Hello I am a new proud owner of a 2004 mazda rx8. The car has 93,000 KM and was well mainained by the previous owner. All the recalls have been done on this vehicle. Anyway, ive had the car for a few weeks now and love it. Car runs and drives good. Idles good. The check engine light came on and wanted to see if anyone can help and give me an idea of what it can be. I dont wanna take it to mazda yet because I know it can be expensive. Anyone have any ideas?

Car came certified and emission tested. Was certified at Erin Mills Mazda Dealer.

 

Not giving to much information to go on. Any symptoms? When did it come on/how?

 

You need to get the code read.

There is a nice collection of Rx8 owners here on this forum from the GTA.

Someone should be close to you, with an ODBII reader.

Bump, can someone help a brawtha out.

Oh unless you're a Sister ...

 

I was driving home from work on friday and it came on. There aren't any symptoms that Im aware of. Car drives good, pulls hard, starts up no problem, oil levels good, idles good, handles nice, no shaking, everything to me works good

lol im a brotha. I appreciate the help guys and I have lots of love for this car. I know without an ODBII reader there isnt much I can do. Im gonna see if my buddy has one and get it scanned. Ill post the code after and maybe thatll give me better help.

Thanks guys

 

I have one, and we can all meet at Red Maple Timmy's this Friday to get it checked out. It's Red Maple Drive and Hwy 7.

Did you get the code on start up? or in the middle of a drive? were you accelerating and it came on, or were you cruising? was it flashing, then solid? or just solid straight up?

 

Hey guys so I got the engine light checked.

The code was: P0420 Catalyst system Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1).

My buddy whose a mechanic said it can be the cat or the 02 sensors. He reved up the car for a bit and said the 02 sensors seem to be ok. Im not sure if its the cat either cause the car got emissions done in March 2012. He said it Could also have been glitched. He turned the engine light off and said pending on when it comes on again, go from there. Worst case if it does change the o2 sensors and cat. Anyway, Ive been driving it today and have shut it off and back on about 4 times, hasnt come on yet.

@Footman: Im down for a meet. Im off friday, lets get some rx8s together!. If it comes back on by then you can take a look. It came on while I was driving but I was ripping it at times..I cant really remember but I was more Cruising then rippin it. It came ON solid straight up. NO flashing.

 

My money is on the Catalytic Converter being toast.
04 and 05 are particularly notorious for frying their cat.

 

CAT is covered for 8 years or 128,000km. Since your car is 04, depending on when the car was purchased, you have less than 6 months to get it changed for free.

next time you get the code, if you are within warrant,y you should take it to dealer to get a free CAT changed before it's too late. A new CAT is about $2000.

a P0420 code, the dealer will have to change the CAT for you.

The P0420 code is determined, when the PCM detects a difference below a set threshold value between the front O2 and the rear O2 sensor. Normally there is a significant difference in value to demonstrate that the CAT is doing it's job. When these values become closer and closer overtime, the computer thinks your CAT is dying, and throws a code.

 

Yeah I just got a new cat $2,800 they quoted me for including labour and gaskets. But told them I was still under warranty. Dam stealership, trying to f me over.

 

Ya I should still be good cause the car was puchased end of july 2004. So im good till july 2012. Also the car has about 93,000 KM. Next time it comes on ill definitely go to the dealer. I just hope they dont charge me for scanning the car when I have already identified the problem.

Also, since I became the new owner of this car, I recieved a letter stating that my rx8 qualifies for the Clutch Pedal Assembly Warranty Extension Program.

Long story short....

"Mazda Corporation has decded to conduct a Special Service Program to extend the warranty coverage for the clutch pedal assembly on certain 2004-2009 Rx8 Vehicles. It is possible that the clutch pedal bracket may have a crack, causing an abnormal noise. If the clutch pedal continues to be operated with this condition, the clutch pedal bracket may break, changing the disengagement point of the clutch and possibly preventing of shifting gears. If your rx8 experiences this symptom make an appt with a mazda dealer. If your vehicle is fuctioning normally, there is no need to contact your dealer".

If any of you drive stick: Have any of you guys experienced this problem? Any thing to look out for? To me the clutch is good..

 

Won't cost you anything to check engine light if it ends up being covered by warranty.

 

SSP83 for clutch assembly. Just go and do it.

As for the diagnostic fee. Good luck with that. your diagnostic is not valid. Only the dealership's diagnostic qualifies for warranty claims. You may or may not need to pay for that initial scanning fee depending on how the dealer handles the situation.

 

The broken clutch assembly is a known issue. If you search you will find many threads on the topic.

 

If you really want to fight them and go overboard. What you do is you record a video of you doing it. The video has to contain you, your car, your VIN number/license plate, and a shot of you showing the CEL on the car, then showing you using your reader and getting the code pulled out. You bring the same code reader with you to the dealership.

With VIDEO evidence like that, it's really hard to argue against logic that you "doctored" the code, and they have to do the diagnostic on it themselves, rape you for $90 for a 5 minute job to pull the code out.

 

They can't do it unless they see the symptoms of the weak clutch....

 

That's right. They will inspect and replace if necessary. If nothing required its checked off as recall done.

 

Hey, Thanks for the feedback guys .

So this morning I was driving the car and the engine light came back on. I went to Mazda and dropped it off. They told me it is the cat, Code#: P0240. It is still covered under warranty so Im getting a brand new cat installed for free. He also said the only thing left on the warranty is the clutch assembly code #:SSP83. So there gonna check that for free for me as well. That way they can mark it down as recall done I guess.

Untop of everything else, Mazda mentioned that the ignition coils and spark plugs should probably be changed soon because that may have been the reason the cat went. (They were not checked though). If there not good they can ruin the new cat but From what I know the car runs and starts good. Pulls and works fine. Besides this cat issue, ive had no issues with it starting or engine light issues or anything else I can think of.

The ignition coils and spark plugs were changed a few years ago by the previous owner so I think im ok. Car has 93,520 KM. What do you guys suggest??

 

Rotaries can run well and start well until the day they don't.
Ignition coils and spark plugs are wear items on these cars, if it's been more than let's say 40,000km since the coils were changed, upgrading wouldn't be a bad idea, especially considering your cat just died (which is a symptom). Spark plugs every 30,000km are a good idea.

Basically, a common mode of failure is : coils weaken -> fuel doesn't burn as well -> unburned fuel kills the cat -> clogged cat increases exhaust pressure and temperature -> engine failure. Prevent the first problem and you avoid the complications.

Spend some time in the tech section of this site, there are things you need to know about these engines.

Hey and congrats on the purchase

 

Thanks bud . You think any mechanic can replace the ignition coils and spark plugs on these cars? Mazda charges alot but I know you gotta be careful with who works on these cars. Especially when it comes to the engine.

Know of any good mechanics ?

 

My buddy Dave at Dave's Garage in Oakville installed my BHR coils and plugs and does all my maintenance on my car. He's good, reliable and cheap.

 

Cool! Thanks