MX6_2_RX8

I don't like Morong, they are snooty, aside from the fact that you didn't get your fill-up. What year is your Mazda. You DON"T want the original battery and starter through the winter. If your car is newer they are probably already done. I go to Goodwins but can't actually recommend them either. The lesser of 2 evils I guess.

Where are you located?

hoosier

I have an early 2006 with 4K on it and just had the recall done. I have had no problems so they did the flash, cat test, and replaced two plugs but did not do the vacuum test. I would have it done for the reason that more oil is injected at lower rpms and the amount of fuel used on startup has been reduced, helping the flooding problem (which I have never encountered). I wanted it done just for the oil, plus I premix anyway for extra insurance. I have had no problems and, even though I could just be imagining it, it seems to run a little stronger. It still idles the same for me, smooth. Couldn't tell you about gas mileage since I don't check it.

RX8Maine

I have a 2005. I don't think anything had been upgraded prior to my purchase.

I live in the Portland area, so my options are Morong (which I assumed would be very professional since they also service Porsche and Audi) and Clair in Saco which just became a Mazda dealership 6 months ago. I will stay with Morong for Warranty work because I still think it is the lesser of 2 evils, but I was not very impressed with them.

ph0tic

Antifreeze? After i picked up my car with the new engine and got it home, i noticed two things:
1>Squeeking coming from under the car (throw-out bearing)
2>Antifreeze burning off

Turns out i have a crack in the thermostat housing (they already tried fixing it by replacing the gasket.) I fill up my radiator with crap every week or so. A

Also the engine was still rough idling. Take it in and they replace the motor mounts. Now i can't even tell if its on. Funny thing about this is before 4206F i even asked them "hey, what if we replace these mounts?" "No we can't do that unless they are broken, but they use different ones now." Guys would have saved themselves from putting in a new engine if they had done that in the first place.

They're also giving me a runaround with the squeek, I've brought it in for various crap about 4 times and only this last time did i actually get the tech to admit that there was a sound there. Within a second he exclaimed "throwout bearing!" And after always putting comments down that said "could not reproduce complaint". I used to have good outlook on my dealership repair place, but now its getting dim.

khoney

2004 MT with 67K miles went in for the recall. I've had a vibration problem at idle since about 18K after the dynamic damper recall. Engine mounts have not fixed the problem - I was hoping the reflash would raise the idle enough to make the problem disappear.

Not only is my idle vibration problem still present, but now my car cranks longer before starting, and seems to stumble before it catches. I regret having the recall performed.

SCal Shinka

I just bought a 2005 RX8 Shinka 6 speed with high mileage and took it in to Wescott Mazda for its recall evaluation. It passed the various tests and got new spark plugs. If they "flashed" it they did not note it in the paperwork. I don't know the code for the vacuum test -- just have to assume they did it and all was well.

BIG THANK YOU to whoever posted the dealer directives--I got the full tank of gas and at least the car wash (though they charged Mazda USA for a full detail). I was done in approximately an hour and half so no need for the rental car. Honestly, if I didn't have copies of the dealer directives with me, I wouldn't have gotten anything but the spark plugs!! I did have them give me a copy of the actual test results just in case anyone needs them for comparison's sake. I'm very appreciative and impressed with the info shared by other RX8 owners--less favorably impressed by the dealership

punishr

I happen to be one of those that got their motor replaced, and I just rolled 2500 miles on the new motor and I just had to take it back to mazda due to lack of power and DSC problems. The last three times this happened was on the old motor and old original ECU program that came with the car when I bought it in August of 03. All of these times they said that the plugs were fouled and that the coil packs were firing backwards out of the packs causing current to mess with the surrounding wiring and electronics including the DSC system.
Yes I drove the car for three years without ever getting the ECU reflashed. I did this because every time after Mazda would replace my coil packs and spark plugs my car ran great. In fact it ran better than most any other RX8 out there. At least for about 7k miles then I would have to take it back in for the plugs and sometimes the packs again.

I have had numerous problems besides that with the old motor including, fouling plugs, burnt coil packs, flooding, stalling, slow to crank, lack of power, etc. but with the new Starter, Battery, MOTOR, Plugs, Reflash for the OMP, and for the Fuel trim on start up, that came out of the recall a couple of months ago.

I have only had the lack of power problem with the DSC system flashing the traction control light and the ABS light at me since the recall was performed, but then again it has only been 2500 miles.

I have tried to keep all of my problems off of this board because Mazda has been talking about replacing my car with an '07, in fact, there are 2 engineers from Mazda Japan over here right now trying to figure out what is going on with my car and if they can't then that is what they have mentioned to me to basically help keep me quiet about the problems even after the recall. But enough is enough.

I will keep you guys updated and let yall know what they end up telling me.
P.S. I took them the car on Friday, Nov. 17th and they haven't called me yet.

Punishr

MX6_2_RX8

That is exactly what mine does (and it has flooded once since). How about your mileage? Mine has dropped 2-3 MPG My last tank was 17.5 and I was at 20.5 before the recall.

NEWireless

Same with my 2004 MT with 52K mi. Higher milage = worse outcome from recall?

punishr

My 04 MT had 43k miles on it when the recall was done, and now I have 45700 on it.

hagar852

I just had my engine replaced and my idle is still at low rpm almost how it was before I had it replaced.

I will give it a few more days... Now I have no clue what is going on.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

I have my car in for the TSB and if there is no snow when I get it back I'll probably fill the nitrous tank and see how well the re-flash works with nitrous and my other mods like the catless midpipe, intake, and whatnot. I'll letcha know.

icyur2

MX6..me too!! I was avg. between 19-20 mpg for city driving!! Now, I'm like 17!! I'll try resetting ? by using the brake technique...

khoney

I talked to one of the sevice guys who knows a lot about the 8 and its issues. I'll try to get what he said right, but he was talking over my head most of the time. He said this flash is much more 'intelligent' about everything, including what it looks at during startup. I had him listen to the car on startup, and he said it sounded like the pulse jets were coming on during startup, and this is the first RX-8 he has heard do that. It's also the highest-mileage RX-8 he has seen.

He said there is no reason for the pulse jets to come on during startup unless the car is having a fuel delivery problem. He theorized that there may be a blockage in one of the injectors, and suggested trying some BG44K.

He also told me that my idle vibration might be a drivetrain alignment problem, that the manual RX-8 is extremely sensitive to drivetrain alignment, and a misalignment can cause problems such as poor low-end performance, and vibration issues. He suggested getting the alignment checked at the next oil change. Guess I'll have to bring it in for an oil change next time instead of doing it myself.

I've had the idle vibration problem ever since the dynamic damper recall that was done at 22K. It's possible they adjusted the drive alignment when they performed that recall, and didn't set it properly afterward. I dunno, mayber there's somethig going on there...

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

The interesting thing about the "drivetrain alignment" is that, assuming he was talking about the PPF/rear differential/transmission interface, the factory method for installing the PPF involves 1 tapered locator bolt that secures it to the rear diff and very little play at the point of PPF/transmission interface. My point is that there is almost no room for variance when the PPF is reinstalled properly. I have removed my PPF several times and as long as I use a jack to maintain the proper pinion angle it is very easily removed and installed. Even without the jack I haven't had problems with alignment, just a bigger hassle putting the PPF back on.

Foamy

Got my 2004 AT done last week at Balise Mazda West Springfield MA.
Excellent experience,
Cedheck the CAT, all OK.
Re-Flashed PCM Part# 7777-18-019 // 4004WAR93 ??
Plugs not changed as they were done less than 12 months ago.
Engine not checked as there are no indicators to suspect engine problem.
I mentioned wear from the seat belt on drivers seat fabric - they ordered new seat cover (It arrived in two days!!)
Fuel topped up, car washed and tires "Blacked" - looks great.
All done in just over two hours.
Very satisfied with the service.
Now what differences do I see??
1) Definitely less cranking to start, and it "explodes" into life.
2) Power and Fuel consumption - not sure yet will give it a week or so and report back.
Idle - seems a little higher, I read dial at about 900RPM
I stopped pre-mix for this re-call, will not use pre-mix during this next few weeks evaluation period.

willhave8

Had the recall work done on my '04 6MT with 31.2K miles @ Allentown Mazda

'07 Passat Rental car with 110 miles on it. I had to pay for the gas in it...

Only ECU flash was performed. Everything else checked out. Plugs were new from March (my cost )

No Gas fill

No wash because my car was already 'so clean'

PA Inspection was completed. They replaced my GAS tank fill cap since it was throwing CELs and they said the old one was not sealing well. ????

Ordering new cover for my e-brake since it broke sometime - don't know when.

Observations from FLASH -- car idles lower than before when hot ----- 750rpms versus 850 on previous flash. Seems smoother in all RPM ranges and to have a little more punch in upper RPM range in 1st through 3rd gears (will have to wait for the track to test that in 4th

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

I had my own recall/reflash performed and my dealer took care of me on the wash and full gas tank issue. The reflash seems to have made the same improvements that others mention. After a couple days I also reinstalled my catless midpipe and found myself enjoying the car's performance. Then, I hit 110-125 mph at 7K+ rpm's and had massive misfiring happening. I seem to remember others mentioning ignition coil(s) issues that cropped up after this reflash. That was last night. This morning I started my car in about 32 degree temps and had a load of oil smoke coming out of my exhaust for about 30 seconds. I warmed it up and drove it for three miles then shut it off. I started it up two hours later and no oil smoke this time. I'll keep watching to see what happens over the next few days and pull the codes to see what has come up in addition to the codes I get for not having a cat in place.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

Well, so far no more oil smoke issues. The engine starts quickly, sounds good in doing so, and the car drives well. Cruising around the neighborhood where I am going to have a new home built, the engine sounded much smoother and healthier than it ever did when it last ran well. I also no longer have the misfire issue as I have hit 125+ a couple times in the past couple days and it runs strong all the way up to 9,500 in 4th gear. If it weren't for the fact that it is going to get MUCH colder here in MI in the next day or two I would have refilled my nitrous tank and hit my private dragstrip for a few G-Tech passes. Otherwise, suffice it to say that I am very pleased for ther time being. My dealer reported only having to replace the plugs. I installed my RP intake box and the noise was far worse than it had ever been before and I refuse to tolerate it so I put the factory box back on 15 minutes later. Besides, the engine performs no differently either way. I am also back to the 20 mpg I was getting a couple years ago. I suppose the important thing is that the engine runs smooth so it will be easier to do any future tuning on my own.

BillR

had same work done 3wks ago, and same problem. took car in 3 times and no results. last visit they reprogrammed pcm, car ran ok 2days then went back to crap. will be calling mazda on monday to schedule another appointment. If you get the problem solved, let us know or if I get it solved, I'll post it.

lancesir

I have a '05 GS and mileage has dropped about 2mpg for me. I thought it was my driving at first but it's been almost 2 months since I've had the flash, and I've tried driving granny style to see if that helped the mileage, but it was still lower than before.

jangle

recall done...updated flash, new plugs, replaced cracked engine mount (right side), converter fine. gas mileage has gone from around 20 mpg to 15-17 mpg. just glad i didn't have to have my engine replaced. it's running good.

SJ_Rotary

Recall done at 29,000 miles. Replaced spark plugs and flashed PCM. Passed the vaccuum test and road test. Got a full tank of gas and they claimed to have washed it but i doubt it. The service manager did mention to make sure and check the oil every 2 fill ups as the PCM flash might make the engine burn more oil.

Did notice less mpg after driving it a few times. Seemed a bit slower to me for some reason.

Got a Suzuki Verona rental car which is pretty much the worst car I have ever driven.

dynamho

Build date: Jan 2006
Model: RX-8 (U.S. model) 6MT Sport
Odo: 3271 at check in
Duty: weekend car

Purchased at: Wantagh Mazda (Wantagh, NY)
Recall serviced at: Wantagh Mazda

Dropped car off in the morning and picked it up after work.

Service performed: PCM Flash and Full Circle inspection. New plugs unnecessary, according to them.

Free gas/wash: Not really (detail follows)

Loaner car: Not really (detail follows)


I picked up the car after work (after hours pick up) and while driving home (23 miles away from dealership), car started and drove fine, but I notice a bumpy ride that graduated to a chatter that kept in time with wheel revs. I bring the car back to dealership so they can take a look at a problem that wasn't there before the recall service. The service dept closes at 5PM, so I leave the car with the dealer overnight. They didn't top up the car with gas BTW.

I take the train home because dealership doesn't have spare license plates to loan me a car.

I call them the next day and they find a metallic object that looks like a drywall anchor embedded in my tire. They fix it "for free".

My daily driver (Protege ES 02) is due for service, so I drive this to pick up the RX-8 and leave the Protege with the dealer overnight. I ask the service foreman about the gas and wash. He tells me Mazda told them to offer it at their discretion. I gave him a puzzled look and he says he'll top off the RX-8 right now. The problem is that I topped it off myself because it was on fumes. I ask him if I can give him my gas receipt so he can reimburse me, but he says it doesn't work that way. He was genuinely trying to help at this point. So I ask him to top off my Protege and he says, "Aha~ that's creative thinking". So I'm picking up my Protege with a full tank of gas today.

Thoughts on the new Flash: Feels the same. Starts same, idles same, and drives same. Perhaps feels better midrange, but it's probably my imagination. Can't comment on fuel economy yet.

aaronk56

Brought my RX8 in for the second since they performed the recall about a month ago. This time they said they replaced the front "CAT" and did nothing else. I haven't picked up the car yet but wondered do I have more than one CAT?