what the hell??
 

i go to start my car today and it starts up like normal then dies..now i cant get my car started, everytime i turn the key the thing wont even attempt to start..this is rediculous, how can this happen to a brand new car??? My first impressions about this car are starting to change for the worse, how reliable is this thing?

flooded? <eerie music in the background>

are you kidding me....i haven't done anything to this car, i've been driving normal as the day i bought it, i just went outside 5 min ago to go out and this just randomly happened...wht could have caused this

I suggest you contact your dealer and have it checked by the local techs there. Be sure to ask for a rental while they have the car

damm thats sucks, i hope u get it fixed

yea i called the dealer, they said they'll send someone to pick it up....great not even 3 months into my purchase and the cars already in the living in the shop...

ok aparently mazda said that its my fault it flooded because at night before i shut my car off i should rev my engine till its really hot so it wont flood......do all of you do this???

JmurphRx8, yes indeed I do that. I never shut the car until car is warm, and I always rev it up before I shut it off. However it is not your fault, i started doing this shortly after I got the car, and after I read so much about the subject in this forum. No one at Mazda ever mentioned this to me. I have lodged an official complaint to Mazda as I can not believe a new 2004 car floods. What happen if you shut the car accidently , or the parking attenndant never followed your instructions. It sucks. Call & write Mazda and complain. The good news they are aware of it, and covering it under warranty.
Mark

yea but usually after i drive my car its warmed up neways

That sucks dude. So did you let it warm up the night before or did you shut it off cold. I haven't been reving, just making sure the temp gauge was in the middle. These issues are really starting to make me nervous. I'd hate to think I could let it warm up properly and it could still flood, fun factor is great but it doesn't do much good if this car doesn't have the reliability to be a daily driver. Please someone help ease my fears here.

yea of course i shut the car off warmed up..i never just start my car and shut it off.. i mean the engine only takes a a couple min to warm up...i was driving all night so its not like i shut it off cold...it def sux tho because i havent done anything bad to my car at all...i treat the thing like my baby, i always check my oil, never put alot of stress on it, I dont even drive it hard..this seems to becoming a major problem with this car...i've read so many posts on this subject and never expected it to happen to me, espically since i take such good care of it.

There are those who suggest not to baby this engine. There is some merit to that. The auxiliary intake ports don't open until high (don't know exactly what number) RPMs, so the engine doesn't fully breathe, so to speak, unless you drive it a little harder. If you keep it at lower RPMs all the time, won't the mixture always be richer and hence foul your plugs sooner?

I'm taking delivery of mine in a few weeks, so I'm definitely curious to get some sort of guidance on this myself.

Re: what the hell??
 

Ok, let's not jump to conclusions. First of all, flooding is a rotary engine phenomenon. It has been happening to us rotorheads for many years. However, it can be 100% avoided. Educate, educate, educate !!!! Read and immerse yourself in others' knowledge. Spend some time on the 7 forum.......

I used to flood my 2nd gen 7 all the time until I figured out what I was doing wrong. As long as you properly maintain the car, the only reason it will flood is due to OPERATOR ERROR. Now think about that one real hard.

Be respectul of your motor, but don't baby it. I have crammed 17k miles on my 8 since 8-5-03 and have not flooded it once. Just read, learn some pointers, be smart and you will have no trouble whatsoever.

Regards,
Ryan

PS - PLEASE, EVERYONE STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS CAR.....YOU'RE JUST GIVING THE NEYSAYERS AMMO.... AND THEY DON'T KNOW WTH THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT !!!!

It's not your fault, and they need to cover it. Do you have an auto? If that's a dumb question, please forgive me because I don't remember what everyone has.

smae thing
 

Last mont h I went out to the garage started the car and let it warm up for about 5 min. As soon as I cave it gas it stalled and would not restart. Had to wait 2 hours for the flatbed then 2 days in the shop to change plugs and oil. From that day as soon as it fires up I rev it to 7000 and do the same before I turn it off. haden't had a problem since

Glad I'm part of this forum.... I would have flooded my car months ago had I not joined this forum...

Like everyone is saying, follow those rules of thumb and you'll never have the problem

Bingo, I think getting those auxiliary ports open makes a big difference. Leaving it to idle doesn't do much good warming up the engine, because there is very little resistance (i.e., it's not in gear, so the engine is doing relatively little work, and therefore generating relatively little heat) Driving it 2 minutes is better than letting it idle for 10 IMO.

Also, people with automatics seem to be having more trouble- I'm guessing since they 1) they don't rev it as much, and 2, they have 2 fewer intake ports, they run richer mixtures that foul the plugs sooner. Am I talking out of my a$% here or do you guys think there may be something to that?

Re: Re: what the hell??
 

I've seen a lot of posts like this, but what exactly is it you are and are not supposed to do. The RX8 is first on my list to replace my MX6, but I do need a reliable every day car. Suppose a valet brings it out from a parking space then shuts it off?

M. Reilly

Re: Re: Re: what the hell??
 

Solution for avoiding idiot valet parking attendants : don't valet your car

2 things that i do that may/may not be necessary
1-always warm up the engine before driving
2-always let the engine idle for 30-60 seconds before shutting off

Major Pointers
-good gas
-don't bog the motor
-"exercise" the motor
-always allow the engine to run for a few minutes after starting (especially on cold start) before shutting off
-never rev the engine then immediately shut it off (let it idle again for a few moments)

as i understand it - rotaries, unlike piston poppers, dump more fuel into the combustion chambers upon startup. this is the main reason why we must give the engine time to burn off the excess fuel before shutting down

for RX-7's
-frequent spark plug changes (every 15k miles) (time will tell if this is applicable to the 8)

also, i've read that "weak" batteries are contributing to the flood problem. although i think this is not a huge issue - it's a small price to pay to upgrade the batt. and have peace of mind

I might have missed something..... so anyone feel free to add to the list

Re: Re: Re: Re: what the hell??
 

This goes completely against what Mazda suggests to avoid flooding. They say rev the engine to 4000rpm for (I believe) 10 seconds and immediately shut it off, letting it rev down without gas pumping into the chamber. This should clear excess fuel from the chamber.

Makes sense to me.

yup i heard all this today from mazda...thanx

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: what the hell??
 

OK, you go try that a few times and lemme know how you make out ;)

After letting it run for a few moments......revving up to 3-4k rpms will clear the excess gas. After that let it calm down at idle for another few moments then shut off. Don't just rev and then shut down instantaneously.

I'm just speaking from 10 years of experience and 6 rotary cars here..... take what I say as you will.

Regards,
Ryan

I have tried it and haven't flooded the car yet. All I'm saying is Mazda disagrees with you.

Re: what the hell??
 

From what i understand if you flood it, and then try to start it, the engine would 'attempt' to start but just wouldn't actually start.

Now you're saying it "wont even attempt to start". Looks like this may be an electrical/starter problem since the engine is not even turning.

when i start my 8 i just let it sit until the rpm settles down at a comfortable 1100 or so then i start driving it. before i shut it off i usually let it idle for a little bit. maybe i'll start revving it to 4k rpm before i shut it off, but i've had absolutely no problems with starting the car so far, and i've had the car for almost half a year.