Recently my stereo has started changing stations, and none of the buttons work.

BUT, now I have a bigger issue. Since it has been hot outside ~100, my car has found a new way to **** me off.
I had it parked outside on a driveway with a slight incline. I had it in 1st gear like always and the E-brake was fully on. I went inside...came out 30 minutes later to see my car starting to roll down the driveway. I start running and my Revo sunglasses wnet flying and got ruined. Down $280 dollars. I jump through the window of the car and find that I am able to pull the ebrake further. Car stops. A few days later, in a parking lot, with almost no incline...same thing.

I can only imagine that it is related to the heat outside or some minor adjustment is needed for the brakes. As far as the stereo, it seems to be a short, as it happened today when I hit a bump, and it corrected itself when I turned the lights on.

I am disappointed.

 

I've never had these problems...our weather ranges from 20 degrees to 100 degrees...and I have never had a problem with my E-brake or my radio...I just always pull my E-brake up all the way..and keep it in neutral...

 

not possible if car was in gear; sorry;

 

^Thats what I was thinking...

 

i've had my car roll once.. only because there was something stuck behind it so when it felt "up" it was actually hitting that and not grabbing tightly. chack and see if something is stuck in the rubber boot part of it.


as far as the radio.. reach up on right side and push the top connector on and see if the problem goes away. it'a about even with the cd slot on the right side. you can reach if from the floor board without removing anything. just a tight fit.

 

In CT I have seen USPS workers with a "choke on a stick"

When ever they exit the vehicle, the bring the "choke on the stick" with them and choke the wheel with it. Then, before they get back in the take it with them. They don't even have to bend down.

Might be a worth while investment.

 

I think you mean a chock.

 

You might need to adjust the parking brake cables.

 

Mike2005,
If the gravitational force from the vehicle on the the incline is greater than the frictional drag of the engine and drive train, and engine compression, car will remain at rest. If it is greater, car will roll in gear. If a car could not roll in gear, you could never bump start it.

As to the brakes, while not directly related to the RX-8, this was one of the first tough engineering issues when cars went to 4-wheel disc brakes. An e-brake works by mechanically actuating the brake pads or shoes against the rotor or drum. For drum brakes, as the drum cools, the drum dia. decreases and thus the e-brake actually gets tighter. For disc brakes, as the rotor cools, its thickness decreases and so the e-brake has less retention than when it is set. Some rear disk designs actually had a small drum brake just for the e-brake.

Mike
(sorry, I love automotive engineering....I'm such a geek! I need help!)

 

It's quit common. Do a search many have had the parking brake problem.

 

Thank you for all the input, I will check the sterao as mentioned. It is weird as it only seems to happen in the mornings, and not every morning.

As for the E-brake, I am trying to schedule a dealer trip, but it isn't easy with a 3 - 4 hour commute a day. I will post when I know what the dealership finds

 

^My stereo goes crazy sometimes...doesn't change stations, but the display goes nuts


Dealer is ordering me a new radio now

 

When an electronic device acts wonky before it gets warmed up, the culprit is usually a cold solder joint - basically the solder is cracked and has a sporadic connection. When the unit heats up, the molecules expand forming a better connection - everything electronic (that has solder joints) is susceptible to this problem - often see it in TV's - better picture as it warms up.

Cheers,

Alex

 

^mine only does it when the car is very hot....been sitting in the sun for a few hours or so...then after it's running for a while and is cool inside, the problem stops. If it's cool outside, I never see anything

 

If electronics mess up when hot it is due to a faulty (transistor or cpu usually) item, or the heat is outside of the unit's spec.

"A"

 

Well they adjusted the E-Brake for me, they said it looks as though it was never adjusted from the factory. That made me feel great...it works VERY well now. They couldn't find a problem with the stereo, but I have to bring it back in on Monday for new front pads under TSB. Stereo is still having issues so I predict a new stereo may be coming my way as well. Will post when I find out more.

Too bad I can't get them to replace my sunglasses, that is the part I am most upset about.

 

Haha, ok, now I thought this was going to be another mileage/flooding thread. At the very worse I figured it would be about brake squeal. I'm pretty sure having your car roll down the driveway is worthy of a complaint or two.

I'm just waiting for someone to come in here and flame you for complaining: "if you want a car that doesn't roll itself down a hill, get a Prius -- all sports cars roll down hills, just deal with it".

 

The stereo could be something simple as a stuck button. Press every button and see if this helps.