TriRx-8

First let me start by saying I Love my Rx8!
So Im all excited to finally take my car out from hibernation but of course it wont start... my battery was fine so i assumed that it was flooded. I was right.
Not wanting to tinker with it myself I called a flatbed from CAA to bring it to Primamazda, thinking the de-flooding would be coverd by my warranty.
Well, its not! sO BASICALLY THEY CHARGED ME 3H OF LABOUR WHICH EQUALS ABOUT $330!!!!

WTF THIS IS BS! ITS NOT MY FAULT THE CAR FLOODED ITS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE RX8! SO SHOULD'NT IT BE UNDER WARRANTY!

I tried to persue the dealership to give me some kind of discount but that didnt work.... I mean, come on $330 to pull out a fuse and crank, and cleaning the plugs!!!

I also explained to him that this would'nt prevent it from happening again and if it does do i again get charged $300??? I also aked why they didnt change the plugs while they had them out ??? they have almost 40k on them now and after the flooding they might have fouled a bit... i think they charge 150 to change the plugs they should have Changed them and included it into the price!!!Basically I feel as if i got ripped off.


This really ruined my week especially bc i was saving to buy some new shoes for my 8!

mark833

HAHAHA..

Sorry but I was at Prima Mazda on Tuesday and I heard the service guy there talking to someone on the phone to someone who flooded their RX8. I laughed as he explained it to you and told you it would be $330.

Was that you?

**P.S. I feel sorry for you, but during the winter you should have started it a couple times and ALSO remember that you MUST let the car warm up to at least the middle of the needle on the coolant temperature before it is shut off again.

mark833

Also, do you go to school in Woodbridge too??

I go to Emily Carr Secondary.

prospectjtaz

iTrader: (1)

Hey man, feel the pain, I always thought they would cover you for one flood, maybe its only state side. Did they tell you it was 330? You could fight it if they didnt tell you anything upfront. Take it up to Mazda Canada, worth the attempt, your shelling out 330. Keep up posted.

rafaga

iTrader: (1)

You did get ripped off. Do a search on the forum and you'll find the TSB for that issue. Show it to the dealership and don't leave without a refund.

My in-laws flooded mine and the dealership de-flooded it and put the upgraded starter under warranty without any questions. Haven't had a problem since.

twins

sorry this might b a stupid question but how often and what causes your rx8 to flood??

i currently drive a rx7. but i'm thinkin of purchasing a rx8 soon and just wanted more info thankz

TurboEight

iTrader: (1)

suppose to be better then the rx7's at "not" flooding..

NEO can chime in

twins

lol...i wouldn't know, i had my rx7 for 2 years and only drove it like 4 time. first time i drove it my engine blow. during the summer i had it rebuilt and now i'm waiting for tuning.

dozer

iTrader: (3)

that sux!!! next time take it to the street, push it and then try n start it....

turborx8

iTrader: (1)

You should have asked if it was covered before they started working on your car.

You can de-flood the engine yourself by push starting.

They should have called you and asked if you wanted new plugs. In my opinion they MUST be replaced anytime you flood the engine.

Been there, done that and fixed it myself.

Wargoose

Generally, starting the engine cold and then shutting it down before it has had time to reach operating temperature. In order to start when cold, the fuel management system injects a lot of fuel into the chamber. If you shut it down prematurely, that unburnt fuel stays in there, fouling your plugs and preventing a restart until you get rid of the fuel and dry out (or replace) the plugs.

If it happens, Mazda's recommendation is to hold down the gas pedal while cranking the engine for 10 seconds, then releasing the gas pedal and cranking it for another 10 and repeating until it starts. The idea is that, with the pedal down you prevent more fuel from being injected (pedal down tells the system to stop injecting at startup) and the cranking action will purge the unspent fuel from the chambers (keep in mind this unburnt fuel is hard on the cat).

The other issue with this method on earlier RX-8's is that the starter motor and battery were not up to the task, as all that cranking can drain the battery and burn out the starter, so a TSB was issued to upgrade those two items along with the new sparkplug design to help get the car started again should this occur.

twins

thankz wargoose

HiTMaNN

First a TSB is not covered under warranty (it is up to the dealership if they want to charge for it or not.) A TSB is just a Bulletein Mazda puts out for Known problems of the car and how techs can assist with fixing this problem.

What do you expect? Like come on really? You left your car not running for god knows how long (you said hibernation so I don't know how long you left it) and you expect it just to start right up?

You need to take ownership yourself this is a known issue with some cars so how about you search on these forums and find the 1000+ threads on how to de flood your car. This would have taken you 20 - 40 minuts depending how good you are and you would have learned something about your car.

Weren't you given an estimate on how much it would have cost? So why vent now all of a sudden?

All I got to say is man up and do it yourself next time..... Oh yah and change the plugs

prospectjtaz

iTrader: (1)

Good luck trying to get back your money if you do succeed, one time a dealership took my money, after realizing they were at fault, wouldnt refund my cash, gave me `credit` bs.

oakdaleyite

Got the same fouled plugs - user error will cost you $475 story from my dealership this week, when my 04 GT wouldn't start all of a sudden. I immediately called Mazda Warranty, explained my case and got them to waive the cost as a one-time customer relations thang even though I'd already had the previous engine issue recall performed. Can you say, we know we have a serious design problem, so we're gonna candy coat it for the squeaky wheel but not admit fault?

Anyway, I also got the MSP16 recall performed and now see a noticable improvement in pick up.

Ready to trade ---

prospectjtaz

iTrader: (1)

i went in today, douchebags keep sayin there is no msp16 update. I got call Mazda Canada, douches wont give me the new updated starter or the oil stick and fix my freaking rattle inthe sunroof.

TriRx-8

I spoke with MAZDA Canada explained to them the story....they got back to me a while later and basically said "sorry cant help " and neither will the dealership bc i dont have enough credit with them???? What Credit do they want me to have? how many times should i bring in a car that has only 35k on it??? If i had credidt with them there would be a problem!

On another note the updated starter wont get changed by mazda either but i believe the newer models have it... i drove a friends '07 the other day and the starter sounds like its spinning a lot faster and the car started alot faster?

prospectjtaz

iTrader: (1)

car does start faster, i`m gonna sotp by mazda cnada perosally

climacus

You guys need to try other dealerships. They all suck, but some suck less than the others.

prospectjtaz

iTrader: (1)

do you guys know what the ffp77 and ffp67 recalls are

Joe RX-8

iTrader: (1)

I just pulled the cover off my 2004 after a winter, and it did the same thing. It was on a trickle charger the last 6 months and had fuel stabilizer in the gas, so I figured I was safe. I cranked it, it half-fired once then died. Now nothing but cranking. I tried the de-choking procedure several times, but the engine just spins and spins. I had the battery and starter replaced with the TSB however long ago the TSB came out. Grrrr...

I was going to call Mazda Roadside, but now with all grief the dealership is giving people, maybe I'll give it another day or two and see if I can get it to start myself...

Neo

I've never had my car flood before. So I can only imagine how aggravating that can be.
RX-7's aren't known to flood as badly as the 8's.
I do remember once where I had gone to a client site and turned the car off. It only took me 5min's to fix the problem. Came back outside to start the car, and she hesitated. Tried to catch, and then nothing but cranking. I sat there for 3 min's. Gave it a bit of time, tried to crank it again, as soon as I felt the engine trying to catch I floored the gas pedal. She slowly cleared her throat, and started to run again. There was a lot of black smoke, but the car caught.
From then on, whenever I turn the car off, I give it a bit of a blip before turning it off. Just as the revs fall, I turn the ignition off.
Never had a problem again.

I know it might not work with the 8's because of the e-throttle.

I do know the new starter helps immensely regarding this issue.

05rx8mazda

iTrader: (4)

Mine flooded once it was hard to get it started.. I just kept tryin to do the De choke steps and the battery kept dying and once i gave it jumper with another car it still wouldnt start just crank..

did that step about 15 times for 10 seconds and then stopping for 30 seconds to let the battery charge up

didnt fould the plugs or anything.. car had 35K miles on it.. once it started i had to give it gas to keep it on and it sounded nasty lol and it stinked.. once it started idling normal i drove it home =]]

BTW this happened while i was getting my interior detailed

Footman

iTrader: (2)

run the engine at 4000rpm for 2 seconds in neutral, then off gas, and shut off simultaneously.

Joe RX-8

iTrader: (1)

Tried de-choking again today, but no luck. Called Mazda Roadside. Apparently I am out of my "free" period and they want $60 to talk to me (and they take credit cards over the phone...about as friendly as calling Microsoft for support...).

New set of plugs is probably cheaper than towing. Guess I'm ordering plugs.