Zephyrzone

Ok guys. I've done my searching. I've done as much searching as possible and only found a few matching threads that didn't pertain to my exact issue. So hopefully someone can offer advice. Here's the deal.

Two weeks ago, after 3+ years of desire and research, I bought my RX8. VR w/ red/black interior. GT 6 speed MAN. It had 5 miles on it at the dealership but I live in MD so they had to drive it 250 miles down to me.

It's been my realistic car of dreams for years and I got exactly what I wanted. I've put another 200 miles on it following the manual's 600 mile suggest break-in (I'm also not revving about 4k). So far so awesome, but there is ONE problem so far that is bugging me to death:

Ever since I picked the vehicle up there has been a "thump thump thump" that sounds as though it is coming from one of the tires. This happens at any speed and is directly related to the speed, whether the car is in gear or not. It sounds like the driver side rear tire, but I can't be sure. I took the car back to the dealer and they drove it with me- agreed it sounded like a tire issue- and put it on the lift to visually inspect each tire. There are no nails or other debris in any of the treads, but there is a VERY small nick dug out of the center tread in the driver side rear tire. I can't imagine that this extremely small nick is responsible for the obnoxious and every present thumping I hear (and feel) when I drive the car.

Any ideas? My thoughts are that maybe (A) the lugs are torqued well above spec (B) the tire is simply defective (C) the camber is off (D) one of the rotors is warped

I'm not sure what action to take. Mazda doesn't warranty the tires and the inspection didn't turn up anything else. Has anyone had this problem or can anyone please offer insight? My car is everything I wanted but this issue is DRIVING ME NUTS!

Easy_E1

iTrader: (2)

Is there anybody in the trunk? j/k
Seems to me that a brand new car should not have this type of issue. I would say to the dealer to fix the car or take it back and give you a new one. When they checked the tires, did they check them for being out of round? Did they check the balance? Did the look at the rims for deformities? Lug nut's?
If your feeling a bump when you drive I would say it was a bad tire, hence a bad tire becomes a safety issue on a new car. Can't sell a new car with bad tires.
Tell the dealer to fix it.
And as far as warranty on the tires, SOMEBODY WARRANTIES THEM!
Call another dealer in the area (large area) and see what they say.

Zephyrzone

Thanks for the advice, here's where I am-

1)- Took the car back to Mazda dealer, they were (and continue to be very helpful- Ourisman Mazda in Laurel, MD). Immediately went on a drive with me, acknowledged the perpetual "thumping" and concluded that it was indeed a tire issue.

2)- They put it on a lift, inspected each tire for nails, debris, etc. Didn't find anything, but one of the tires had unusual wear at the outer edge- didn't look as though it would cause the problem. They invited me into the shop and went through the entire process with me.

3)- After other inspections were complete (don't know what those were), the shop manager said his only thought was that it be a flat spot on the tire. Mazda doesn't warranty the tires (according to him) as he's tried to collect for similar problems many times in the past and Mazda won't pay.

4)- I wasn't happy, but given the level of detail and involvement in the inspection process I was satisfied that the dealer did everything they could do short of replacing every tire at their expense. Their assessment was that the "flat spot" would eventually level out around 1k miles of driving.

5)- I rotated the tires front to back and decided to check tire pressure (not that this should be necessary, the dealer *should* have done this twice). Reading on every cold tire was (drum roll)- 44psi

6)- Tires were deflated to 32psi and double checked on two separate gauges. 1 liquid filled Porsche Le Mans gauge, and 1 "something else quite good and race approved" gauge. I went for a test drive and...

7)- More supple and stickier ride but same thumping problem. It didn't change, no better, no worse. This weekend I took a 300 mile round trip drive to my gf's family house and went stir crazy the entire way over the constant "thump/rumble". I still firmly believe it is a tire issue but don't know for sure. The car now has 900 miles on the odo.

My thoughts at this point are: take the car back the dealer and tell the shop manager as well as the GM that the tires were way overinflated upon my own inspection. Also that I took their advice and drive the car nearly 1k miles and nothing has changed. I will insist that they pull the 18's from another RX on the lot and swap them with mine just to see if the problem goes away or not. This will be a data point for how we continue to deal with the problem. If the "thump" disappears, then we know it is the tires or rims (likely) and go from there. If the ride is the same, there is an underlying issue that they must diagnose and repair under warranty. Hopefully this is a reasonable request that they will honor. If not, I'll be disappointed (obviously) and find another course of action.

If the issue is with related to the Bridgestone tires, do I simply take the car to any Bridgestone shop and work the issue out with them?

This is a brand new car that apparently has a bad tire or rim. I don't think I should be held responsible for reskinning the car at my own cost.

zoom44

you bought this new? then they need to put a new tire on it from another vehicle on the lot and see if that eliminates the sound. and you need to stop driving it. tire could potentially be loosing its belt which could cause you to have an accident if it blows out. secondly this should be covered for 1200 miles under "adjustments" what will miraculously happen at "just over a thousand" is that it wont be covered at all.

if he calls the tech line ahead of the replacement and ok it they will in fact pay him for the claim. he must suck at claims to have something like this denied.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

separated belt... should be replaced by dealer... and as zoom said... replace the one with the chunk out of it if the problem goes away. that is the tire...

and it is mazdas problem on a new car...

beers

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

My guess is one of your tyres has been 'flat spotted' under heavy braking . Probably when they drove it down to you .
As the others say - its Mazdas problem .

swoope

iTrader: (5)

with abs unlikely. and just one.. more unlikely..


beers

LionZoo

If your dealership is still giving you trouble, escalate to Mazda North America. Also, your dealer is giving you bad advice; a flatspot will never "wear out" in time.

Zephyrzone

Thanks for all the tips.

The dealer is working on it now. The car sat for 6 months at a dealership 250 miles north of where I bought it. That's the big problem- it was a transfer from a dealer not even remotely associated with my dealer. Mazda claims that it's the dealers fault for not properly maintaining the vehicles on the lot and will NOT replace the tires at their cost. The dealer *might* but it's not my dealer, it's some joker 250 miles away from me, and I'm not driving up there just to be denied. MY dealer is trying to get it taken care of here, but there is a lot of red tape. Worse yet, I looked at the car with the master tech and it appears that 3 of the 4 tires are completely out of round. They're wobbling all over the place.

I checked Bridgestones website and there is a page that very clearly states they warranty OEM tires. I have all the documentation from my dealer and plan to call Bstone this afternoon. I'm anxious to get this resolved, the car rides like it's on squares. And I do feel that my dealer is doing everything they can, short of just coughing up a grand to put new tires on the car. I also feel like if Bridgestone doesn't step up, the dealer will help me another way.

I'll keep updating the thread. And I will not be purchasing Bridgestone's in the future. This is just one of many, many negative experiences I've heard of regarding the company's products. I might change my mind if they actually do honor the warranty.

LionZoo

I feel Bridgestone receives an unfair rep simply because manufacturers love some of their lower cost OEM tires (RE92 anyone?). In my opinion Bridgestone makes some of the finest products out there at a reasonable price point. Their RE050A Pole Position is probably the best dry/wet summer tire while their RE-01R is right up there with the Advan Neova AD07s as the tire of choice for dry street tire grip. Their RE960 AS is a wonderful all season tire. All this at a price that generally undercuts all their competitors that have similar performance.

zoom44

ridiculous unsatisfactory customer service. You wanted to buy Car A from Dealer A. They got CAR A for you. it doesnt matter if it came from Dealer B,C,D or E or straight off the boat from Japan. They took possession of this car and then sold it to you

They delivered to you a car with a problem that clearly should havbe been caught during PDI. The over inflated tires clearly show they did not PDI it correctly. The noise should have been caught during PDI and probably was so some monkey thought "ill put air in to see if it goes away" to cover it for delivery.

This dealer should take care of the customer first- fix the problem by swapping on a good set of tires WHICH YOU PAID FOR- and address the problem of who is going to pay for it( other dealer or MUSA) later. Anything else is unnacceptable and you will not give them any high marks on the survey. (of course under the new system they could just mulligan you later)

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

RE960 A/S Pole Position here

I love this set. Last much longer and rides better than the PoS Toyo Proxes 4.

luvrrx8

All I can say is, you purchased a new car, you should get a new car. If the new car has problems on delivery, it is the dealers responsibility to correct the problem, not the purchaser. This is true regardless of the issue. It appears you have documented the problem, probably found the problem, now it is time for the dealer to step up and fix it. I find it hard to believe that they have kept you on the hook for so long.

Take your car back to the dealer today and park it until they fix it. If you wait too long they will likely not cover it. If they give you any stink, call your local TV station and talk to the people who like this type of customer non-service. The publicity is probably what this dealer needs to straighten out their act.

Good luck, you should have this fixed within a day, in my opinion.

dmc27

Definitely DO NOT PAY for anything in this mess. If the dealer sucks that bad at getting claims paid, and sucks that bad at inspecting - missed what sounds like an obvious issue w/the wheels - AND is now trying to BS you all over the place about fixing their screw up, then they're sounding like a classic stealership.

It borders on criminal negligence for them to have sold you a vehicle in the condition you're describing.

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

You are right . I managed to flat spot mine with the ABS disconected but thats another story

Zephyrzone

Thanks.

Yeah, I'm not too happy with the situation. I paid for a new car and I got bogus tires. I've been documenting this since the night I took delivery and I have no intentions of paying for new tires (that I already paid for when I bought the car). I'm following the recommended course of action and called Bridgestone Consumer Affairs. They immediately connected me with the General Manager of the the factory tire dealer in my area, which surprised me, and the GM said they would replace my tires next week without question. He also confirmed that Mazda does NOT warranty tires, even on new cars. The Firestone/Ford debacle had massive ramifications and auto manufacturers do not want to be held responsible for tire company faults.

IMO (as many of you have expressed), the dealership is responsible for replacing the tires. Since the car was a transfer from another dealer, they are trying to avoid accruing this cost (remember, Mazda will not reimburse them). I agree that this is unsatisfactory, but because I am documenting EVERYTHING, I'll give them the benefit of doubt and simply drop the car off at Bridgestone to fix. If they can't/don't fix it, it goes right back to the dealer and will stay there until it is repaired.

The situation really pisses me off. My first new car and I'm getting this type of run around. I'll post an update after Tuesday when Bridgestone supposedly fixes the problem by replacing the tires.