Thinking about a rx-8
05-30-2007, 09:24 PM
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Thinking about a rx-8
I was looking at buying a 02 or 05 rx-8 but have heard allot of bad things about the motor and the reliability. I love the exterior and interior but I also want a car that is going to be reliable in the cold and hot weather. Im just wondering if everyone could let me know all the problems the rx-8 has
05-30-2007, 09:35 PM
#4
Insanely Yellow
I was looking at buying a 02 or 05 rx-8 but have heard allot of bad things about the motor and the reliability. I love the exterior and interior but I also want a car that is going to be reliable in the cold and hot weather. Im just wondering if everyone could let me know all the problems the rx-8 has
05-30-2007, 09:35 PM
#5
PLAY LOUD
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Welcome; RX-8's are 2004, 5, 6, 7; I have had great success with my 2004 RX-8, no problems to report. As for weather, I live in Hawaii, where the average temperature is about 80 degrees all year round; it runs great. And concerning problems, browse the forums, all cars have problems, no big probs with the 8.
05-30-2007, 10:20 PM
#9
Embrace The Sparkles
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04 and up. Make sure you check if the recalls etc have been done on any year. Stock tire s are borderline for winter. Oh and if your looking for torque (stock) this isnt the car.
05-31-2007, 04:01 AM
#12
I was looking at buying a 02 or 05 rx-8 but have heard allot of bad things about the motor and the reliability. I love the exterior and interior but I also want a car that is going to be reliable in the cold and hot weather. Im just wondering if everyone could let me know all the problems the rx-8 has
if u are going to troll with you transexual friend. reseach.. google rx8. you will not come up with 02 or likely 03.. tard off....
beers
05-31-2007, 08:18 AM
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I didnt mean 02 Im looking at used 04 rx-8s with around 40k miles on them. I heard that the car has flooding problems and it was fixed with a spark plug and ecu reflash is this true? I also heard the car has problems starting in cold weather. What is the true gas mileage the rx-8 gets becasue the internet says around 17city and 24hwy but I have heard its worse. Also I have seen allot of people saying they have had to have the tranny rebuilt. I love the looks of the car but dont want it to be unreliable and I cant afford a new one so the warrant is out of the question.
05-31-2007, 08:23 AM
#14
Extraordinary Engineering
I didnt mean 02 Im looking at used 04 rx-8s with around 40k miles on them. I heard that the car has flooding problems and it was fixed with a spark plug and ecu reflash is this true? I also heard the car has problems starting in cold weather. What is the true gas mileage the rx-8 gets becasue the internet says around 17city and 24hwy but I have heard its worse. Also I have seen allot of people saying they have had to have the tranny rebuilt. I love the looks of the car but dont want it to be unreliable and I cant afford a new one so the warrant is out of the question.
I've driven through two Canadian winters.
Over the last 18 months I've averaged 17 MPG with about 50% city and lots of enthusiastic driving. Mileage gets worse in winter and better in summer.
05-31-2007, 08:48 AM
#15
VRZOOMZOOM
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I didnt mean 02 Im looking at used 04 rx-8s with around 40k miles on them. I heard that the car has flooding problems and it was fixed with a spark plug and ecu reflash is this true? I also heard the car has problems starting in cold weather. What is the true gas mileage the rx-8 gets becasue the internet says around 17city and 24hwy but I have heard its worse. Also I have seen allot of people saying they have had to have the tranny rebuilt. I love the looks of the car but dont want it to be unreliable and I cant afford a new one so the warrant is out of the question.
No problem starting in cold weather atleast if you got the updated starter and battery on the 04-05 models. 06+ has everything revised.
The car doesn't have flooding problems, it is only if you shut it off right after a cold start, like if you started it and moved it for 1 second out of ur driveway and then turned it off, then it may be prone to flooding but its nothing that you can't recover yourself, the rotary reminds me of old carb engines with a choke feature, so if it does flood, all you have to do is push in the clutch and push the gas pedal all the way down and then turn the key. It will start back up. Flooding really has the potential to occur when the operating temperature hasn't reached the mid way point between C and H. Once you are warmed up in the middle, flooding is less likely to occur.
In regards to gas mileage, it seems like its a mixed batch, each rotary is different and some have received as high low 20s but i'm assuming that is mostly highway, if you do mix driving, you would most likely get 16-18MPG realistically. On mine, no matter how hard i drive or how i granny shift it during mix driving, i get a consistent 18MPG. Cruising range for me is about 250 miles on a 15.9 gallon gas tank before the fuel low light comes on.
Anyways happy hunting!
05-31-2007, 09:04 AM
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I read the '02 as a typo. Still, you might want to fix it to cut down on the flames.
In my experience fuel economy gets down to 15 in very aggressive driving, is around 17-18 in typical around town driving, and can get to about 21 on the highway.
My site has a fuel economy survey. The page for the RX-8 is here:
Mazda RX-8 fuel economy
I also collect reliability information, but won't have anything on the RX-8 until August at the earliest. I wouldn't be too worried about what you read on forums, they can make problems seem much more common than they actually are.
With any car it's not a bad idea to avoid the first year, though if you can find a good deal on a 2004 I wouldn't avoid it.
In my experience fuel economy gets down to 15 in very aggressive driving, is around 17-18 in typical around town driving, and can get to about 21 on the highway.
My site has a fuel economy survey. The page for the RX-8 is here:
Mazda RX-8 fuel economy
I also collect reliability information, but won't have anything on the RX-8 until August at the earliest. I wouldn't be too worried about what you read on forums, they can make problems seem much more common than they actually are.
With any car it's not a bad idea to avoid the first year, though if you can find a good deal on a 2004 I wouldn't avoid it.
06-02-2007, 12:21 PM
#20
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Car & Driver, Motortrend, Edmunds.com, consumer reports, test driving. You must look at these things primarily. There are some details you might find here: brake lights sometimes fog up, dipstick gets froth on it in cold weather, etc.
If you are worried about mileage then you have to decide if 18 mpg is good enough. If you are worried about mechanics bills then you have to look at consumer report's reliability ratings or edmunds.com's true cost to own (a handy tool) and make a decision. Only these will address your primary concerns, not anecdotes.
Anecdote: Mine runs beautifully and I love it. I get ~18mpg and my engine has not flooded or blown up once and I would know.
If you are worried about mileage then you have to decide if 18 mpg is good enough. If you are worried about mechanics bills then you have to look at consumer report's reliability ratings or edmunds.com's true cost to own (a handy tool) and make a decision. Only these will address your primary concerns, not anecdotes.
Anecdote: Mine runs beautifully and I love it. I get ~18mpg and my engine has not flooded or blown up once and I would know.
06-02-2007, 05:48 PM
#21
Rotards Unite!
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The long term testing for Road and Track and Car and Driver came up flawless for these cars. The rotary engine in itself has very few moving parts even over a 4 cylinder, so there is an advantage in itself. Generally, less moving parts means a more reliable engine.
The only recalls I've read about are for the passenger airbags, which the dealer should fix for free.
The only recalls I've read about are for the passenger airbags, which the dealer should fix for free.
06-03-2007, 11:08 AM
#22
2005 Black RX-8 GT 6M
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The long term testing for Road and Track and Car and Driver came up flawless for these cars. The rotary engine in itself has very few moving parts even over a 4 cylinder, so there is an advantage in itself. Generally, less moving parts means a more reliable engine.
The only recalls I've read about are for the passenger airbags, which the dealer should fix for free.
The only recalls I've read about are for the passenger airbags, which the dealer should fix for free.
06-03-2007, 11:20 AM
#23
Shock and Awe
