I have a 2004 RX8 with 62,000 miles on it. The last few days the engine light came on and then went off. I checked my gas cap, oil, and coolant and they were all fine. This morning I started the car and the light was on but the car was running fine, so i was driving approximately 5 miles when the engine made this roaring noise and started stuttering and the engine light started blinking then there was smoke coming from my hood. The car seemed like it was going to die when I was going to stop for traffic. The car is idling funny, it goes up and down. So I put putted the car on the way home but it doesn't want to go over 30mph and when I got home there was smoke pouring from my engine and when i opened the hood the smoke was coming from beneath the engine. The color of the smoke was white-gray and it didnt smell like oil burning and it didnt smell like coolant. So I dont know what is wrong. Has anybody had this happen to them? Please help!!!!

 

Sounds like a coolant leak.

Bring it in.

 

What does the smoke smell like - sweet, sour, etc. Does the smoke disappear quickly or does it linger? I think Razz has the answer but a little more info might help.

 

^ +1 Coolant leak. Get the car to the dealer ASAP.

 

I am getting the car towed on Monday and I will find out what is going on with my car.... Thanks for the input I will update when I find out what is wrong with it.

 

This should be interesting because she said................"I checked my gas cap, oil, and coolant and they were all fine".
So....If that's true, then I gotta go for the clogged CAT and/or coils. Just to go against the grain here.

More than once I have read where a clogged CAT ended up smoking and coming out of the engine bay area. I know it sounds wrong, but I guess we shall see.

 

Ok car is at Mazda...the car is mis-firing and they want me to change the coils, the spark plugs and wires and the 2nd shutter valve just to get it to specs so they can do a compression check on the engine to see if they are going to switch my engine out....but they didn't say it was a coolant leak so stay tuned oh and this is only going to cost $1400.00 for those 3 things we'll see what the grand total will be!!! Yeah for me ha ha

 

1,400 !?!?!?!?!?
They're raping you already.
Hope this comes a painless and successful conclusion for you

Best of luck

 

A compression test does not require any of those things.... WTF?

Did you get the trouble codes?
Throwing parts at an engine may fix it but it gets expensive really quickly.

 

They told me that I have to bring the car up to spec's in order for my car to get the engine swapped out(that's if it needs it) and then theyy will do the compression check.... It was so funny I asked the service guy at Mazda if they could give me a discount so his reply was he could give me $15.00 off ha ha what a joke..but I found a place here in Tampa that only works on Mazda's and he is going to do it for under 700.00 so I guess I save some. But no clear word on what is wrong with the car so I will just wait til they tell me....They gave me the codes that the car was reading but I didn't write them down. All they would say is that the car was misfiring and they didn't know why....Hey does anybody get more that 220 miles on a full tank of gas or how I can get more mileage? I am having to fill up twice a week and I need to know how I can get more miles....

 

More miles...sell the car.

Call them and get the codes and let us know.

If it was truly mis-firing as they said it was, then yes, you probably need to change the coils, plugs and possibly wires. This could be the source of most of your issue...let's hope!

I'm still not convinced that you need a new engine(just yet). I'm also not convinced you have a stuck SSV(2nd shutter valve you talked about). I guess we will see. Personally I would do the coils, plugs, and wires.......then I would take it from there. Then you can see if the SSV really needs it and by all means....have them look at the CAT. If the CAT is bad, it's under warranty for 8 years 80,000 miles so don't let them screw you there.
Wish you were on the East Coast, I'd take a look at it for you and save you a ton of cash.....at least up front! Good luck!

 

220 miles on a tank is not that bad if she's not out on the highway cruising.
That's about average I would say.
I usuallty get 220 to 240 on a tank depending on how I drive it.

 

Mazurfer - Sounds like you have a chance to go clean an SSV for fun. :P I wonder what it was that made them say that the SSV was out of spec...heck...does it even have a spec?

 

Thinking they just want her to spend more money!
Before I went and tackled the SSV, think I would try some Seafoam or something. I don't have any experience with the SSV, so I would have to do a little research.........but.......... I know who does know a lot about it and how to get a hold of him if I need to do so!

 

Oh yeah one more thing....I don't know if anybody is aware but Mazda did a recall on the clutch breaking problem so you might want to contact Mazda because it just was approved in September so if anybody knows of someones clutch pedal breaking tell them to contact them because they will fix it just an FYI

 

There's a huge thread on that Natalie. https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/clutch-pedal-snap-off-8-year-warranty-recall-%7E%7E%7E-132912/ and then there are a couple other smaller threads.

Mazda has sent out letters to all owners of record, but thanks!

In my opinion, it was mainly the faithful members here that kept the clutch issue in the limelight and had a pretty good impact that caused Mazda to finally address the issue.

We continue to let people know.

 

natalie2877 - sorry to hear about your troubles. Don't let the dealership give you a hard time. I hate to say it but your symptoms sound like mine when the cat shelled. Luckily it was replaced under warranty. I changed the plugs and coils(must admit hubby did the manhandling-not sure some of the parts had been removed before.) You can get some great part prices from the vendors here. Good luck!

oh, I get 220-240ish miles to a tank combi driving. 17-18.5 mpg combi and 22-23 mpg hi-way.