I'm somewhat surprised by the number of reported flooded engines. The Renesis is not as useable as it should be if it has to be run for 5 minutes whenever it is started: not user friendly. How many people have actually fallen foul of this problem?

 

Hasnt been an issue for me. And I have start/stopped the engine without the warm up a couple times by mistake, but still no flooding.

 

nope

 

No problem whatsoever.

 

actually I didn't personally, but I voted yes, because my dad flooded it when he moved spaces in our driveway.

 

Mine has kinda flooded, in that it doesn't start immediately on the first crank. However, I've found that it *WILL* start either on a longer first crank, or at the worst, on the second.

If this is really the flooding problem everyone is talking about, then I'm only marginally concerned about it.

 

Well it's 4:7 at the moment so 50% (approx) of you have had a problem. That's not good. Gosh, this is SO statistically valid.

 

My office is 2 miles from my house (short trips every day morning and night) -- have had the car 2 1/2 months and have never once have had a flooding problem.

 

2 miles is enough to warm it up. A start move, start is what causes the problems. It is something that is inheirent with the Rotary, they say it can get worse with time. It has to do with gas getting stuck in the chamber with the spark plugs. There are other threads on this. I always let mine warm up, so no flooding problems, it

 

No, that's not flooding. If your engine is flooded it won't start at all without taking special measures - described in other threads, and in the manual as well IIRC.

 

I have *forgot* a couple of times to let mine warm up after moving it around, but have had no issues.

 

I've shut it off cold several times, no problems

 

Had mine towed to the dealer monday when it wouldn't start. Flooded...had all plugs replaced, etc...

I was backing out of the garage and it just cut out...kinda scary. I think I flooded it when attempting to crank after it died.

 

Every morning I take the car out of the garage, then I turn it off and start it again 2-3 minutes later when I'm ready to leave for work. That's been going on for the 5-6 weeks since I bought the car and it hasn't flooded once. I don't know why people think this is a problem.

 

so.. your motor wont start if you drive your car off with out letting warm up? hmm i was unaware of this! i just start the car up and go... so.. uhh im a bit concerned now

 

No, it's stopping the engine while it's still cold that can cause flooding.

 

Jaycee,

I don't think it's a problem, I KNOW it's a problem. I normally don't have my new car towed unless there is a problem.

I had been starting mine and backing out of the garage the same way for 8 weeks before the fateful morning.

I hope it doesn't happen to you, but don't discount others having problems just because you haven't experienced it.

 

People think it's a problem because their engines have flooded. If your engine flooded you, too, would think its a problem. Don't belittle those others just because it hasn't (yet) happened to you.

 

Lesnman, don't be surprised that the problem appears to be so bad. In a forum like this the magnitude of problems tends to get magnified. Think of it like this: Would you expect someone to start a thread entitled "Hey, My Car Didn't Flood!?"

Of course not. So, if there are 1000's of participants in the forum and a few people report this, it looks like a big deal. Those who cars also flooded will jump on and say "Me too!" Those who's cars didn't flood aren't as interested in the thread, so they go to the next thread called "How to pickup chix in a '8."

For this reason, I'd say even the 8 percent currently showing in the poll is high. Everyone who had a flooded car who saw this poll will respond; they want to the world to know their woes. Of those who saw the poll without flooded cars, only some respond and other just passed it by. I wouldn't be a bit surprised in a scientific study if the number were closer to 2 percent.

This is a social phenonmenon that happens in any survey where the audience is self-selected. Those not interested in the topic don't respond, so they appear to be a smaller population than they really are.

 

it is interesting it doesn't happen all of the time. Rotary engines have always been prone to this problem. But not every engine, not every cold start/shut down incident, obviously. My dealer's tech guy, when pulling it off the truck (when it had been rolled off the truck) started it then killed it before he moved a few inches. After stating "it's just another car" with a smirk on his face. But it started right up. I was wondering what would happen as I watched. It was about 70 degrees that morning.

 

You point is valid. However, from a more objective point of view it's just as important to consider that in any other group of motorists, the incidence of this particular failure mode (unrecoverable flooding after cold-stop) probably approaches zero. This apparently is a well-known issue inherent in the design of the rotary, and it seems clear that it is beneficial to follow the recommended guidelines - No Cold Shutoffs - religiously.

For the uninitiated, I can understand that this might seem like a big usability issue. I don't think I would find it particularly inconvenient, but impressing the need on other drivers of the vehicle would probably be the sticking point. I might consider putting a label somewhere advising against cold shutdowns.

 

I'm quite sure this is a real problem. I've turned off ignition once when the engine was cold and... it flooded. I tried all the tricks mentioned here and elsewhere on the net and couldn't get it to start, even a week later.

Fortunately a local mechanic was able to remove and clean the plugs, and only then would my car start.

I've spoken to a few dealerships since. They're all familiar with it happening, two mentioned it happening on their own lots. This could be most common among the people who aren't active on the board?

What could Mazda do? I guess anything that would keep the engine running despite the drivers intention to shuit down the engine would be a fire risk? Perhaps a big panel light saying "Careful - Engine cold"?

 

Get a remote engine starter !

I have it intalled on my current car that is an automatic transmission and have been extremely happy with it for over a year now. Great for winter as you can have your car warmed up before you actually go out and drive off. It shuts off after 10 minutes automatically, which I think is enough to bring the engine to optimum operating temprature. I hardly ever crank up the engine manually now. I love this thing!

Don't know whether it can be installed in a manual transmission car (like u must leave the car in Neutral everytime). Does anyone one have it on a manual?

More importantly, has anyone tried to install one on their manual transmission RX-8?

 

does engine flooding happen more often in colder weathers? For example, has anyone in socal, az, or florida ever flooded their engines?

 

The fuel injected rotaries have always been prone to flooding. Not all cars, but all years. It does grow more frequent with mileage and age. Common with the second generation was injectors leaking down and flooding the chambers, especially on the *short drive*. Buildup in the injectors from poor quality gas would eventually cause them not to seal. When the motor was shut off, especially cold, the pressure on the line would push gas into the chambers, causing flooding if you tried to start the car within a few mins. Yes, the first cold snap would always bring 7's to the shop *on the hook*. One thing that always bothered me with the 3rd generation cars was the 250 rpm cranking speed. That's too slow and contributes, IMO to some of the flooding issues. Anway, keeping the car in a good state of tune, i.e. frequent change of spark plugs, not shutting it down cold and the occasional long trip are the best way to prevent flooding. It will remain to be seen how the 8 handles this issue when they get some miles on them.