lamigre

Brought my car in because of the CEL light. Dealer told me not to worry I would have it back by end of fay. He even offered me a rental car at their expense (loaner car not from Mazda). Took him up on the offer. Two days later I am being told they think they have narrowed it down. Head mechanic was reading from internet printouts since he has not received his manual yet. Told me I should have it back by tomorrow. When I mentioned that I had seen similar problems here he stated, MNAO policy is if they can't find the problem reset the CEL and log it.

Oh Boy... Anyone else with similar experiences?

wankel

I've had mine in the dealer 2 times for CEL. Both times, evaporator system code came up. Evap test performed was normal. Dealer said it needs new program software since ECU was changed at Port. I was told 2-3 weeks. In the meantime, I have my car and told not to worry.

mikeb

mine went in for cel and they had it from monday morning to wesneday night. All they did was reset it and it hasn't come back on since

CruelNewb

did u have him check the oil pan? thats what causes most of the unknown CEL problems

CruelNewb

here is more info on your issue I hope this helps

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.p...threadid=10789

lamigre

Not oil pan, says it was a temp problem. Possible thermostat or three other things. I still thing bug in firmware.

lamigre

Got car back today, dealer does not know what caused CEL to go on. He just reset it and told me if it comes back on to bring the car in again.

As a side not they evidently installed a new flash. I just filled up my car to see if the mileage will improve. Still at 13 MPG in city driving only.

mikeb

how many miles on your car. 13mpg will get better
dealer told me the same thing with resetting the cel and so far it has not come back on

lamigre

Just broke 700 miles prior to placing the car in the shop.

CruelNewb

you will need to wait til 3000 miles to get full effect of the MGP, from what I am seeing the Rotary engine breaks in at this point. Mazda stated 600 miles but it seems most of the owners get better mileage at 3k.

graphicguy

This was a month ago, but when my CEL came on, they did diagnotics on it and said it was the EVAP unit. They put in a new one and it hasn't come on since. They gave me a car to use (new Protege....nice cars) and kept it overnight to make certain the new EVAP unit took care of the CEL problem.

I still think there was some issue that Mazda found at the port, when the cars first arrived in the U.S. that caused them to have to reflash the ECU to meet emmissions regs.

Truly, I believe the cars were delivered to the port with the stated HP figures and then had to have the HP figures restated after reflashing the ECU. I also think the reflashed ECUs are also the cause of the CEL coming on.

At least, that's what makes the most sense.

Rumors flying around that the Mazdaspeed Protege owners were experiencing some driveability problems. It took 4 months, but Mazda eventually put in new ECUs in the Proteges and, "voila", more power was the result in addition to better driveability.

I think patience is the virtue here. I DO BELIEVE there's a new ECU coming the way of those of us who decided to keep our RX8s.

reckless4fun

I have a new spin on the CEL. Direct from my dealer.

A little history first. Bought the car last Sat. Got the light driving home from dealer. Thought, no biggy -- too much gas in tank, loosen cap let it breath. Did that, light went out.

Sun, light came on and flashed. I stopped driving the car and called the dealer. Took it in on Wed (first available time they had). The CEL code indicated a back fire and rear rotor fault -- whatever that means. The CEL did clear itself during testing but they knew the conditions and could continue looking into the problem. The dealer was work with the main (?) Mazda techs where they log all problems with the RX8.

Today (Th) I got a call from the dealer and according to them and the tech center, they need to change the plugs to a different heat range. I guess they did not expect the heat ranges we'd experience in North America. Go Figure that one -- don't they still test cars by abusing them in Death Valley anymore?? So, it's late Thursday night and the plugs should have arrived just before closing. Maybe I'll have the car back tomorrow.

I'll let you know how this unfolds but I thought some info was better than none.