ASH8

You are the only confused one mate, Yes Series 2 (II or Two) is the MY 2009~

Don't you own a VR 09?, do you like it?, I have the CWP 09 (Avatar)

CWP = Chrystal White Pearl

DarkLord7854

Long day at work

And no, not really, way too many problems.

ASH8

Now I am Confused???

So you Don't really own an RX-8?

Your Sig says "2009 Velocity Red", the No is you don't own one or you don't like it?, and it has way too many problems?..

What are the too many problems you have, and No I have not looked at your previous forum posts.

I really don't understand some of you guys in the US, why you guys have so many Issues with your RX-8's, and yes I know there are a lot more sold in the USA, but, here in Australia we have just as high of a owner rate per population (perhaps a little higher) when compared to the US, but not the problems you guys have, all RX-8's come out of the same plant in Japan.

The only difference being RX-8 owners in the US are much younger, and perhaps don't care as much for their car ( or much harder drivers )?...NO flaming please..

DarkLord7854

No as in I don't fancy it, but yes, I own it

We're bordering on thread-jacking though

swoope

iTrader: (5)

emissions tunning for epa with the ecu. and 5 w 20 oil for fuel mileage. the 04 and 05 were under oil injected.

and darkload has had an obsure issue that has not been found yet... search his name and threads he has started. it is an odd one.

younger, i wish!

beers

Chibana

I'm on this list now, too. Brand new 09 RX-8, purchased a little over two weeks ago. Has something like 900 miles on the odometer, only because I took a trip down from Lansing, MI, to Fairlawn, OH, to show it to a friend. I've only *really* driven it (for fun) once, and was hardly even in 5th and 6th gear. It was fine that night, but when I took it out yesterday to pick up my son from after-care at school, shifting into 5th and 6th resulted in nasty grinding unless I was very careful to shift slowly and smoothly. At first I thought maybe I was being to quick with the clutch and didn't have it depressed all the way or something, but further testing verified that I was shifting fine. It did seem to happen when skip-shifting, which has worked just fine on every other car I've owned. I've been driving stick shifts my entire life (22 years of driving) and never had a problem like this before. I'm taking it down to Toledo to show it to a couple of old friends there on Good Friday, and I guess after that I'll have to take it to the dealer, although it sounds like, at this point, there is no real fix and it will likely just start to happen again. I guess I'll have to not skip shift, but there isn't supposed to be anything wrong with doing this. Even the technical writers in the car mags agree.

bdeitemeyer

Don't bother showing it to your friends, just take it to the dealership. It's a known issue, and their solution on my car has resulted in no problems for the past 6000 miles. It's worth getting done right away in my opinion, and you should be provided with a replacement vehicle while your car is down.

NYC RX-8

You should definitely be able to shift smoothly between any pair of gears.

My transmission was replaced in its entirety at 700 miles. The problem recurred at 1700 miles and I just stopped using 5th gear until it was convenient to bring the car in again. At 2000 miles they replaced the 4th, 5th, and 6th gear synchros with new stronger ones. I think things are good now, but low gear shifts are just not as smooth as I would like. I don't know at this point if that indicates a problem, or if it's just the way this transmission is.

DarkLord7854

Take it in, let the dealership know exactly what's wrong and that it's a known problem and check in with MazdaUSA so they are aware of your problem.

Also, I was advised that skip shifting is not good. Instead what you should is just go through the gears but not engage the clutch so that you still hit the syncros, it'll help prevent grinding but does wear on the syncros a bit more.

ASH8

Looks like this is becoming and epidemic of trans problems...

I have covered 6000 KM (3500 miles) and is OK so far, and I know by my chassis number I had the first of 09 trans.

I use 6th as an overdrive (which it is), I have found the overdrive gears in ALL Mazda's to be a little resistant, even in the 5 speeds.

Definitely sounds like a sychro problem....I guess I will just wait for mine to go poop!

DarkLord7854

Unless you wanna hit the top speed

But yea, I don't even use 6th anymore really

SunnyD8

My car now has 5300 miles. No more grinding. 2nd to 3rd is still a little strange feeling, especially when the car is cold, although the last 1000 miles it feels like it is getting better (warmer weather?). Mazda has handled the tranny problem extremely well to their credit. They sent down an expert from LA to San Diego to drive my car and examine the 2-3 shift this week: result was completely "normal". It does not affect vehicle performance and at this rate, I hope the strange feeling goes away entirely. This car is so fun to drive, and Mazda has stood by their product, I can only say: I love the RX-8. Let's just hope gas stays cheap

Chibana

After giving my car its first wash and "wax" (by me, not the dealer, and damn does it look good), I took it for a ride. Even if I don't skip-shift, and drive carefully, 6th gear still has a little bit of grind. Fifth doesn't usually, but it will if I drive more aggressively. Definitely have to get it to the dealer.

Chibana

My car was in the shop for eight days. It seems good now, but I haven't had a chance to drive it in a way to really test it yet (tomorrow, hopefully). My main concern is how long will the carbon coating on the synchronizers last? Will I be right back here again in a few years? The work and parts have a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty, but I suspect it will last that long.

ASH8

I have done another 1300 KMS, and the 6 speed is still OK...

I did the trans and diff oil change around 3000 (for memory), used Red-line MT90, while it was silky smooth for a while, it "wears" off.

One thing I have noticed (and we all know) is these boxes definitely improve with mileage and when HOT, they are not as smooth changing when cold.

I have also noticed you have to push the clutch ALL the way to the floor, even half an inch off will result in a notchy change or shift.

Sixth gear is much easier when gearbox is hot, I take the easy "conscious" shift when I go into 6th, I don't hurry the change.

DarkLord7854

Yours is better when cold? Really? Wow... mine is just terrible when cold, the hotter the car is, the easier and smoother it is to shift though it still feels a bit notchier in 3rd but it's normal according to Mazda.

6th is butter smooth for me now, I'm at 13,000 miles (had the problem at less than 1,000), haven't changed the transmission fluid yet.

I also don't need to push the clutch all the way down, about halfway and it shifts happily.

ASH8

/\ Huh??? Read it again...I said..they are not as smooth changing when cold.

DarkLord7854

Oh, lmao, sorry, it's late

Yea I agree, I get the same thing, specially first gear, it's very stubborn when cold and often have to ram it into position a few times before it'll engage properly, otherwise it just pops out, Mazda have said that's normal though so go figure..

Spinning Sushi

iTrader: (21)

I sure hope that you're not trying to shift into first while going over 5mph...

DarkLord7854

No, standing still in my driveway early in the morning

nt5k

So is there an official word on this issue? I'm looking to get an 09 at the end of the year and want to know if there is a certain VIN range to watch out for..

DarkLord7854

Just luck AFAIK, if you get a bad one though, you shouldn't get too inconvenienced as I'm sure Mazda are well aware of the problem now.

ASH8

There was a production change for all series II at about November Last Year, so look at the manufactured date if you are really concerned.

I have one of the early ones and so far my tranny is fine, it gets better all the time, I just changed into 6th with some care, not too fast and it is OK...so far.

Mazda's last gear has always been an overdrive, usually has a smaller synchro and gear so it pays not to be too quick in your change.

Mazda's 5 speed boxes (5th being the overdrive) was very similar all those years ago.

These boxes definitely take a long time to wear in, when hot, my gear changes are fantastically smooth, almost No notchiness at all.

DarkLord7854

Same, cept 3rd gear, it's ultra notchy all the time, but oh well, it doesn't grind so it's all good