Hello, I have owned my 8 for a couple months now, and the biggest problem I have with it is that it decides whether it wants Traction Control on or off. When I press the button and hold for 8 seconds, the DSC and trac control lights pop up like they should, but when I start it, an ABS light flashes above the DSC, and stays till the car starts, and as the ABS light goes off, so do the DSC and Trac lights. I am highly confused because I can't find anything about the problem. Help please.

I also am concerned because this last time I filled on gas, it almost feels like the gas is going down faster than it should. Usually when I hit half tank, Im right at about 100-110 miles, but this time I am just a couple bars above it and only at 70 miles. Should I be concerned about my engine? Or is it probably just some little thing?

Thank you for your help!

 

Welcome aboard

All lights should be off when the systems are active. The DSC light comes on when you turn DSC OFF (by single-pressing the DSC button, or holding it, which also triggers the Trac light), and the ABS light comes on when there is a problem with the ABS. Trac will only flash when DSC decides it needs to help you drive. All lights are on/flashing/doing a dance when the car is being started, don't worry about that.

The fuel mileage of a single tank isn't necessarily cause for concern, it depends how you've been driving, but how old are your spark plugs/wires/ignition coils? If the behaviour persists for several tanks, you may have an issue. 100-110 sounds about right on the first half tank.

 

Are you trying to turn traction control off and then start the car? If so, don't do that. Start the car first.

Holding the button for 8 seconds does not do what you think it does. According to the service manual, the ECU assumes there is a fault with the button itself and turns on the dash light to alert you to the "problem". The RX-8 does not have 2 stage switchable traction/stability control like many people think it does. It is either all on or all off.

Finally, why are you turning traction control off in the first place? The RX-8's traction control is very forgiving. It stays almost completely out of the way until you have gotten yourself in trouble, then steps in to save your *** and tell you to stop doing whatever it was you were doing. I spun into a curb about a year ago when swerving to miss another idiot who pulled out in front of me and cost myself $3,000 in repairs (did not want to claim on insurance). If I hadn't turned my traction control off, it would not have happened. I always leave it on now to keep that from happening again. In fact, I leave it on at the track too. I am a faster driver with it on, because I am more willing to explore the limits of grip. Traction control is a great thing on this car.

There are a lot of threads discussing mileage--including a sticky in this very subforum. Advanced search is your friend.

Like, say, this one:
https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...causes-249529/

.

 

The issues you call "dislikes" are well documented here on the forums. I suggest reading through the stickies in new owners froum.

 

To go along with what Steve said, this is a direct copy from the 2008 manual(I added bold to emphasis your concerns):

NOTE
l When DSC is on and you attempt to free the
vehicle when it is stuck, or drive it out of
freshly fallen snow, the TCS (part of the
DSC system) will activate. Depressing the
accelerator will not increase engine power
and freeing the vehicle may be difficult.
When this happens, turn off the TCS/DSC.
l If the TCS/DSC is off when the engine is
turned off, it automatically activates when
the ignition switch is turned on.
l Leaving the TCS/DSC on will provide the
best stability. When the TCS/DSC is off, the
TCS/DSC does not activate but the brake
LSD (Limited Slip Differentials) function
remains.
l If the DSC OFF switch is pressed and held
for a second or more, the TCS/DSC system
may become inoperative due to the system
detecting switch trouble. If the TCS/DSC
system becomes inoperative, the TCS/DSC
and the DSC OFF indicator lights
illuminate simultaneously. In this case, turn
off the engine and restart it to restore the
TCS/DSC.

 

I thought this was going to be the opposite of "The Little Things" thread.