I don't know why they don't just issue a recall for the thing. If flooding can occur on all cars and the L flash fixes it, it seems worthy of a recall to me.

 

Funny - after all the threads on flooding and flashes - I decided to just called my dealer - told him that I am picking me car up this Wednesday (as I just signed the contract this morning) - and the service guy I spoke with said that with all RX-8 deliveries, they go through the car to ensure that a) all recalls have been done and b) that the car has the latest version of the flash...he said they would rather have the car go out at its 'very best' to ensure they don't see me often - except for regular maintenance. He confirmed that they do have the M version of the flash. He did however, warn me very, very carefully about the 'cold start' and quick shut off - he said "do that, and you'll be calling us for a tow for sure'....so I'll heed his warning, you can bet. He also said that the 'new plugs' for this issues should be availble to him soon and a notice would be going out.

Good to know I got lucky and found a dealer who cares about getting the best to their customer - the first time.

 

Thank you, Baller. Saved me a trip to the dictionary.

 

Just picked my car up from the dealer...

Had the 2 recalls performed, and also asked for the latest ECU flash on the service form.

No charge for any of the work, and no excuses necessary for the reflash

 

well....,mine went in today for flooding that was NOT on purpose and they wouldnt do the flash because it didnt come up on the VIN as being needed.....so it all depends on the dealer you get.


i wouldnt do anything negative to my engine just to get the flash....i would lie to the dealer, but not purposely flood the engine.

 

Dealer did mine today.
(Maine)
Details to follow.

 

my dealer re-flashed my 8 today. IMO I feel better acceleration especially at the lower RPMs. 3rd gear seems to pull much harder even starting in the 4-4.5k range.

I do have a question though. The TSB says you you can check to see if you have the L Flash ( pumping break test) refers to manual 8 w/ VINs after 40132647. How do I check if I have an older VIN?


http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ocs/01-007.htm

 

How do I check if I have an older VIN?



The last 5 numbers will be greater/lesser than yours.

 

Pinhy,

the newest M flash directly addresses the flooding issue. It controls(reduces) the amount of time fuel is injected during start up AFTER cold shut downs.

I spoke with a service manager today and he told me that he verified the above information on an 8 he was working on. He also said for me to stop by anytime to get the update when I wanted it. But he did say the only thing it does, over the L, is reduce the amount of fuel after cold shut downs.

And for his test he measured the milliseconds of fuel injection before and after the flash while he started the car something like 5 times in a minute without the flash. He didn't think it would start again as it was getting very slow. Next morning he reflashed it, and did the same thing, 10 times in a minute and it didn't miss a beat. And said the fuel injection time was cut about in half.

He did say he had a lot of trouble updated his computer system to take the newest release form mazda so this may be why some dealers don't have it available yet, but keep asking them. If Mazda didn't intend for us to have these updates, they wouldn't make them.

At least you did get the car back. And I bet you won't do anymore cold shutoffs

Good luck

 

no, my VIN is from an 8 that had a lower VIN #. Are there other ways to know if exactly what re-flash I got since the break pumping test won't work on my car?

 

How can you tell if you got the L or the M??

 

lower VIN=you need a reflash.
likley will be 'L'

 

They Flashed mine yesterday. THe part# on my invoice does not show the actual part# for the flash. It just states that a new pcm was loaded.

 

With the updated tsb it should be easier to get the car reflashed. below is copied from the finishline site mentioned above

RX-8 - ENGINE CRANKS NO START
BULLETIN NOTE
• This bulletin supersedes last issued 03/11/2004. The APPLICABLE MODEL(S) / VINS and REPAIR PROCEDURE
“A” - DECHOKE / ENGINE STARTING sections have been changed.
APPLICABLE MODEL(S) / VINS
RX-8
DESCRIPTION
Some vehicles may experience difficulty starting (cranks no start). This occurs after driving the vehicle a short
distance without engine reaching normal operating temperature. Examples: starting a vehicle and moving it to
wash it, engine stall due to mis-application of clutch then restart.
A cranks, no start condition may be caused either by flooded spark plugs or lower than normal compression due
to fuel flooding.
NOTE: Before attempting to recalibrate the PCM, make sure to check the VIN & production date of the vehicle.
Vehicles produced on or after 3/12/04 and VIN is JM1FE17**40135537 or later, contain the “M”
calibration & do not require an updated calibration.
It is important to update the PCM to at least “M” calibration if the vehicle’s PCM currently contains an earlier version.
The “M” calibration contains software logic to prevent possible no start concerns. Because of this revision,
all vehicles with previous calibrations should be updated to at least the “M” calibration level. This includes vehicles
coming to the dealer for repairs unrelated to the no start concern, or normal scheduled maintenance.

 

Yup,I just printed that whole TSB in case my dealer hadn't "seen" it.

 

I just asked nicely and got the M.