spoddyandthemazda

Hi

My CEL light came on driving home from work tonite.

To cut a long story short, I drove to work today and everything seemed ok.
Car seemed peppy enough, its a 6 speed 231ps model, I was joining the motorway and did the usual rev up to about 8000 rpm and car got up to 60 pretty sharpish as per usual. No problems going down the motor way, I even drove at 70mph the limit to give her a good drive.

Now the story gets a bit longer sorry, but I thought I'd explain as much as possible to see what you all thought.

Basically I had my car MOT'd about 20th March. I have no mods, only a cat back stainless steel exhaust. Before the MOT the exhaust seemed more 'sporty noised', you know the usual crackle noise and throaty. Well in the test they put the car up on a ramp and rock it from side to side to check the joints etc.

Car passed ok, emissions etc, they put a sensor rod into the tail pipe, but after the test I thought the car seemed quieter, not as crackly/throaty.

I had also left the car in to get the sills repainted under the mazda body warranty, and instructed the manager to let the car warm up before a shut down.

I always let all of the dash lights go out before starting to prime the oil etc, and keep oil level at the top of the dipstick. I do get alot of the mayo effect on the dip stick, but I have read its down to colder climates and it has been very cold here in Ireland this last few months.

Back to my story, as I was saying I was driving home after work and no CEL light until I got onto the motorway, car was warmed up ok and I give her some welly but car moved into my land so only went to about 6000 rpm. I put on my air con to keep me cool as was just out of the gym, got down the road a few miles and noticed the CEL light was on.

I was only doing about 60mph cause of traffic, so thought about maybe plugs a bit carbed up? I speed up to 70mph as I noticed no vibration/power loss etc.

I did notice a slight smell which seemed like oil, but I know this car uses oil as part of how it works and thought it was either some on the engine from a top up spill or another car.

What I have been reading is that you get a CEL from fouled plugs/coils or leads and if the CAT is blocked.

I was thinking my quieter exhaust noise and the slight oilish smell would maybe be the CAT being slightly blocked?

I also checked my fuel cap was on tightly clicked a number of turns and checked oil cap on tightly which both are. I also checked plug leads on ok, which were. Oil level fine on dipstick, everything seemed to be ok.

What do you think? I am gonna phone the dealership and tell them so can get the codes pulled, as I got a years warranty with the car, I assume they will sort this all for me. Ie replace coils/plugs if needbe. The dealer did say the plugs and coils had been done and an oil change too by the previous owner, car had 61800 miles on her, now is 63442 odd.

Also just incase it is the CAT, I have used a product which you add to the petrol, it is a liquid. Smells a bit like thinners, but can clean you CAT out without needing a replacement etc, I have a mazda mx3 1.5 jap import, about 115hp, I used it on this car and it did improve the mpg and car ran better. Is it safe to use cleaners on a rotary engine, not interfer with the oil injection/petrol mix?

I would like to thank you for your patience in reading this, I did try to read before I asked about the CEL light problem.

Oh, anyway of reading a code without a computer code scanner? Like off the dash cluster?

Thanks

expo1

You are going to have to find out the exact CEL code in order for us to be of any help. You need a code reader or have to make a trip to a dealer. In the USA some auto part stores will do it for free, maybe they do that by you?

xsnipersgox

i woudn't worry, u under warranty than take it to the stealership =D

spoddyandthemazda

well went to the garage/dealership i got the car from, they said their scanner may not pick up the mazda code, but tried anyways. they didn't like the creamy substance on the dipstick, i explained about the cold causing this but they thought that any moisture should dry up after a longish drive, which i kind of agree. they rang mazda about this and they said they have had a few like this and to bring the car in to drop the engine and check it out as it may be gasket going.

i was told although it is driving ok now it may be on its way out and it is better to get it sorted now with the warranty covering everything. my 8 will be out 2-3 weeks

i got a vauxhall (gm) astra diesel to drive in the mean time, so at least i'll have better fuel economy gotta keep on the brite side.

so i will be contacted with news in the next week. maybe some day i'll be able to enjoy my 8 all to myself lol. its starting to sink in now though as the rx-8 handles sooooooo well, and is so special to own and drive no matter its quirks.

i just hope my 8 will not get dented or scratched, i did say to the service manager who was a decent enough guy to look after her for me and he just told me not to worry it will all be professionaly sorted.

ah well, ho humm

spoddyandthemazda

update on my cel light.

i rang the service manager today who told me that the mazda dealership had looked at the car and basically informed the service manager from the non mazda dealership i got the car from that the mayo dipstick was normal.

they said they would be running the code checking procedure and i'd get a call later on in the afternoon about what it was.

got the call to be told that the fault was with the CAT and that it needed replaced.
cost is about £1100 and about £200 plus VAT for labour.

Here is the clinker, my warranty doesn't cover the CAT. But as I have only had the car from last week of Feb, i was told that they would cover part of the cost.
it ended up with the boss agreeing to cover the cost of the CAT and i pay the labour. i still feel p***ed off as you expect the car to be right etc when you buy it.

it will take 4-5 days to order the part, i was just wondering if it all sounds fair?
how long does a CAT last on the rx-8, as miles are around 63 and a half thousand odd, dunno how many miles put on sending the car to the mazda garage.

when i get my 8 back, how can you keep the CAT in good shape? is there anything i should talk to the mazda mechanics about, such as coils/plugs or check compression? the car's exhaust seemed a bit quieter and i did think at the time the car seemed a little stuffed up. it was revving ok so would the engine be ok?

sorry but would just appreciate some good advice on this one.

thanks

alz0rz

iTrader: (41)

i dont get why you have to pay anything if you're still under warranty?

spoddyandthemazda

i know, but it is because the warranty i got doesn't cover the CAT, i was told.
so as i only have the car a few weeks, they had offered to pay for the CAT, and I pay the labour. I was basically not given much time over the phone as, I was told the car was ok when it left the dealership, and the warranty does state in black n white what it does and does not cover. i was told at the test drive, it would not cover the audio equipment and everything else, but suppose they'll say they didn't.

at the end of the day i am just wondering do car warranties ie a used car warranty, outside of mazda's 3 years one cover different things. my warranty certificate does not cover the details. i'll just have to pay, i am getting a new CAT, but what should i do to keep it from going again? ie use a CAT cleaner solution in the petrol, can you use petrol additives in rotaries ok?

thanks

spoddyandthemazda

well i got my 8 back last wednesday, car going great, seems more lively and got my familar crackle in my cat back stainless exhaust.

i put 40 litres of bp ultimate into the car when i picked it up, and had a blast on the way home. i have noticed the car is a bit harder on the petrol (gas), but then i have been doin 70mph on the motorway as have missed my car

i plan on using this type of fuel or the shell optimax to keep the carbon away as well as red lining once a day for a few seconds.

but its great to have my car back, gave it a wash today and noticed the dealership mechanics have left two little bolts off the tray under the engine, so its hanging a little at the front.

i hate it when they do things like that, gonna ring them and ask for two replacements, not on after you pay £211 for labour. £60 for the code reading lol and £180 for the work, the rest VAT.

they said the gunk on the oil was normal, just in the dipstick, i'll see if it goes away in the summer as its still cold here at the moment.

but i is happy my pride and joy is home yippie!!!

fahrfegneugen

Did you ask him why the cat was the problem? The cat shouldn't be going out unless your engine is running too rich or something. What did the dealer say about the engine?

Ericok

The foam on the dipstick is normal but Mazda does have a fix for it if it bothers you (for which you'll get stuck paying for). My take is that you don't have a Mazda warranty but some aftermarket waranty on a used car. That's why they can get away with not covering everything. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency mandates that the three major parts of the emission control system (this includes the CAT, the ECU and the Onboard Diagnostic Unit) be warranted for 8 years or 80,000 miles. Mazda would have to cover any emission related problems with those. (Not that that helps you in N. Ireland).

spoddyandthemazda

i actually got the car from a used dealership and they had to send the car to mazda to replace the cat.

all i was told was the fault code was to do with the cat, i had asked what had happened to cause it and was just told this from the dealership i got the car from.

basically they are btw me and mazda, and this is what they were told. no other codes were read, no other problems, car had 62500 odd on it when this happened. they replaced the CAT and reset the engine cel light.

if there are no other fault codes etc, then i dunno if the car is running rich. the car did the expected mpg per tank as the factory says before it went. i have done about 130 miles on about half a tank, fuel needle was a few ticks below the full mark and its about a few ticks below the half mark at the moment.
been revving and doing 70 mph on the motorway too.

therefore i would expect to get about the 270 miles on a full tank, so car should be running ok? if it was running rich, it would not do that i take it? i know when a rotary starts up from cold it does run rich until it warms up and when red lining.,
as you see the fuel needle drop more quicker and then it magically goes up again lol.

how do you know if the engine is running too rich, i would take it the computer would tell you the fuel/air mix ratios and settings and assume they know to check all that in finding out what/why it failed.

i will be contacting the mazda garage to see about the tray screws i was told the mechanics are not allowed to take telephone calls, but will ask their service guy for a report and see if they found anything to tell if the engine is running rich.

i did read on here the CATS are troublesome and its a warranty no no, my sales guy got his boss to cover the part as a goodwill payment as its so expensive.

the car is driving great, better than before, i did use the higher octane petrol so i hope its helping clean out the engine and will keep everything in check.
don't wanna have to replace it again.

csl

I just had my CEL light up last week. The engine keep on dying off if I let it idle. Due to no workshop at my home town can fix it, I reset myself by disconnected the battery then reconnect it after few minutes. After that, the CEL turned off and just turn the steering all the way to left then to right then back to center to reset the DSC.