Hemmings1000RR

I put a high tourque starter with performance spark plugs on it after mine did it the SECOND time.. And I haven't had another problem with it.

Racer X-8

Yeah, msrecant seems to be our resident answer man. I've been keeping up with all this and haven't felt the urge to reply to anything, msrecant already answered the questions correctly. Keep it up.

msrecant

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as an AT bigot, particularly since I have never driven one. Automatic RX-8s are cool!

gusmahler

Had my first flood today. Bought the car July 2004 and have never had a no start condition (though once it took about 15 seconds to start). On Saturday, I had to move the car a short distance, so that may be the culprit. The car was still warm (or so I thought), when I did that. Plus, I thought that the flooding issue wasn't applicable because I have the M flash. I was wrong.

This morning (about 50 degrees outside), the car wouldn't start. After cranking it for a while, the battery got drained. So I replaced it with an Interstate MT-35. Now it cranks fine, but still wouldn't start. Tried the hold the gas pedal down trick. It didn't work. Now the car is being towed to the dealer.

Oh well, I guess I'll have them fix the fuel tank recall and recharge the A/C also. Still sucks, of course. If I wanted a car that would periodically have to be towed to the dealer because it won't start, I would have bought a 20-year old K car, not a brand-new sports car.

demob05

Since it was warm, I'm assuming that your car had been driven on that same day that you moved it a short distance in your driveway... was it several hours or minutes before that short driveway move??

MX6_2_RX8

My car has everything up to date and I had to have it towed last night. I did move it a short distance in cold weather but I also did the throttle blip to 3000 and shut it off at 1500RPM but that didn't seem to matter. This is my first flooding. I thought with all the updates and being careful when I shut it down that it would be OK. It had been starting a little hard sometimes lately but the plugs really aren't that old.

msrecant

This is the third report I have found of a car with new battery/plugs/starter where it flooded. In the other two cases the owner was able to use the dechoke procedure to start the car. A couple of questions:

1. Is you RX-8 a manual or automatic.

2. Before shutting off, did you let the engine warm up at all? (reach normal temp or for 5 minutes)

3. Did you hold the engine at 3000 RPM for 10 seconds or just blip it up to 3000 brfore shutoff?

MX6_2_RX8

1. Manual
2. No, it was a cold morning (10 deg F) and I had to get the car out of the way for a delivery.
3. Maybe 2 sec at 3000 to make sure when I let the RPM drop I wasn't starting at an RPM where the secondary ports were open. Turned the key off while the RPMS were falling.

The dealer was going to try to squeeze it in today to see if he could come up with a root cause other than it is an RX-8 and they sometimes flood.

The tow truck driver reported that he had just towed an identical car in the neighboring town last week. Surprising because I NEVER see any others on the road around here.

gusmahler

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't remember if I moved the car that day or not. I remember going out on Saturday night, but I don't think I used the car at all on Sunday. On Monday, the car stalled as I was backing out of the driveway and it wouldn't start again and appears to have all the symptoms of the flood.

It's a 2004 with about 22,000 miles on it. Manual tranny.

msrecant

MX6_2_RX8

Thanks for the info! There have been several other documented floods NOT caused by the short trip but rather by some other problem. Let us know what the dealer says.

RedSheDevil

^ Doesn't that excessive cranking wear down the starter and/or battery?

msrecant

^ Yes. I believe one should engage the starter for no more than 10 seconds at a time, then let it rest for 10 seconds. Please advise if my numbers are off.

MX6_2_RX8

I tried Mazda's method before I had it towed with no luck. In your method step 1; are you cranking during the 10-15 seconds or just holding the throttle down? In my case it never attemped to fire, not even a little.

My next question is more of a general question, if holding the pedal to the floor keeps the injectors from firing, would it be OK to so that EVERY start just to make sure it burned off any excess fuel? To take that a step further, shouldn't the body computer do that every start?

Racer X-8

Maybe this is nothing, maybe I'm wrong. I'm not sure, are you supposed to turn off the ignition while the engine is still dropping? I thought you were supposed to let it go back down to idle and stabilize for a second or two, then turn it off. Am I right? No? Does it matter?

RedSheDevil

Seems to be a debate over Mazda's instructions and owner's preference.

msrecant

The Mazda recommended procedure for cold engine shut down is:

- let the car warm to normal operating temp or for 5 minutes
- rev to 3K for 10 seconds
- let go back to idle
- shut off.

There is extended debate on this forum as to whether to shut off while the engine is winding down from 3K. Do a SEARCH, if you are interested in details.

RX8_GT

Seems that it will hard to know the 'best' way to do it this BUT seems to me the idea is simply blow out the extra fuel for about 10 seconds for ALL short moves even if the engine is at operating temperature or just a little warm.

May be that even with the upgrades - it would be best of have a 'flush-out' with ALL short moves even when the engine is hot. If fuel is left in the engine - the engine will cool and being a rotary it will not clear with time - thus setting up a possible flood or hard start.

Back to basics - flush out if in doubt.

rx8pwr

end up calling mazda dealer, the salesman told me that if anyone that bought their 8 in 2004 should call up mazda to check if their car has got the newest updates. And he said they weren't have any problems with the 8s after the updates... can anyone confirm?

msrecant

He is partially correct.

Yes, you should check with your Mazda service department to confirm that all RECALLS and Mandatory Campaigns have been done to your vehicle. However, this does not include problems addressed by Service Bulletins. Those repairs are usually only done if you experience the actual problem. Unfortunately the flooding issues are addressed under a Service Bulletin so some dealers will only do the repair if you have flooded your car or at least have some form of starting problem. However, there are dealers who will execute the Service Bulletin just for the asking. You can get a copy of the bulletin at http://www.finishlineperformance.com...4-05-1448e.pdf .

The flooding updates definitely improve things greatly but so far they have NOT been proven to be a 100% fix. Check out https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/have-any-late-model-2005s-flooded-80545/ for a discussion of problems after having the updates.

rx8pwr

Msrecant, thanks alot man you are great help. =D I'm going to be getting a rx8 soon its my cousins and he moved out of country.. 2004 titanium grey with 10k km... so its very new.. because its a 2004 so i'm kinda worried... any sugguestions? Again thanks for the great help.

MX6_2_RX8

I got my car back and it was a confirmed flood with all of the updates. They claimed that I was not running the latest flash (even though I thought I was on ‘P’, I've lost track) and that the flash further addressed the flooding issue. The replaced the leading plugs that were already the new style but looked like crap anyway. The plugs probably only had 10K miles on them and I was starting to experience hard starts before the flooding incident. They begrudgingly replaced the plugs under warranty after I walked through the TSB with them. The service interval for the plugs is 60K miles but I think every other oil change might be more like it.

Here’s the ironic part, the overly friendly service manager and I talk about shutting it off cold. You should never do that blah blah blah, yeah, I know blah blah blah… And he tells me it is just being washed and they will bring it around. They bring it around, shut it off stone cold and hand me the keys. Probably the second cold shut down in a row.

rx8pwr

man this flooding problem really bugs the sh|t outta me... i duno if i wanna get the car now... but i love the goddamn car so much... sighh

msrecant

Actually it is not a big deal. A 2004 is fine as long as its under warranty. When you get it call the service department, give them your VIN and they will tell you whether all the recalls/campaigns have been done and, if not, get an appointment to have the work done. Then if you have any additional problems (which you probably won't) the repair will be under warranty. The site http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ins_index.html lists the current Service Bulletins, but it is unlikely that any RX-8 will have all these problems. I have had maybe 2 or 3 in 30 months.

In terms of flooding, most RX-8s never flood to begin with. Part of that is the owners are careful and part of that is some RX-8s appear to not be flood-prone. However, if you want to be sure, just make sure you never cut the car off with the engine cold. Even if it does flood, Mazda will tow and upgrade your battery/starter/plugs under warranty. Then it will be even more unlikely that you will have an un-recoverable flood.

msrecant

Sounds like you may have another underlying problem. If you get the hard starting again you need to take it in an chew on them to "fix" it. GHOSTRIDR posted they ultimately found a loose crank sensor causing his hard starts. My impression is that a "normal" RX-8, particularly with the upgrades, starts up quickly and reliably.

rx8pwr

Once again, thank you