RENE

I know there are similar thread for this topic. However, they' ve gotten long and I wanted to track my own thread responses.

My cat. convert. needs to be replaced? When the dealer called Irvine, CA Tech Line, they told him this is a problem they know about and are trying to address the issue.

I don't know about anyone else but (like I said in a reply on in the discussion forum), there are too many major recalls/bulletins on the RX-8. Cat. Convert., Oil Pan, lack of HP, airbags???????

Does this worry anyone? I'm not panicing yet but I'm not going to be the fool who paid alot of money for a defective sports car with major mechanical issues? It is the RX-8's first year but I've never seen problems of this magnitude in this quantity.

Your insite is appreciated................

nosubstitutec4s

every first year car has its special "quirks" We had a 97 BMW 528i, which was the first year they used a new body style, and we had nothign with problems with it. we reluctantly leased a 99 528i, which had zero problems. a manufacture can not pin point all the problems that a mass production car will have just by testing out a select few early productiom models. Only time can tell, but i have a feeling that the 8 will go down with the 7 as one of the legendry cheap sports cars.

zoom44

AHH THE FORD FOCUS IS THE REIGNING CHAMP WITH THE MOST RECALLS FOR A FIRST YEAR VEHICLE. THERE ARE MANY OTHER VEHICLES IN LINE BEHIND IT BEFORE YOU GET TO THE RX-8.

Boilermaker

Did you get a CEL? I ask because I think I might have a cat problem, after driving my 8 , I can look under the car and the cat is glowing red.

93rdcurrent

You go Boilermaker, I guess that means that you're hitting 9k rpms periodically. The cat should get hot the only concern I would have would be a loss of power, really rough idle, or a rotten egg smell. Those are tell-tale signs that your cat is having issues.

JimW

Out of curiousity, what were the tell tale signs that the catalytic converter was going bad.

RENE

TELL TALE SIGNS OF A BAD CAT CONV:

My top speed won't go above 85 mph, the RPM's flutter at 3500 and 6500, the check engine light stayed on, and GAS mileage is 14mpg Highway.

KANE

Winning_BlueRX8

Dood you have a lemon. Not all of us are experiencing all these problems you speak of. In fact, a lot of us have experienced zero problems. The tilt feature of my Nav didn't work, and my A/C blows too cold. Those are my problems. Yours is obviously a special case. Maybe it's time to look into lemon laws?

RENE

It's funny though. I have 2 friends with the 8. One had to have the convertor replaced and the other has a RPM trouble as well.
I don't think it is just me.

Give it some time. I think when alot of our members hit veteran mileage, we are going to realize that we unfortunately bought a Ford with Mazda tags.

Oh wait, Ford owns Mazda. Sorry if I sound bitter but I'm visiting the dealer more than I change my damn socks.

Oh ya, Mazda Consumer Affairs has many, many complaints about the RX-8. Major complaints from pissed of customers.

Let's just say, I don't think it will be in the Car and Driver 10 Best list next year and rightfully so.

blue flash

what is the #of recalls you can have before it becomes a lemon?the 1 thing that pisses me off about the dealership in my town is they have 04-8's on the lot right now. and won't do the recalls until someone purchases the car because mazda wont pay them to do the repairs until a customer complains.i would hope mazda would want a sastisfied customer instead of getting alot of complaints.

bluesunlion

This is BS, IMHO. As long as its an actual recall and not a TSB, they kinda have to do it.

The TSB's are more of a gray area, although the M flash was suggested by mazda to be done to everyone.

bluesunlion

What do you consider veteran mileage?

rxeightr

RENE,
Sorry for your issues, but I am not buying your theory that the RX-8 has been a bad 1st year vehicle.

On the contrary, I personally have been quite impressed with how well the vast majority of RX-8's are doing.

I have 17,000 + miles now, and bought last July. You are the exception with your problems.

fxdsconv2000

I also have 17,000 + miles and the only issue I ever had was a rattle in the door.

RENE

Glad to hear your success stories, guys. I wish I could say the same. However, Mazda has already admitted to me on the phone (after yelling at multiple managers) that they are having many complaints per how many 8's being sold. They are even facing civil lawsuits that will probably be settled out of court to avoid media coverage (they didn't tell me that but my friend is a big gun in the test automobile industry). They couldn't deny it; the recalls and bulletins don't lie. Expect to see something on the cat conv. soon---the calls are rolling into cali. about that.

Oh ya, if you are having major gas mileage problems (like me), the catylitic Convert. may be the problem. A tech told me the RX-7 had cat problems all the time. WOW, don't address that before you come out with a new model---that would be too hard!


If my cat. replacement doesn't fix my car, I will be joining the class action suit against mazda to recover my money lost in gas, frustration, time, etc.

RENE

Oh ya, Veteran Mileage would be 60K+. Let's just say, we'll see if the cat. conv. lasts 100K. Which I believe is why they lost 10HP coming to the US. Emissions standards state cat. life must be over 100K. Don't quote me exactly, I read it in a post. Do a search to find that post.

RENE

Slickvic

Also if you remember, all RX-8s had to get reflashed when they arrived stateside to address a cat longevity issue. Mazda decided to change the fuel mapping to dump more unburned fuel which resulted in lower mileage. However, my understanding is that the cat will actually run hotter as the hydrocarbons are burned up in the cat with the assistance of the air injector. So I'm confused. How exactly did Mazda believe they were addressing the cat converter longevity?
One has to wonder how bad the communications breakdown is with the Mazda engineers. Did non of them have access to current EPA standards and OBD2 programming during the final testing and sign off?

P.S. I am just thinking out loud. Take this with a grain of salt.

bluesunlion

IIRC, If the cat burns out before 100K, you have an emissions warranty to cover it, regardless of whether or not you are out of regular bumper to bumper warranty.

RENE, i'm sorry you feel so badly about your car, but I feel that much of your additional angst is based on what you read on the forums. It's a first year car. I'm expecting a few foibles. Thus far, i'm at 5K miles in a little under 2 months, and everything is fine, other than i'd like the A/C to be cooler, which can be addressed with a TSB whenever I get around to it.


For whoever asked, recalls do not a lemon make. It has to do with your state law, and the number of times you've brought the vehicle in for the same problem, and in some cases, duration of service.

as an aside,
I've heard this all before. Practically all the same things were complained about when the WRX came out. ("the tranny sucks, I threw a CEL, the stereo sucks, i have interior rattles, I'm suing!etc.") If you're an early adopter, you get to be one of the first kids on the block with a cool new toy, but you also get some of the bugs that don't get ironed out.

I hope that whatever those people who have major problems do, they get the end result that satisfies them.

Atacdad

Off topic, but...

I think us Southerners should get free tint to help the A/C. Seriously. I've noticed on overcast days (its still 85 degrees) that the A/C in my 8 is fine...particularly so if its on recirc, I've had to take it off of recirc to keep from freezing. Other days when its sunny as only Texas and AZ can be, no amount of recirc would keep it cold inside.
I've decided my next "enhancement" will be window tinting for solar gain control.

zoomed

Mine was a Dec 2003 car, and very reliable so far. This has been a tough car to get right out of the box. I think most cars have more carryover engineering that this one. But they seem to be getting through the issues.

A/C works fine. One of the problems is that is it has to work at 1000 rpm and at 9000 rpm without too much drag or blowing up. We have regular 100 degree days here and on the highway the A/C works as well as any car. In town, it can be a little warm. I bet most people having an issue have a problem with that part described elsewhere than some avoidable design problems.

drseid

No Rene, it definitely is not just you... I just had my CAT replaced after less than 1000 miles (CEL light started it off at 600 miles). I have had several of the other problems as well... A/C amplifier, aceleration at start, wheel scraping noise etc, and my build date was after the VIN number range of all of the issues listed in the various TSMs (go figure)... So I definitely feel your pain, and share many of your lemon concerns... But then I drive the car when it is *not* in the shop, and it reminds me once again why I am willing to go through the service issue pain... It just is such a blast to drive. :-)

When Mazda fixes all of these issues, they will definitely have even more of a winner on their hands... But I agree, it has been a tough first month of ownership for me service-wise.

---Dave

DViOuS

the rx8 isnt the only car to have problems. my previous car, a 2002 VW GTi which has been around for a while, definitely not a 1st year model had CEL problems where the car dropped dead on me in the middle of the freeway, apparently two of the cylinders failed and werent firing, so couldnt accelerate and caused the car to shake like crazy, apparently a known problem, but they dont fix it until it happens to fail...

I had another CEL problem where service department told me it was okay to drive until next service since it was not a 'blinking' CEL, later they fixed some sensor...

3rd problem occured in summer at night after clubbing, at 4am, i decided to open my driver side window and bang, it dropped entirely inside my door, rattled everytime i turned... apparently it was too hot and the window rails were made of plastic and melted...

this was like a 2nd or 3rd year model car and had these problems... so i dont think the rx8 is any different, and will mostlikely continue to have these teethin problems till a few year later...

RENE

DRSEID,

Thanks for sharing the cat problem. I thought my buddies and I were flying solo on this one.

I get mine replaced this Friday. Date was pushed up. RX technician. I have AC trouble as well. It's cool but not cold.

KANE

frank621

Im right there with all you guys....
my car has now been in the shop for 30 days because i am waiting for an AC amplifier. My catalyic convertic crumbled the first night i got the car with 16 miles on it. I have done all the recalls and its still a POS. I will be getting rid of the car as soon as i get it back, if i ever get it back!!!!

RENE

Thank you frank621. Other members think there is nothing wrong. If there was nothing wrong, why does Mazda have a class action lawsuit against them for the RX8 already. Keep this link at the top and watch the complaints flow in.

I know new cars have problems but that's BS. These are major problems and Mazda should be ashamed they let certain defective models out for sale.

Cat Conv, Air Bags: These are serious problems that can cost lives. Yes, your cat can catch on fire from overheating. And yes, it has happened with the RX-7 model. Not to mention, the AC, tailights, oil pan.

I love the way my car overall appeal but these problems are pissing me off big time. I hope I come on hear next week and tell you everything is fixed and all is well. My gut tells me that is not going to happen but knock on wood for me, will you guys????