Frustrated with my brand new '10 RX8...been at the shop for 2 weeks now.
 

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Well, its back in the garage and fixed. Good to have my new car back.

I bought my wife a 2010 Sport AT on Nov 20th. The car had 100 miles, and the dealer gave me 9k off of sticker. We drive home. Wife notices a metallic rattle from around the dash/steering column that we didn't hear on the test drive. She was devastated.

I bring the car in on Wed, day before Thanksgiving. It had a whole 300 miles. It has been at the shop now for weeks, and they can't figure out what the rattle is. The service department has a call in to Mazda for assistance.

I love the car, I love the deal I got, and I just want to drive the damn thing. Nothing is more frustrating than buying a car, having it for 4 days, and not having it for 2 weeks.

Any idea what would cause a metal on metal buzz that happens around the dash? It happened sporadically, but most of the time during low speed around 40mph on rough pavement. You can smack the side of the dash with the door open and it would do it as well....
:dunno:

keys


jk bro. sorry to hear you're having probs

Is there a way you can record the noise or take some sort of video with your phone or something? This way we can hear the noise and it might spark some thoughts from someone.

I would if I still had the car. I hope Mazda calls me in a day or so with it fixed. I am the worlds easiest going person, and this is really starting to tick me off. I just want my brand new car back.

Is it similar to this:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-technical-trouble-shooting-160/static-sounds-high-rpms-202965/

Could also be pinging? Maybe they filled it with the wrong grade of gas?

No idea, give them a deadline and tell them if it's not fixed that you will get a lemon law atty. It doesn't seem like a big issue to fix, it's likely something minor but it's kind of hard to bench diagnos a problem. What sounds like metallic rattle could just be a lose bolt.

Be patient until you get it back. Maybe you can just take it back from the dealer for the time being. Then go to an RX8 meet in your area and have some of the RX8 folks check it out.

I will bet one of the experts on this forum can figure it out definitively. This forum is your best friend. Just be patient until the issue is solved and then you can enjoy your car.

I am trying to be patient. Its just that two weeks is a long time to pay for a car I can't use. I had Ford replace the engine in my F150 under warranty and that took them 2 days....

One big difference with the 8s is that Mazda tries to take care of them when they come in and usually special maintainance is reviewed by a regional rep. I am not saying that's the case here but usually that is why our cars have a longer turn around time. For example, took 2 days for them to flush my differential because they wanted the rep to make sure they didn't need to replace the whole thing.

Rattling like this has been brought up before.

It usually is small stones lodge in between the steering column and the dash.
Move it up and down and clean it.

However we do not know the sound so....

Many people report metal sounds when in fact they are not metal sounds.

It's a Wild Ass Guess without a video with sound even then you may have to be in the car.

Ever hear of American idle?

JA, we all hear a different tune.

Thought the same thing, my car was pinging its head off when I drove if off the showroom floor, I said the same thing to the salesman, you guys put in low octane gas (no we didn't he said), guess what went away once I used up the first full tank of gas and put in the correct octane..

BUT, this member is complaining of a noise at the dash and on rough road and low speed..

Personally, I would be thinking perhaps, exhaust Heat Shield possibly loose..

Is this rattle at certain RPM??,

Frankly, I do not know of anything around the steering wheel or dash that could cause a rattle like this as everything there is Electronic (NO moving parts) apart from the Steering Wheel and its Column, is the Steering Column height Adjuster clamp lever tightened?.

I take it the DEALER has heard the Rattle??

I am really running out of Ideas..

Sorry I cant help more..

BUT I would be contacting MNAO Directly by Phone and calmly telling them what is and has occurred, and that you want your brand new car back.

Yea, the dealer has heard it. The only reason why I am almost certain that its from the dash/column is that when the car is off and the door is open, I can thump the side of the dash and hear it. The dealer HAS heard the rattle, and said they were taking the dash down one piece at a time to find out what was making the noise.

My issue is that they seem to not be too concerned with keeping me updated. I have had to call them both times for updates. Its two weeks tomorrow. And like you just said, its a Brand NEW car. Less than 300 miles.

I just want my car back. Thank god I work tmw so I will be thinking of Army stuff instead of my wife's car.

On rare occasion, my 2009 has had a similar rattle, but not consistent enough to diagnose. It almost has a familiar sound to it, like keys or coins rattling in the little bin on the left side dash, and it seemed so close that I should have been able to reach out and touch the rattling part. But, I've never found it, and it usually doesn't do it at all, but when it does it can be quite annoying.

Hey my 2009 has the same rattle! I keep checking the little coin bin but it's not that. I haven't really spent too much time isolating it as it comes and goes. I usually always have the stereo turned up too so that doesnt help.

I personally would try to get the name of the mazda rep from your dealership and see if there is a way you could contact him to provide you with intermittent updates. I would assume he would be very concerned that a new car has spent 2 weeks in the shop shortly after its purchase. If the dealership is hard pressing on not providing you that information, then maybe its time to call MNAO

Im thinking its the blower motor.

I called the service center at 5pm today and they said the service manager just approved it being fixed and they are putting the car back together. It should be ready tommorow. We will see.

HEy sorry to hear about your case with your car, but a little advise here. Depending on the state you are in, if you buy a brand new car and the car goes back to the dealer before a certain amount of miles(whatever the range or limit im pretty sure your 100 miles falls in it). if it was financed or bought for cash you can get get back back in full any money you payed at signing if they cant fix your car within 30 days. In some states its 2 weeks.

Well, they just called and said its ready. Time to grab the wife and pick up the car. They said they want to drive it with me to make sure that I am happy....

We will see. I am crossing my fingers cause I like the damn thing.

Oh, and I did get Mazda North America involved. They just emailed me and said they called the service manager. Whatever thats worth...

Good Luck...

Just ONE thing...

NEVER...Never....NeVeR....Call an RX-8 a 'THING'...it is not a thing...this car has a sole!..:naughty:

Yes, Im sure the car has a Soul....

That being said its fixed and detailed for me. Im happy and so is the wife.

You get what you pay for... your $9000 off = rattling.

I paid MSRP back in 2004, and the car was wonderful.

Not to scare the OP, and I know you have a 2010..........but here is one of the best threads concerning rattles.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ghlight=rattle


Now, I've heard of everything in this area from the airbag in the steering wheel, to stuff in the storage bin, to that piece that holds the tweeter on the door, to actually it being the visor(believe it or not)......no, not the visor breaking, that's a whole other subject, to it being the actual gauge assembly mount.

Anyway.......to the OP.............What did the dealer say it was? Would be nice to share what they think it was!!!!

So what was the rattle?

I'm not surprised it took them that long to fix it. What did they do to repair it as I'm looking into getting and S2 this coming year?


On a side note...Replacing an engine is a straight forward deal. Finding a rattle is a pain in the ass and doesn't really pay anything to the techs. I'll be the 1st to tell that in service departments, warranty doesn't pay the techs very much to find and fix them. Since the techs don't make much money on repairing them, these vehicles tend to get pushed to the side so they can concentrate on repairing vehicles that will make them a paycheck. There's not one tech at ANY dealership that's gonna spend more than 1hr at a time trying to find a rattle. They can't afford to do that as they loose money. That's the unfortunate side of commission based work. Techs will always do the easier higher paying job 1st over something that will take 3-4hrs of their time while warranty will only pay them 1hr for it.

I work in a dealer and you are completely right, ive seen that numerous times, 2 weeks or more to find a rattle and fix it.

^^ this

Yeah, people with rattles (present and future) want to know !
(I'm beginning to suspect my trip odometer reset button)

I wish I could tell you what it was. They didnt tell me. I am sure that I could go back to the dealer and ask. When I picked up the car the guy that helped me didn't act like he knew much. I can say that its gone, and it must have been complicated since the tech called the Mazda tech reps a couple of times.

^ It's a great thing when Corporate gets involved. When I worked at Honda as a Service Advisor, anytime the techs got stumped on weird problems, they would call tech line. A lot of the time the experts at tech line would have a solution based on previous complaints from other techs across the nation. Older vehicles always had the solutions while with the new vehicles, you would always have to play the waiting game. Once it was apparent that there was a common high % problem, they would issue out a service bulletin showing exactly what the techs needed to do to repair the problem.

probably loose nuts or screws left under the dash... one of my friends, who is also a master rotary mechanic- even tho that's completely unrelated- used to work at an Infiniti dealership for many years. and, he said that he saw SO many new G35's come back to have their dashes removed because of "rattling," or "buzzing" noises. in every case it was some screws or nuts that either fell loose or were accidentally left in there from assembly. most customers just let it go he said. but, some do complain and insist on getting it fixed. the dealership just pads the labor hours and bills the manufacturer for their time. but, all of it has to be documented to a tee, or they refuse the warranty claim. corporate bs and shotty workmanship.

and, that's why we all hope to get a Wednesday car.

monday the assembly line guys are still kinda hung over.
tuesday they are drinking coffee and getting it together.
wednesday they are finally on the ball and concentrating on what they doing.
thursday they are already thinking about how they're getting to get drunk friday.
friday they just do whatever to get thru the day to go get drunk.

:shrugs:

sorry to hear about this painful experience, but happy to hear u got it fixed. $9K off the price does raise an eyebrow tho.

9K under sticker?

I wonder if I wait another month or 2 would I be able to get a 09 for 10 even 12 K under sticker?

if I can I would probably trade the one I have in, even tho it probably worth 5K or so.

try to press/touch softly mazda logo on the steering wheel/horn but dont make it horn~i did my one everytime when driving

My 2010 rattles like an '83 Caprice. From A pillar to A pillar and from stem to stern. I think the dash was affixed with bubble gum. Backing out of the driveway this morning in -7 degree air the creaking and cracking coming from the structure was horrendous.

Exactly.

I'm pretty sure I'm having the same exact rattle from the driver's side dashboard like the OP had. It comes & goes, and it usually comes when I'm going about 40 mph and on slightly bumpy roads. It's annoying as hell, and I might take it to the dealer. Though I'm afraid the dealer may not notice the rattling since it comes and goes, like I said.

Perhaps the rattling becomes more present during cold weather??

Any word on what was causing this, OP?

YEs, creaking happens more often in cold weather on EVERY car.

Yup ... the fun laws of expanding and contracting of metals, plastics, etc

Next time you hear the rattle on the left side of the dash, try grabbing the instrument binnacle. I think that's the source of my rattle, as the pod is a little loose in its mounting (feels like its the nature of the assembly, as if it is snapped in).

yeah. I get a bit of rattle at high speeds. It's not overpowering and it makes me not hear the passenger. Which for me is a good thing :)

Dude the whole car rattles. And the gas pedal is about 3" too far to the left, the armrests are either rock hard or too narrow---the list goes on...but the handling makes up for it. The dealer will not be able to solve a rattle. BTW, how did u get the car for 17 grand?

The center armrest IS rock hard! I was going to buy a leather one from overseas, instead I found an R3 one on eBay. The R3 one is leather and padded.

You might be able to find some S1 that had padded armrests used. I think Grand Touring models? I'm not 100% sure, but I think the S2 Grand Touring it was not padded or leather? Maybe someone with a S2 GT can verify?

Yup, looks like you guys stand correct. The temp has warmed up quite a bit lately, and the rattle is gone. Weather is fun stuff, I tell you.

Makes sense. I'll remember that when the rattle starts again.

Like others have mentioned, the cold temp could have very well been the cause of my rattling issue, so I guess the solution to fix the problem is out of my hand. Good thing is that it's gone for the time being.

Thanks for the help, guys. :)

Yup. Its lookin more and more like I shoulda sprung for an R3, woulda solved a lot of the shortcomings of the Sport, well except for the gas pedal and rattles lol.

I bought one of these :

http://tinyurl.com/4ph37dj

Nice and soft, rotor emblem moulded-in. Could use improved adhesive, especially in hot weather, but it works fine.

^^thanx just ordered one!

Here's the set-up I have to keep my leg from writhing in pain because of the not-far-enough to-the-right gas pedal. A well chosen piece of memory foam.

Does it allow the armrest to slide and open with it on? Hope it fits the S2, nothing else seems to.

It doesn't interfere with the slide / open functionality of the console at all. It's the same for S1 and S2, and the pad fits fine. You might want to add some extra strips of double sided tape ( sign tape would be best ), but I haven't really needed it yet.

Got mine. Looks good. But, as u said, I can't believe they didnt give us 2 more pieces of velcro for the sides. I mean the entire thing is held on only in the center with a half-inch wide strip! Cheap bastards!

fark, ive this exact same rattle by all accounts of the OP. Very disappointing there was nothing learned from the experience to share.

I've had my car in at dealer and on 2 occasions the can't find it. They admit to hearing it, it's very distinct and metallic on rougher roads. Really sounds like a loose screw.
I've tried for ages to press/push on this and that to stop it and today I did!! If i pull the steering wheel towards me with a bit of force, it stops! What can it be???

If it is the first 12,000 miles of a new RX8, Mazda will cover the cost of finding and fixing any rattles. I know because it happened to me with my dash on my 2008 40th Anniversary Edition. My dealership, Maple Shade (Turnersville, N.J) Mazda has great service people and they asked to take an extra day to take the whole dash apart, find the rattle, put it back together and drive it overnight to make sure the rattle was truly gone,driving it thoroughly. I was happy to let them do it, besides they schedule and give service customers a loaner car. They did the work and banished the dash rattle, and told me about Mazda's coverage for this in the first 12,000 miles.