I was on the phone with Mazda today receiving assistance on locating a vehicle. After getting the information I wanted I told the woman about all of the conflicting information people have been receiving from both Mazda and dealers regarding warranty coverage on the flooding problems.

She said an email went out this morning to all the customer service reps telling them to inform all inquiring parties that flooding problems will be covered in all circumstances. This means that if your dealer tries to give you the "one-time fix" crap, you simply need to call Mazda and they will take care of it.

I apologize if this is new information to any of you, but she did say specifically that the email was sent this morning, Jan. 26.

 

good. thanks for the information.

 

In today's market, I can't believe that Mazda won't stand behind this problem sooner or later. Most manufacturers will stonewall problems until it becomes clear that the issue has become very damaging to the brand or risks government action. It is encouraging to hear eveidence of Mazda stepping up on this issue.

 

Again, I figure Mazda is doing the age old technique of passing some of the cost for the flooding on to the dealer. So I assume that not all will be happy endings, but certianly good news. Thanks for sharing ByeByeSaturn.

 

I had not heard this news. The letter I sent earlier this month specifically asked Mazda USA to promulgate a formal policy that all RX-8 owners and prospective buyers could rely on -- whatever that policy might be. I'll be strutting around pretty happily if Mazda announces a "we'll cover it" policy.

The "flooding issue" has been dividing the community, pitting those of us who worry about such things against those who don't. It would be very nice to get the whole thing behind us and start working on the problem together, with Mazda as a partner.

 

My dealer told me that the solution to preventing the flooding problem is simple. If you are going to shut off the car before it warms up all you have to do is rev the engine once or twice before shutting it off. I've been doing this consistently and I have not had a problem yet and I am constantly doing cold shut-offs.

 

I'm sorry but that's no solution to me. I'm pretty much a rotary fanatic and a multiple multiple rotary owner. I've worked as a tech for Mazda and I'm friends with some of the most experienced rotary people on the planet. The increased potential of flooding compared to piston vehicles is just plain unacceptable, especially here in 2004. They better find a fix quickly!!!
If I seem a little irritated it's because I'm one of the people who are really concerned about the future of rotary engined vehicles.
In talking to several techs recently it has been confirmed to me that the flooding is at least a minor epidemic.
A regular person (non-rotary freak) shoudn't have to worry about such things and that includes checking oil levels regularly.
Fix these things before it's too late.

 

Thanks for the info ByeByeSaturn. Other than that we can hit the snooze button on this post. zzzzzzzzzzz

 

Way to go Ceramicseal. You are right on about this flooding issue. If Mazda wants to sell this car beyond the die hard faithful and rotary goobers, they better fix this problem quick. One more lady getting her car towed from the Neiman Marcus parking lot won't do much for Mazda's long term image. Maybe I should rephrase that, the RX long term image. They should recall all the those 300 CCA batteries and put 700's in. Who cares if it weighs 5 more pounds in the front. At least it may start. Get a starter that will spin this thing and do what ever they deem necessary for the initial fuel on startup. The polls say now *20 %* have flooded at least once??? Hello Mazda..... Anyway, it was good to hear 'ol Jim Downings story of running Little Talledaga with his new 8 last weekend. And the comments from a professional driver and long time rotary man on how neutral the car was. He was really impressed. Looked like a kid with a new toy.

 

Not meaning to stray off topic, but for those that don't know, Jim Downing is the most successful Mazda racer in history and he just picked up a blue 8 last week from John Finger Mazda ( another former racer)
The sales person did also caution him about the potential flooding.

 

Good to see they made this issue official. Like many other Rotary fanatics, I too want them to deal and eliminate this problem ASAP. Flooding, Oil Consumption and Fuel Economy are the biggest "complains" against the Rotary engine, hope Mazda can resolve all of these issues soon.

By the way, KUDOs for all of you who called, complained, and screamed at Mazda and to their Dealers and made them know it is indeed a major issue. If it is big enough for them for make this official, you can bet there will be engineers working on this.

Big Thank you to all.

 

What were the engineers doing 3 years developing this car or even before that?

I think flooding problem is inherent with rotory. I dont think they will be able to provide a permanent fix rather come up with preventive techniques to minimize the problem.

 

I still believe that the spark plugs are less likely to foul if the rotary was flipped -90 degrees so the plugs were on top. Few people who have flooded their engines to the point they couldn't start tried to restart it immediately. Most have let their engines sit for a while letting the gasoline cook on warm plugs. If Mazda gave gravity a chance to drain the spark plug holes I think there would be less crud on the plugs when it came time to start them.

 

As has been stated here before, that's only part of the solution.

There's still the problems of:

1) Valet Parking
2) Accidental stalls while the engine is cold

Either could result in your 8 having to be towed to the dealer where it could sit for 1-3 days (say it happens on Friday night - around here service departments don't work on Saturday or Sunday, and they may not even get to it Monday if they're backed up enough), a totally unacceptable situation for a brand new 2004 vehicle.

If it was due to a failure or defect, that's understandable (though no better); the fact that Mazda knows this is an issue and has not yet solved it is the problem...

 

The delaer told me something similar. Said to rev engine up to 4k and hold it there for 10 seconds, then shut it off. He said that will burn up the excess gas in the engine. Said only necessary to do thiis in cold weather.

$400 to change fouled plugs. I wonder why some rx8's have the flodding problem and others don't?

 

I understand from reveiws that the ecu mapping is set rich to meet the EPA standards for longevity of the catalytic converter. Mazda used that solution because the car was already set for production when EPA passed the new standard. The car originally put out 250 hp. 12 hp was lost with the richer mapping. That might be cause for some of the flooding. A piggyback ecu may eliminate flooding and restore hp but reduce the life of the catalytic converter.

Thats basically the way I understand it but I'm no authority. Just repeating what I've read about the car.

 

I don't recall Gen. II RX-7s coming with a warning that you needed to rev the car for five minutes after driving short distances. I know that for the brief time I owned an (FC? I can never keep the designators straight - a 1989 RX-7 GTU, regardless) I never treated the engine any differently from a piston engine and never had a flooding problem.

In fact that experience so enamored me of the rotary that it just kills me that something like this prevents me from buying the car I've been waiting literally almost ten years for (didn't fit at all in the FD RX-7.) I've made no secret that I wouldn't look twice at an RX-8 were it not for the rotary power plant, so it's a shame that the company that has been nurturing rotary technology all these years trips over such a stupid issue.

Think of it for a minute - isn't there anyone at Mazda who realized that requiring owners to go through a somewhat complicated five minute ritual any time they started the car and would possibly shut it off cold with the cost of a possible tow to the dealer if the instructions weren't followed wouldn't pass a 2004 laugh test? This is 2004, not the era of the Model T, so an engine that isn't at least as reliable as a conventional piston engine isn't going to sell to anyone but the rotary choir; unfortunately that's not enough to keep a car line going and I honestly do feel for the rotary's future.

Sorry to rant a bit here, but imagine you were coming from the outside taking a fresh look and you hear about (1) the HP error, (2) reports of ridiculously low MPG (13? 15? In a car with a gas tank that holds less than 16 gallons?!?!) and now the flooding problem?

 

The service manager at my local Mazda dealer reports that he has had quite a few flooding victims since the RX-8 came out, but fewer recently since they started warning new buyers (only after the sale) about the warming up/engine rev procedure.

 

Well, you have to understand that before the car was release, most of the engineering efforts were for sure focused on producing a car that would SELL and get good feedbacks from the media so things like reliability issues usually gets a little ( or not enough) attentions.

Usually, for most car manufacturers, they focus their resources to correcting and refining the V1 model after the initial release. Unfortunately for us, this is the way the car selling business work and this is why for all brands and all model, there are usually glitches here and there for the V1 models.

 

So is it really "official" that we should be using the engine rev at shut down procedure? What EXACTLY is this procedure? I have heard lots of opinions and what people do, but is there an official position from MAZDA? Is it different for the MTs and the ATs?

I am gonna call my dealer and ask. I'll post the results here later. Maybe others could do the same.

mm

 

Would someone with a friend at a Mazda service department please try to get a copy of this alleged email and post it to this website?

It's all hearsay until it's in writing.

 

Well... I'm scared everytime I drive it to the store or gas station now (gas is 1 minute away, store is 2 min).... Sitting there revving to 4k for 10 sec is obnxious (if this works??), and waiting 5 min is an *** pain too.

All I really want is for it to be like the 15 other vehicles I've owned. Goto the gas station, turn off car, insert credit card, pump gas, turn on car, go about my business. Not pray that It'll restart after I'm done.

I'm hoping the stage-1 ecu mod from carzoomer (which doesn't run as rich at higher rpms) helps reduce this, but thats just speculation on my part. who knows!?

 

Arron, try filling it up the night before on your way home

Yea, I know that was a smart *** answer, but it is what I do.

 

Revving the engine for 10 sec before shutoff sounds pointless to me, correct me if I'm wrong but how is that going to burn off fuel if the engine is still running?

The tip mentioned on this board about turning the key off as the the RPM's are coming down (i.e. cutting fuel as rotors turn) sounds logical to me, but I'm no engineer.

 

whats a way to work perfectly lol as if there was a way but so i dont freaken flood when i get my baby delivered