IGOZMZM

I've been having this same problem for about a year now. Complaining to the dealership everytime I take it in. We've taken it for an hour long drive with their PCM reader hooked up. AND of course it wouldn't act up, just like taking a kid to the doctor. I keep telling them that my car even has reduced power even when it's not acting up, but I'm told that Mazda had two 6-speed engines for the '04 model year the first one and one that has more power. I've offered to drive side by side with another '04 to see if my car could keep up, but with this BS about another engine (with the auto engine it would total 3 for that year by their math). I'm at 48,800 miles and getting kinda pissed because of the chance of running out of warrenty even though I've been trying to get it taken care of for a year+ now.

musclecarconvrt

Wow, your dealer road with you for an hour with a scanner hooked up? At least you can say they are really taking you seriously and working with you as much as they can. You should consider getting a scanner so you can check the code on your own when it pops up. I'm at about 47,000 mile now and will be making sure I can service my own car soon too.

I just got mine back from the shop. My CEL finally came on and stayed while I was running at abour 8k rpm. It went into full limp mode too. Initially they thought it was the oil metering pump, but further checking showed the actual pump was fine. It was the PCM. They re-flashed my PCM and all is well again. It definitely runs smoother through the mid range. My service tech was great. His name is Jim. He even has his own RX8's.It's Mazda of Cool Springs in Tennessee.

erjjet

Hey Bud,

I am having the same problem. I gave the dealer my keys and said, "fix it". I just tradedin my base model that had no problems, now this upgraded one does.

Like Whoa

can you reproduce the problem by going 40-50 mph in a lower gear?

IGOZMZM

Taking me serious? Yeah, but they only did all that AFTER I called the Mazda Hotline number and called the Mazda rep and got them involved. At this time I still haven't gotten it fixed. I will be calling the rep again next week, and probably taking it to a different dealership. Then I guess the next step is to get the rep out here and take him on a road trip

Side Note: Oh boy does the new starter/plugs/battery make a difference in how she starts up though.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

it seems to be more prevalent at higher elevations ... I experienced somewhat the same thing when driving mine especially through Wyoming at 9000ft, swore the engine was blown because it would not accelerate at WOT up a slightly inclined grade even in a low gear

I live down nearer to sea level though, everything went back to normal after the trip, in general I've noticed places where RX-8s seem to collectively be having power issues are at several thousand feet or higher elevations, just a hunch ...

IGOZMZM

So then Mazda needs to, as part of the warrenty, pay to move me to a lower elevation? and buy me a new house, etc. just a hunch

IGOZMZM

Ok, so everyone having this problem, please do me a favor and check your air filter. I checked mine last night and the bottom half of the filter was rather dirty and moist. I turned it upside down (top to bottom, not front to back as that wouldn't fit) and I noticed, although not a long term test yet, that my idle and problems so far have cleared up. I am just about to go and get a new filter to put in it and then I will report back in a few days of driving freeway time.

Mr986

89 Octane gas, 3700 rpm, 61F outside.

Cruise is on going up this long incline and...........no loss of power. Stayed right at 72mph and didn't move---my,my.

I will check the air filter just for grins.

On the other hand, on the first part of the trip, we drove about 50 miles north on 71 got off and stopped at a mall for some shopping; parked the car, inside for 15 minutes, back out, move it a quarter mile, back inside for 15 minutes and then drive about 6 miles and park it for 6 hours.
Start the car for the return trip and the GD battery light comes on and stays on for a minute or two. Mind you the battery was replaced 6 weeks ago with a higher capacity version and the battery light did not come on when I started the car this morning. I don't get it; bad alternator?
:

Mr986

Driving the same road with all conditions the same save ambient temp around 32F, I start to loose power goin gup the grade. Speed drops from 72 to 67mph and as we come the the crest, the car starts to accelerate.

We accelerate to 72 and then past, going up to 80 before the engine starts to buck or misfire. I step on the brake and , whala, we have smooth power and it cruises normally. My wife then proceeds to tell me that it has done this 3 times, and the service guy rolled their eyes when we were in for the last oil change.

So, not only does it loose power, but then it speeds up past the setting on the cruise and then the engine starts to misfire--WFT??

OK, guys, any ideas? I've never had a car do this before and I'm not up to having a write up guy ask if I might have touch the accelerate button on the cruise. HELP!!!!

swoope

iTrader: (5)

might want to read all of this.

http://flrx8club.net/modules.php?nam...viewtopic&t=96

just another solution to the problem.

beers

IGOZMZM

Thanks for the info swoope, but it doesn't sound like his problem is the same as ours. Being that ours only happens after driving for a period of time on the freeway, and KY's happened at any time. Ours doesn't limit the revs, just has lack of power but still accelerates (very very slowly), and if on an incline can actually lose speed.

Update on my air filter: I did help with power, but still seems to have the problem. Haven't had a chance to do much freeway driving lately so it's still pending further testing. I do have the regional rep involved in my case, and they are cordinating with his next visit out here. The sad thing is our Mazda Rep is going to be moving to cover Cali so they need to get him now and work with the new rep too.

My random thoughts on this: maybe it is a "fail safe" mode, after get too hot like KY was thinking this was/is. How often have you other had to add coolant to your 8's? on the other hand how often SHOULD you HAVE to add coolant to any car.

swoope

iTrader: (5)

adding coolant, very rare.

some where i have a list of all the issues that manafest them selves this way....

my thoughts are if you are adding coolant your engine is done.....

just my opinion i could be wrong.


beers

Rob Lay

Mine turned out to be a fried cat. We think the direct root cause is adding 2 cycle oil to the gas. That helps protect the engine more, but kills the cat whether you use castor or synthetic oil.

Through this experience I've learned a bunch and loss of power can be so many things… fuel, air, and spark.

We are harder and wear things out quicker racing, but maybe some of our experience will help on the street too…

Fuel…

No external fuel filters, it is all built into the fuel pump below the rear driver side seat. I haven't heard of an RX8 with fuel problems yet, but lack of fuel flow (filter or bad pump) would cause the symptoms of power loss under load.

Air…

As others have mentioned, make sure your air paths are clear.

Spark…

Coils go bad, white marks around outside of coils indicate spark being lost.

Plug wires can go bad.

We are changing spark plugs every 3rd race weekend.

Good luck with your problems.

Mr986

Is amazingly similar to ours. From our typical starting point to where we start climbing this hill is probably 45-50 minutes. What that has to do with the problem I don't know but I don't beleive in coincidences like that.

I'll try it again today and measure the drive time to see how close we are. As I mentioned earlier, I had the cruise on and the speed dropped , then increased as we topped the crest, but the car kept accelerating to 80 (we were cruising at 72) and then the engine started to buck, like a misfire or when you hit the rev limiter.Soon as I hit the brake and disengaged the cruise, everything was fine. I'll post today's result.

ltrx8

I f going up an incline downshift into a lower gear ie 100-110 kph/55-60 mph in 4th gear..This should put you into the 4000 rpm range..I sometimes will go as much as 5000 rpm or more depending on speed and incline ..If the problems you experience are on an incline then this is most likely the problem...
One other possibility is that your fuel filter may be clogged or close to it ..Sometimes debris will fall and settle when not in use..then when you drive it gets attracted to the filter causing this loss in power..I hope this is helpfull...

mmats69

Mr986, sounds as though your cruise control is causing your problem. try the drive w/o the cruise on and see if it happens again. as far as the ones going w/o the cruise on and the problem arises, that's beyond my knowledge.

Mr986

same gas grade, cruise set at 72 .............it climbed the hill without hesitation. I continue to be amazed with this problem. My hope is that the misfire/shutter that I experienced before will at least show on the fault code when we take it in next week.

BTW, when i checked the oil--about 2 months since the last change with around 2K on it--- the level was down about a quart (normal) but there was more tan/biege colored stuff on the dipstick than I was expecting--even at the bottom. My wife had just returned from a 30 minute drive at highway speeds. Just out of curiousity, what does coolant look like when in the oil?