Engine flooding
 

Hey,

I just recently bought an '04 RX-8 and I have been having problems with it flooding. I have taken it to my local Mazda and they de-flooded it and had to replace the battery. How do I make sure that it does not keep flooding?
Before this happened it had trouble starting after the engine had been running for a while, but it would start fine when it was cold.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I'm having this problem too, and it's getting beyond a joke.
I love my car. I've had it just over a year, but 3times the engine has flooded and I've had to get the RAC out. He usually spends about 1-2 hours cranking it and poping fuses in & out before he can get it started, and this time he couldn't get it started at all.
Of course it's a bank holiday weekend, so the garage isn't open till Tuesday So I have to call the RAC on Tuesday to get them to tow it to the garage.

When I bought it, the dealer mentioned the flooding issue, but said that if you have to turn it off cold, revving the enging to 4000 or so as you turn it off should prevent any problems. "Fine" I thought, because I'v always done that anyway.
The first time it flooded, Mr. RAC told me about holding down the gas pedal all the way down before you turn the key, in order to get the computer to cut off the fuel while you crank it. That didn't work, and the second time I called them out, the guy said that Mazda have come out with some new super-duper spark plugs to fix the flooding problem.
It had its 50,000 mile service 3 weeks ago, and I mentioned this and was told that there was a recall on that problem and it would be sorted out as part of the service.
Obviously that was :icon_bs:

So is there anything that can be done about this? Is it something that they can fix? Please?

The first law of the rotary is to NEVER shut the engine down cold. That means, for example, if you have to move the car to wash it, let it run until it is fully warmed up. I'm sure the Mazda service manager mentioned that, but it is VERY important.

Secondly, you should check to see if the upgraded battery and starter service bulletin was applied to this car. Early model year cars were fitted with an inadequate battery and starter motor. Mazda issued a service bulletin that involved replacing both with upgraded versions for cars that wer flooding. Ask the dealer or call the Mazda customer service 800 number in the owners manual and give them your VIN to verify that your car has the upgraded items. They make a huge difference in engine cranking speed.

Finally, if you have trouble starting the car when it is warm, that is an indication of a potentially serious problem. Could be low compression, could be coils, could be several things so have the dealer check it out. You do know that with fuel injected cars you do not depress the gas pedal when cranking the engine?

Hey.....Thanks for the advice! I'll have Mazda check out the things that you have mentioned. Since I got my car back last week from Mazda I have been very diligent to make sure I let the car warm up.

Well, 2 trips to 2 different garages (the first one sucked!), a new battery, a new starter motor and £500 pounds later, and It's now better than ever. As it all went pear-shaped so soon after the warranty ran out, Newbury Mazda managed to get me a 60% discount on the starter motor, and what a difference it makes. It sounds completely different when starting now: It always used to sound a bit laboured, now it just starts.

So I guess the bottom line is NEVER EVER EVER turn it off when it's cold.
Also, if you're looking to buy one, make sure you listen carefully when you start it up. If it sounds a bit strained, and/or is slow to start, think carefully. I guess the starter motors have a tendency to get knackered with all that cranking when it gets flooded.