dozer

iTrader: (3)

way to go!!!! congrats on the new engine

NACer4lyf

iTrader: (1)

haha thats exactly what im affraid of. my car has 53000 hard starting, bogging and stuttering. no leaks thank god. but im waiting to take my car in because i just put an intake in about 2 months ago. lol and i dont feel like having to put the stock all back in again.

but another thing is its an 04 and i dont think it has gone to see if anything needed recalled. i bought it from a chevy dealership haha

Shijin-Kun

iTrader: (1)

yay for warranties!

NACer4lyf

iTrader: (1)

does replacing your spark plugs, wires, and coils on your own void the engine warrenty?

i just took my car yesterday and he said it would cost 651.94 to do what was listed above as well as i have a vacuum leak. also he said something about my car bucking and bogging down, doing that allows gas to leaking into my cat and he said if that goes bad it will be around 2k to fix.

i was kinda pissed about everything.

i asked if he checked the compression and stuff for the engine and he said we have to get this taken care of before he would check the engine. i feel like i was being BSed the whole time.

Mazurfer

No, it won't void the warranty, but keep detailed receipts on all of it and do it yourself as it will be a lot cheaper. There are lots of threads on here with links to the best prices. Even if it turns out to be the CAT, I would do it myself and save a ton. Good luck!

Spirograph

I'm a new 6-speed '04 owner w/ 2 previous owners and 36k miles. I'm almost positive that it's been run solely on 5W-20 since the oil cap says that and it's written in black Sharpie across the cover of the manual. So I'm taking care of the car as much as possible to extend it's life, but I'm worried that I'm driving a ticking time bomb in the AZ desert heat. I really love the car, but if I'm worried that Mazda is going to deny me my free engine replacement when mine craps out due to not being able to prove that it was properly maintained by previous owners. I created a profile on the mazda site with my VIN and it lists that there are no recalls, but it lists nothing in terms of maintenance records. Is there a way to get detailed documented maintenance charts from Mazda if the car was serviced mainly at dealerships? I know that it's been in a bunch because I saw listings on my Carfax, but it's not too detailed so I don't know much else other than that it was in, and when, but it doesn't list oil changes for instance. Someone mentioned earlier that the cars w/ dead engines from low compression amount to 3% of RX-8s, and that probably 75% of those are automatics in hot climates in '04 year. Well, I have the '04 and hot climate aspects covered; how many 6-speed '04s are dying in hot climates? Also, is the 3% of RX-8s going bad a valid number? From reading these forums for the past few weeks it seems like it's much higher than that.

Also, a reman replaces not just the rotors, but also the entire housing, correct? If my '04 dies and Mazda honors the warranty, is there a chance that I would get a remanned '05 or later as a replacement - is there any difference?

DaBatMan

is this legit? don't have the time to read through 28 pages.

Shijin-Kun

iTrader: (1)

yes the 100k mile warranty on the engine is real

DaBatMan

cool... i hadn't heard anything about it.

Shijin-Kun

iTrader: (1)

its legit, ive gotn an engine replaced by mazda with this warranty at 80k miles

Haze

Spirograph, I have 84K miles on an '04 6 speed using nothing but 5/20 dino oil. Your engine is not a "ticking time bomb" necessarily. Second, Mazda has been very good about honoring the powertrain warranty on the car, and it is under warranty for 100,000 miles or 8 years, whichever comes first.

Outside of the engine oil, make sure that the transmission and differential oils get changed as scheduled. That can cause real trouble, if they aren't done. I would also suggest reading up in the tech section of the forum for things that you might want to do. Enjoy that 8!

Spirograph

Well, my main concern isn't, "does Mazda honor the 100k rotor warranty", but specifically "does Mazda honor the 100k rotor warranty even if you have a car with 2 previous owners and no maintenance records from their collective 36k miles". There were some differing opinions about how complicated that would be if the dealer used that as a reason to not honor. I guess I was just fishing hoping that someone would chime in with, "hey, that happened to me and I had an attorney send a letter and the next day they swapped the engine" or something like that.

Thanks Haze, I'm glad to see that someone is nearing 100k on an '04 using 5w-20. Do you premix? My friend at work just offered to get me in contact with someone local from his car club who worked for Mazda for a few years and is currently swapping a Renesis into a Corolla GTS so he must know what he's doing. I'll feel a lot better knowing that I have someone local who I can call if I run into problems.

Shijin-Kun

iTrader: (1)

in my case i was the 3rd owner of the car, i had just bought the car and took it to mazda and they did a compression test, they found low compression and asked me for maintenance records and i told them i just bought the car so i dont have it. The dealer worked with mazda and they gave the ok. It really depends on what the dealer can work out with mazda.

jmc23200

The 8yr/100K mile warranty WILL carry over from owner to owner. However, the Dealer can void or refuse to do work under the warranty if ALL records are not provided. Keep records of your oil changes. If the dealer tries to void/refuse, just call the 800 MAZDA number and they can overide the local dealer. You could also just try another dealer.

Haze

Yeah, I get that. If the warranty is transferrable, as it is, then they have to assume that you don't have records from previous owners. To deny the warranty, they would have to find evidence of abuse or major engine mods. Otherwise, they really can't deny your powertrain warranty. I wouldn't worry about it too much until it actually comes up. I mean you have bought the car, and you have the records you have. I would also say that I have not heard of anyone being denied who did not heavily mod the engine.

In answer to your other question, I do not premix. I change the oil every 3,500 miles or so with Castrol GTX 5/20 and occassionally run some engine cleaner through the fuel system. It has worked for me, although plenty of people here will tell you that I am crazy to have treated my car this way. I will also say that just because I have an unrebuilt original engine at 84K miles does not mean that the seals won't go tomorrow. Get ot there and enjoy your 8!

jmc23200

I believe that is grounds to not do the warranty work. Aren't you suppose to change your oil every 3000miles or 3 months, which ever comes first? They could say that the oil breaks down a lot within those extra 500 miles causing excessive wear to engine components and blame the failure on your neglect. Just sayin.

pintodeluxe

Dear AZ,
I recently had my engine replaced under warranty at 54,000 miles. The car is an 04 manual transmission. Only the dealer could tell you what percentage of RX8's have needed engine replacements. I can tell you that my dealer in Vancouver, WA had not done ANY replacements prior to mine this month. Anyway, I was not the original owner either, and I did not have to prove anything regarding maintenance records (Although the car has had oil changes strictly every 3000 miles). Mine wasn't running bad actually, but it developed a small oil leak, and was hard to start once after it sat in the garage for a week. Mazda elected to replace the engine. Now it runs and drives great. The replacement includes housing, rotor, seals, gaskets, ECU reflash, and flywheel (but not clutch). I went ahead and had mine replaced since the engine was already coming out. The clutch was installed free of labor charge! The dealer was great about the whole thing. The 04-08 engines are all the same except ECU mapping, and minor emission differences in CA. The 09 manual makes 6 less hp than the earlier years.
I wouldn't worry about your engine if you're not having any symptoms.
Best of luck!

Haze

Well, no.

Schedule 1 in the Owner's manual requires an oil change every 7,500 miles or 6 months, which ever comes first. That is the easy duty schedule.

Schedule 2, the heavy duty schedule, requires oil changes every 5,000 miles or 4 months whichever comes first. I generally follow the heavy duty schedule in all things, but I found the oil changes to need to be done more frequently.

Assuming that you were right about the mileage, an argument that the oil breaks down a lot in 500 miles would hold as much water as a seive if they tried to use it IMHO, but it isn't an issue for me since I am significantly exceeding the factory reccomendantions.

A manufacturer can void a warranty for failure to change oil on time, but it is usually in clear cut cases where the oil hasn't been changed in thousands of miles beyond the manufacturers suggested periods. I had a friend who did this to a Buick in Highschool. He drove it for almost thirty thousand miles without a single service until it threw a piston. It was such a good car before he did that too. It was a complete shame. From the posts that I have read, Mazda has been pretty good at doing the engine replacements, and it depends a lot on the dealer, and its relationship with Mazda NA. I like Mazda warranty service. My aunt just had the transmission in her 6 replaced by the company even though the car had recently come out of warranty. That of course is just one experience, but it is pretty good.

You might want to read through the Owner's manual before posting and making a new owner more paranoid about his car than he might need to be. The RX8 has enough of a reputation as being fragile that it doesn't need help. I find that mine is pretty reliable, and it is still a complete gas to drive, which in the end is the most important thing right? Get out there and enjoy that 8!

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Tons of people changing oil on the "magic" every 3000 mile mark, but the engine STILL failed.

5w20 ftl ?

jmc23200

Rotary engines are going to fail for a plethora of reasons. I have seen the owners manual, I was just stating an excuse that I have seen the a dealer use. A call to Corporate always straightens things out though.

Who in there right mind would go 7,500 miles on 5w20? Do you know how black and thick the oil would be? Even adding some clean oild every 1,000 miles wouldn't save it. Or maybe thats why the engines fail, because they really want a thick oil. Something you would obtain over 7,500 miles with 5w20, or instantly with 10w30+

Naar

So I just bought my RX-8 Friday and they told me there was no warranty on the car at all! Which I Was a fool and bought there warranty and I was wondering since I just bought my 2004 RX-8 does this warranty apply for me also?

Thanks for replies

Naar

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

7500 miles is a bit too much.

but hmm your logic is kinda wrong.

an "worn out" 5w20 "thick, black" oil

is not the same as a

new, 10w30 or thicker oil.

and color is not a "wear level meter", you cannot tell if the oil is still good by color ...

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

depends.

you got a 2004. so most likely your bumper to bumper and powertrain warranty are over.

but you should still have 100K engine warranty, assume that you're still within 100K mark.

only way to find out, call Mazda.

Naar

Alright thanks... The car only has 21,143 on it and paid a total of 13,800$ for it :P

I8U

iTrader: (1)

^Just remember you'll hit the 8yr mark before you'll get close to the 100k mark with little miles on it now. Call Mazda, they will be able to tell you everything.