sdrx8

My wife has a 2004 6speed rx8 with 88,000 miles.

My wife started her car yesterday afternoon and she said it sounded horrible. She decided to try and drive it out of her works underground parking anyway so that at least a tow truck could get to it. Once she got out she decided to keep driving a couple of miles to the dealer. By the time she got to the dealer, a little smoke was coming up through the gear shift (but the engine was not hot).

Long story short, it was apparently misfiring badly and blowing gas through the cat and the cat was glowing.

The dealer told my wife today that before they can decarbon the engine they have to know whether the plugs and coils have ever been changed and when.

Does anybody know why they would need to know that and what (if any) affect that would have on any warranty? Way back in 05 or 06 a different dealer reflashed the engine and put in hotter plugs as part of a warranty repair. I am not sure whether they also replaced the coils.

Also, does anybody have advice on replacement cats for California (where to get them and what they should cost)?

We are in San Diego and are apparently in the market for a good RX8 mechanic. Any suggestions? We have only needed warranty repairs to date, so have only gone to the dealer.

Thanks

STL05

Unfortunately your over the 80,000 mile cat warranty. Coils, wires and plugs need to be changed more than any other car. Some coils have been known to fail as soon as 5000 miles. If its misfiring real bad it could be a number of things. The dealer needs to know because thats one of the first things they look at. Weak coils and bad spark plugs can lead to misfire s and alot more things. I change my coils and plugs and wires every 15000 but thats just me being careful.

sdrx8

Thanks.

I have no problem changing the coils and plugs, I just didn't know why they would be adamant they couldn't decarbon until they knew.

How much is reasonable for plugs, coils and decarbon from a dealer?

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

the dealership is being lazy.
They have a simple test they can perform to see if the coils are any good.

You should tell them your wife was experiencing 'severe lack of power'
I mention that because there's a Service Bulletin that relates to that and you could possibly get the decarb covered for free under the 8 year, 100,000 mile engine warranty.

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...4-08-1924g.pdf


www.onlinemazdaparts.com is usually the cheapest place for OEM parts. You should be able to get wires, plugs, and coils from them and because they use USPS priority shipping, you'll get them quickly without over paying for UPS

sdrx8

According to my wife (I haven't talked to them yet) the dealer is going down the path you mentioned. The coil and spark plug replacement is pricey ($670 for all four of each), but that's what I get for not taking care of it myself and having my wife limp into the dealer. After the coils and spark plugs are replaced they will try to get the decarbon and cat replaced under warranty.

PeteInLongBeach

Per the factory maintenance schedule, plugs should be replaced at the 37,500 mile service. Many also replace the coils at that time, as they are not particularly durable.

It sounds like you are waaay overdue for these maintenance items. Have you replaced the air filter or cleaned the MAF sensor yet?

sdrx8

The coils were slightly overdue, not way over. The plugs and coils were just over 40K since being replaced.

The air filter has been changed regularly, but I'll check on the MAF sensor.

I'm very happy with Mazda right now, as they covered the cat even though it was over 80K. I payed for the plugs and coils, and they took care of the rest. They wouldn't cover the rental car for two days because the coils should have been changed earlier. That was a perfectly fine trade-off for me.

My wife also knows now that pushing a poorly running RX8 is a VERY bad idea and she should just shut it down if that happens again.

jrx13

That's good Mazda covered the cat converter for you even if you were out of warranty. Those things are expensive. Your still money ahead even if you had to pay full price for the coils & plugs & labor to install.