rx8wanted

$550 dollars later, and after being informed that it's not part of the powertrain warranty, I'm absolutely disgusted with Mazda Canada's warranty coverage.

My 2005 Mazda RX8 has only 21,500 kilometers on it. I'm going to escalate the issue up to the head of Mazda Canada - Don Romano. Hopefully he can help.

Footman

iTrader: (2)

need to rev the engine more.

Thumper3322

Damn! with only 21k km on it, that is BS!

Silver06

I assume you mean SSV (Secondary Shutter Valve).

Specifically, what was the problem? Was the solenoid (not user-servicable) replaced, or the vacuum actuator replaced, or did they just remove and clean the SSV?

Check if you have the crankcase breather lines in the 2004 configuration - (hose from just under the oil filler cap to the accordion hose in the intake) or the updated routing. See this TSB: http://www.finishlineperformance.com...50-06-1664.pdf

My personal opinion is that the older PCV hose routing contributes to the gumming up of the SSV, especially when the weather gets below freezing.

I agree that you should speak with both the dealer and with Mazda Canada. Perhaps with a positive (but firm) attitude, there may be some possibility of a "Goodwill Adjustment" - especially if you have a history of doing business with this dealer.

Good luck!

rx8wanted

Silver 06 - I deal with Gerry Gordon Mazda in Winnipeg whose service department is by far the worst I've ever encountered - Lynette specifically.

They just charged me a $122 diagnostic fee to confirm the issue P2070/SSV. On top of that is the $550 fee for the following:

"Confirmed check engine light to be on / SSolenoid stuck open - brought car in shop and hooked up scan tool. retrieved code P2070/SSV Solenoid stuck open inspected SSV Solenoid and confirmed it to be stuck open. After reading service bulletin, found a modified SSV Solenoid and intake cleaning procedure. Parts are on order".

All of this for 1 night outside in Winnipeg (plugged in).

Silver - can I wait until until I move to Vancouver (downtown) next month to do the repair there?

If so, I'd be grateful if you could please recommend a good dealer in Vancouver. PS - thanks very much for your advice last week. I'm writing a letter to the head of Mazda Canada - Don Romano to arrive at a solution.

Daemos

Gerry Gordon's has provided me with more than exceptional service...I've been to dealers in Alberta and none of the ones i've gone to in Alberta work as hard as GG's.

Like I said I have almost 70K km I've left the car not plugged into anything for over 24 hours in winter OUTSIDE in like -35C weather and I can jump in and the car fires up (then it goes through the warm up procedure) *shrugs* either you have a lemon, or there are other issues.

Don't blame the dealership that you are out of warranty.

I doubt this was caused by 'one night of outside parking' there must be other factors, perhaps, a lemon, maintenance, how hard you drive the car, etc.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Bring it to Vancouver...stop by...I'll fix it for you...will likely take about 15min....PM me when you get here. It's better to be stuck open than closed

Cost you a club membership

rx8wanted

Daemos - I can assure you the dealership's service level is lacking. Gautier's service level was outstanding vs GG. Do you know that after a $122 diagnostic fee and a $520 quote that I was refused a shuttle service? I'm thunderstruck. There are a few very good guys in the service dept there but as the saying goes, a team is only as strong as the weakest link.

rx8wanted

Thanks Dannobre - very kind of you - I will get the membership. Appreciated.

Daemos

^I've never been refused a shuttle service for the most minute things.

But you are still pointing the finger at the wrong people. YOUR CAR IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY.

I have stated other things, but you haven't even bothered answering them.

So my questions are as follows:
What is your regular maintenance schedule? Oil changes, spark plug changes, battery checks. do you premix, let it warm up, how short are your drives etc?
How do you drive your car? Do you drive it and keep it under 5000 rpm? or do you drive it pretty hard.
What was the reason for the SSV failure? Carbon build up? If it's carbon build up what footman said is 100% true.

You also have done nothing to refute that 'one night of parking outside' doesn't do **** all to the car, as many people park outside in sub zero freezing temperatures and nothing bad has happened. But you stated in another post the car just simply does not like the cold weather. Like I said my car has almost 70k km, I park outside ALL the time in Winnipeg winters, sometimes I forget to plug it in.

I get exceptional service from GG's mazda, you telling me that their service sucks, well I know many people who go there and also get the same quality of service I receive.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

The solenoid could be frozen...going from outside to inside and back again is the worst thing you can do..it would be better for it to be outside all the time....less condensation problems. At least with the sealed fuel systems in the new cars it doesn't result in as much condensation in the fuel tank as the old cars had.

It might start working when you get here......but putting in a new (used) solenoid should stop the problem. Might need to free the valve as well..

Silver06

^well offered Dan!

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Much less painful than this

rx8wanted

"So my questions are as follows:
What is your regular maintenance schedule? Oil changes, spark plug changes, battery checks. do you premix, let it warm up, how short are your drives etc?
How do you drive your car? Do you drive it and keep it under 5000 rpm? or do you drive it pretty hard.
What was the reason for the SSV failure? Carbon build up? If it's carbon build up what footman said is 100% true."

Daemos - lets agree to disagree on the dealership service level. It's been 5 hours and I'm still waiting to hear back from the service manager on a simple question (cause and whether I can drive the car without harm until I move to Vancouver) - the cause was never explained to me (carbon, etc), just a demand for my credit card. When I asked for a quick call from the mechanic for an explanation - the reply is that the service manager would call.

I don't drive the car hard (mostly under 5k RPMs) and it's mostly for short drives - footman is probably right. Oil changes are routine but to my knowledge, the spark plugs have only been replaced once in 4 years. I'm not sure when the battery was last checked. The problem developed when I moved from indoor heated parking to outside (1 night) and back indoors (at least that's when the engine light appeared for the 1st time ever).

When indoors I let it idle for a minute or so before starting. After spending approx 3 hours indoors (after the night outside, plugged in) and upon car start, the light came on. dannobe is likely spot on. So you're right, it seems like it's the indoor / outdoor / indoor combo, not the cold specifically.

Daemos

That's a coincidence that it happened outside. You wouldn't want your physician to diagnosis without trying to dig deeper into an issue right? (for an extreme example you have a cough, and you were outside for a while, so maybe it's a cold, but if they don't dig deeper say you were hanging out with someone with bronchitis, they may misdiagnosis, and give you improper treatment)

rotaries love to be revved, and driving short distances is BAD for it as well (usually doesn't give it enough time to get to operating temp enough). The mantra is "redline a day keeps the carbon away" The major engine failures that seem to be with the RX8 (from my understanding) are those who drive their cars very lightly.

But I will agree yoru experience with the dealership is not good at all, they should of given you a reason for what happened.

In this case it could be a combination of what dannobre said, but I'd assume moving it back inside would thaw out the parts (allowing them to operate correctly again), so it might also be carbon build up.

tiffalei

D= my car had this problem too. I had to pay them TWICE to take apart the whole engine to figure out it was the solenoid sticking or something. This was back in the summer.. and I got charged around $500 for it to be replaced as well. This was at Signature Mazda in Richmond. Ah well, better to fix it than leave it in any case.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

I think they replace the whole UIM when they fix this at a dealer...