Dealership states that they cannot find anything wrong with the car to cause the poor mileage (fillup before taking to the dealership yielded 12.9MPG). I am totally frustrated and I can honestly say that I regret purchasing this car and I wish I had my Acura back. I really don't know what to do at this point. I will place a call with Mazda corporate with my concerns but based on what others have said I really don't expect any results from them either. This sucks...

 

I think the meaning is, this forum is frequented by a small fraction of the worldwide ownership of the 8. It is not a scientific survey of world owner satisfaction. Forums are for enthusiests but also people with problems needing info. That is probably the reason for for the 7.75% negative feedback. Potential owners should not let this forum discourage them from buying the 8. It's a great car.

 

rjenk--I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get any answers from the dealer. I can definitely relate to how you feel. For me, the thrill of this car really wore off with my two flooding incidents. Now there's always the concern that it won't start and everytime I want to move it out of the garage to do something in there, I have to either drive it around or leave it running until it warms up. That certainly doesn't do anything for the gas mileage and it a real pain in the a**.

 

that's weird. anytime i even think about doing something in the garage i make an excuse to drive it around the block afew times. 8 months + of ownership and i still take any chance i get to go for a drive. it is a pleasure for me not a pain in the ***.

 

rjenk have you asked them to reflash/reset the comp in case there is something wrong? some folks have had it done after complaining and noted improvement. also you should ask for them to check your plugs for fouling and have them replaced with the new hotter ones.

arthur you should do the same. especially the hotter plugs. they should solve your flooding history.

 

for instance read the thread here

 

Hskr8 --

Its good that you are looking closely at the cars you are considering. After spending a year looking for a replacement for my '94 Accord, I saw the RX-8 last October, wanted one, and then started reading about all the "problems". I think many of the "problems" stem from the new model year, the nature of the rotary, misguided expectations, and lack of education.

That isn't to discount that some owners have had, and continue to have, significant problems with their RX-8. I have had some significant problems with my other cars, a previous Accord needed significant manual transmission work, and later blew its radiator on a Sunday morning three hours from home; our current Odyssey ground its auto trans while my wife and son were driving in town.

Over a 3 month period I looked at every other car I could find, sifted through the RX-8 "problems" and attempted to resolve which mattered to me. Along the way, I tried to discard and delay the RX-8 option several times.

After going through the motions of buying an A4 or Passat, I realized those were not the cars I wanted, I wanted an RX-8, the family was on-board for the RX-8, the issue had been beat to death, and then some. My dealer found the exact car I wanted, I bought it, haven't second guessed the decision, and look forward to driving it every chance I get.

<edit>

To date the RX-8 has worked very well, I have driven it through very marginal conditions (cold, short drives, snow, ice, slop) and it has performed flawlessly. From this forum, I have the advantage of forwarned is forearmed. I haven't voted yet, but will when I think I have enough miles (1500 miles now). At this point I would vote highly satisfied.

 

To this date: 2/13/2004 ~ 9:50AM

Total Votes: 504

:D Highly satisfied: 395 (78.37%)

Others: 109 (21.63%)

Somewhat S: 55 (10.91%)

Neutral: 15 (2.98%)

Somewhat D: 16 (3.17%)

Highly D: 23 (4.56)

Now, using the worst case scenario rule, and considering that half of the Highly Satisfied voters didn't even think about it or maybe regret their decission now, we would have:

Highly Satisfied: 198 (38.28%)
Others: 306 (61.72%)

 

Anyone else try to flood thier cars on purpose? I try it about once a day with no luck so far.

 

eh, how did my post get on this thread.. it was ment to be on the flooding thread.

 

Good idea to get a snapshot at ~500 votes:

I have been doing this math for a while:
> Both Satisfieds: 395+55 = 450 (89.3%)
> Neutral + DisS: 15+16+23 = 54 (10.7%)

Does anyone know how other cars score in similar polls?

 

I guess I try to be a bit more pessimistic in my assumptions.

 

I agree that since I've been "educated" that I haven't really had a problem. However, I should have been informed of the potential flooding issue BEFORE I purchased the car. Instead, like many other, I had a rude awakening the first time it happened and had to spend a considerable amount of time getting it fixed.

BTW, I did do some research before I bought the car, but the flooding issue wasn't raised.

 

I already have the hotter spark plugs. They were installed after the second flooding incident. I've had them for about 6 weeks.

On a related issue--when I checked my oil this morning it reeked of gasoline. I have an appointment to take it in yet again to be checked out. I can only assume this is related to the flooding issue. And, yes, the oil was changed when it flooded. This should be "clean" oil and it only has 700 miles on it. The car has 1550 miles.

Maybe I'm expecting too much, but I'm very disappointed.

 

Yes, I agree, you should have been informed about the flooding issue before you purchased the car.

 

I dont think you can hold fully accountable that the dealership didnt notify you of a Flooding issue, Im not saying its right, but Im saying perhaps the dealership wasnt even aware themselves

Remember all cars have the possibility of having problems, which is why there is such a thing called Recalls.

I myself have not had any flooding issues, inluding several guys here who also own an Rx8.

I think honestly, as a owner of an rx8 and prior to purchasing the car, you had to know that Rotary engines require high maintenance from an owner, and also a complicated engine not because of the engine itself, but mainly because not many poeple are educated about the engine which is why I wouldnt bring my car to anyone else, except for my mechanics that I know how to work on a rotary

anways, as a salesman, i apologize that you going through these troubles and I hope your dealership can fix the problems

Good luck

Z

 

Actually, I'm not holding the dealer accountable. I'm holding MAZDA accountable. My dealer openly admits that they did not know anything about the flooding issue and, therefore, were not educating the consumers until they started seeing the problem. They did inform me of some other issues related to the rotary engine (e.g., to check the oil more frequently, etc.), but the flooding was never mentioned. I knew this engine was different, but I didn't think reliability would be an issue.

My dealership has been great about dealing with this and I think they are as frustrated as I am that this is an ongoing issue.

I'm actually hoping for a recall. I keep hearing that the Mazda engineers are working on the issue and I really hope a real fix is on the way.

At this point, I'll give them a few more months. If it's not fixed, I'll trade it in and maybe look at them again after they work out the kinks.

Don't get me wrong--I really love this car, but since it's my only transportation, I need something that I can expect to start and isn't in the shop a couple of times a month.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Some comments on flooding, dealers, and Mazda.

First off, it is not that easy, under normal conditions to flood an RX-8.
I live in Edmonton, where we routinely see very cold winter weather. Up until recently I had not experienced flooding.

As we do not get the ability to install a block heater, and as I park my car outside, it is actually quit remarkable at what temperatures the car will start.
At -30C (-22F) I have successfully started it.

However, 2 weeks ago, at -42C (-43.6F) it would not start, and it DID flood.
I was not able to start it and clear the flooding until temperatures returned to -10C (14F)

I then checked, and found a Mazda US service bulletin on installing hotter leading plugs.
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...h_rf04-04.html

In Canada they had not even heard of this, but when Iprinted a copy, faxed it to my dealer, and they passed it on to Mazda Canada the dealer was told to go ahead and change them under warranty.

So, if your dealer is helpful, they will be able to solve many problems, but be prepared to give them the help they may need, and BE POLITE!

So, we reach the point where we see that the lameness lies with Mazda North America, both in USA and Canada.

They will be helpful, if they know how, but, generally speaking, they are useless twits in many respects.

 

Go for it Hskr8! You won't regret it! :D

 

Hrsk8 -- There is only one cure for the RX-8 bug -- ownership

I was afflicted by it for months and finally took the cure. I feel much better now.

 

could not have imagined a better value for money

 

just like all the articles said, it is a great car for its balance of all its attributes. I love the quality of the interior, and fun factor of every drive i take. A+++
andy
michigan

 

Hmmm. 522 votes, and yet we have ~7700 members of this board. Could it be that there are only 500 people here who actually own RX-8s, meaning that the other 7200 members don't have one? Or are there still a lot of people who haven't voted?

 

I Love this car. I've owned it five weeks now and still feel that I'm only slowly beginning to get the measure of it.

I love the smooth surge of power when I put my foot down. I love the level of interior comfort. I love the look of the car.

Having come from a '97 MX-5, I love the fact that it's got a roof and climate control.

 

Well, add a flooding event to the list. Car just died when I went to leave work. It's in the shop now waiting for the hot plugs. Unfortunately they are on back order. Go figure.