I actually brought this up, and the dealership is telling me that only 2 of the spark plugs were replaced as part of the emissions recall. I looked up the recall documentation and they appear to be telling the truth. So they want me to pay for the replacement of the trailing plugs.

 

just order the plug online, tell them you'll install the new plugs urself later. like 40 buck ish.

 

How difficult is the spark plug replacement job? Keep in mind I don't have many tools around. Does it involve removing a lot of stuff from the engine compartment to get access?

 

Not at all. Remove front left wheel. Reach in thru the wheel well to pull the wire off the plug. Use a spark plug socket with a wobble extension and a ratchet to remove the plug. Reinstall and tighten by turning 1/2-3/4s of a turn after hand-tight (as per instructions on the box w/ the plugs). Search for the DIYs on this...

I would just buy the plugs and hand them to the dealer to install, if you're concerned. Shouldn't cost more than 15 minutes labor.

How many miles on your car now?

 

Thanks for the info. The dealer wanted $300+ to replace the plugs!

The car has 49k miles now, and I believe the trailing plugs are original.

 

Buckeye,
I just did the same thing, replacing the trailing only - Leadings were replaced under recall. When I got them out, I noticed they were actually the hotter ones (6A's rather than 7A's) So, one of the earlier TSBs for flooding must have also replaced the trailings as well. I would still replace the trailing plugs for $40.00. It is easy, just like Astral said. I didn't use a wobble extention...I did use anti-sieze paste for an extra $1.50.

Mike (oh yeah, 'I' - 'O)

 

Great to know. This gives me even more confidence in my dealer, because when I talked to them today they told me the same thing. Also, they are not charging me any labor (since Mazda is already paying them to do the entire engine replacement). The cost for all the plugs will be ~$100, so I told them to go ahead and do it.

So you're a Buckeye fan in SoCal, eh? That's awesome. HUGE game out there in week 2! You're going to hear it from the locals.

 

I have had the same problem and the dealer, after $100, is telling me is the O2 sensor. Is there a way to check all the logged issues without paying $100 each time I go to the dealer? I hate the idea of taking the car anywhere else since it is a rotary engine, but at least the Dealership in Mooresville, NC doesn't seem to know how to work on RX8 nor do they seem concerned with my situation as long as they are making the huge $$$.
BTW, my problem also appears after being running a while on hot days, but at times the engine light blinks.

 

most likely coils and/or plugs.

worst case is ur engine going south.

 

Report your dealer to the regional rep or even MNAO. You might have a bad O2 sensor, but your symptoms, the problems they stem from, and the solution have been well documented on this site. The bottom line is that your dealer is wrong and replacing the O2 sensor will not solve your problem.
1. Find a new dealer.
2. Make sure you have the latest re-flash that will address the lack of oil from the OMP in cruise situations. A dealer, or local owner with a scanner can tell you.
3. Use a good cleaner like Techron, BK44 or such driving like you stole it for at least two tanks to remove carbon buildup.
4. Seriously consider pre-mixing at a rate of aproximately 3 oz per 13 gallon fill up (about when the low fuel light comes on).
5. If that doesn't fix your wagon, you may need to have your apex and or side seals replaced. That and the rotors are about all that is covered with the recent 100k mile warranty extension.

Best of luck.

 

nycgps has a good point too. Coils are most likely to fail in high heat situations. Easy way to check to see if they are totally gone is to clamp a simple timing light on each plug wire while the car is running. No light, no work. The stock coils are only about $30 a pop. I had to replace mine last spring.

 

Make sure you stress that your car experiences a "lack of power". There is a TSB associated with this "lack of power" condition that calls for an engine cleaner, PCM reflash, and very rigorous testing procedure. I suggest you print it out (a list of TSBs is available in one of the forums here) and take it to the dealer. Ask them if they've run the full diagnostic test, which I'm sure they haven't, and then tell them that your lack of power condition still exists. There's no reason they should refuse to run the test, and if they do, then threaten to call Mazda North America.

My dealer was aware of this TSB and followed the testing procedure to determine (with the help of the Mazda Tech Line) that I needed a new engine.

 

It is now 6:31 pm EDT and I will try to give as much detail as possible about my ride back home. It may get tedious and long, but here it goes.

I left work at 5 pm, it was 98F and humid. The car idled like crap at around 500 rpm and was smoking a lot and it smelled like gasoline coming out of my exhaust.
I barely made to the local Meineke (3.5 miles away) and had them take a look at the car. They plugged it in and got Misfire engine and O2 sensor error codes. The misfire is happening often over 4k RPM and the Engine light will blink. Now, here is the odd thing, the O2 sensor error said "02 Sensor is overheated", it didn't say it was broken (can someone shed a light on this one?)
The outside temperature around the Cat converter was 375F, but inside it was over 1600F.

I decided to drive home, 18 miles away, but took the back road so I could go slowly. Once on that road the car seemed to slowly get better, and at some point in time I finally got a solid engine light and power felt like it was at 80% or better. AS long as I didn't push the car over 4K RPM I had no misfiring. I made it all the way home without a problem.
Here is the interesting part; when it is cold outside or turning the car on after not using for a few days the car drives like a dream until it gets warmed up. I can't tell if it is an engine issue, a O2 issue, or a Bad Cat converter. All I know is the sound and power varies tremendously and when almost stalling it sounds like the car is so clogged that it can't breathe. So, is that an overheated (bad) cat which eventually affects the O2 sensor? Meineke didn't want to touch the car because they said by EPA rules all Cat converters are covered up to 80K and Mazda wouldn't give them the parts once they share the VIN number due to the miles.

Car: 2004 RX8 GT Manual, Velocity Read, 67500 miles.

 

My car was the same way: you wouldn't be able to tell there was a problem until it was warmed up. On hot and humid days the problem was worse--it would idle very poorly and sometimes stall out after highway driving. In my case it was NOT a clogged cat or bad coils--the dealer said that these tested out okay. The new engine seems to have fixed the problem.

 

You need to:
pre-mix
Remove the rear hood weather strip and prop up the rear of the hood with small 2-3 inch sections of heater hose and two way tape.
Consider the Mazport ignition.
Consider unplumbing the coolant (heater) line to the throttle body. It only heats he throttle body so it's just bad news in extreem heat.

What's happening to you is a clear case of overheating. My car objects to temps over 95 unless I pre-mix.

 

The next time it does it , drop it into nuetral and floor it and let it bounce off the redline a couple of times. If the power comes right back, you need to de-carbon your engine. Seafoam it and use better quality ( name brand ) gasoline. Fuel injector cleaning will help too.

If the car doesn't get better it's a clogged cat or bad compression/seals and you might be looking at a new motor.

 

It has been a while since I updated my situation; and boy have things gotten interesting. After I finally gave Mazda the OK to replace my O2 sensor I got a phone call saying they were going to run a Compression Test still just to make sure things were fine. I always suspected the Maintenance Manager was a sleeze, so I started to record all my phone conversations with him. It turned out that I have him on the record saying the car didn't pass the compression test and I would be getting a new engine. He also gave me dates and said Mazda had approved the engine swap. I was supposed to get a call on Monday but nothing, so the end of the day I called and to my surprise Ray Kahn (the sleeze ball Manager) was fired and no one knew about my car or my situation. Tuesday afternoon I stopped by and was told the problem was the coils and Mazda wouldn't cover them. I proceeded to show them one recorded message, the one I was told I was getting a new motor, and the best they could come up with was a 10% discount. At this time I don't trust them since it went from an O2 sensor to motor to coils. Needless to say I am giving Mazda a last chance to make this right and if they don't step up to the plate I will contact a lawyer and go from there. This is ridiculous to say the least and I will NEVER purchase another vehicle from Mazda or anything that Ford owns.

 

I dont blame ya, thats messed up.