Wanting to buy an Rx-8 but first I have a few questions about flooding...
 

Hi all,

I've been really considering buying an Automatic Rx-8 now and I'm on the verge of buying one, however all the issues people have had with the flooding are starting to make me reconsider...

One of the dealers and several people on here have said that the way to deal with the issue is to rev the car up to about 5000rpm before turning it off each time. I just wanted to ask if anyone who has gotten flooded HAD done this religiously and still got flooded anyway?

Also has anyone had the engine flood more than once after having to tow it in to the dealership?

Finally, would the car being an automatic have an effect on the issue?

Thanks a lot!

3 things:

- "M" flash seems to make it very difficult to flood the car, even intentionally.

- You only need to worry about flooding when you drive the car and turn it off before it's warmed up.

- I hear it's rev to 4k rpm for 10 secs then switch off. i tend to rev it to 4k, and switch off at every shut off, just for the heck of it.

Someone asked once here on the forum "Has anyone flooded after the M-Flash" and last time I checked, nobody said so.

I think Mazda solved this problem.

If anything you should be worried about gas mileage with today's prices. Depends on how much you will have to drive. Otherwise it's a near-perfect car.

-Peter

Never revved, never flooded. Six months/9,000 miles and still ticking. I've had an unexplained drained battery after a few days in the airport parking lot but no biggie. Love the car!!!

I think the key is, as indicated above, don't kill the engine while it's cold. It's possible that revving helps and I hope against all hope that the software upgrades (the M-Flash) makes the problem go away. But, based on my experience, and the experience of a lot of others in past posts, the flooding thing is not a guaranteed event and probably can be avoided altogether with a minimum amount of care on your part.

Regarding the gas mileage, if I assume the worst (it's below what I average and I think it's below what most others would claim to average) -- 15 mpg. I've had the car six months and have driven it 9,000 miles. That's 100 gallons of gasoline a month. Say maybe $230 per month for fuel? If I'd bought a fill-in-the-blank that gets 23 mpg then over same six months/9,000 miles I'd have consumed 391 gallons of gas (65 gallons per month). Using the same $2.30 per gallon cost assumption, that improved gas mileage would net me a savings of $80 per month. I can save $80 per month by eating 4 meals at home rather than eating out. I mean it's not a lot of money. If all things are equal and you love the 23 mpg car as much as the "8", no-brainer get the 23 mpg car. In my opinion, the mileage issue is not that significant, even at today's gasoline prices. JMHO....

couldnt of said it better myself, the increased cost of gas in real terms isn't that huge a hit at the the end of the day even if you drive 1500 or more miles a month. dude you should go for it...and consider the manual...as far as 6 spds go its really easy to drive and the additional performance is well worth it. it wont take ya long to learn stick (or teach a resistant significant other) and you'll be thanking yourself down the line

I've never flooded and I drive my 8 like any other car, multiple starts and stops when cold even...almost 10,000 miles...no problems...

Thanks for the responses so far!

Like I said the flooding issue is the main thing that has been worrying me - the mileage is not something I am as worried about, especially since I currently drive a 96 Ford Explorer which has 14/18 mileage!

The one thing I want to avoid at all costs is getting stranded somewhere at 2am because the engine flooded.

I also hope you don't always have to sit in the car and let it idle on short trips - I often drive about 3 minutes to and from work to get lunch and I'd rather not have to sit in the car for a few more minutes each time I drive it there.

Well if the flooding is no longer an issue then it would be the perfect car for me!

So since the M flash upgrade, no-one has managed to get their car flooded?

As far as getting a standard, I've never driven one before but since I live in Houston (lot's of traffic jams and stop and go driving) I'm not sure I'd want to do that - a few of my friends wished they hadn't when they bought their cars.

if you can deal with a quirky car you'll love it, revving it before i shut it off has become instinct for me...and the m flash also takes out more risk from flooding...it really is a non issue because its a rare occurence...just baby her and she'll be good to ya.

Soundwave,
Get your RX-8 -- there will be much joy, and little for worries.

I have had mine for 11 months with no issues.

Join us! Come to the dark side :)

I don't have auto (six speed for me), and have never flooded the engine. I have the L flash, and do make very short trips from time to time.

4k for 10 seconds?! nah its rev to 4k and shutdown. thats only at coldstarts. not everyone does this and you dont have to do it all the time. i only do it when i shutdown my car and it JUST GOT to the middle of the temperature gauge.

but yeah only very rare cases do people flood their engine. True no one has flooded after the M flash. it shouldnt really hinder you from purchasing this car. plus if you flood its covered under warranty or at least at my local dealer. so if it is such a big concern to you... go find out at your local dealer before buying

good luck

Reving is a waste! The problem was a missed setting by Mazda on the engine and air temp sensors. When in cold weather the engine was started and shut off after only a short time the hot water would rise to the temp sender and the ECU would think the engine was warm, when it really wasn't. Then also in clod weather after sitting for a hour in the hot sun, the air temp sender would register higher temp than real. The ECU probably wasn't properly programed and defaulted to a rich condition, or at times the reverse and too lean. I had both these probelms before the M flash. My wife mostly the sitting for an hour when shopping (on a sunny, but cold January day). Each time I (or told the wife) to turn the key off, put your foot all the way down to the floor, and crank until it starts. Each time it started after about 5~10 seconds. Full throttle will both add more air to help clean out a flood engine and cause the ECU to go to a default setting.

Now with the M flash the problem is resolved in the ECU. By the way this is not a "Rotary" problem, but a EFI problem that could happen on any new car.

can anyone verify ^

id be jizzing my pants if it were true

I've got 11,000 miles on the car now, and never had a single flood or hard start. I've never revved the car before I shut it down, but I do make sure the engine temp is past C before I start driving and fully warmed before I shut it down. That's just something I would do with any car.