erjjet

Need some help. If you are having this problem or have had this problem and had it fixed, please send me a reply. My dealer says no one has this problem but me and is giving me a hard time even w/my 8 year warr.

I had the PCM flashed at the dealer and then sent to Cali.

The car doesn't run rough anymore at idle UNLESS I floor it. After a a moment or so it will start to ping past 4k rpm. At times it will lose some pwr. Feels like I am riding on the brake at times as well.

I know this is a problem because this is my second 8 and the other never did this. This is an automatic just like my last one.

I hope someone has had theses problems and had it fixed. If you could, please send me your dealer info so I can get these guys over here to talk w/them. The dealer is starting to give me a problem.

Thank you.

erjjet

hey bud,
I had my PCM reflashed and it helped some, but it started the same crap yesturday. Keep me posted if you would because my dealer thinks I am cracking up.

Thanks

erjjet

Ryan, Found out that if you run Chevron Techron additive that treats upto 20 gal should dod the trick. I put one full bottle into my empty tank, filled it up 1/2 tank only a drove the s...t out of it. I did this 2 times and the problems has gone away. Think it is carbon build up that is causing the prob. Hope this helps.

dkuhlman

Help!!!!!
Daughter's '04 AT has 35000mi and has the same stalling/dying engine trouble for the past year or so. She has car at school so I am not able to confirm the specifics of when, where,and how this occurs but this car has been to three different dealerships( because of locale), towed twice, and each "repair" doesn't seem to solve the problem over the long term. ECU flash,coils changed, replaced throttle body? Using premium "quality" gas. Car still dies while driving in town. She has sometimes been able to restart and drive but says it then "runs rough and no power". No CEL . Seems to run okay for a few weeks then reoccurs. Question, is this a CAT problem or something more serious. Like the car but is now becoming a dependability issue for my daughter. And I am tired of having her call me in tears because the car died. ( please don't say this is a "girl driving the wrong car")

Yes, I have been trying to teach the idiosyncrasies of this engine.(i.e. flooding)
Still having problems. Any thoughts?
Thanks

snkpkp

Sounds like its an issue of the fly by wire throttle problem. Maybe What happens is, and I am LARGELY guessing the throttle body somehow manages not to work after reaching a certain sorrounding temparature causing it to shut off or works not as much, and works again with time when ambient temparature falls.

therm8

Do you know for certain that it is pinging, or does it sound like it's pinging? It just sounds like it's a problem other than the ecu, like a junked cat, misfiring, etc. See if the dealer will do a compression check, take a look at the cat and check the plugs. Something else is afoot here.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

i am fighting the same thing, but it is more random and takes more than 45 min to happen. symptoms the same.

they just replaced my maf. and so far so good..... i am having a good relationship with the master tech at the dealership.

will keep you posted.

so far it has been.

bad intake
bad fuel pump
bad fuel pump harness
carboned secondary valves
bad motor
clogged cat

beers

Chris4401

Had the same problems with my wife's RX-8 last year. The same exact problems. After many trips to the dealer (Sarasota FL) and lots of run arounds, the motor was replaced. No explanation, no reason. They tried the CA reflash, checked the Cat. After the fourth time of the same thing, they replaced the motor with a remanufactured engine. Dealer promised a new one but got a reman instead.

After you all get done with the Mazda run around, you will probably end up with the same.

Good Luck !

dkuhlman

Thanks for your thoughts. Just so happens that after the throttle body was replaced my daughter had the same loss of power and engine dies/stalls. Most of her driving is short trips around town.Again one more tow to the delearship. Asked if they checked the CAT and was told that tech drove the car a couple of times with no problems. No CEL. What gives? This car is giving me fits! Should I insist on replacing the CAT or is this just an educated guess? Any more thoughts?

Thanks

swoope

iTrader: (5)

was the problem fixed??

beers

snkpkp

I was doing about 90mph in 4th when the cel came on with a small SPUT noise from exhaust sounded more like a miss fire in the plug and the throttle came to 3000 and When ever i tried pressing the response started to shut me off. I pulled over, called a friend who has an RX8 , he came over and disconnected my battery for 3 mins and re connected it, and the throttle problem was gone along with the CEL light and car runs just fine. I am just confused what should i do now. I drove about 2 hours after that with high rpm and at very very high speeds and no problem seems to be found. later found out from other discussions its my knocking sensor which puts the car on retard mode. My question is how long will it stay in retard mode if the ecu isnt reset by disconnecting the battery?

Nubo

Lol. I don't mean to poke fun at your post but rather just the idea of "the California Flash" is bizarre. Our car is so complex even the dealer can't properly flash the thing


I guess if they can't get it flashed down in Irvine, the next step is sending it to Area 51

clukas13

check cat. i'm almost 100% sure that is your problem dkhulman. it's clogged. Let me know

austinworrell

I am experiencing the same problem with my car. Car loses power and often dies during the same drive. Happens whem i'm driving on the highway for about 30 minutes and 20 miles. Once i am on the off ramp car acts funny. If i put the car in neutral rpm's drop and car dies. I have to let it sit for about a minute or so then it starts back up. This happens frequently and is embarrasing cause i sit there blocking traffic. I can keep the car from dying if i sit there and rev the engine. Dealership here in dever hasn't done anything for me but this seems to be a common problem.

dkuhlman

Supposedly the dealer has checked the CAT with no noticable problem. Am going to try a different tech back home to get his input. I have been driving the car now for a few days to see if I have any problems so far none. Tomorrow we take it to our original dealer to have them check it over. I am wondering if maybe my daughter's driving habits are the problem?

snkpkp

your daughters driving habit has nothing to do with it. you should be able to drive it harder than a civic, so far i have this problem happen to me twice in 18000miles both over the last week. I am taking car to the shop tomorrow to check the cat and clean up the exhaust system along with new plug cables new spark plugs . but with the kind of gas quality we get in bangladesh i am surprised my car didn give any problem all this time. ohh well lets see if the cel comes on again with the powerloss. I am sure within a few weeks i can find out what it is. Vehicle will go on a 500 mile road trip next weekend. And i am packing up on extra set of plugs and tools in case THINGS happen...i mean who knows afterall ts a 8....

Terrance26

I had the same problem with my AT. The dealer sent the pcm to cali to be recalibrated, when I got it back it worked perfectly and then I traded it in for a 6spd

swoope

iTrader: (5)

when did this happen??? the send back, and this is the answer the fix is coming..

all is good, soon..

beers

dkuhlman

I'm missing something here, what is the CA flash?

zoom44

well your issue sounds like a different thing to me. yours sounds like the neutral switch on the tranny is stuck/sticking.

there is a microswitch that lets teh TCM and PCM know when the tranny has been shifted to neutral. this tells the car that it can go to idle. but when this switch sticks the car doesnt know what to do(fuel/timing wise) about the dropping rpms -it gets confused. this causes the roughness and possible stalling. ive seen this here a few times.

zoom44

austinworrell- here are the various things that can contribute to stalling upon decelleration- i have bolded the Neutral/cpp switch that i think may be your issue. unless you have an aftermarket intake?

Kevo

been a while since this thread has breathed life.....how have things worked out? i ask because this sounds sucpiciously like my issue that could only be solved by having a new engine installed....

here were my symptoms...rough idle (at the brink of stalling when at a stop), major loss of power around 4500-5000 rpm (and while driving up shallow inclines) accompanied by an unsettling pop/clicking noise....could not get the car above 90mph even with the pedal to the floor. here is how my dealer explained it to me...

...the engine is not getting enough oil to keep the apex seals cooled (30-45 minutes into driving) and the apex seals are actually igniting the fuel prematurely instead of the spark plug...since the momentum of the rotor is too much for this extra ignition to overcome, it continues forward making a distinctive pop/clicking sound....if you step on the gas it forces more oil into the engine eventually cooling the seals so they seat properly and eliminating the premature ignition. this was going on for quite some time in my 8 before it was diagnosed....running with too little oil being supplied to the apex seals...the seals eventually cracked and compression loss got worse requiring replacement. at least this i show i understand it.

they are replacing the engine right now as i type...k

turbine

I feel your pain. Try this.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...36#post1481836

turbine

Also, very important, don't run your AC while your ECU is remapping and trimming fuel. The initial crack cycles are the foundation or baseline. No wonder so many people are having trouble. If these sequences are not just right people are going to have to think it’s a bad car. I have driven this car all 57k miles. 57k of it has been a learning curve. This car is 95% digital and 5% mechanical. First thing dealer said when they put my ACT clutch and flywheel. "You’re going to lose the bottom end and it going to be hard to drive daily. They were wrong. The typhoon version 1 they sold and installed for me in early 04 was the only problem I have had with this car. If anybody has done any intake adjustments, big mistake. You got to get these three things working correct no matter what.

ECU
MAF
o2

If the ECU does not do pull down accurate information from those sensors, then the car does not run right.

If anybody is experiencing problems from this thread topic, 80% of you are going be in the scope of those three items. If you have an aftermarket intake on. Put your stock one back on. Anytime there is the slightest change to your car, I recommend a full reset from battery disconnect. Make sure to drive easy after your reset. Unlike all other car resets. If it were any other car you would want to run the **** out of it after reset.

The but dyno is +/- 20 HP from ECU changes. My mods have not done that much.

With the last reset I made, it runs perfect. I have a midpipe, TB coolant bypass, VFAD removed, mod intake, and a breather replacing vacuum line of intake.

No smoke, no odors what so ever, no CEL, no pinging, and power is there at any moment. The ECU had time to manifest all the data it needed to operate from the baseline maps. The ECU actually rocks. Of course full control would be the solution.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

interesting notes,

the logic behind not running the ac on a reset??? and for how long...

beers