Mazda only second to Lexus in Consumer Reports 2013 Car Quality and Performance
 

Subject: Lexus, Subaru, Mazda get top car scores « Bankrate, Inc.

Lexus, Subaru, Mazda get top car scores « Bankrate, Inc.

Hopefully this will also help spur sales of all their Skyactiv goodies, which will help Mazda have the money to get that new RX7 for sale by 2017 !

;)

And then (a new RX-) their CR ratings will fall again....unfortunately.

But this is where Mazda should be in NA, as it is in almost every other country.
As I see it Rotaries tend to drag them down the list in NA.

^ True with the Mazda rotary...

ASH, unfortunately you are correct. All the folks who don't know how to take proper care of rotary Mazdas and all the usual first years rotary car problems have dragged down Mazda ratings in the past. Lets hope for a break from the past and a brighter future for Mazda's continued high rankings in NA. They really do have a great lineup of quality cars for 2013 here.

This is good news.

Perhaps Mazda should consider a new ownership program for RX owner.

Just like Ferrari.

They could have one specialist at each dealership that goes over the do's and don'ts.

Entice the new owner to take the 15 min. to 1/2hr seminar by giving them a $100 discount off the the price of the car.

They can get a certificate after class and then cash it in at the dealership on the spot OR, offer them to use that money along with a 10% discount on Mazda accessories.


100 bucks will save idiots who buy the car and then bash the Name of Mazda.

Save on allot of headaches.

Rotary engine is special and owners should be aware that they need to give love to their car.

/\ They (Mazda) did this here when the FD was first released (1991) they had FD master dealers, we were one of them, I drove our very first FD back from bond store for our states GALA Showroom presentation (was a big deal, even MMC Japan was there), I was even part of the 'special cat walk parade"..lol, I still have the RX-7 'white' overalls (use them all the time, now a very dirty white with paint on them too).

Anyway, IMO this specially crap does not really work, yeah OK for high end brands, but it is very costly...just cant see it working for Mazda, Nissan has a similar thing for GTR and one cant say the GTR has been a raging success as it has not, apart from perhaps USA and Japan.

r35 ... most people still dont know nissan made a car that can eat ferraris for breakfast, sad but true, then there are haters out there which makes it even worst.

mazda ... they need to make the car special make it a special higher priced car so less idiots will have access to it ... like the rx8 now. it will not be a money maker, ask nissan if gtr is making them any money, ask toyota if lfa made any money, know what i mean?

but before that happens, mazda gotta make shit loads of money under its skyactiv program ...

This is definitely great news for Mazda. This could definitely increase Mazda sales and a definitive competitor to other Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan and Honda. But I agree with everyone, when the next RX does come out, it'll cause Mazda's rating to plummet.

The idea of having a specialist is a good idea but doubtfully will happen and like ASH said, it's definitely expensive and not affective for a main stream company to do this, exotic car brands can do this. I work at Tesla Motors and we do this but our cars are very special as they are full Electric and more advanced than current electrics in the market. I believe a good way to get rid of this is have a subsidiary company build the rotary sports cars. Like Scion is to Toyota, revitalize the "Efini" brand, sell them within Mazda dealerships but I feel that Mazda wouldn't lose its overall Quality/Performance rating, let the Efini brand take the down fall as this brand can be more of a specialty brand. Just a thought.

Yep Mazda are starting to make some bucks, but guess who is dragging them down....again..North America...just posted yesterday, close to another $500 Mil Loss, that makes it a billion over the past 2 years, MNAO really needs fresh top brass, like a new President, CEO, COO...no other corporation would allow a billion dollar loss without some serious management changes...no excuses, O'Sullivan, Davis, should be fired.

Even Europe has made a profit for Mazda, a thin one but not a huge loss.

Overall Mazda made a nett Profit of about $240 mil.

HAH! fail CEOs/CFOs/COOs who couldn't do shit but getting millions every year in America is so darn common. So don't expect Mazda to replace those useless CEOs anytime soon.

I don`t understand how though... Their cars sell very well in the market, I always see Mazdas being bought by driving schools, rent-a-car companies and in quebec I see alot more new Mazdas than I do Hondas... Ok Canadas population isnt very high but still, clearly there is something wrong.

THIS!!!! :bowdown:

I would assume mazda has taken notes of all the relibaility issues with the 8 and I would expect they would be corrected in any new rotary car. Better starter, coils, better seal lubrication, etc. I would also hope advancements in the new engine would slow the build up of carbon deposits on the APV, SSV, etc.

If they came out with 100k warranty on the powertrain right out of the gate, it could be a huge piece of mind and if they are going a bit more upscale price-wise with the next car, they sure as hell better get it right the first time.

They have been basically losing money on every model they sell, partly currency, mostly poor marketing, price point, and give aways..like discounts.
Plus 100 staff (MNAO) retrenchments.

It will improve though....I think this should be their last year of loss out of North America..but they also said this last year.

Once all new Mexican Plant gets going soon this will change a lot, another problem will be initial 'human' build quality out of that plant.

currency has a lot to do with mazda's lost, its not just mazda, all japanese companies like sony and toshiba sees simular problem

things can change tho, now even japanese turn their money printing machine on, so expect things to change fast for them

I have an idea. How about Mazda properly engineer a reliable rotary engine first before placing the onus on the owner.

^ If you never want to see another rotary again, then feel free to go elsewhere. The rotary always has been, and always will be, an experiment under development, flaws and all.

It's completely understandable if you don't want to accept that, just move on and leave if behind.

A 8 year/100,000km warranty isnt enough? Also the reliability of the engine has been well documented for many years, Mazda didnt hold a gun to your head, there is alot of other cars available without a rotary.

There is 1 company using R&D money for the rotary engine, piston engines have roughly 40-50 brands (est.) who market to personal ownership. So there is far more money & time alotted to development of the technology. As RIWWP stated it will always be a "experiment"

There was no 8 year 100,000 mile warranty as far as I'm concerned. Mazda was very strategic with their extensions. I was out of warranty every time they extended it. If it had come out of the factory with an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty that would be different. Mazda screwed the earliest buyers. As far as R&D is concerned, do more testing, work out the kinks before releasing something.

Yes, unfortunately Mazda was deliberately trying to screw you over and force you out of the brand. It speaks well for your tenacity that you have not succumbed yet.

With over a million rotary driven miles on track and street. , I have NEVER had a single rotary engine failure with either the stock or race-modified seven rotary cars I have owned since 1973. If you know the proper care and feeding of these cars and engines, they can exhibit truly legendary reliability.

Unless you drove one of the 2003-2005 pre-reflash rx8s that didn't inject enough oil... or any s1 rx8s with shitty OE coils that failed soon, letting your cat fail as well in return while ultimately wearing your engine down... Then comes the shitty az-6 transmission or the crappy clutch pedal. If that's your definition of reliable then i have to agree.

The RX8 isn't a reliable car by any means. The engine can be made reliable but it surely isn't from the factory.

Feck you bse. The rotary is and always will be an experiment. gwilliams has 10billion miles of knowledge. He well certainly show you up, so don't feck with him.

The rx-8 is more reliable than your English.






























:fruit:

Pappadapuppi!
http://ronetheboxhouston.files.wordp...stache_213.jpg

I still love my 8, with 180,000 miles on her even though she's falling apart now. I've replaced so many parts within the last 3 years it's ridiculous. I'm finally at the stage where I'm looking for something to trade her in for and after shopping around I still can't find anything as rewarding to drive. FRS/BRZ? Way too small. Muscle cars? Can't handle, don't have the feel of the 8. If Hyundai could get better steering/balance out of the Coupe I'd hit it. I've even told my wife I would look at another 8 if it was still sold that's how much I like the car. The biggest issue that would've most likely kept me away is gas mileage, that's it's biggest future hurdle.

Even after all the issues I've had I chalk it up to it being a different car and a sports car, but I will not kiss Mazda's ass and pretend like this car is the holy grail. You don't get a bad reputation for nothing. It's a fun car, not a reliable car and I tell everyone who asks me, it's great car to drive, a terrible car to own and live with. The issue is I'm a driver. I want a car that's great to drive...and to own.

^Just to let you know, the engine warranty was for ALL MAZDA RX-8 engines in North America for 8 years or 100 000 miles...
If you passed 100 000 miles during that time period than that's your fault.

I dont think mazda has any problems with pr. I see at least 20 different mazda 3's and 10 mazda 6's everytime i drive...everyday. Mazdas sellin the s*** of their new cars here in cali. I dont know about any other states but it seems everyone here either buys a truck or a mazda.i belive mazdas only real rival in sales are the mustangs.

As far as the new rotary goes mazda hinted at a 300hp n/a skyactiv assisted rb wat was it 19? A fuel efficient rotary to revive the rotarys reputation. A little far fetched but have you seen the furai concept? Mazdas better than ever in all departments and i have reason to belive the furai is going to be made into a road ready supercar. Remember what happened when audi diddnt have a supercar....then they did? Now theyre more advertised than pepsi and coke.

Talan7 means that he passed 60,000 miles, the Powertrain warranty limit, and then his engine failed, and he had to replace it on his own dime, and THEN Mazda extended the engine core warranty.

He should have still been able to get reimbursement, but that is what he is referring to. I assume that the "every time" part indicates the only other warranty extension they did, the clutch pedal extension, was also after his clutch failed.

Lots of misinformation there.

The Furai was concept that is dead and gone. It's not coming back. The body design is a language Mazda has left behind, and the engine is a 4 rotor that would never see street legality. It won't be showing up, because Mazda isn't doing anything with it. They are pursuing the Sky-R, and are working on efficiency more-so than power. They ARE targeting 300hp NA, and they indicated that they got some of their goals, but not all of them yet.

Was it ever clarified where they were still coming up short with their goals for the new engine?

Um, I think they made a reference on which point it was that they weren't satisfied with. I don't recall which point it was (power, emissions, or economy), and don't want to mis-quote.

Pretty sure it was either emissions or economy, and I think it was emissions.

There will always be kinks with every car, but with the rotary the obvious kinks are known and people who buy them off the lot tend to be the ones who are true rotary enthusiasts and know full well what they are getting into. Coupled with the fact they probably owned a RX7 or 2 in the past and wanted back in :)

i was unaware that they COMPLETELY dropped the project i assumed they would re package it at least to enter the supercar market that lexus nissan acura and supposodly toyota are all building cars for.

the 2017 RX7 will be a high end sports car, more exclusive and more expensive than any RX8 ever was. Mazda's affordable sports car will just be the new Miata. Look for the new RX7 to break new engineering ground. Mazda is shooting to attract that high-end sports car buyer, not huge sales numbers, like they did with the FD RX7 which was nearly $39,000 when I bought mine in 1993 and competed with Porsche in price at the time. Whether or not that is a successful strategy will partially depend on how ground-breaking the car is and also how good the economy is at that time. Just saw report in Motor Trend where young aren't buying cars anymore at the same rate, so where Mazda will get high end buyers will be a challenge as all car manufacturers are worried where the next generation of enthusiasts will come from. I am saving my pennies now for that RX7, hope I can afford to continue my love affair with the rotary. I will be keeping my RX8. Maybe I was just lucky not to have a rotary engine failure all these decades, or maybe there is something to knowing how to care for and feed them.

Early rx8s had many engineering flaws, you can't deny that.

that is the vexing part of the whole car actually, its inconsistent, the suspension is brilliant, but how did the sun visors make it to production?

or it looks great, and its really comfortable while being quite quick, but that's if you could get it to start...

the early e46 bmw was notorious for blowing valve cover gaskets and all 99=02 with that body style blew window regulators like no ones buisness and the cooling system would explode on ALL models at about 70k miles like clockwork. not to mention the sunroof would break if you dared use it. No one builds em perfect the first few years out of the factory. but my mazdas at 67,500 miles now and all iv had to do besides oil and brakes were coils and a cat....and gas 60 bux a week. prety solid if you ask me

...And Fiat blows the EPS every 70k km. So?
Compared to other Mazdas early rx8s were a clusterfuck of problems and shortcomings. I understand why they drew their ratings so low.
My rx8 never had a problem that wasn't transmission related so yes, sometimes they're reliable.

All the mechanical changes in the s2 speak loud enough about the mechanical shortcomings, some earlier reflashes clearly expose (some) of the tuning ones.

Btw contemporary BMWs aren't known to be reliable here, just like VW, Audi and Mercedes and i bet we see a bit more on the road here than you do there.

sooooo the point was EVERY car known to man in the history of time had engineering/design flaws wen released. why bash the 8 for the same thing?

and PLEASE say none were that bad so i can begin the 100page list of examples that were worse.

the fact that mazdas right next to lexus is a HUGE acomplishment and they had an rx8 in the lineup when they got the title. <-nuff said

did they have rx8s in the lineup in 2013? lol.

The rx8, compared to other mazdas, had many problems. That's why Mazda's ratings were lower when they sold it. Plain and simple.

stopped production doesnt mean stopped sales yes they were still selling them

i understand what your saying and its all true yes, but what i was simply saying is that
1. most manufacturers go through this and
2. my rx never experienced it so therefore its solid (mine)

The sales numbers of the last couple of years aren't high enough to bring Mazda down and s2 rx8s are significantly more reliable.

My rx8 was very reliable as well, transmission problems and clutch pedal aside. This doesn't make the rx8 a reliable as a car, it makes my case kind of a lucky one.
The number of engine replacements and the extra engine warranty offered by MNAO clearly shows that they got something wrong with s1 engines. Be it tolerances, coils, cats, oil injection, whatever... As a manufacturer you can expect 1 out of 100 engines to fail, not 30\35 out of 100!

all true but focused to specifically on one thing. if another brand doesnt have engine issues but other just as bad ones, for example early ford expeditions and lincoln navigators, they had higher failure rates on transmissions than mazdas engine issue. were talking over 70% of their cars. as i said before 100% of e chasis bmws blew radiator tanks. this was a gauranteed failure unless changed regularly DESIGN FLAWS

im just saying they all go through this
and your trying to convince me they do not when i have witnessed it

I'm not trying to convince you that they do not. E92 bmw 3 series diesel cars had problems with the turbo actuator as well... it's hard to argue that those parts cost manufacturers much less than a whole engine to replace.

What i'm saying is that the RX-8's reliability was way below the average reliability of the other models in the Mazda lineup. This is what ultimately dragged Mazda's ratings down.

Some manufacturers have engine failure rates that range from 0.3 to 1%. The "worst" ones like Audi or Mini and Saab are still below the 4% threshold.
A single model with a 30+% engine failure rate in Mazda's lineup was enough to drag the whole brand down.

ok bro watever, im done.you dont seem to get that im not arguing with you about what you said i was simply trying to add it is a common problem amongst auto makers THATS ALL

now please lets drop it

I meant that when they extended the warranty to 60,000 miles I was already past. When they extended it to 100,000 miles, I was already past that, so in essence I got screwed out of the warranty. I didn't replace my engine till 128,000 miles. It started giving me problems much earlier though. Timing is everything Mazda knew that. They knew some buyers would miss out on both extensions, people like me, who drive a lot.

On my new engine, I've just been going to work and home...saving the miles, seems a much more reliable engine though. I've got 50,000 and just had a tune up and none of the coils needed replacing. I believe I replaced my coils every year on the old engine.

I fail to see how you "got screwed out of the warranty" then.

If your engine wasn't diagnosed as failing until past the 100,000 mile mark, it didn't really matter which warranty was active, since you were not eligible for either by the time it did fail :dunno:

There was also only 1 extension, not 2. The 60k warranty was in place off the showroom floor, it was never extended to that point. The only shorter warranty was the bumper to bumper. Powertrain was always 5yr 60k.


Sure, Mazda knew some people would "miss", which is why all warranty extensions come with documentation and instructions of how to file a claim for what you paid out of pocket on a replacement that was now covered.

Even if you want to blame them for targeting you specifically to try to keep you from getting an engine at 128k, there are other people (9k and Al come to mind) who got 3 engines from them. I guess Mazda wasn't expecting that huh?


Edit:
I guess that the problem I have is that your reasoning is irrational. If you had a logical reason for the complaint, I wouldn't contest that, even if I disagreed.

Maybe I didn't explain myself well. I was past the 60,000 mark when my engine started giving me problems. Mazda started telling me I had low compression and needed a new engine after around 80,000 miles. I couldn't afford a new engine at the time so I found a rotary mechanic who did the cleaning and got the engine running well. At around 99,900 some odd miles I really had problems, my engine was running bad. Mazda told me I needed a new engine. I took it to my mechanic and while it was there the 100,000 mile extension came out. i immediately got my car a brought it to Mazda. It had under 100,050 miles and the same dealer who told me I needed a new engine wouldn't do it under warranty. The regional service manager happened to be there the same day and I presented my case to him and was turned down. I tried twice more contacting the regional service manager and both times was turned down. I limped around on that engine for over a year getting it de-gunked, replacing coils etc. before I finally replaced the engine on my dime at 128,000 miles.

Part of the reason was my mechanic was so good at reviving my engine that I didn't believe I needed a new engine (mostly cause I didn't want to pay). Even though Mazda kept telling me I needed a new engine I would take my car to my mechanic, he would do the cleaning, run the compression and it would run well for half a year. Once I found out Mazda wasn't going to replace my engine I wasn't going to replace it till I ran the original into the dirt. The cat...I replaced twice already and am in need of a 3rd. These aftermarket cat last me 2 years like clockwork. This'll be my 4th cat.

I do feel I got my money's worth out of the original engine only because I didn't change it till after 128,000 miles, but it was a pain in the ass dealing with it. I'd still buy another 8 now if it got better gas mileage. I couldn't buy one knowing the mileage I get now.

Ah, that makes much more sense now. You should have had a superb case to push for, since Mazda had already told you before 100k that you needed a new engine. Specific dealer quirks certainly can get quite painful :sad:

I am surprised they didnt "good will" the engine replacement if you were just out of warranty by that much.