Rotary engines are hard to start?
 

I just had rx8 testdrive this morning.
It was 2008 rx8 grand touring and has 19k miles on it.
It looked pretty brand new.

However, when I tried to start the engine,
I stayed on 'On' for 2 seconds and tried to start the engine,
but I wasn't started.
So I was frustrated , I stayed on 'On' for 5 seconds,
and turned the key again, then it is hardly started.
It was like my friend's 2001 mitsubish mirage that has poor battery.

2008 model with 19k miles seems brand new and has no problem.
But only engine sounds hard to start.

does rotary engines sound like hard to start compared to piston engines?

how long has it been sitting?

It's a rotary, you got to pull that rope with the handle attached after lifting the choke and priming the engine.
No, but really, did it start? It may of been flooded ( do a search), weak battery, plugs, coils, could be a number of things.

What do you mean has been sitting?

Buy a 10 speed

It starts, I turned off engine and turned on again, and it started but still sound weak

What do you mean it sounds weak? Did it stumble? Are the RPM's low? Did you drive it? Also it's not good to start a rotary and then shut it down right away. Do a search on flooding.

yea, kind of stumble, not started right way. I didn't check the RPM.

I drove it on highway. All driving was fine. And I already read whole stickies and I know what flood is :) I didn't turn off the engine right away. I waited until the temperature gauge went to the middle.

Is this from a dealer or a private sale? If you have been reading this forum you know that this car will need more attention than say a Civic. Are you prepared to care for this car? You sound kind of young, not trying to put you down, but unless you can do some maintenance yourself the dealers will rape you for things like plugs, coils, just about everything. What you pay for the car may just be the begining. If you or your parents can afford to spend some money on the car when it needs it it will be a fun car, if not look for something else. Not to say it's not reliable, some owners here have had no problems, for others thay have been nightmares.

My car was hard to start here and there before I got the BHR Ignition Kit (starts with a bump of the starter now) even with the upgraded start and new battery. Just some days the cranking time was long and some days it cranked right over.

I still rev it to 3k and turn the key off when shutting down just out of habit but its not needed with the BHR kit. I don't believe flooding had ever happened with the BHR kit.

Reverse - cranking and starting a rotary sounds pretty much like any other car. It will go a couple of turns before it fires - that's how they've been programmed since mid-2006 - so don't expect it to fire as soon as you touch the starter. But if it cranks with a slow moaning sound, there's something wrong with the battery (most likely) or starter. If it cranks briskly but takes much more than a few spins to catch, there's something wrong with fuel or ignition.

Ken

Thanks for the quick replies.

according to you guys opinions, I don't think it has the starting problem. Looks just normal with Rotary engines.

But to make sure, if starter has some problem, it is covered by bumper to bumper warranty, right? The car has bumper-to-bumper warranty.

Sure doesnt sound normal to me, to have to wait 7 seconds and 2 turns of the key to get a 2 year old car to start. Even my 04 with the "slow" starter and a 110k mile engine started in under 3 seconds.

Way to go guys, move on to the next thread and continue to play 'patronize the newbie" with some other poster there too. :ugh2:

Before buying the car, I would insist on a compression test and have the battery tested. It could have been a very weak battery if it had sat on a dealership lot for several weeks without being started. Or there could be some issue with the starter, although unlikely. Or there could be an engine compression issue, or an engine ignition/fuel issue.

I am not saying that I stayed 'start' for 7 seconds. There are 4 steps when I turn the key. 1. Off -> 2. Acc -> 3. On 4-> Start. First when I was tried to turn on the engine, I didn't turn key all the way to 'start'. I stoped on 'on' for 2 seconds or less, and turned to 'start'. But it was just stumbling so I turned the key back to 'off'. And I tried again. This time I stayed 'on' for 5 seconds to give time to battery more time to be ready, and then I turned to the 'start'. Finally the engine started right away but it sound weak.

And actually the car that was testdriven, is not the one I will buy. The car was belong to Acura dealership near my house and it was $22000. The car I will buy is 2006 model with 29000 miles on it. I just testdrove 2008 one to compare with the 2006 model which is the real one I will buy

[EMBED]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX4yRQF8t4U[/EMBED]

$22k for an 08 with 19k miles... are you serious? You can get a new one for not a whole lot more.

Common problem on car lots even new cars have the starting problem.

No, I just testdrove it to compare with the other one which I will buy. I am planning to buy a 2006 model with 29k miles for $12000.

and the engine start was similar to the video above. Something sounds weak when he turned one the engine compared to other pistone engines.

I dont hear weak or anything
when its cold, its a bit slower

The cold start vid looks very normal even by piston standard.

That sounds weak?
That is about the quickest starting you will see on an RX-8, brand new or not.

ha! and he "initialized" it in that video :) i've been talking about that since day one :)

that car started fine.

this is about the quickest you can get
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQxY_cHfSCI

Does anybody else find anything in this vid worth noting?
I find about three things at least.