Weird request from my dealer
 

I finally got my RX8 last Saturday and have been enjoying driving it this week. Last night, the Mazda sales manager called me and said that the service department would like me to bring the car in so all the sparkplugs can be changed.

He said they recommend this for all the RX8s after the first couple hundred miles are on them.

Now I've read this forum every day for almost a year and don't recall seeing any discussion of this before.

When I asked him why, he said he didn't know, it's just what the service department told him.

So, what gives?

They were supposed to do that before they delivered it, and they forgot.

technically it doesn't have to be done before its delivered. any 05 or 06 model they sell now undergoes one final inspection within 3 days before or 7 days after vehicle is sold and the spark plugs are changed also...just to make sure the battery is good and it has new plugs in it

did the same thing for mine when I picked it up a week or so ago...I bought it on a Wednesday and brought it back the following Wednesday for the plug change.

I believe that it also helps with flooding issues as well. Better spark plugs=easier start to prevent flooding... please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks,

I was fairly certain the reason was benign.

But I'm still in the overprotective stage of ownership..

Ditto. I took mine in for a broken sunvisor(it seized for some odd reason not related to my 2 year old I'm certain)

The service lady noted I hadn't had the plugs chaged beofer they let the car go and put a new set in for free.

Yeah new plugs at 5000 miles! It was really nice driving home.

-- :) NH

I received a call from my dealer on Memorial Day of all times requesting I bring my 8 in for a spark plug change and quality inspection. I've had the car nearly 2 months and have 1800 miles on it. I wonder if I will notice a difference with the new plugs. I'm getting my oil changed as well. I'm a little hesitant to take my 8 in because it is running perfectly and still doesn't have a scratch on it. I read these horror stories of dealers screwing things up ...

Nothing wrong with overprotective. I'm still there, too! :)

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. However, my dealer did the same thing with my 2007 GT before I left the dealership. I didn't question it at the time, but have wondered ever since. This thread at least reassures me that it wasn't something particular to my car, but I still don't understand why new spark plugs need to be installed in a brand new car? Do they foul up just sitting there? Is Mazda aware of some manufacturing issue?

???

New plug design

but if the new plug was available in 2006 (and possibly earlier) why wouldn't it be in my 07 from the factory?

It's a standard procedure. They put new plugs in as part of their dealer prep for new owners since the cars travel a long way from the factory etc. and can sit for a while, start, move a little, turn off, start, move, turn off. It's just a quality control step to make sure customers are satisfied with how their new car performs.

Just take it in, if you can't trust your local dealer to do something as simple as change spark plugs then you might as well consider your warranty useless. Also keep in mind these plugs aren't cheap so the longer the interval until you have to pay for some new ones the better.

Dealers usually move cars around without letting them warm up. 8's don't like this much and fuel left in the combustion chambers fouls the plugs / floods the engine. By replacing the plugs they assure they're good.

My 8 came with an extra set of plugs but dealer didn't install them. It hasn't caused problems so I guess I'll hang onto them until it's time for new plugs

Because the car get started and stopped over and over again.

Car runs too rich at idle and can cause flood problems with new owners.

This is due to EPA not Mazda.

epa has not required this of Mazda Razz. this was implemented by Mazda to help assure that cars didnt leave the lots with fouled plugs.

ah, thanks guys. That makes a little more sense now. Not a big deal, just curious.