RX-8 Modified Starter!!!
 

Mazda service dept just installed the new style starter for my 8 yesterday. This one is a hell of alot different. It looks the same as the stock one but the gears inside are different. The starter is now extremely quiet and cranks about 60% faster than the old one. It has a cool sound when the starter engages; something like a very small rotary engine. I am pretty darn sure that this is going to solve almost all the hard start problems. I give this thing a thumbs up. Ask your dealership about it. It is covered under warranty, all they have to do is a few tests, Oh and I almost forgot they also throw in NEW 850cca Battery. Ahh I love warranty.

Theres never been a single day where I had start problems w/my Rx8 and Ive hadit for almost 20 months now. Can youpost a sound clip of the new noise it makes? Thatd be the only incentive for me to obtain it.

so why did you get a replacement? is there a tsb on this? i don't recall seeing one.

Yeah what napboy said.

Why new?
 

Did the old one die?
Or was the problem just slow cranking?

S

yea please post a sound clip of the new start-up noise

when was this "new starter" released?

We need Snap-On to look this one up for us...I have heard nothing of a new starter and neither has my parts manager in Macon.

I recall reading a recent comment by Snap-on, or it might have been someone of his ilk, that he had seen (or installed?) one of the new starters and that he didn't see any significant difference from the original starter.

Yes,
There is a new starter available and I have heard from one of the techs I hang with that they have been putting 850 cca batteries in the flooded cars. This is great news. It's a shame this wasn't the case from the start. Hopefully the damage to their reputation is not irrepairable. (Concering flooding).
Paul.

Wonder if this new starter/ 850CCA battery deal will be implemented here in Australia .??

For a car that took 4 years to be born you would think that they would have cold weather tested it and realised the battery /starter weakness from the beginning instead of allowing this flooding problem to tarnish the reputation of un otherwise great car .

cheers
michael

I can assure you that it is not just a cold weather issue. In Georgia where I am we get freezing temps in the winter and super hot in the summer, and I have had no difference in when my starting problems occur with regards to the outside temps.

Needs more research...

I got the new starter and the (new? 3nd generation) hotter plugs installed yesterday and it cranks a lot faster. I have never had a flooding problem but I had other issues when I first got my car and Mazda offered this up so I figured why not, can't hurt and it should help in the long run if the plugs are getting weak.

The sound is a little like a Honda starter. I'm not going to hold that against it.

The owner of my local dealership told me of this new "flooding fix" -campaign to come- last Feb... and they've been waiting for it to get underway...now I guess it has. The new starter and the battery (perhaps more parts?) were the centerpiece of it, so looks like they just needed to get all the parts in the pipeline first.

I already had the battery installed, so next trip I'll mention that the other parts are ready.

Much as we chastize Mazda, they DO seem to come through, eventually, but like a watched pot, it seems to take forever to get to a boiling. :)

Only if you can find a dealership that is willing to do the right thing and help out their customers. You are very lucky that you have a laid back dealership just a few minutes away. As you know a lot of us are not that fortunate and have to fight this every step of the way. I wish that Mazda had more influence over their dealerships behavior.

yep theres a new starter and the new highere cca battery to take car of more flooding issues. helps the car crank itself out of the flood. id be real suprised that all the mazda service manyagers were not aware by now. if you have one thats not then i guess look elsewher for service.

The new starter only turns the engine a few (i.e. >5 <10) rpms greater than the original starter. The higher capacity battery, however, will turn the original starter ~50 rpms faster. The new starter with a new higher capacity battery cranks ~ 55-60 rpms faster than the original battery and starter... not much difference from an rpm standpoint between the old starter and new with the same high output battery.

The new starter may produce less load on the electrical system, however testing on this remains to be seen.

The point is, a more powerful battery goes a long way to improving hard starting issues induced by aggressive fuel levels resulting from improper shutdown procedures.

I'm not sure where everybody is getting their info. Some say 60% faster, some say only a few RPM. It sounds a heck of a lot faster. I couldn't tell you the RPM because it catches instantly now. I was always pleasently surprised when it started with the old one because from day 1 it sounded too slow, I just figured that roteries took less to catch. Now I hit the key and it sounds like any other car. I'd post a sound clip but I don't have a good way to record it.

I’m not sure what the “Mine starts great, why are you all bitchen” attitude comes from. It’s like saying I don’t have health insurance because I’m not sick. I decided that pushing for a new starter now would be better than swearing at the top of my lungs because the car decided to flood at some remote ski resort 150 miles from the nearest Mazda dealer on a Sunday night 2 years from now. BTW, mine hadn't flooded yet either.

If there is a new starter, can someone be so kind as to post the part number here? Several dealers have told me there is no such thing and challenged me to prove that anyone has gotten one under warranty (copy of service receipt).

I'll post it when I can. I don't have it with me right now.

I completley agree, what issue did you push to get them to install it? I have had a few really hard starts and I'm wondering if pushing that issue will get me a new starter. These starts weren't in sub zero temperatures either, it was in the 50's and the car cranked for about 10 seconds before barely starting. Really scared me.

In my case I had 3 things go wrong in the first week. I think it is a little emberasing to have somebody pay 30K for a car, drive it off the lot, get 3 miles away and get a CEL. Then I had a battery that wouldn't hold a charge if the car sat for 10 days in the winter. They upgraded my battery and the regional Mazda rep told me that they would get me the new starter to ensure I didn't have problems in the future.

It might be a bigger fight but I'd tell them that you are having hard starts and that it is cranking slow. Before the starter I would get occasional times where it was warmed up and then sat for 10 min. When I tried to start it would crank for a lot longer than normal but it never failed to start.

Yeah that is exactly what happens with mine. If its warmed up and then cools slightly I have occasional hard starts. Its never not started, but one time I cranked it for a good 10 seconds and just as I gave up and let off the key it barely started and sputtered to life.

If I rev to 3K before shutting down it seems to be fine, but still I'd rather get a new starter in there if I can. Like you said, I'd rather push for it now than after breaking down 200 miles from the dealership.

How have you guys been getting these new batteries and starters?

What have you been telling your dealerships?

Is there any Service Bulletins available for these new parts? If so, please provide a link.

You had the starter installed along with the new battery?

Or the starter alone?