Just curious?

I used to own a 92 Dodge Stealth Twin Turbo, and it was solid!

So this car is alot different to me.
Im not sure if its just crappy material on this vehicle or if all new cars are following this way.

1) Broke passenger seat side plastic skirt thing (Friend 5'11 240lbs) sat down in it, and it broke a piece out.

2) The console between front seats, I opened it one day and it was stuck because I had my wallet in there, so I pushed on it to loosen it, and it broke the rail way part of it, so now its wobbly.

3) Driver Side Door rattles something wicked when music is on

4) Some rattle noise behind driver wheel somewhere

5) Car vibrates in nuetral pretty harsh sometimes. Turn off air and it gets little better, or give little gas and it smooths out

Just seems like a lot of cheap materials involved. Any suggestions?

My 92 Stealth had it's share of problems, but not a single cosmetic issue and engine was always solid. only issue I had with it was turbo issues and a ball bearing. That' 8 years of owning it used!

My RX-8 is an 04, woman driver who NEVER drove it, and took really good care of it. I know her very well, and I drove it all the time when she owned it.

She sold the car to me because she was worried about the rattle in neutral
I bought it because I knew it was probably the engine mount

 

I've experienced most of the interior things you mentioned, I'm not sure, the interior looks great but yeah, it likes to break. Cars under the new car warranty can generally get all that stuff fixed for free, but afterwords it can be annoying/$$.

You're probably right on the motor mounts, but the shifter does normally vibrate and you can feel the idle bounce a bit from time to time. If you still have original mounts though, then they likely do need replaced and that does help.

 

Your interior woes don't seem typical. There are three interior trouble spots: the sun visor, the latch that keeps the console cover from sliding forward, and the parking brake lever boot in cold weather. There are "Rattle hunt" threads, but I the three I mention are the only ones that really make it into general discussion. All fixed by the '06 model, more or less.

I'm 6', 235 pounds and have not broken the driver's seat. I have a buddy who's about 6'4", 280 pounds, who has not broken the passenger seat in hundreds of miles of passengering.

Any time left on the bumper-to-bumper warranty? If so, get the engine mounts looked at before that runs out.

Ken

 

I experienced every little thing you mentioned. That plastic side thing pisses me off!!

My sun roof also rattles, oh well its a Mazda. It still brings a smile to my face and makes my heart drop when I hear that little BEEEEEEEEEEP!

 

maybe he'll start it, then forget something in the house and shut it off real quick.

Thats always good.

 

hehe :P I'm aware of the flooding so nice try hehe

I love this car, its awesome handling is one of a kind, and I really love the interior but I do admit sometimes Im thinking to myself, man oh man too much plastic!!!!

my bumper to bumper is over now, just on powertrain til jan 09 so everything i do i gotta fix myself!

 

My car has been pretty good with interior issues, but I only bought it a couple of months ago.

I do, though, get this intermitant buzzy kind of sound from the area where the driver side doors meet. I would be sooooo happy if I could track that one down...

 

Search Rattle Hunt. Polak covered all of this and it would help you all fix them.

 

The plastic on the side of the passenger seat will snap back on, just give it a push. Those all seem like normal problem, you just got ALL of the normal problems in one car, which is not normal.

 

I've been in 2 RX8s and quite a number of friends G35's and two 350z's at dealerships. THe RX8 seems to have pretty good build quality and fit & finish compared to Nissan/Infiniti's at least. I never thought an RX8 would have quality problems when it comes to interior materials. Everything felt nice and solid and very well textured.

 

Yes

I have owned alot of cars in my life, due to the RX8, i will never own another Mazda.

1. Engine replaced and light on again within 2k miles
2. All the interior issues you have mentioned (rattle on door may be a coin, go in from the bottom of the panel and pry away, coin will rattle if you hit the bottom)
3. seat broke as well
4. lid on the ashtray - spring came out that holds it up
5. button on the rear glass defroster - cracked and broke off. have to replace the whole damn thing if i want it back
6. visors
7. heat from the center console. yes it is a sports car, but how many other sports cars have heat issues because the cat is too close? heat shield doesnt work
8. pizza oven trunk
9. all these known issues, and instead of fixing them, will only cover under warrenty. example: rear lights - seals break down. instead of fixing the issue, they will only cover repair until war is up, then screw the purchaser.



In my opinion, with all these other car makers out there putting out good product, Mazda needs to step it up and put some quality in their product. especially on their signature vehicle

the rx8 and Mazda are POS and, besides the people i have met through it, regret ever purchasing it.

 

Did you know there is a service bulletin for this?

http://www.finishlineperformance.com...29-06-1651.pdf

 

the rx8 interior is very nice and not cheap in any sense.

describing a 92 dodge stealth as "solid" bring back memories of a very cheap yet tight interior. Also reminds me of civics and accents.

I love the rx8 interior, only thing i broke is the plastic tab on the ebrake handle.

 

Sorry to hear all this. The only car I've ever own with any interior issues was my 87 Supra Turbo with 160K miles on it. Never had a single interior issue in my 300ZX, 240SX, or Subaru WRX. And I think my 8 has a better interior than any of those cars so I don't expect any issues.

 

Mine was replaced 3 times under warranty.

My motor mounts replaced under warranty.

Bummer your having these problems. Didn't see the milage on your car, maybe I missed it? Is it still under warranty?

 

Ohh...

My car has 55,000KM on it
So thats around 30,000 miles I guess.

Overall Im happy, just like I guess everyone is saying, were a bit shocked at some of the issues that everyone is having.

I feel sorry for Apostle about saying he completely regrets buying his vehicle. I am in no means saying that about mine. I love it more then I loved my Dodge Stealth even though that stealth was so much faster! Nothing compares to the handling of this baby

But I remember in my college days having the Stealth packed with friends driving to a house party... and it was never a thing!

I can promise you, if I stacked the RX-8 with 4-5 buddies, and if someone had to sit on the center column.... I'd be scared that when everyone was out of the car, a few things would be broken for sure! And to me, that just isnt right!

If it can handle the roads bumps, turns and conditions, it should be able to handle the typical drivers daily abuse!