Tried to start my car this morning in -25 weather and it turned over fine, just wouldn't connect and go. I tired for a good 10 seconds or so. Hopefully i didn't flood it. Seeing as this car doesn't have a block heater i doubt that i will get it running before it gets warmed up a bit.

 

That's odd, I have never had a problem even in last year's -40 weather. Battery?

I was stuck outside my garage for about 15 minutes of rowing back and forth(bye bye to my clutch) in 15cm of snow, with an exam at 8am...Yeah, 8am exam on a Saturday...

 

My car has never really started good....always takes 3 or 4 cranks to get going so i am guessing that it was just too much for it. I didn't do the "hold the gas pedal all the way to the floor to start it" though. I think when it warms up on Tuesday that is my best bet to getting it started ?

 

Being that this is the first winter my 8 has seen, it started just fine in this cold weather. Turned over a couple more times than normal but didn't groan about it. No worries about the snow either, the blizzaks help out enormously. I took my experience from driving my old 87 RX-7 TII in the winter and got good winter tires, too bad they don't make studded tires for the stock rims.
With all my good luck in the calgary weather this weekend the dam power steering light came on and now I have to drive with manual steering until I can take it back to Mazda on monday. Odd that the cold would cause such a problem but I do have a guess. When the body kit was put on I'm thinking they bumped some electrical connection with my power steering and a driving today pulled them apart just enough to cause a malfunction. Of course this is just a guess.
My car does have a heater but haven't plugged it in yet. I want to see what this thing is capable of in the winter.

 

I didn't think they came with block heaters.....i wonder if mine has one. That is probably what happened. When i did my intake my steering light came on and then i had manual steering as well. I think it is a pretty bad connection to start with. Where is your plug located for the block heater?

 

my car is totally stock and I ran into the same problem last year (on the coldest day) with the power steering (actually it was the traction control first, and then the pwr steering)... I called the dealer, the told me to shut the car off for 5 minutes and then restart the car... and repeat the process until the warning lights go off. It worked after a couple of tries... I think the electronics in the 8 just doesn't like the really really cold temperatures.

 

The dealer said they just started coming out with them, not sure what year, but mines an 08. I found the cord on the front driver's side by the headlight when I opened the hood. Very obvious, so if you have one then you'll have no trouble seeing it. If you don't then check out canadian tire for an oil pan heater. I had a VW TDI before with no heater as well, and you can imagine trying to start a diesel in -40. I got a pan heater, 225 watt I believe. After that, no issues starting at all. I had read horror stories of people having their cars light on fire from them because debris would get packed between it and the belly cover, so I checked mine before every winter.

 

Getting the oil pan heater installed by the dealer Thursday. Figured this wont be the last time this year that it is going to touch -30 and i am going to saskatchewan next week and it is almost always colder there. I just can't waist time with a car that wont start.

Total price:
Parts ~150
Labour 120(1 hour)

Going to try starting it tomorrow afternoon with another car connected to it(i think it is going to be -10). Probably have to do the de flooding procedure(gas pedal all the way down for 10 seconds while cranking then turn the car off and wait for a minute and try and start it normally.)

 

Do you mind sharing which dealership you are using to get one installed...called North Hill and they said they don't do it...thankx.

 

Sunridge mazda

Make sure you ask for the oil pan heater, it is different than a block heater. However the guy at sunridge tried to tell me that the rx8 doesn't have a block so how could it have a block heater, lol.

 

I grabbed a 250W oil pan heater from Canadian Tire, was going to take it friends house to install it, but this morning it's a no-start. So the car is adorning the driveway, battery is in the kitchen hooked up to the charger. Gah. Hopefully it will go in the "warm" weather tomorrow.

 

I wonder what watt heater they will put on at the dealership. He said that it is enough to keep the oil at about 5 degrees above freezing.

 

I started the car for the first time after the weekend this morning (I just decided to use my gf's car over the weekend). The car started surprisingly strong... it caught on right away with no problem. The only thing is that it idled at 3000 rpm for a while making a cloudy garage and a lot of noise... lol.

 

good luck with the car tomorrow !

im in the same boat. it wouldt start yesterday and its going to be warmer tomorrow so im hoping it starts.
ama is quoting 8 hours for a tow . *******

i was also debating on what oil pan heater to get; the 125W or 250W.
according to the manufactures web page the 125W is good for between 1 - 4.5L of oil while the 250W is good for between 4.5 - 25L .
i think the 250W would be the better choice, and its only $20 more than the 125W

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...f2c1fe787812e6

 

Ya i saw that at Canadian tire but couldn't be bothered with laying in the snow to get it all hooked up as i do not have a garage.

 

I just tried again with the warm, charged battery. No go. Think I must be flooded. Hopefully it won't be 8 hours for a tow when it won't go tomorrow!

 

Make sure when you try and start it tomorrow you hold the gas pedal to the floor while cranking the engine for about 10 seconds then turn the key off and wait for a minute or two and try and start the car normally with no foot on the gas. Repeat a couple times if it doesn't go, only if it doesn't go after that get a tow. I am really hoping that mine will start tomorrow as well .

 

Thanks. Good luck.

 

thats probably the same one that the dealer is going to put on your car.
im going to install mine some time this week (i have a garage)

i could do yours at the same time i do mine if you like ?
pm me for details

paying someone $120 dollars to install this thing is WAY to much .

heres what you do :
-sand off paint on oil pan
-clean surface
-peel backing on heating element
-stick it on the oil pan
-seal heating element with some silicone
-route cord to front of vehicle

did yours just turn over and not fire ?
how long did you crank it for ?

 

Thanks for the offer RXallan but in this case i am on a tight budget of time as i am leaving to Saskatchewan for Christmas holidays on Friday and only have time to drop it off at the dealers for them to do it while i am at work(assuming it starts tomorrow ).

Thanks again for the offer, i really do appreciate it.

 

My car is parked in the garage above zero. Drove it for dinner yesterday and it definitely wasnt too happy to start outside in the cold, one try no problem tho.

gotta love RWD + winter tires, its like driving in the rally stage of calgary

 

Yup, as long as you take it slow it teaches you a thing or two about driving/car control as well.

 

well **** guys

ama finally showed up (called at 2pm this afternoon) , we tried pulling the fuel pump fuse and cranking it a couple times with no success
im in edmonton and its -12 , so good luck with your car(s) tomorrow !
if you guys have newer models with the redesigned starter maybe you'll have better luck

ps . im thinking cold oil was the problem. i use non-synthetic in my car, and have bottles of both non-synthetic and synthetic in my trunk. i tried pouring them onto the ground and found that the synthetic was very thin, and poured as if warm, where as the non-synthetic was very thick and poured like syrup. i think im going to put in some 0w-30 at the same time i install my pan heater.

any who , its now on a flat-bed to the dealer where it will hopefully sit inside and start with no issues.

 

I am glad that i live in an apartment with underground heated parking. I havent driven my car for a week now.

 

it's been -45 here with windchill...I've been parking outside for the past few days...(4 cars and a 2 car garage)

No issues what so ever...