A friend has a 2006 RX8 , auto. 55K miles. No miles. Im not familiar with rotary engines so much but i have no problem with mechanical issues I might juts need some direction. The car starts and seems to crank more like when I start my diesle than when i start my VW. I dont know what the "norm" is though. once started, it ran fine. I put it in gear and it started to idle rough and made some racket that im pretty sure isnt normal for anythign that runs on gasoline. ran good though, accelerated fine. just when i put it in gear, D or R. She just had the oil done and wires and it just got cold out recently and the problem just started for her.

Could the wrong oil be a factor? Ive read the engines are oil picky
I read the engine mounts are prone to this?
I've read the engines dont like cold climate
I read to clean the MAF. can I get a link to this if there is one?
any other suggestions of where we should look or start?
Any recalls on this she should look into?

all help is appreciated

any updates?

It could be that when the oil was filled, some of it went into the intake, gunking up the MAF sensor.

I found this thread here:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/rough-idle-rx8-184285/

I asked her to read it and she did, But it's all greek to her. I was thinking I'll look at cleaning the MAF and another sensor I read in the other thread since it's a "5 min" job. wont hurt regardless so I might as well.

I read that the motor mounts were updated at one time? Is there a chance she could have the old ones in an 06?

thanks

Cleaning the MAF sensor literally is a 5 min job. Get some contact cleaner, a phillips screwdriver, and go here : https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/congratulations-you-got-8-a-202548/


Any kind of "racket" definitely is not good, but does it increase/decrease with acceleration, braking, turning, etc?? Is it just on start up? Where is the noise coming from, is it just on driver side, passenger, is it from the exhaust? They replaced the wires but did they replace the plugs and coils? https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-mazda-ignition-coils-pics-178515/

And it's an automatic- yikes- search for threads dealing with automatic 8's.

It's not that the engine "doesn't like" cold climate- it's harder to start, and a weak starter or battery will make itself known when it's cold outside. Also, be sure you warm it up before you drive- a few mins, a song or maybe 2 on the radio is enough. I drink my coffee while it warms up. If you're forced to drive it cold, granny drive it, baby it till it warms up. Fast, extreme temperature changes will warp your engine seals over time.

The cold weather could just be a coincidence with something else going wrong with the car, like a coil that's going out, or like Rx8soldier said, overfilling the oil. Look inside that accordion tube where the MAF is, and if there's all kinds of sludge in there, the oil has been overfilled. That right there is why I do my oil myself, because I got my car in that condition, and the old guy who had it before me took the thing to JiffyLube every single time. He had a ton of receipts in the glovebox. I'm amazed that the SSV isn't glued shut *knocks on wood*

When did she get the car? And what's been done to it since she's had it? If she just got it and there's no record of maintenance on the car, it's a good idea to do plugs/wires/coils, and follow the list on that first link. Get the relatively simple stuff out of the way. One simple thing can make a huge difference- good luck!

the noise sounds to me, kinda like a bad exhaust leak. Thats not it by anymeans, but when you put it in gear it goes from purr to the type of sound almost. and it comes friom the engine compartment, not really a side vs the other or anything.

I'll do the MAF. quick, easy and free... it's a no brainer

she has had the oil, plugs and wires changed. original coil as far as i know. No known mods and as logn as she owns it it will remain as such...

How exactly dose the oil get up to the MAF? I may have to teach her to change oil if that turns out to be the prob so we can not have that problem in the future...

and thanks for the info guys!!

so I cleaned the MAF and nothign changed. It was actually clean as a whistle to begin with...

Should we look at the coils next? could an 06 have a engine mount problem?

Have her pop the hood, and start the car when its cold while you're there.
See if you can find the source of the noise, and take a picture of that area, and post it here.

It could be something as simple as the AIR Pump.

BC.

I'm thinking motor mount. I'm experiencing the exact thing with mine at the moment. I'm looking for solid mounts as I'm done with the stock mounts. Solid mount units transmit more vibration than stock but they'll last a long time.

just read this post... I'm going thru the same issue. I just bought my 06' a/t 8 a month ago and has 52k miles on it, I brought the issue to the half assed dealers attention and he replied "it's normal" well, I replaced the coils wires plugs battery oil n 600 plus dollars later the idle is still rough as hell. next I'm going to tackle the motor mounts. I'm crossing my fingers that the motor mounts will fix the problem.

did she fix the motor mounts yet?? if so lemme know how it's handling. thanks

p.s. sorry for the run on sentence. haha

I have an auto RX8 and she was idling rough...no joke, all I had to do was pull the throttle body, clean the blow back deposits and now she runs really smooth. I hope this helps you because I was worried that it could have been much worse than it was...plus if the o2 sensors are out, this causes a lean/rich effect on the fuel management, so that is also a possibility...but I'd check that throttle body and see if it's filthy...if so clean it...and good luck

thanks guys. Just got back from vacation and havent talked to her yet....

was the throttle body an easy job?

throddle body was easy also checked the mafs it was clean. I'm doing the motor mounts this weekend. I'll let you guys know the outcome. keep it real brothahs

I replaced my motor mounts late last week. The terrible noise I was hearing and "back massage level" vibration when idling w/AC on is gone. I went with solid mounts which are great for performance reasons but they really allow the motor sound to come through, very loud when revved. On the positive side, the solid mounts make shifting at high rpm's very precise. I also notice less bog when accelerating at moderate rates.

5 years later, are you still alive/what were the results of new motor mounts?

Last Activity: 02-13-2012 02:53 AM

OP was probably carried off by a rabid pteranodon shortly after his last post.

Awful lot of noobs in the last month, many necroposting on fossilized threads. Wonder why. Faceballs refugees?

Or it's the only thread I can relate to and want solutions? :thinking:

Well just doing motor mounts alone wouldn't be enough because the entrire drivetrain is locked together as a single structural unit due to the power plant frame with it all suspended at the front (engine mounts) and rear (differential mounts).

I think new motor mounts would help reduce some of the vibrations but i'm curious as to why it feels like it drops rpms when putting it into drive or reverse, it's only when the car is warm for me, I think i'm going to get a OBD2 bluetooth and see if the rpms are infact dropping, if they are what could that mean?

Well you probably would think that. I was only attempting to give you an understanding, not a diagnosis. It wouldn't help at all if there's nothing wrong with the part(s) you replaced. It would just be wasted money and effort. Seen it on this forum hundreds of times.

Automatic or manual?

If automatic, then it's not unreasonable for the RPMs to drop a little bit due to drag from the torque converter.

so my 05 rx8 decided to take a poop on me, i got off the highway to fill up and right when i got back on it bogged down and completely shut off. i towed it to the dealer and they said i had no compression, i had them replace the fuel pump and some lines that were messed up and now it CAN start but its really rough and you need to keep playing with the gas or it will shut off. it also shoots sparks out of the exhaust which im pretty sure is bad. any suggestions on what it could be?

Shooting sparks out the exhaust?

The dealer should have given you the results from the compression test. 8 numbers; three pressures and RPM for the front and rear rotors. Post those up. If they didn't give them to you, go back and get them. If they don't have them, get your money back or have them redo the test.