Driving down the interstate, I just noticed the CEL was on. Soon after I noticed this, the low fuel light came on. I stopped at a gas station to fill up and looked in the owners manual and it said low fuel could cause the light to go on. When I left the gas station, the light remained on. I drove about another 20 miles home. I looked under the hood and there are no visual signs of anything wrong and there were no wierd sounds or anything. Could the car just be acting goofy because it is about 0 degres outside right now? I've had the car for just about a year and have about 13,000 miles on it. I have not had a single problem since I bought it. Any ideas?

 

Make sure it is the CEL and not something else like a TPMS alert for a low pressure reading on a tire. If it is, in fact, a CEL and if it doesn't go away after you have started the car 3 times, take it in to the dealer to have the trouble code checked. Could just be your gas cap was not tight and not sealing. If it is tight now and that was the cause of the CEL, the CEL will go away.

Regardless of the above comments, if the CEL is flashing, take it in immediately.

 

possible dead cat ?

 

Interesting! I have a similar story. 12000 miles- no problems at all. Today I had my first flooding incident, but I was able to get it going using the instructions Mazda had sent me two weeks ago. Lots of smoke for about 2 minutes, then everything was fine but the CEL went on and did not disappear even after 20 miles. The engine runs fine and starts no problem despite the CEL. I think I will have to take it in to have CPM updated

 

Now later today, I ran a short trip to the grocery store and the CEL light is still on, and yes, it is the CEl, not the TPMS light. It is not flashing though.

 

If you don't mind me asking, how do you think the flooding occurred? Just seems odd that you would go 12,000 miles and then bang run into a flooding issue, especially if your car seems to have been running fine previously. Is this the first winter for your 8? Just curious, because knock on wood now that I know the car needs to be warmed up before shutting down, I have not had any issues starting the car. Actually, since I've only been driving my car every 1-1/2 weeks or so, the car actually cranks less before starting then it did in the summer. Kinda weird, I thought.

 

I think the battery sucks in the rx8,that may be the problem.

 

Yes it does. See the TSB at the link below for the "new" replacement battery with twice the CCA. Not a recall, however, so unless you can talk a dealer into replacing your original battery under warranty--not likely--ya gotta pay.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com.../01-042-04.htm

 

To be honest, I had not had any problems in the past shutting the engine down, even when it was cold, so I have not been too cautious about this issue. I think this is the most likely cause of the flooding. I remember moving the car in my garage to make room for junk before the incident. The engine was cold when I shut it down.
With regards to the CEL, I disconnected the battery for 15 minutes stomped on the brakes a few times (to reset the computer), reconnected the battery and the light is off. I have been driving for a week without incident just like before. The light remains off.

 

sometimes the CEL has to be reset from the dealership