SLK_VIK

Hello Everyone, I have a problem with my rx8, one of the tires seems to lock up when i make a some what sharp left turn at around 42 mph. It seems like the tire is grinding against the body, but i have no visual damge anywhere.

If it helps i have the MT GTP with apearance package.

The mazda techs can't replicate the problem, yet I hear it everyday when i turn onto my street.

Has anyone else noticed that ??

SLK_VIK

There is also one more problem which the mazda techs can't seem to replicate: when I depress the clutch then shift into first it gives me a loud thump that you can feel, and the same goes for 2nd, but all the other gears are fine? Someone help me!!

P.S.

I brought it to two dealers: the one that i bought it from and a MAZDASPEED certified dealer both had problems replicating the problem.

sferrett

DSC/traction control may be kicking in and applying brakes on one wheel. It kinda feels like a wheel binding or grinding a little bit.

Try the same manuever after turning the traction control off...

epitrochoid

sferret's right. there may be a slick spot on the road that your tire is catching. the clunk is normal as well...its just the gear meshing

w2aew

...on you 1st gear clunk - I'll bet that if you depress the clutch and wait about 3 seconds, the clunk won't happen. The clunk you hear is the abrupt change in speed of the clutch disk and input shaft - from idle rpm to 0. Waiting a few seconds before selecting 1st will give these components a chance to spin down to 0 without the synchros doing it rapidly for you.

As for 2nd gear, its likely the same effect (except this time for two different rpms, not idle and 0). Pause ever so slightly in neutral as you shift from 1 to 2, and the clunk will disappear.

SLK_VIK

Thanks Everyone, I will try the DSC/ Traction Control off and the slow shift and see if they help. epitrochoid, to the best of my knowledge the road is clean and has no slick spots; I'll try this turn again on another road and see if I get the same effects.

Ned M

iTrader: (2)

Ditto on giving the tranny a second or two when engaging 1st. However, if your clutch isn't totally disengaging you can have trouble engaging lower gears. Does it happen in reverse, too?

wakeech

locking up wheels just means they run out of grip and slide...

SLK_VIK

Yup it happens in reverse too Ned M. I have not had a chance to try running the car on a similar road at 42 MPH with DSC/ Traction control off because it has been raining here all week, I will hopefully try it when the weather clears up (hopefully tomorrow).

SLK_VIK

My 8 has been acting strange ever since I bought it, the shifting problem is noticably getting worse for me, its now giving me problems and rough shifts in 3rd gear also!! I hope I don't have a dud

SLK_VIK

Question:

How many miles were on your RX-8 when you bought it?? Mine had 112, which i think is a little high no?

pcldletter

It's the DSC, the bad news is it can get worse. Mine started as a little annoyance now and then and is to the point where the light will actually blink. For me it usially only happens when going about 25 and taking a moderately sharp turn. Dealer gives me the run around the past 3 times I've brought it in. I was going to tear my breaks apart to paint the calipers and rotors, or even replace them if I have the right amount of cash at the time. When I do this I'm going to take a long hard look at the abs sensors which might be the problem.
112 miles is very high, almost sounds like a demo car. Mine had 4.8 miles when I picked it up.

SLK_VIK

Pcldletter,
I think that I might have been ripped off, I'm thinking of returning it back as a lemon and getting another one with less mileage. It's been in the dealer a documented 20+ days now and is going back again for the shifting problems. What it seems like happened to me was that my RX-8 was sold to someone who beat on it and then immediately returned it, like when that law suit happened with Mazda not fixing the HP problem as advertised and people got a full refund.

SLK_VIK

I think I’m going to start another thread, and ask RX-8 owners if they are really happy with their RX-8 and if they had any problems with it. This way I can find out if anyone else had problems like you and me pcldletter.

pcldletter

I'm not sure you will want to start that thread, I think you'll be overwhelmed with the amount of problems. But overall I think I can speak for many when I say it was somewhat expected due to a first model year car, and I am overly happy with the seat of the pants feel of the car. By the way, my biggest problem is that I went through 2 differentials. But thats another story, and not something you should have to worry about unless you take it to the 1/4 mile or like to do aggressive burnouts.
What kind of problems have you been having? 20 + days is a hell of a long time. They replaced my diff from me handing them the keys, to them handing them back in less than 4 days. And that includes 2 days for parts shipment.

pcldletter

and I forgot to ask, how many miles does your 8 have on it? Mine is at about 12,500

SLK_VIK

My RX-8 has ~1667 miles on it the last time I drove I’ve had it since the end of march and it has had these problems:
1: antifreeze kept getting low on its own??

Tech said he checked it and found no leaks but it happened 3 times.

2. Power windows (2) motors went bad and I think its happening again.

They replaced them.

3. Tire kept grinding/ rubbing against something when I made a turn at 42 that was not too sharp.

They could not replicate it 2 times.

4. water in both front and rear headlights and taillights, I have pictures.

I really have no idea what they did?? Not even written on the repair sheet. I saw water in it the day after I bought it, and the dealer that I bought it from said no.

5. shifting problems both hard time going into 1st and reverse and thumps that you can feel when you shift from 1 and now through 3 since 2 days ago (before it was 1st and 2nd gear the day I bought it).

The "blank blank” sales person said it was fine and I was exaggerating the first day I bought it.

6. The car threw puffs of fire and backfired noticeably when you start it up cold or hot.

I think that every RX-8 owner had the noticeable backfiring, but the puffs of fire?? I don't know.

7. The day after I picked it up I noticed that it had a ding on the front right wheel well; I think that I didn't notice because I picked it up at around 9:45 P.M.

The dealer said that it was "PDI"ed (pre delivery inspected) and the inspector found no problems with it "BLANK BLANNK" salesman!!! The minute I took it off the lot it went strait home, no cars around it or anything the car sat in the garage. I screamed at them and they said that they would fix it after my lease was up because I had paid extra for excess wear and tear (Fat chance that’s going to happen!!) (I leased it temporarily to see if the car would give me any problems, then if it didn't I could cancel the lease and finance it).

8. My car had and still has grease all over the top of the inside roof fabric, I can't seem to get it off.

Dealer said: "PDIed, we didn't do it"

9. Charged me on my lease ~$42,300 total car cost for god knows what?? I put about 8 grand down for everything tax, title, license, down payment, and "messenger fee" for them to pick up the plates and my payments are $415.95 a month??

I can't get a detailed price sheet from them, but its loaded with everything mp3, DVD, GTP, Appearance Package, Rear Spoiler, Rotary Accents, etc. I have no idea, because my parents did all the paperwork while I was in school and I could not review it (parents were sick at the time).

10. I think that they refinanced my lease and ate the money, because I have two insurance cards both valid in the same time periods, I just got the second one last week.

I have not had a chance to talk to them yet, but one of the managers said that i forgot to sign the lease and came to my house ~2 weeks ago to get it signed. They are up to somthing.

I can keep going on and on...
but i think you get my point and why i'm so frustrated pcldletter.

SLK_VIK

I forgot to mention that when I got the window motors replaced, they broke the clips on the back side of the door so that when I played the radio or not the door rattled right next to my ear. Talk about annoying!! they back ordered the parts and i still have not seen or heard from them yet.

SLK_VIK

I forgot to tell you about my MPG: I have gotten 17.14 at the most a few weeks ago and on average I get about get 14 MPG. 230 miles to an entire tank is the best i got untill the reserve light comes on, on average: 205 miles untill the reserve light. I put sofar 1 QT of oil and had the dealer put in antifreeze 1 time and going again it seems.

sferrett

Sounds like you might have both a lemon and a waste-of-time dealer.. sounds like a bad combination.

Using coolant isn't a real good thing, and isn't normal...

If I were you I'd take your complaints up the chain of command at the dealership until you get some positive action from them to help you fix the issues you have.

pcldletter

One idea is to take it to another dealer. Sounds like you could use a second opinion on some of this. Any warranty issues are covered by MANO and should be honored at any dealer. I got lied to repetedly by the sales **** and then screwed over by the service department where I bought my car, and have since switched to another local dealer, and other than a typo have had the best of luck with them.

RX8Bliss

the thump when turning is the dsc/tcm - its annoying as hell when driving hard but not really bad when driving normal. it usually doesn't kick in that hard/often though. the 1st/2nd gear thump is probably you shifting too hard/fast.

it sounds like you got stuck with a bad car. 100+ miles on the odo when you bought it tells me its a demo car. plus sounds like you're getting ripped off in pretty much every aspect of the word. sorry to hear that. your only viable option is to bitch at everyone you meet until they cave in and listen to your demands. since it has been in the shop for so long, and problems still persist you might have a valid lemon-law case.

TRZ750

Check you wheel lug torque! I had a similar noise that went away when I rotated the tires. Now I discovered Mazda actually has a buletin on this noise. But it mentions noise from the front when turning. Mine was from the rear when turning and accelerating.

Just checked it is 02/002/04 issued 2/23/2004. 108 ft-lb and clean the surfaces.

SLK_VIK

Really TRZ750?? I will bring my 8 back to the dealer to get them re-torqued then I will see if the thump gets any better.

SLK_VIK

UPDATE: I did try running my 8 around the turn with the DSC/ Traction Control off and it didn't make that rubbing/ grinding sound. What do I do with it now?? Bring it to the dealer?? This seems like its getting worse. The techs can’t seem to replicate it so I’m going to bring one out for a drive and show them what I mean about the shifting and the rubbing/ grinding.