My car is one of the early ones I think. It has a manufacture date of sometime in early July 2003

 

funny it didnt show up until now

 

The car has ran great until the problem with the high speed misfire. after they replaced the coils and did the last ECU upgrade it ran great for the week or so then this happened. I think I must have been lucky because my car seemed to run stronger than other people seem to report on this forum. That is one of the reasons I am hesitant about the rebuilt motor.

 

To add my recall experience:

I had power loss and rough/low idle in June. Lasted about 2 weeks on and off. Documented at dealer.

No recall letter; took it in Monday afternoon and traded it for a Mazda 3(for a day). They had it for a day. Here's what they did:

1. VIN within range for recall to apply.
2. eMDCS displayed OPEN (assuming), no sticker.
3. History stated lack of power/low idle complaints.
4. History stated spark plugs were replaced 10 months ago due to flooding.
5. Confirmed w/me lack of power in the past. This directed them to procedures A, B, C, then D.
6. A -- Cat inspection. Test results showed 0.218. This is less than 4.60, which means cat is fine.
7. B -- Not required due to previous spark plug replacement 10 months ago.
8. C -- Drivability flowchart: History? Yes. Engine previously replaced? No. === Replace engine.
9. Replacement engine ordered. Mazda rejected the order. Mazda called tech and requested he complete drive testing. Mazda stated they have had several used engines come in after replacement that checked out fine. Should not have been replaced, but were due to the flow chart instructions sent to the dealers.
10. Engine diag. test 1. No stall/lack of power/<700rpm encountered.
11. Tech called back to Mazda with data from test drive. Mazda said no engine.
12. D -- PCM reprogrammed. No sticker anywhere. Part #7777-18-019 listed on invoice. 881T? I would assume so.
13. They sent me on my "merry" way.

All and all, I asked a lot of questions, since their repair procedures stated I needed a new engine. Sure was a nice feeling to drive my car again, even after just 24 hours without it. Oh yeah... And no wash or fuel top-off. Not a big deal, though.

Sorry this was so long; just wanted to be informative.

 

Do you have a part #? I can't stand the white visible in the cracks.

 

i just got my car back from Tustin Mazda... I dropped it off first thing tuesday morning, but they were a little backed up and they finished on wednesday afternoon.. It was cool with me cuz they gave me a brand new CX-7 to drive... NOthing wrong with my car they say... i got the reflash, new spark plugs and the cat passed the test...

Great service... I came in there with my car with maybe 3 gallons of gas in my tank, they filled up and washed the car... Gilbert was very nice..

I did ask them about a grinding noise i hear from the back of the car when i turn left sometimes, but they said they couldnt duplicate. It doesnt happen all the time for me, so I will bring it back if it gets worse..

one thing that was interesting, is that the service manager Gilbert said they have yet to replace an engine there and only replaced 3-4 cats so far.. i thought that was pretty amazing with the number of rx8s they have already serviced for this recall

 

My Cat test read 4.9!! lol

Anyway got the official word today...

The New Engine is on the way to my dealership.

 

Hey patrick how did they fix the clunking noise on the drivers side door,Cause i took my 8 this week to Russell Mazda in Clearwater Fl.They did the Flash,replaced plugs ,emmisions test,Washed and vaccumed the car,Filled tank of gas but they couldn't fix the problem eith that annoying door rattle,pls get back to me Asap with the outcome.Thanks............

 

They adjusted the lower rear door catch, the bearclaw in the door itself. it had to be adjusted so it held the door closed tighter

 

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...4&postcount=13

beers

 

Hi! I'm new. Unfortunately, so is my engine! I did get the recall letter and took my car in. It's been 3 weeks and I still don't have it back! The dealer replaced the engine. While doing that, they pierced the fuel line and had to replace that. I picked it up and the engine light kept blinking so I turned around and took it back. Now they tell me they don't know what is wrong with it. My husband, who has been a mechanic for 16 years, said he could hear that it had a vacuum leak.
The problems I had with my car before I took it in were; it didn't seem to have as much power, it dyed on me on the interstate while I was stuck in traffic, the engine light periodically came on, and it had a knocking sound.
Good luck to all of you, this has been a royal pain in the a$$!

 

I'm not sure which one but your parts department should know.

 

blast you RX8dunn - I wanted to be no 2000

 

had recall work today, reflashed no other problems, got new cx 7 to drive, which is like driving a tank after the 8. pretty non eventful

 

Well, I FINALLY received my recall notice (I live in NW PA)...I will be leaving for mexico next friday...so I won't be able to get it done until after November 17th, as that's when i'll be getting back from mexico...I doubt my engine will need replaced...and hope to get into a CX-7.

 

Funny you should say that, I received my letter yesterday also ( New Jersey ) and I will also be going to Mexico ( Playa DeCarmen ) next Sat. But I am in no hurry to get this done, my car runs fine. I sent Mazda a letter about some concerns I had and I am waiting for their reply before I go in.

 

The southeast (SC, FL, ??) got their recall letters this week too. Here's the thread where we've been keeping watch:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...3&page=5&pp=15

 

Interesting! I'll be in Riviera Maya (Quick ride to Playa Del Carmen).

 

I got my recall done a couple weeks back and went through almost 2 tanks of gas so far.. I thing I am noticing is that it seems like my gas mileage is going down.. anyone else notice this?

 

Got my recall letter in Saturday's (yesterday's) mail here in Illinois, but I had already had the work done a week ago. I was overdue for an oil change and a "six months service" and had been waiting for the letter but gave up on that. It only needed the flash and plugs, but I didn't get any of the "white glove" extras and didn't push them for it.

I haven't driven it long enough to notice a mileage change yet but it did feel "different" when I first drove it after the work. Maybe stored data was erased with the flash and I was starting over. Revving feels smoother overall, I think I may have been getting a little "chatter" before. Or it may all be my imagination. I definitely has a faster cold idle than it did before. It holds longer at about 2k and slowly goes down as it warms up. I'm pretty sure it did run that fast before this flash.

 

I went in for the recall. at the time compression was good and the cat was good, probably since it had been replaced not too long ago. They changed plugs and reflashed the PCM and fixed a few things on the car.

About 2 weeks later, the car started acting up. When I started it, it only would run on one rotor for about 15 seconds then it would start running normally. I took the car in and they determined that coolant was leaking into the first rotor housing and that they wanted to replace the motor.

They replaced the motor with one of the rebuilt motors from Mazda.

Also at the time, since the thing was out, The Service manager said this would be a great time to replace the flywheel with the lighter Mazda Speed flywheel since Mazda was paying the labor, all I had to do was buy the flywheel. So I went for that.

They did all the work and then after they were done they called and asked if the mechanic could drive it for a day to make sure all was good. I agreed and they put about 40 miles on the car.

I got the car back and wow! Not sure if it is al the flywheel, or a combination of flywheel and fresh motor, but the throttle response is faster than the tachometer needle sweep.

No problems yet and I have put 150 miles on the car. Not sure about Mileage yet though.

If you are near Seattle, I highly recommend University Mazda for service.

If anyone is interested, I took a bunch of pictures of the car torn apart, the old engine and the new engine. I could make a web gallery at my website.

 

Pictures are ALWAYS appreciated. Probably best to start another thread in teh Tech Section. The light flywheel will definitely make a difference in the rate of engine speed acceleration--less mass=faster acceleration.

 

"my gas mileage is going down.. anyone else notice this?" ....by danielk015
******************

I made a 700 mile freeway trip a couple weeks after my recall service...still getting 22+ mpg on flat freeway driving. All I had done was the reflash and 4 new spark plugs.

 

^ Same here. The weekend after I had the recall work I took a trip to LI NY. ~250 mile trip, and I got about 22 mpg w/cruising speed around *cough* 90 *cough*. This was my 1st time running the 8 on a trip >50 miles, and my mpg has been better ever since. But, of course, there are definitely other variables to factor in. (just hit 10k, don't run it at 6+ rpm ALL the time anymore, longer commute to work b/c I moved last month)

 

Hey guys, I've searched and also randomly looked in this thread...but I remember someone posting a .pdf to dealers telling them about giving CX-7's as a loaner...anyone have the link?

Nevermind...for those interested here are the pdfs:
Dealer Letter: https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=84046
Dealer Letter CX7: https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=84047
Owner Letter: https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=84048
Reimbursement Letter: https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=84050
Repair Procedure: https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=84051