FirstSpin

I can't believe how great my Mazda dealer is about handling service. I've owned my 8 for just shy of 4 years (Dec 03 was the purchase date). Lately, the engine was idling a bit rough and seemed to idle at lower speed than what seemed to be required. Letting off the clutch in first seemed to require a bit more "juice" than it used to as well. Otherwise, the car would bobble a bit as I engaged first gear. Oh, and the car idled rich after cold-crank.

Yesterday, with 47,600 miles I took her into the dealership where I bought her, for my third encounter with their service group. I had been impressed on both earlier visits and was hoping I'd get what I needed (under warranty) on this visit.

The check engine light had been on for about 200 miles, so I wasn't sure what I was headed for in terms of damage or repairs. Under warranty and without having to ask (or haggle) for any of it, I got: all 4 spark plugs replaced; a fuel cap (the old one was "leaking" and causing the check-engine light; a re-flash; and a cat converter assessment.

I sprung for the 45000 mile service pack: oil change, filter, lube, air filter, tires rotated, brakes inspected, and battery inspected. I had them do a high velocity radiator flush while there.

Even though I showed up with no appointment and with some fairly skimpy descriptions of the problem, they lined me up with a comp'ed loaner, no questions asked. The turn around was less than 30 hours and I spent nothing other than the amount I was quoted for the 45000 mile check up and the cooling system flush/coolant replacement.

She purrs like a kitten now and has all of former spunk on the open road. It's good to have her back home in the garage.

I hear so many people who get jerked around by their dealer-warranty workers or people who have to beg for a service to be qualified as under warranty. I just thought it might be nice to report on a positive warranty service experience. Move the post as required. Not knowing where to post this I'm using gen. topics/rx-8 discussion.

____

While I'm here, I should point out that I procrastinate visciously. So much so that yesterday morning before I went to the Mazda dealer, I was gonna log on to rx8club.com at 4:30 in the morning and read about recalls and engine lights and stuff. Well I never quite got logged on for some reason... SO, I found myself in some page of some other forum and EVERYONE in there was griping about their RX-8 Renesis being fried at somewhere between 20,000 and 35,000 miles. Must have been 8 posts, maybe 12 to 14. A lot of guys bitching about engine compression issues on a fairly new Renesis. Scared the hell out of me. I thought okay, I just turned 47,600, all their engines are toast, is this IT or something?

Now this was absolutely the first I'd ever heard of anything to do with systematic and almost guaranteed (the way they put it) engine death. I've been away from this (the REAL) forum for over a year or more. Is there a grain of truth to what these cheesers were claiming?

Zoom zoom