So a few days ago my '04 RX8 with 40k miles wouldn't start, even with a jump. I had it towed to the dealership to have checked out. After $200 in labor and another $200 in parts, they told me that they had to replace all the spark plugs.

They then told me the root cause of the plugs dying was from me driving the car before it was warmed up, said it was a known requirement for the car. For the first year, I gave it a good couple of minutes to warm up, however at some point just gave it up. I'd never been explicitly told that driving right after turning on the car would cause real, immediate damage. This should really be something they tell you up front when you purchase the car.

Was everyone else already aware of this, did I just miss the boat, or do we have class action potential?

 

I never heard of that. I can see the spark plugs going bad if you shut off the car before its warmed up but not from driving right away without letting it warm up.

 

Can you spell BULLSHIT?

 

that would mean everytime you started your car in the cold your plugs would die

 

Chances are the plugs would have fouled & worn out. The fuel mix is quiet rich at low temps so perhaps you drove it from cold just a few km to work before shutting it back off, never giving the plugs a chance to clean from the rich/fouling mix.

I'm sure its in the owners manual to warm the engine before driving & any serious RX-8 owner abides by the warm-it-up policy regardless of what they are or are not told.

FWIW, plugs are really only good for 20k km - 25k km regardless of what you get told.

REgards