Flinky

hello everyone,

i am thinking of purchasing a new rx8, however after reading this forum i realize that the rx8 has many flooding problems especially during cold weathers. I understand this is due to the rotary engine, and I also know that you must let the car warm up before you shut off the engine or else you risk flooding the engine. Now what i would like to know is even if we do warm up the car before we shut off, does it 100% eliminate the flooding problem? or does it just reduce the chance of flooding?

Advance Thanks for everyones help

RotorWheeee

Remember this is a forum , where you will read a lot about a problem but that doesn't mean it's a consistent problem that every one runs into .I've had mine since June , No flooding .This is by far the typical situation for most. Despite that I try not to start the car move 20 feet and shut it down ,although I have done this on occasion still and no Flooding . As to warming up , if you're just going to drive off just start and drive like you would for any other car just take it easy on the throttle until it warms up ( again the same for any car). I've also getting the feeling the flooding is a bit more prominent in the US due to their undersized battery ( almost half the cranking amps). All that being said it's a great car , fun to drive and can seat four with more comfort then any other car in it's class .

daddyg

i've had mine for 5 months (mar 04 build) and no problems whatsoever with flooding or any problems starting, and this includes some outdoor starts in some cold winter nights. if it is cold out, i just let it idle for 2-3 minutes before driving.

SilverBullitt

Since December 2nd 2003 and no problem at all.. Still in love with her like the first day i got her... even more :D


SB
Waiting for RB intake... grrrrrrr!!!!

mikefrombarrie

Dont forget, that the car doesnt have the 238Hp that mazda says it does... more like 210Hp!

Carlo

I have had my 2004 TiGrey since August 04. haven't had a problem yet. Starts firtst thing everymorning. Trick to making sure it starts is when u turn the key wait 10 seconds, gets everything all primed then fire it up..works like a charm

Jag

I would say that if the car is warmed up it completely eliminates the chance of flooding. I've had mine since Dec/03 and its never flooded. I've found that you can shut it off cold briefly if you start it up again shortly after, such as drving from your house to the Timmy's on the corner and turning it off for 5 minutes without being warmed up, I've done this several times.

I think the flooding stories are so wide spread only because you always hear from people that have problems, the people that never have a problem would rarely make a post about it.

khtm

9 months of no flooding or hard starts.

Where do you live, Flinky?

rotten42

After watching the Canadian part of the forum for the winter, I would say that only the Qubec guys had problems with flooding....not sure why. I've had my car since July and no problems with flooding....even with -30c weather.

blue freeze

Bought the car in Dec 2004. Parked outside at work all in day 8 hours minimum in very cold weather (windchill hitting -50) in January, never flooded once. I was always very careful to warm up fully, as mentioned. With snow tires, the car did amazingly well in snow too.

I had a few electrical gremlins that mysteriously cleared up on their own within minutes / hours - ie: immobilizer not recognizing my key, power steering going out, headlights not coming on - these were all just after a huge snowfall and since they were just one time issues that happened within a span of a week - I have decided too much snow got packed up under the hood and something that shouldn't, got wet. However, I am no mechanic so who knows. (Could not get in to Mazda to get checked out and nothing like this ever happened again since).

Regardless, other than this, the car has been great for winter driving and I would not let the fear of flooding play any factor when purchasing the car.

MrJynx

had mine jun 2004. no issues even on really cold days



Mrjynx

MetroJay

I'm also a prospective buyer.

So here's a hypothetical case. If during the winter, I had my rx8 parked outside all night. In the morning for whatever reason I want to park it on the street or in the garage, when I start the car and move it, I should let the temp guage reach its normal operating level before shutting off the car?

Another question. To those with GT models using snow tires in the winter, how would you compare the RX8's safety in winter conditions as opposed to FWD cars you have driven in winter with snow tires?

Gord96BRG

I've owned my RX-8 since July 03 (20 months) - never flooded once.

It is incorrect to say that the RX-8 has MANY flooding problems - it was vulnerable to occasional flooding problems under very specific circumstances. Mazda has reduced the likelyhood since the early cars (like mine) with the later flash updates to the ECU programming. It is actually very rare now to hear of someone flooding their RX-8.

Further - it is easy to prevent (note all of us who have NEVER flooded it). The car doesn't have to be fully warmed up, just a couple of notches above C on the temp gauge is fine (ie 3 or 4 minutes should do it). Also, if not fully warmed up and you want to shut down, just rev to about 3 or 4 thousand RPM, then turn the key off. That lets the engine spin down with no fuel being added, so all the fuel is evacuated from the rotor chambers before the engine stops turning.

Re winter handling with winter tires - it's better than any of the FWD cars I owned previously, with an excellent ABS system, traction control, and stability controls. I much prefer driving the RX-8 in winter to any FWD car, and actually prefer it to driving my Audi allroad quattro (AWD) with winter tires unless the snow is very deep.

Regards,
Gordon

herbert

I have 12,500kms on my since June '04 and haven't flooded.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it necessarily has to do with it being winter and cold outside. It has to do with engine temperature. Even it's the summer , I would warm up the engine before shutting it down. Believe me, having to take the car around the block a couple of times to warm it up is not a big deal. I look forward to having to take the car for a spin.

To your second question: I prefer my GT (with winter tires, abs, traction control) to my fwd '92 Mx-3 with all seasons - used to have snow tires on the MX-3 but too much of a pain to change every 6 months for that kind of car.

Gord: that's the first time I've heard it only has to be above the C. I thought it had to be up to halfway ???

Danielson

The RX8 automatic come with 210 hp but the manual is 238 hp, just in case someone wonder ....And if you change your computer program by mazda, it's goes back to 250 hp (like it supposed to be)

BlueFrenzy

Danielson, I believe what you are quoting is the HP the Mazda advertises (engine HP). When dynoed, people are getting lower values at the wheel ... around 180-200 for MT.

No flooding problems here either. Like RotorWheeee said, people with experiencing issues with their car are more likely to post their problems. You don't see many threads on "My RX8 has no problems". Well, I guess this thread is turning into that.

mikefrombarrie

wow, I wish our cars had 250hp!

MetroJay

Well, the more I learn about the RX8, the more I'm convinced that its the perfect car for me. :D :D :D

orange0303

one more stupid thing that mazda didnt do

DIDN'T MIRROR THE HANDBRAKE

Hard-Body

Got mine around Halloween, love it to death. It is the most fun car I've owned {I've owned muscle cars, Preludes, Integra, Celicas} but mostly BECAUSE it is a standard. This car would be a lot less fun without the stick shift that's for sure. I can't even see the reason for making a vehicle of this type only to turn around and lame it out with an automatic transmission.

I've never flooded, hard started, and it drives better than all of my FWD carsin the winter with winter tires on. It isn't in the same league as my Expedition though, but that's hardly surprising.
I think if you purchase one you will be more happy with each day you get the opportunity to take it out. I imagine myself with a pasted on permagrin [like the Joker] after a couple of years of this

Flinky

I live in Toronto so the winter isn't THAT bad compared to other parts of Canada, however there is still one concern because if i were to purchase an 8, then more than likely the 8 will be sitting outside all the time as i don't have a garage. Will this be a problem? I really really want this car (it was love at first sight), but i would want a reliable car more than a stylish one. Its really a pain in the rear when you need to go somewhere urgent and the car conks on ya!

rotten42

Maybe the only thing I waould do or ask the dealer for is an upgraded battery. The battery is weak in this car.

MrJynx

I have no garage either, and when the snow is bad or when I'm out of the country it sits there for a week or so in the cold. No issues starting, I was actually quite surprised I didn't have any problems with the car being outside in the cold.

Only thing is when it's REAL cold, the bloody handbrake doesn't stay down, it comes up very very slightly(turns off the daylights, so i have rest my hand on it sometimes to keep it down) but once the car is warmed up it doesn't do that.


MrJynx

BB8guy

Mr Jynx, I had that same problem with the handbrake... when i took it into for the first oil change, i told them about all the little things..... the handbrake issue is gone now.. I got my brake pads replaced.. still screaches but not as much.... only thing that annoys the crap out of me is the clutch. it squeeks sometimes.. when you press it down. But people tell me a lot of sports cars have the same problem and that i shouldn't llub it because it'll just mess up the tranny.
anybody else have a squeeky clutch?

MrJynx

i have an appointment tomorrow morning for them to check my brakes/oil change/n-flash and i just discovered another prob with my handbrake (it's being evil!). Sometime when it's fully up and the day times are off, i hear this electrical shorting out sound from within the glove box and my day times will flash on and off very fast, i put tha brake down then back up and it stops.. doesn't happen very often, only twice in the last month or so.. They must fix that, don't want my car to catch fire! But besides that everything has been flawless


MrJynx