I have a 3 year old 07 GT with about 16K miles on the clock. Recently I started to notice that when hitting a bump there is a loud thud that sounds like the suspension is hitting the bump stops. The same occurs when exiting a gas station or a parking lot even driving slowly over speed bumps. Some of the posts I read suggested that the RX8 rear suspension is weak and bottoming out is common but I've never experienced it before when driving the same roads. There is definitely something wrong.

The tire pressure was low but I pumped them up to 32 psi and same problem, if anything, it's worse (kind of makes sense I suppose).

A couple of questions:

1) Assuming it's springs or shocks, is the problem likely to be covered under warranty? I have about a month left on the 3 year bumper to bumper. A quick flick through the warranty book didn't give me any answers. I suspect they are a wear item but 16K miles seems very early to be having suspension issues...

2) If it's not covered by warranty, should I just go somewhere other than the dealer for a better deal and get after market? I don't really have a problem with the RX8's already excellent handling but if I can pick up better shocks or springs, cheaper or comparably priced than I may as well. I realize this is a fairly broad question so I'm not so much looking for specific brands etc. just a general feel for whether I should just stick with OEM or go after market if indeed the springs or shocks need replacing.

Thanks.

 

We have weak rear shock in the RX8.

Replace with KYB, they are the best srock replacement.

 

Well, I don't know what the actual problem is yet, so don't want to just start replacing components until I'm sure those parts will fix the issue.

 

It's not covered by warrenty. Shocks are a wear item.

 

Ah, thanks. I might give my mazda dealer a call and talk to them about it, worth a try I guess. I'm wondering if I should have them look at it, confirm the problem and go from there. If anything I can get a quote from them to use as a baseline when comparing to after market.

I can't believe that after 16K miles I could have a problem like this...

 

shocks IS covered under warranty BUT only bumper to bumper warranty.

so check and see if you're still under it.

Shocks can go bad with just couple of potholes hit. some takes 1. some brands will last longer than the others. but none of them are magic/bullet proof.

 

**** happens. there are many people with 8's shock that last forever (well not exactly forever but u get the idea)

 

yeah, that's not a particular criticism of the RX8, just needed to bitch basically. I've blown tires and dented rims on other cars from a hitting a pothole, so yeah, **** happens. I'm calling the dealer tomorrow, so I'll see what they say.

Other than that and a new battery I just put in, my RX8 has been perfect (knock on wood). 3 years later and it still makes me grin. Although recently a tenant of mine opened his garage and showed me his Evo 9... so tempting... all that trunk space and big back seats plus blistering performance.

 

you could change them yourself if they wont do it. Takes about an hour and a half. just make sure you use a sharpie to mark the alignment before you take it apart.

 

So far the Mazda dealer is saying it should be covered although they said if it's just the shocks then it won't be. We'll see on Wednesday morning why they take a look.

 

Ended up being a bad shock which the dealer replaced free of charge. There was also a twisted part described as "what the shock attaches to", the service advisor couldn't tell me the exact part name and I don't know enough about suspension to guess. They also applied a "lack of power" flash to the ECM that I hadn't heard of. Had the 15,000 mile service done which I did of course pay for. Overall they were very helpful and were happy to help me address every minor problem before the bumper to bumper warranty runs out in a few weeks.