So, I hadn't driven my RX-8 in about four days ( out of town ). When I got home, I sat down in the car and twiddled with the stereo for no more than three minutes. Everything seemed fine power-wise. Shut everything off and got out. Got back in the car a couple of days later to drive and the battery was STONE DEAD.

I am pretty sure I did not leave any interior lights on.

So, I understand that the electronics in the car leech some power from the battery. How big of a problem is this? What is the consensus experience from other owners?

 

have you opened the battery cover and checked the terminals yet?

 

got any aftermarket electronics installed? could be causing a draw. if it's stock, maybe you need a battery. charge it up and test the battery.

 

My first factory battery was a real pain - I was such a noob I thought maybe you had to have an outside charger, and treat it like a race car! Finally got sick of it going dead, or me leaving the trunk lid open accidently because the button on the key got poked or letting it sit for 3 days and finding I needed the old red car to recharge it - I took it to my Mazda dealer and they laughed and switched it out for a much higher cranking amp battery, delightfully called a Megatron!

I was scared to switch it off myself because, again being a noob, I thought that if it went dead and was replaced you might have to reprogram the electronics like a furby...

Turned out, you just take the old one out, and install a new one, and the only pain is getting the plastic cover off and watching for the little black plumbing line before you pull it out....And you have to reset the clock - its just like a regular Mazda...

With the better battery, I got better milage, more reponse, when I stepped on the gas and best of all no more fade outs - A new hi amp battery is almost a given....

 

charge it up have it tested at autozone/advance/carquest etc if it tests go straight to Sears and get a DieHard Platinum best battery on the market(yes you pay a pretty penny but def worth it)...

 

Yeah, they're clean. Brand new car / brand new battery.

No aftermarket stuff. I recharged the battery yesterday and now everything seems OK.

I'll keep an eye on things and see if I can deduce what occurred should it happen again.