AWJ8

Hey there fellow 8 owners. I guess it is only proper to introduce myself since I will be asking for your opinions with the current issue I am having. My name is Andrew, I'm 19, and I have been the proud owner of a 2004 Rx8 Touring for the past four months. I have been reading the Forums on and off for almost six months and decided to register after my own purchase of an Rx8.


I decided to make my first post out of simple necessity. Keep in mind I am someone who only recently started to actually get under the hood of a vehicle and try to figure out how exactly things work. My technical knowledge is limited but I would add I am catching on very fast.


I suppose some background information on my vehicle would be helpful. My Rx8 is an 04 Automatic with 37k miles. Since my purchase of the vehicle (4k miles back) I have changed the oil one time (at 36k). I have not used synthetic oil on the vehicle nor have I pre-mixed anything into the gasoline (I use only premium).


Since the purchase of my 8 I have noticed a few things that I would call abnormal. The vehicle seems to shake quite a bit while it is idling just below 1k RPMs. The idle RPM's also fluctuate between about 900 to 1k while at a stand still. It sometimes takes about one and a half seconds to start the engine. But other than the current issue I am having, the only other thing I have had to change out was a bad battery terminal.


Currently my Rx8 is sitting in the driveway with an engine I am unable to start. Yes I know that the Rx8 is prone to having the engine flooded and yes I have used the search option in this forum to try and determine what could be wrong before I decided to make this post. I have gone through the recommended “mazda” de-flooding and have even used a method of injecting a alcohol based solution into both maintenance ports that I have found on the forums. A significant amount of engine cranking has been done for both processes.


Currently I am looking at replacing the spark plugs and ignition coils as the next step. If things don't improve from there I imagine having the compression checked would be logical.


Any opinions on the matter or ideas on what to check would be greatly appreciated.


Thank you! (and sorry for the wall of text)

Edit: Just out of curiosity, and because I purchased this car used, what is there warranty wise that might be an option?

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to the club.
Shaking could be caused by bad plugs, ignition wires, coils, or motor mounts.
Your rough starts can also be caused by a fault in the ignition system, as well as the battery and the starter (which are known to be weak in the '04 and '05 models).

You can go to any Mazda dealer and they should be able to print out all the work/maintenance that was performed by the previous owner and at what mileage.

Far as the warranty, they transfer over to the next owners.
Your bumper-to-bumper has expired, but you have a 10y/100k mile engine core warranty (which is nice).
Just make sure there is a good record of all maintenance performed on the car or they'll try to void the warranty.