md_guy

Hi guys,
I'm thinking about buying an RX-8, and wanted to clarify some things about the flooding issue.

I understand that shutting off the engine while cold is the primary cause of flooding, but do I have to worry about short on-off cycles while the engine is warm? For example, I get home after driving for 20 minutes, park it in the driveway for 5 minutes, then start it up to put it in the garage. Do I need to worry about flooding it in this scenario, or will it be ok as long as the engine is still warm when I move it into the garage?

Also, people have reported flooding after stalling while in reverse. Is this specific to the manual transmission, or does the AT stall when cold also? On a related note, if I get the AT, do I need to warm it up fully before driving it, or can I drive it (gently, of course) for the first couple minutes while it's still cold?

Finally, I'm wondering how effective the prescribed remedy (hold pedal to floor while cranking for 10 secs, then release and crank for another 10 secs) is at clearing the flooding. Have most people who flooded and tried this managed to get it going, or is it more of a "throw the ball and pray for a miracle" situation? For the people who couldn't get this to work, was it just a futile effort from the start, or more a matter of draining the battery before it cleared?

I'd greatly appreciate any insight you guys can provide. I've never owned a rotary, and I want to make sure I understand what I'm getting myself into before I drop $30k on the thing.

Positron

md_guy - for lots of info, do a search on flooding. But for some quick info let me just say a few things.

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md_Guy wrote:

I understand that shutting off the engine while cold is the primary cause of flooding, but do I have to worry about short on-off cycles while the engine is warm? For example, I get home after driving for 20 minutes, park it in the driveway for 5 minutes, then start it up to put it in the garage. Do I need to worry about flooding it in this scenario, or will it be ok as long as the engine is still warm when I move it into the garage?

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My thoughts:

Most experiences of flooding seem to be when the car is cold, is moved or run for a VERY short time, and is shut off while still cold (before the temp needle moves up into normal range). Once the car is warmed up you shouldn't have any trouble turning it off for any amount of time and then restarting.

Now someone is bound to respond and tell us how they drove for hours (so the car was hot) and then they parked and went away for some amount of time and when they came back the car wouldn't start. But I am not sure that is typical of flooding.

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md_guy wrote:

Also, people have reported flooding after stalling while in reverse. Is this specific to the manual transmission, or does the AT stall when cold also? On a related note, if I get the AT, do I need to warm it up fully before driving it, or can I drive it (gently, of course) for the first couple minutes while it's still cold?

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my comment:

I have an AT (since Oct) and have never had it stall. I also have never had the flooding problem. I usually start the car and let it idle for 30 seconds to a minute, but rarely longer before I put it in gear and go. I also find that my car hits normal temp within 5 minutes of starting (even during the recent cold temps here in DC).

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md_guy wrote:

Finally, I'm wondering how effective the prescribed remedy (hold pedal to floor while cranking for 10 secs, then release and crank for another 10 secs) is at clearing the flooding. Have most people who flooded and tried this managed to get it going, or is it more of a "throw the ball and pray for a miracle" situation? For the people who couldn't get this to work, was it just a futile effort from the start, or more a matter of draining the battery before it cleared?

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my comment:

I can't really answer this part of your question since I have never had to do it with my 8.


So, finally, let me just say that I don't mean to down play the worry or significance of the flooding issue, but realize that it is NOT that common. The polls asking how many have flooded seem to indicate a very small number of people have had floods given how many cars are really out there. Yes, it DEFINITELY is the pits if it happens to you, and yes, MAZDA SHOULD LOOK INTO FIXING IT!!! But don't let it scare you away. Do your homework, read the threads so you go in with as much info as possible. Ask your dealer. Ask the service department how many they've had. Do they cover it under warranty? What, exactly do they do to fix it? Remember, people that have had the pain are gonna be vocal. I hope this helps some.

Long post. Sorry.

mm :D

md_guy

Ok, but what about starting an already warm engine and then shutting it off, say, 10 seconds later?



Excellent. This is exactly what I was hoping to hear


Yeah, I figured that it was a fairly infrequent occurrence. I spent several hours reading consumer reviews in various places before I came across a mention of the problem and found my way here while looking into it. I just want to clarify the issue a bit before making a decision. What I'm really trying to do is pin down the level of inconvenience I'd have to endure in order to minimize the risk. For example, valet parking presumably is out of the question, as is taking the car to any place other than the dealer for service (every time I've been to Jiffy Lube, Midas or Mr. Tire my car invariably sits in the lot for a while before being driven into the bay for service, and I have little faith in the average employee of such places to heed any warning about not shutting it off cold). I'm also wondering about going to the car wash, where they typically put a car in neutral and turn it off going in, then start it up and drive it a few dozen yards to be dried, at which point they shut it off again.

Exactly what I'm doing


Good advice. When I went for a test drive a couple weeks ago, the sales droid didn't bother to mention it (sounds like SOP from what I've read so far). I do need to call the service dept, and if I decide to buy one, maybe I can make the sales guy squirm a bit by asking a lot of pointed questions just as he starts to visualize his comission check


Defnitely. Thanks for the info.

ALWAZL8

md_guy wrote: "Ok, but what about starting an already warm engine and then shutting it off, say, 10 seconds later?"

This shouldn't be a problem because you're engine is already warm. (At least in my experience.) I have a manual transmission and I make every effort to make sure that I let the engine get warm before I cut it off.


md_guy wrote: "For example, valet parking presumably is out of the question, as is taking the car to any place other than the dealer for service (every time I've been to Jiffy Lube, Midas or Mr. Tire my car invariably sits in the lot for a while before being driven into the bay for service, and I have little faith in the average employee of such places to heed any warning about not shutting it off cold)."

I COMPLETELY understand your thinking here! I wash my car myself and when I have to have it serviced I will definitely be taking it back to the dealership. I don't trust anyone who doesn't know anything about this car to make sure it's taken care of correctly.

Hope this helped a little more.