Ok guys I have some news.
A very good source has informed me that mazda has responded to a sparkplug problem. Mazda did a study on the number of cold starts new RX 8's were having before delivery. The number of starts in transiet to the dealership and the number of starts until sold. They called it, start to miles driven ratio. They found that some cars were having 30 starts and only 5 miles driven! Oviously, not the best for a rotary!
Realizing that this high to low ratio would wreck havoc on the plugs and I assume thinging that the bad plugs would increase likelyhood of flooding and/or reduced performance a NEW dealer prep will bestarted in the near future. In the glove compartment of every new RX8 will be 2 new sparkplugs that will be installed as the dealer prep once the car is sold. Actual date this is to start is unk too me, but I am assured it WILL happen. Makes sense to me.
Kudo's to Mazda for continuing to take ownership in addressing possible problems.
Now if we can just get the coils/wires issue addressed this baby will be a step closer to bulletproof.
olddragger

 

Wish they had done that prep on mine. I'm having lots of misfire problems, and this might just be the cause.

 

roger
OD

 

Try to get your dealer to install the new starter and plugs for you under the TSB. You'll be glad you did.

 

Guys How Can You Get The Dealer To Do This Recall? I Want Told Them About My Car They Checked The Vin And Told Me It Was Fine That Its Was Only Done On Need To Bases Meaning If The Car Had The Promblem? But Mine Rarely Gives Me Cold Start Problems. But The Battery Sucks If I Dont Turn The Car On For A Couple Of Days Its Dead And The Car Only Has 29000 Mls Mainly Hwy.

 

Dude, Your Post Made Me Go Blind I Am Typing From Memory....

 

This wouldn't be a recall. The first post dosn't even say anything about a TSB. Recalls are for problems affecting the safety of the vehicle. They can be volentary or mandated be the goverment. TSB (Technical Service Bulletins) are issued by Mazda to repair problems with the car. They are volentary. The dealer determains when these are neccessary. Just because you heard about a TSB or a new ECU flash dosn't mean the dealer will perform the requested service.

 

I heard this as well. New plugs in the glove compartment. New step in the PDI is to install the new plugs. plus there is soem trackign involved so MNAO knows its been done.

 

Right --this is NOT a recall. All that has been talked about before in other threads. This is a new dealer prep that occurs at the sale of a new RX8. But the message also is that Mazda has recognized a problem and is being pro active--kudos to them for this.
olddragger

 

I am happy to hear they are doing this. Makes me wonder how many starts/stops my car had in the 20mi before I picked it up. I've only had oil changes and the thermal recall but my car is starting to misfire on cold idle and has cut out (lost power) at about 7200RPM, which seemed to be cured by turning off the car and restarting - perhaps this is due to the plugs being fouled. How much are they worth (assuming Mazda won't do this for me under warranty)?

 

they changed my plugs, battery and starter motor without me asking. I had brought it in for an oil change and they did it all by themselves.

 

IMO being proactive would be installing the plugs at the factory when you pickup your new RX-8 at the dealer maybe it has the new plugs installed, maybe not ... my new RX-8 was delivered to me with a TPMS light that is still shining brightly to this day ...

 

Maybe what they need to do is ship them without the cat installed as well....and TeamRX8 what they are doing is installing new plugs at PDI to make up for the 40+ cold starts and possible floods to get the car TO the dealer in the first place.....

 

Are these leading or trailing plugs?

 

All plugs will be swapped for new ones as part of PDI

 

They are the leading plugs...

My 8 would not start this morning. Come to find out, it was flooded. Had it towed to Jeff Haas and Allan told me that there was a TSB on the problem. They replaced the parts and my baby is purring again. They replaced the starter, battery, leading plugs, and the reflashed. She spins up much quicker now...it's a noticeable difference in starter speed. He mentioned that the reflash did something with fuel management to help prevent flooding. I haven't driven the car anough to notice a difference in performance yet...

CajunTexan8

 

the TSB work done for your car and this new PDI step are not the same thing. for the PDI the car gets 4 new plugs

 

This applies to 06's as they land. All other plug issues are covered in the TSB's

 

What the hell --
It 'tis super to have snap-on posting. Sure hope to see more of you my friend!

Welcome back. Knowing you I suspect you've been lurking all these months.

 

I have the new starter/plugs/battery as well after my car wouldn't start a few weeks back. VERY much worth having this done.

 

Did they tell you they did it afterward? Reason I ask is I just had my oil changed today and the car cranks MUCH more quickly now. I had been having the slow start issue for a while, but not after the oil change. They didn't say anything about it tho, and I really doubt they had the time to do it. I wouldn't even consider the fact they did it except that the startup time difference was THAT noticable. I'll call em tomorrow to ask.

 

Seems like everyone's batteries are going out. My car has been sitting for 1.5 wks. and when I turn the key into the first engine on position, no lights even come on. I never even tried cranking it, because I did not want to flood the vehicle. Key fob does nothing, so I assume batteries toast.

I am sure I've got the original battery, and it's almost three yrs. old (I've got a 7/03 build date) and only 5,000 miles on my car. What is the best course of action?

1. Try to jump the car? Or would it be a futile effort.

2. Replace the battery myself?

3. Call Roadside and get it addressed by Mazda

If anyone has any recommendations, it would be greatly appreciated. And for the future, since my car is obviously an occasional ride what is the best way to avoid a drained battery in the future, or is this really only a problem because of the weak OEM battery?

I wouldn't want to pop a trickle charger on if it causes some kind of other damage to the vehicle, and I do not want to disconnect because I do drive it occasionally in the winter.

 

Kudos for taking care of one, now if they would just address the fuel tank starvation in corners issue for folks who do want to "zoom-zoom" on the track with thier cars.

 

For the future I would get a trickle charger - especially with 5000 miles inthis length of time.

As for now - I see no problem with charging the battery overnight then restart car. If it starts - I would get it to dealer and report issue. If they do the plugs-battery-starter under warranty - problem solved. If they say it's just the battery - I would get Optima battery. If it does not start with re-charged battery - I would call Mazda Roadside.

That would be my move.