The car wont start when the engine is warm
 

Hello

I bought an RX-8 from USA i july and has been driving around a lot. Recently I`ve had some small problems with the car. After I`ve been driving around for a while and stops the car (engine warm - I always wait for the engine to be warm before I stop the car), and if I try to start the car after 1 min it won`t start. Sometimes I have to wait for about 5 minutes, sometimes 10 minutes.

Today I was driving from store to store, and everytime I got out to start the car I had to wait for 10 minutes. I was in a hurry because it was just 20 minutes to the stores closed.

I`m from Norway and there is not many guys here with an RX-8. The car is so expensive here (new price = $150.000) so no one knows much about the car or the wankel engine. I`ve been searching this forum and found a lot of threads about flooding. A while I thought that was my problem, but after reading several people saying that the "engine won`t start"-problem doesn`t happen when the engine is warm, this must be something else I think.

I`ve checked my oil and it`s fine - I check it often. And I always keeps the engine running until it`s warm before I turn it off. And I also redline the car everytime I drive it. I`ve read about all these things that I should do to prevent problems.

So therefor I ask you guys, what do you think causes the engine not to start when it`s warm? It`s very annoying. Could it be the spark plugs?

hate to say this but it sounds like you may need a new engine.....

however, I would check the coils and plugs first

how many miles on your car?

AT or MT?

hopefully its just coils

oh dears.

this is bad.

usually when this happens its either the: spark plugs/ignition coils; melted catalytic converter, or a blown engine.

start off with that order, change the plugs and coils. if it still doesnt work, trying replacing the cat (maybe with a cheap race pipe), and if that doesnt work.... its time for the engine to be rebuilt.

if it does not start and does turn over it is ignition or fuel.

if it drives fine all the time then it will not start after a heat soak it is likely ignition..

in this order.

check
wires on tight
plugs in secure
plugs good
coils good there is a test. and do the test hot. i had to bake mine.

you might get a vacuum test of the motor when it is hot. the will answer the hot engine bad question. a compression test will do also, the the other is easy and not near the money..

beers :beer:

This dosn`t sound too good. Thank god I have a fire year warranty on my car :) So everything that happens with the engine is covered :)

I`m not car mechanic, should I take my car to Mazda and let them check it, or is it simple to check myself?

The car has 54000 km (33500 miles) on it. And its MT, 2004, High Power.

It's under warranty, take it to the dealer, and don't let them charge you anything. This shouldn't be happening at 33000 miles.

Sounds like it`s ignition then.

I`ve heard the 2004 model has a bad engine starter, can this be the problem? Read about it give not too much rpm, and therefor resulting in start problems.

The "weak" starter made it hard to recover from cold start flooding, not warm start. At least I've yet to read of it having a problem starting a warm engine.... just cold because it doesn't have enough *umpf* to eject the gas from the housing.

yeah take it to the dealer but make sure u tell them IN WARRANTY so they dont' charge you .......sounds like coils to me

I have the exact same problem!
2004 High-Power MT with ~60000km (40000miles) on it.
The warranty expired like a year ago and since then i've payed the mazda dealership like 6000$ to fix the problem and i've had my car there for like 15 times already with the same problem and the last time they had the car for like 3 weeks and they still haven't fixed the damn thing!
Bugs the hell out of me i can't even go to the gas station without waiting about 15 minutes after it to get the car started. I'd sell the thing if someone wanted to buy a car that does not start when warm, it starts every time & without any problems in the mornings, but as soon as i've driven it for a while i cant stop the car without having to wait after that.
Love the car otherwise tho, awesome looking and drives really well but this is getting ridiculous.
Any ideas?
PF-Racing let me know if you get yours fixed, i wish it was over with already, had half my summer ruined because of this issue, can't live without a car basically :P

Most mazda dealers have zero clue about how to fix this issue. They just keep replacing engines when it could be something else.

Have you checked/replaced the coils/plugs?

Can it be bad compression ratio? I know of a car who got a engine swap due to bad compression ratio. It was a production issue for engines with a specific serie number.

About warranty: I bought the car from a dealer who gave me a 5 year used car warranty. Unlimited costs on engine.

changing the plugs and reprogramming something was among the first things they did i believe, and that was the only thing they did free of charge (maybe some extended warranty or some recall or something on that dno). not sure about the coil tho.
ohyea i live in Estonia and my english is not that good when it comes to cars :(

What is the worst thing that can happen if I keep driving with "the problem"? Can I drive with it for months/years or is something gonna brake very soon?

Later tonight I`m gonna check if this problem still is there when the engine is cold.

It will die one day, thats all I can say.

new engine buddy. This is exactly what happened on my first engine replacement.

How long did your engine last before it died, or did you take it to the dealer right away?

I have a Agency Power catback and a Accessport, can one of these have caused the problem, or has they nothing to do with it? Should I switch to stock exhaust before I take the car to the dealer?

So it will die one day, this doesn`t sound too good :( Yesterday I tried to start, stop, start the car when the engine was cold. It started right away, so it seems like the problem only occur when the engine is warm.

I talked to a dealer one month ago here, and the man behind the desk said to me he had seen three(3) RX-8 since 2004. So you can say the Mazda dealers here in Norway has not the great knowledge about the car, nor the engine.

MY first engine lasted a whole 1.5 months. I'd say I experienced the problem you were having for about 4 days beofre I took it in. I got the usual bullshit from the dealer saying that it was flooded. It took a while for them to get their head around the fact that the car would start when it was cold but not when it was warmed up.

Today I started the engine four(4) times right after I stopped it (the engine was warm) and it started right away every time. I haven`t had a "problem" since last saturday. I was at a Mazda dealer today and they said it was the spark plugs, and if I drove with bad plugs for long it would cause damage to the engine (like bad compression).

So I`m gonna change all four plugs now. I`ll let you know when it`s done :)

well, got it working or what? :P dying to know because i still dont know what i should do with my car...

I had a similar problem with my AT. I found when I put it in neutral, it started. Otherwise, kaput. Even replacing the plugs/battery/starter didn't work. Something about a "neutral safety switch" is what they told me, but idk. So if you have an AT, you can try putting it in neutral.

i've tried pretty much everything and i'm fairly certain it isn't flooding. if i take a short trip, lets say about 500m, to the nearest gas station and stop the car, i have no problems starting it again, but if i take a bit longer drive to work so the engine warms up more, if i stop the car i can be certain that i won't get it started for atleast 15 minutes. it has been that way for about 6 months now, and the local dealership has had my car there countless times and that has cost me quite a large sum of money and they still haven't fixed it, they pretty much have no clue.
don't know what i should do now, can't sell a broken car and i cant get it fixed either, life's been hell those last 6 months, can't live without a car (ok i have a car but it isn't working :( )

I always drive my car until the engine is warm, and I redline the car everytime I drive it. I found out last weekend what caused the problem. It`s my engine starter.

When the car won`t start I put it in gear and push the car a little bit, then it starts right away every time :) I tried this because when the car won`t start and I turn the key it seems like it just cut the power. It doesn`t try to start the engine, I don`t hear that sound that the plugs are trying to start the engine.

So now I have to change the starter.

no,

i just drive the car like any other car and it has been fine...

yes folks. sometimes i just back it out of the garage and turn it off. with out the rev to 4 k..

and you know what. when i am done washing it, it starts right up..

i guess i am just lucky.. but for 94k miles???

beers :beer: