Welcome, sorry about your issues.
I don't think I've heard of this particular problem
Maybe someone else has.
That's a strange one, it's early yet, maybe someone else has heard of it.
I'm curious to find out myself.

 

My guess is that is the ignition system getting locked by the immobilizer. It is NOT supposed to lock during start up so the module isn't functioning correctly.

2 things are important details here.

1. The exact voltage and life of the battery and if it is colder, then temp outside.
-Also if you have a stereo or anything that touches any wiring, ditch it now. Even attached to the BOSE amp such as a High level to RCA, ditch it.
-Throw your battery on 2 amp or trickle charge in a warm area for around 5 hours. The colder it is, the harder it is far a "medium" battery to survive if it has sulfides shorting the plates. Most of the time you can't tell till you put a load on it. DO NOT test your alternator by removing the battery while it is running or you will fry it.
2. How quickly the key light is blinking. There are 3 or 4 different blinking patterns for what means what.
-Key has a dead battery / Communication Failure
-Module Failure / immobilizer stuck
-Canbus failure/ground issue.

The instrument panel uses the same grounding as the immobilizer, so I would take your negative terminal off the battery, grind it on the post, and clean the inside of the negative contacts. Then clean the point of contact by the exhaust manifold and the washer bottle. I also added an additional ground from battery to under the airbox and it seemed to fix some weird issues I was having, but I still have a few running around.

 

I'm not familiar with the card key.
Is their is a light flashing on the key or dash?
The loud banging is the weird part.
I had a nonstart issue last week with the key light (security light) flashing on the dash, which is a sign of the immobilizer functioning, and no starter response, but everything else had power.
I had a coil wire shorting out, blowing the 15a engine fuse, which was why the immobilizer function was displayed.
I had no loud banging though, whatever that is.
Try checking the engine fuse first.

 

Is the coil short fixed ? Fully charge you car battery,but if it is two yrs old or older, get a new one. Do you live in a cold area, and is the car left outside or garaged. Constant exposure to cold, and/or an electrical short or poor ground, or a tail light left on, or even just the juice needed to keep the alarm on WILL drain down an RX8 battery if not corrected and if your RX8 has not been driven (and electrical system charged ) in awhile. Many here on this forum know that from our own past experiences.

Be sure the battery is changed in the smart key. What year is your RX8, and what type key do you have? Is the key the original from Mazda or is it a replacement key of some other brand?

If you have done all that and it still won't start and the engine immobilizer still seems to be the reason then the alarm/immobilizer system will need to be diagnosed by a knowledgeable Mazda mechanic . The system and the key may need to be reset, which a dealer can do. I remember a DIY here to reset a new key yourself, but the car's system would need to be reset by a dealer.

 

Wow thanks for the replies fellas, the beast has awaken! You guys were right, turned out a cell in the battery gave out, so a battery replacement was all that was needed, phew. I had to get new smart keys made just a couple months ago since I lost the only copy I had and that set me back $1000.00 (plus they lost my spare alarm) and the battery was replaced when I had it imported last year. The guy that came over said the battery was too small and that I needed to buy a large battery. Not sure if trying to hustle me, would it make a difference? Anyway I bought a large one hopefully it will last me until I need a rebuild thanks again guys!

 

So i'm new and don't know where to post but i took my rx8 in the mechanical shop because my clutch broke.
Where do i go to ask a question if the mechanic is screwing me over?

The clutch just went out and no signs of it happening and hes saying the flywheel needs replaced without even looking at it? I know i need a clutch kit but a flywheel? I said well resurface it... and he said well he has to send it to a third party and its inconvenient...
Well $400 for a new flywheel or 50 for resurface kinda? It pissed me of and im thinking hes being lazy and doesn't want to take the time to do that. im a college student and don't have the $1500 hes asking for everything. Just want to know everyone's advice the cars under 90k in miles.

 

Sometimes a flywheel may need to be replaced. Too much heat and/or cracking, neglect of the disc and subsequent galling the surface etc.
That said, if you don't trust the mechanic's opinion now, you're absolutely not going to have confidence with his work. I say take it somewhere else, especially if he was chosen because he was cheap. You're in college now, it's time you understand that price and cost are two different things.
On a semi-side-note, given the miles on the car I recommend you consider replacing the rear main seal, pilot bearing and seal and rear transmission seal with the job for sure. None are very expensive and should involve very little labor. I understand money is tight, but if it were my car I'd also replace the throw-out (clutch release) bearing too. My .02.

 

Hello guys. 2007 with 30,000 miles here. I always monitor my coolant temps with the Torque app. So today, while I was stuck in traffic, my coolant temps slowly went up to 221F. As soon as it got there I turned on the heater on full. Temps soon dropped to around 208F and it never went up there again throughout the journey. Didn't repeat on my way home either. It's 92 degrees over here with crazy humidity. My car usually hits 215F in slow moving traffic, but it goes back down to like 213F in a few seconds, and then keeps going down gradually. It has never gone over 215F, and kept climbing onto 221! I would know that something is definitely wrong if it kept repeating, but it didn't. It just happened once.

So what could this be? I'm totally lost

Thanks!

 

couple of possibilities I can think of .
1/ Your low speed fan is not kicking in . You can check this by letting it idle and having your head under the bonnet to see if you can hear it kick in .
2/Themostat is sticking

 

If he's telling you that things that "may" need to be replaced..."must" be replaced...you might want to find someone who is willing to look before he tells you.

Often you will get a worst case estimate...and then they will resurface the flywheel. Often I have just scuffed up the surface and put in a new disc. \

All thing being equal...unless you are really abusive the flywheel should need a light resurface and it will be fine

 

Both fans kick in. That's what got me thinking. I know if it's overheating an idle, it's probably a fan issue. But it's not. The fans work fine. On my way home last night, I was stuck in heavy traffic, temps were around 212F at a slow crawl. At times it spiked to 215F, but whenever I stopped at a red light, the temp went down. Usually it goes down to around 199F, depends on how long you idle. But just that one time on my way there, it kept CLIMBING. Turned on the heater and it went down real fast. Never happened again :/ if the thermostat is sticking, shouldn't it happen again?

 

Is there anything suggesting that it's not normal? In the heat of summer, I peak at 220f when sitting still before the fans cool it down to ~215 appropriately. 212f is the higher end of my in motion running temp in the summer.

The thermostat is always worth replacing in any case (as not too expensive insurance), I wouldn't go with the low-temp one.

 

T-stats are relatively cheap, but are designed to fail in the open position and IMHO, not likely the cause of temp spiking. My first thought is air in the system.

 

I've seen more thermostats fail closed than open. Had one that seemed to have failed open, but on the drive home from buying a new one it failed closed.

I concur with Legot that they're cheap, and it doesn't hurt to get a new one. "Cheap" applies to design and build quality as well as price.

Ken

 

I had one get stuck closed in my Maxima driving to work on a -5° morning that caused my engine to overheat.
Thought I was going to freeze to death waiting for the tow truck.

 

But isn't there something wrong with your cooling system if you're hitting 220F? Why wouldn't you go with a lower temp t stat?

 

I never thought of that. But if it's really air in the system, why did it only happen once, and never again? It just slowly climbed to 221F.

 

You're saying that a brand new thermostat failed on your drive home? Was it the original from Mazda?

 

It was on a Honda. The old one failed. I dawdled buying a replacement, since temp was low whih meant it was stuck open. Summer, so I didn't really need the heater. When I finally picked up a new one, with plans to put it in the next morning, the old one failed closed on the way home. Fortunately my route home was on side streets, so I was able to stop half a dozen times to let it cool. Real WTF moment, though.

Ken

 

Damn. Was it an original Nissan t stat? How old was it? Is your engine ok?

 

Damn. But can a t stat really "stick"? Like, go a little F over the open temp and then open? For eg, if it's supposed to open at 212F, can it hit 221F and open? Does that mean it's faulty?

 

It was a long time ago. Old '83 RWD straight 6 Datsun Maxima
It was ok, I noticed the heater was blowing cold, looked at the gauge & saw it was redlined.
Pulled over before it blew the head, luckily.

 

2005 shinka w/96k
i was driving back home from a short road trip i took today. while driving down the highway at 72mph, my traction control light came on, and stayed on the rest of the 1.5 hour drive home, also saw mmy power steering light flash a couple of times (not in succession, just on for half a second, then off, but happened a couple of times over drive home). THEN, while that was going on, i went through a dip in the highway, and my tach needle went from ~3500 rpms to 0, then right back to 3500. the engine didnt stutter, surge, or otherwise change.
i was watching some of my readouts on Torque (mostly mpgs), so i checked codes. i got U1900 and U0073. any clues what this could be?

 

Never had a t-stat fail closed. Is it possible? Sure, but not common. Obviously a lot depends on cooling and they are engineered not to fail closed.
Transient temp spiking in my experience is usually air in the system.

 

Over the years I've encountered about half a dozen failed stats. Only one failed open, and its final death move was to fail closed. Just depends on what happens to break.

Never had transient temperature spiking. Just pegged temperature when a stat jammed. Bur I've always bled the system when I changed a hose or the coolant myself, and used reliable places when I've paid others to do it.

Ken