My 2005 Mazda Rx-8 wont start
 

So last time I was in the car I shut it off cold which I heard isnt great. The guy who works with my mechanic said it shouldnt be a problem. But I cant start it. I feels like the gas wont kick in. And the dash board kinda fades out when I try to turn it. The battery and engine light is on the right. I hope I didnt flood the engine. It makes a different sound from when I first tried. How much does it cost to fix a flooded engine? I think it MAY be the battery or the engine.

dash fading? sounds like battery.
try jump starting it or charging the battery.
dont keep trying to start it with a weak battery, you could end up flooding it.


mods: move to series 1 section plz kthanxbai

I stopped after like 20 times. LOL I hope its not flooded. It sounded really weird at one point. like a fire extinguisher. The engine has been giving a issue the last few months. Like I try to start it and it doesnt immediately start. It stalls a few sec. My mechanic said it could be air. So i usually turn it to the on switch and wait a sec or 2 and then start it.

If the engine is flooded the primary sources are weak battery, starter failing, bad wires/plugs/ignition coils. Sounds like you're problem is a weak battery. Time to get the battery tested and see if it needs to be replaced, and then work your way to the other sources from there. The engine shouldn't flood even if shut off cold. If it does, it's an indication that something isn't healthy.

hey mods this is the series 2 section muhahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahhaha 2005 XD sorry im no help

Well had to take it the dealership. Engine was flooded and the battery needed to be replaced. One thing though. I have my mechanic check it often and had a tune up not too long ago. How often does maintenance on the engine need to be done? Oh and the two biggest things. I WAS shutting down cold which some OTHER mechanic told me was ok but now NO WAY! And I have been using synthetic oil. Mazda recommends the other. Besides that pretty much every thing else is ok. Except when I drive it and I make close turns I feel the car may drift. Like its not a smooth turn... not really sure. Well well see how it feels once it is done being repaired.

I'd recommend you read the New and Potential Owners thread (even if you're not a new owner). It'll give you a heads up on other things you should keep an eye.

The new owner's thread addresses this. Take a look at the post purchase maintenance list, that is essentially the same as the recommended regular maintenance every X mileage.

If you can't shut it down cold and restart without a problem, something has failed. Repair that item and you can shut down cold and not have a problem re-firing.

It's like someone complaining that they can't start their car unless they have a battery installed. Well stick the battery in and you will be able to start fine. If your ignition is failing, you will have trouble restarting after a cold shut off. Replace the ignition and you will restart fine. Etc...

Nothing wrong with synthetics. Mazda just can't officially give a positive recommendation for any synthetics. But just because they didn't test them enough to be able to comment on it either way. A lot of dealers and techs misunderstand this tons. All arguments are around how well synthetic burns, which is a stupid argument since no 4-stroke oil will burn cleanly anyway. If the quality of oil burn matters to you, install a SOHN adapter to inject only 2-stroke and then pick your 4-stroke of choice for protecting the high sheer environment of the e-shaft and bearings.

Thx a bunch, will do!