First, props to Premier Mazda near Round Rock. I came in with my list of complaints and the TSB's and they did the work without question.

I now have the new starter, battery, and hotter plug combo. The car sounds like someone air starting a jet now, and starts in about 1 second.

I have new brakes again. The had gone to squealing like piglets and now they are once again new.

Anyone with even a hint of hard starting should get the new starter package.

 

i tried to get them to do the hard start fix for me although i've never flooded. unfortunately, they did not come through. do u have any suggestions on how i can get them to do this for me? i've had them check my squealing brakes also... nothing! said they couldn't reproduce the squeal. which is what they told me about the flooding issue as well. on the other hand, i did get my rotors painted & also had my center console lid replaced as well...

 

I guess I've been lucky in my dealerships. My old one in GA was very good too. If they won't fix it on verbal, I'm not sure what you can do. Flood it in front of their bay doors?

Sorry to hear you are having bad luck though.

 

You got your rotors painted? What went wrong to have them do that? Just curious.. Oh, my first tuneup is coming up at the dealership. I brought the car in once already to get brake pads replaced, and I'm thinking of mentioning the starting thing. It sometimes takes 10 cranks for it to start- do you guys think I should mention that and push for a new starter? Any of you remember how much the first tuneup costs btw?

 

There's a whole thread on the rusty rotor issue. It seems some dealers are painting them under warranty while others aren't.
I mentioned it to my dealer last year and they painted them under warranty no questions asked. If not there are some threads where owners have done this themselves. I'm considering repainting mine black when I paint the calipers.


https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t=rusty+rotors

 

Ah gotcha. Fortunately I don't think I've had that problem. Give me another 3k and we'll see haha.

 

Try calling the Mazda 800 number. Mazda USA is more likely to OK the starter/battery/plugs upgrade than a lot of dealerships.

 

haha nice feature list msrecant!

 

I just got the whole shebang as per TSB 01-004/05 (Engine Cranks No Start); I took a little video clip of the engine starting a few minutes ago. At first, I didn't believe the thread starter about the difference with the starter....now, its a different story.

Here it is Small Clip - please only Right Click & Save as...

 

had the battery and the spark plugs replaced under warranty @ 12,000 miles only hard start no so often but it was worth the shot.

Had the engine mounts replaced due to a lot of vibration at idle @ 13,000 miles, also had my front brakes replaced at 6,000 miles for squealing.

Right tail light replaced for moisture @ 14,000 miles, inside center console trim replaced a couple of times.

Recall for heat shield @ 8,000 miles to many damn things and this is an 05 thank god for that warranty.

Went back a couple of weeks ago for brakes squealing again but since I have the rotors painted they said it was because of the paint what's up with that?

 

Yup, that's the sound alright. Sweet!

 

FYI: on the 2006 models, the Rotor hub areas are factory painted along with the Brake calipers.

 

Just had my car at Autex Mazda (Keene NH)

Great dealership!

Went there because my car has lost a bit of "pep" and seems a bit slower. Confirmed when I was on the interstate @ 6500 RPMs in 5th gear and struggling to reach 120 mph. Friend with an 8 drove it and said it wasn't right for sure. He thought is was a plugged CAT... He has had his replaced on his 04' as well. No CEL by the way.

Unfortunately they weren't able to get the flow computer to tell them the CAT was bad BUT they mentioned that I hadn't had the new "starter upgrade package". I was like... ok cool.

They said that because of the weak starter causing fuel build up it also caused fouled plugs and also led to damaged CATs. SOOO they are going to tell MAZDA that I need the starter upgrade in my car and that because of the starter they are also going to say the CAT is suspect and needs to be replaced too so I can get the whole thing done at once.

They said if Mazda agrees to this then they will find a way to produce the numbers they need.

SWEET!

This dealer rocks!
Just wanted to let you all know about this in case there are any "suspect" CATS out there.

 

I just got my car back from the dealership and love the new starter and the new flash. Much better low end and tip in.

Vince

 

Just had this done yesterday. I had been lazy getting the gas tank recall done, but finally took it in. I also mentioned I'd been having some hard starting issues, and asked them to check which flash I had. Without batting an eye, they replaced the starter, battery and plugs. Getting the latest flash, an oil change, the recall, and the afformentioned parts replaced, I was in and out in about 3 hours! Awesome. The way the 8 fires up with these upgrades is incredible...I almost want to pull over, stop the engine, then start it back up just to hear the damn thing. Anyway, great upgrade. I'm very happy.

 

Getting mine done today. I actually brought my car in for a slew of problems including that "rattling tin can" noise from the passenger side, the snapping noise when turning tightly, and not being able to shift under high rpm's from 1st to 2nd. They called me today to let me know their progress, and asked if they could keep it another day to replicated that 1st to 2nd problem. I was reading this thread at the time and had just watched that video clip. I was like "Now that I think of it, I've been having a hard time starting it recently." My dealer was like "Oh. There's a fix for that." I'm pretty happy with them so far :-)

On another note, anyone know any sure-fire way to make that 1st to 2nd shift problem happen? It happens for me only at inopportune times, like when I need to accelerate.

 

wow, Ultra, that's exactly my post. Brought my car in last Thursday for the recalls and complained about the weak starts. As it turns out, when I was starting it to drive to the dealer it barely cranked over. Got the oil changed too. In at 2, out at 5:30.

 

Confirmed with my dealer yesterday. Mazda approved the new starter fix AND a brand new CAT!

Sweetness! CAT is on BO but they are going to do everything all at once!

Anyone have any issues with their clutch slipping? I bought mine with 15K on it and it now has 22K on it and under normal driving, when I get out of the car I can smell the damn clutch.

The previous owner was a woman, which I thought would be a good thing but maybe not!

 

I'm glad my post helped so many folks out. The beauty of this forum is spreading a helpful word.

 

I got mine a few weeks ago and they reflashed my car when they did it.
A few days ago, my oil light came on. I had probably driven 500 miles or so since I got the new starter so I found it odd. What was more interesting was that it was exactly a quart low, instead of 1.5 or 1.7 when it normally comes on, it came on at 1 quart low.
I wonder if they changed the oil warning to warn earlier with the latest flash.
Anyone else seen this behavior? It makes sense. Whey let the car run dry?

Also, I wonder if I can get them to replace my brakes again. I've had these ones for about 15k miles and since they hit 10k they've squealed like mad.

Maybe i'll call the dealer again..

 

I had mine done a week after I bought my car. A used 04. I just went in to my dealer and asked them to do it and they said they would :D

 

Suburban Mazda in Farmington Hills MI gave me a replacement starter and battery under warranty for my 2.5 year old 2004 a couple of months ago after a Michigan winter with some very weak starts. It is amazing how much faster my RX8 starts with the upgrades.

 

Hmm.. I took mine in to get it done, among other things, and they said my car wasn't producing the codes they needed for mazda usa to pay for the replacement. WTF? Anyone know if they are just BS-ing me, or if there is some way to make the codes happen? I hate my new $30k sounding like an old truck when I start it up.

 

This is a new one and gets the prize for originality. If you read the "Engine cranks no start" service bulletin, the starter/battery/plug work is done based primarily on your VIN. Call the Mazda USA 800 number and request the upgrade.

 

Interesting- I read the tech service bulletin, and it looks like my vin wouldn't apply to this repair. I wonder what's up with that? My car definitely takes like 3 seconds to start. Is that normal for those of you with the high-power starter?