glad you dint have any troble

 

I take my RX8 to Brown's fairfax where I bought it. I had good experiences with them. I also take my 6 there. I have few instances of "rumbly low idles". Lasted only a few seconds.

 

Sacramento area recall info: I have scheduled to take my baby in next Wednesday to Great Valley Mazda. I've been satisfied with their service so far. Although quite frankly guys don't bother washing her.... ;-) that's my "job".

The reason I'm posting this however is because of the fact my check engine light came on yesterday. I posted on another thread about this at one point - they couldn't find the problem. It was a 'rear roater misfire' code last time. Same conditions this time - hard accelerating after double declutching to overtake*. It happened on the way to work driving out to Folsom - flashed, then settled. It hasn't done this for about 2-3 months.

On the way back from work I performed almost identical maneuver. This time to get away from 2 long bed trucks and my phobia of tire bursts. 65mph, 5th; double declutched into 3rd, instantly pulling about 7.5-8k RPM and I'm away, second later I shift up into 4th. It was about this point the CE light started flashing. Kept revs at 5k constant, cruised trying to be consistent and not aggravate the engine - stuck on.

So I'm kind of feeling that this might be related to the engine recall... or rather hoping, as it sounds different to a seal problem. But as much as I would HATE to be without my 8 I could do with Mazda sorting an engine out that clearly has a quirk, rather than the 'satisfactory' dealer who can't identify the problem.

*double declutching for those who don't know is when you declutch (1) take from e.g. 5th into neutral, blip the accelerator to bring the revs up to the 'right' place that they will *naturally* be if you are in the gear you are about to change to (as the revs will be higher in a lower gear at a constant speed), you then declutch again (2) and slip her into e.g. 3rd. This technique gets you higher up on the rev counter and pulling more torque, making the most of that 9k red line... I can see how a STI driver would hate our car with the difference on torque curves ;-)

 

the new plugs should help with the misfire... most likely nothing to do with oil seals

 

actually many if not most dealers CAN. depends on their reputation with Mazda basically. the rest of your post is right on

 

question... if there are no signs of a vaccum leak and the dealer does not do the vaccum test, but just reflashes, will the recall still be valid if for some reason those problems creep up a year or two down the line?

 

I'm not absolutely positive, but if the recall wasn't preformed and you have a problem relating to the recall 2 years down the line, I'm pretty sure the manufacturer is obligated to address it at anytime during your ownership of the car. I know that my mother has a Jeep Cheroke and there are recalls she never went in for from 2 years ago that she will be addressing next week, and Jeep has to honor it.

 

Devious... lets say someone takes it in for a recall, but they dont actually do the drive and vaccum test because there are no complaints by the owner at that time.. if problems develope later on, would the recall still be valid..

 

^^^ I was just about to bring up the exact same question.

Let's say, the dealer performs this recall, and the owner does not complain about any of the symptoms that would prompt the mechanic to do the checks, and there was no related problem in the past that's on record. They just do the reflash and replace the plugs. With that, the 'campaign' is done for this car, they apply the sticker.
One year later, the power loss and other symptoms surface which would have resulted in a new engine. What will Mazda do, since the recall was already completed?

 

I would imagine it would be a case by case scenario...though with the updates they put in place you *shouldn't* be experiencing the same issues later.

 

I said it WAY earlier in this thread.

But for those who missed it:

Toyota extended the warranty on its 3.0 liter to 100,000 miles when they developed their now infamous 'sludge' problems.

Give us a 100,000 mile motor warranty, Mazda.

I'd encourage everyone here to write Jeremy Barnes of Mazda North America and politely make this request, so he can take it to the Big Cheese-Sans at Mazda.

 

I guess in my case I was "lucky". Recall performed - engine fine reflash done, new plugs. Went to pick up, engine stalled 12 times before making it 1 mile. Returned to dealer - retest - engine failed - new motor. And so I wait.

The Mazda 3 they loaned me gets decent milage, but makes an awful noise as I try to get it to 9000 rpm.

 

Thats just the buzzer telling you to shift.

 

they will replace the engine- family man 's situation is disturbing

 

i do wish mazda would extend the warranty on the powertrain out more than the 1 year 10K miles...

and yes, the family man's situation is not good... they could be sending out 8s after the recall is done with still damaged engines that the new flash will just cover up

 

Well, I'm on my third engine now including the one that came with the car, and today I was pulling out of 7-11 and after putting it in neutral the car just died, literally just died, and everything reset in the car, all warning lights came on and were flashing after I started back up. This happend to me when I first purchased the car in 04 twice, and hasn't happend again until today. Any input about this issue?

 

I just emailed James Barnes at jbarnes5@mazdausa.com like the previous poster mentioned to do about even extending the warranty. We'll see if he replies.

 

That'd be Jeremy Barnes

 

Yeah, but who pays for it if the recall was "already done" for a car and it still comes up with the problem later on? I'd hope Mazda will still replace the engine under the recall.
In family_man's case, that was pretty obvious, but we're talking about a situation when the problem happens 6 months or a year later.

 

This is definitely a good idea. It can't hurt.
I'm pretty sure the recall won't affect me, but Fam.Man's post is very disheatening. That is borderline incompetent by the dealer +/- MNAO, and doesn't boost my confidence in this recall "fix".

 

If you do more searching, there seems to be a belief that Mazda specified thinner 5W-20 to help with fuel economy under current emissions standards. The thinner oil increases average MPG which helps parent Ford achieve a higher corp average fuel economy. If 5W-20 was the superior weight than it would be logical to assume that it would be specified globally; however, 5W-30 is specified everywhere else even in Japan--Mazda's home country.

Most US and Canadian drivers who have switched to 5W-30 have noticed the car idles better and is mechanically smoother. I have recently switched and have already noticed the same difference. Even though I don't live in a hot climate, it is nice to know that there is the added higher temp protection. So I'll get .XX less MPG--its a fair tradeoff.

 

was it dominion's car that did that too? they gave him the "california" flash and when it came back his car was stalling leaving the dealer? so they got him a new engine?

 

???? really don't feel like looking through 85 pages, thank you.

 

I ha dthe same exact issue, I was exiting the highway and My car just died and would not restart until a few minutes later. Could have been a dangerous situation in the rain at night or something like that.

I just called my buddy at the dealer and he said that I have to wait until I get the letter before I can bring it in. He that is what the dealer manager told him.

 

^^ you have a crappy dealership then. I've got an appointment on wednesday to bring my car in for the recall.

Our abbreviated phone conversation:
him: "do you want to bring your car in tomorrow for [unrelated issue]?"
me: "nah, I'd rather wait until the upcoming recall so I can kill two birds with one stone"
him: "we'll do the recall also"
me: "really, so I don't have to wait until I get the recall letter?"
him: "nope, can you bring it in next wednesday since we'll do the recall too?"
me: "sure, see you then"

So sounds like your dealership sucks.