Analysis of failed rotaries.
 

Well after reading the "New Engine@19,000 miles" thread below, I thought I'd try emailing Mazda just for the heck of it. My initial question was;
"Concerning RX8 engines that have been swapped under
warranty, what have been the most common reasons for the failures?
(other than the idiots who neglected to put oil in the vehicle)"

To which I got a responce of;
"Hello Jay,

Thanks for contacting Mazda.

In regards to your inquiry, this office is not technically trained so
we haven't received any specific listing of the various types of
concerns have occurred during warranty replacements of the rotary
engine. For these matters, Mazda relies on the factory-trained
technicians at authorized Mazda dealerships to diagnose and repair
concerns that may arise with a Mazda vehicle.

Mazda's Research and Development along with the Quality Assurance
department are certainly always undergoing research to discover and
implement new solutions to concerns as they arise.

Again, thank you for contacting Mazda. It has been my pleasure to
assist you. Please feel free to reply to this message with any further
questions or comments.

Please take a moment to give us your opinion about our e-mail service.
Click or paste the link below to complete a brief, online survey.

[snipped]

Regards,

Heather Berger
Specialist, Customer Assistance E-Business"

I want to reply back that Mazda does not inform dealerships the results of failed engine analysis, and request the data anyway just to see what they say, but I wanted to run this by people here first to verify that fact and see if there was anything else that should be asked at the same time. :confused:

just say "You are number 6.....we need INFORMATION!" hahahaha

Good Luck...
 

Good luck getting a real answer to a question like that!

The 'front office' type people are just PR, they have no access to that type of data.

Don't get me wrong, I am certain that Mazdas' engineers have all the data they need to know about "what fails and how", but it will never be made public, any more than GM or BMW will ever tell about failure rates in their motors.
What is the benefit to the company? Zero.
What is the downside to an honest disclosure of failure rates? Almost unlimited.

I am not trying to dissuade you from asking, I am sure you will, but don't get uptight about 'secrecy' when you run into it.

S

Naw I didnt expect them to just bow to my every whim (though that would be nice). But I certainly didnt see anyone else posting about asking those type of questions!

One of the most common reasons (number 1 on my list) why we see replaced engines so early is due to owner abuse. I don't mean by revving it up sky high but rather with improper warm up procedures. The engine end housings and intermediate housings are all cast iron. The rotor housings between them are aluminum. Both metals have very different expansion rates with heat. This is why it is very important to let the engine warm up gradually before driving it hard. Some people just don't care though. They'll get in the car with a cold engine, start it up and floor it. The engine goes from low temperatures to very high temperatures very quickly. What usually happens is that the 2000 degree exhaust heat on the lower half of the engine is rapidly heating up the bottom of the engine but the top half of the engine which stays cooler can't keep up in terms of temperature. The coolant is still very cold and there is a huge heat difference across the engine. The rotor housings then warp slightly at the bottom and a water leak developes under the engine. All because it wasn't allowed to warm up before being driven hard. This gets even worse in cold weather. The engine may tolerate this 10 times or it may warp the first time. You never know.

In other cases certain small mechanical parts may just fail. If an oil injector fails, you will not have proper lubrication to the apex seals in the engine.

If an oil pump fails obviously you know what the outcome can be.

Alot of little things can destroy an engine.

many of us have had multiple conversations with the folks at customer relations over the last couple of years for multiple reasons and know that they are unable to get the answers to the type of questions you are asking so we dont ask them. its not their fault, they just have no acces to that type of info in their corporate structure. what you need to do if you want some kind of answer is to become a member or befreind a member of the media who has some clout. then get at the folks in media relations and get them to give some kind of answer. threaten to go public with a really embarassing for Mazda story about engine failures and then they would counter with the facts as they see them.


oh and leave Heather alone. she's always been nice to me and others when we've had contact and answers to the best of her ability.:)

I guess this is the TLC required nature of these rotary engines... if improper warm up and break in proved as sensitive in other types of engines, every other Honda & Toyota made would need engine replacements the same rate. Want to see the durability and longevity comparison between the Renesis and a counterpart piston engine in the long run if both taken care of adequately.

So I start my car up in the morning, back out probabyl about 10 seconds after startup, drive away shifting between 3500 and 4000 to get to speed limit and cruise with the tach showing probably around 3000 until the needle reaches just below halfway then I feel comfortable driving it however. Is this procedure totally correct for warmup . Reason i ask is i read one person say even when it reaches halfway you need to wait 5 minutes. This is getting a little annoying. Makes one nervous they aren't doing every little thing correct and only the real mechanically inclined should dare own this car. So many opinions and so little real answers. Alot of people may be trading this puppy in right before the warranty runs out and i love this car but damn, quirks are one thing, engine failure a pattern in certain areas is a completely different story.

That's fine. No problem with what you are doing. The problem is the people who start a cold engine and then immediately drive it like they are on a race track before it warms up.

rotaries are one of the very few modern engines you still have to warm up...