driven/flown/used, not how many years. You could buy a car, use it sparingly and in 8 years have racked up less that 15K miles. You cant say that the car is old just because of its age. And thats what I am arguing with Mazda that at 106KM its well within the 160KM that the warranty says. Yes, they say 8 years and I understand they most likely will say NO, but its worth a shot and if they say NO i wont buy another Mazda car again.

That is unnecessarily condescending and reeks of coastal elitism.



Operating hours are different than lifetime hours.

They will say no. And, you will have no standing to be upset about it, because the warranty was clearly presented at the outset (and then even extended).

Im having a similar issue, started mine up about 2 weeks ago to move it from my garage and as always let it reach average operating temp before shutting it down. After i was finished in the garage i followed the same procedure and then put the car back in the garage and left it until about 2 days ago when i went to move it again and sure enough....no start. This is the 3rd year in a row its had a no start condition after parking it for winter (and also my 3rd year with the car). I pulled the plugs and fuel pump fuse as well as fuel relay and cranked it for a few seconds, then left it for a day for the plugs to dry. today i re installed the plugs and changed the oil, then gave it a go and still nothing. Its rotating i can hear it but the tach reads under 500r rpm when im trying to start it. Any thoughts? about a month ago i had a random misfire while driving but all seems well since and i havent had any misfire codes return.

You don't understand engine technology so who are you speaking of? You definitely are not including yourself in that group Mr. "For those of you who change their own oil, how do you avoid overfilling it".

41k isn't shit, and that is my point. You love to taught your reliable Renesis because you don't drive it, and if you did drive it normally you would have engine replacements just like everyone else with over 100k and then your noob opinion would be different because you only know what you dream up in your non wrenching coastal mind.

Good news for those following this! Engine IS NOT DEAD, at least not yet. Nope, problem was what I suspected back in July. One bad coil, which caused the the engine to not start. Which is what I asked my dealership to look at back in July and they told me it was still good. That ticks me off because I doubt they even looked at that. I knew it was the coil because it hard started while COLD as well as hot. Anyways, what a difference it made, no more slow starting car and no more slightly rough idle. Purred like a kitten! One happy guy right now! Got her into storage until Spring. Over the winter, shall be buying BHR coils, wires and plugs and get the entire ignition system replaced. And, been in contact with Mazda Canada. Fingers crossed I get a free engine replacement.

I’ve been running diag in mine whenever I have time this last week and I’m kind of stumped, pulled the plugs and fuel pump fuse as well as fuel relay. Cranked and left it to sit. Plugs were dry, changed the oil and re-installed them. Attempted to start it again but no luck. My coils and wires are just over a year old but only roughly 3k km on them and plugs are 2 years old with about 7k km on them. Checked the coils and one seemed to have slight marks on the bottom side but didn’t look like serious arcing. I just got inside from running an in-line spark test and all ignition circuits are intact according to the tool. Engine cranks and apparently I have spark. With fuel circuits closed I can smell gas so there must be fuel, I don’t have a rotary compression tester but dosent it seem odd that it starts perfectly fine one day and 2 weeks later just nothing? Any thoughts?

Yes it does. Smelling gas isn't the same as having fuel pressure. Can you hear the fuel pump run? It may be dying. Have you checked the fuses?