starter + Flooding
 

A few weeks ago my rx8 just stopped working in the middle of traffic because of flooding issues. So we had it towed to the mazda dealership. Well 2 weeks have passed and they have replaced the spark plugs and say everything is working fine but they say we need a new starter because it takes forever to start. He says that the starter can sometimes be responsible for the car flooding sometimes and wants to charge us 450$. Just trying to get response does a bad starter actually cause the car to flood?

We encourage people to replace the starter themselves since its stupid simple.
Here is a DIY on how to do it:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-starter-change-swap-dummies-189410/

The original starters ('04 & '05 models) are known to have issues (as you would have read in the link above).
This combined with a good battery usually takes car of starting issues.
If you still have starting issues after this (especially warm starts), then you should get a compression test too.

$450 for a new starter + labor isn't surprising from a dealer.
If you take the time to search around or call salvage yards, you may be able to find one cheaper and install it yourself.

Mazmart's starter is $340 or so I think. Brand new.

And yes, failing starter is certainly a viable cause for flooding.

See my flooding section in this thread: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/
2nd post, a bit over halfway down the post.

Damn RIWWP... I just glanced over that link you provided...
Gonna have to grab a drink and read it over.

:)

Figured it was time for one. TONS of new or soon-to-be owners asking basic questions about the 8 recently....and no where specific to address them.

Feel free to critique, suggest, or add. That is just mostly a collection of write-ups I've done over the past year or so that seem to work for new owners.