I am one of the people running on the replacement engine. It was replaced at 168 miles due to a 'rear' rotor fault. Before they diagnosed it as such, they tried the hotter plugs thinking that would solve it.

Here is the thread of my ordeal:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ight=168+miles

Does it suck for a new car to have these issues? Sure, but that is the risk of being an early adopter.

 

More good and bad news.

My engine finally showed up at the dealers this week.
Took 3 weeks, as there were apparently some logistics issues.
Seems that either they misinformed me about when it was shipped, or they did not make very good arrangements for trucking and customs paperwork from the USA to here for the shipment.

Here is the letter I wrote today to the person I am dealing with at Mazda Canada public relations.
It details the experiences of this week. I have blanked the names to protect the innocent.

Hi XXXXX.
I tried calling you on Friday, but they tell me you were away on a seminar.

Some updates from my side.

The engine arrived at ZZZZZ Mazda at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday the 12th.
They worked on it, exchanging the unit on Thursday, finishing up on Friday morning.
On Friday morning they called me and said it was installed, but they were having problems getting it to start.

After a few calls between the dealer and Mazda Canada people it was determined that they had to re-program the ECU, immobilizer, etc., so that it could be started.
The unit even came with a new ECU.

They tried to do this but ran into a big problem:
Apparently to program it they need a set of TWO ignition keys.
They had the one I left with them.
The other is in my desk drawer at my office.

As they called me on Friday afternoon to tell me this, and as they are about 165 kilometers south of me, it proved impossible to get the other key to them that day by closing time.

This necessitated my making some rather short notice travel arrangements to Phoenix.
I managed to secure a flight, and made arrangements for a rental while I am there.
On Thursday, when I was told the needed parts were there, ZZZZZ told me that he foresaw no problem in getting my car done by Saturday (today).

So, I did not make arrangements for a rental to allow me to travel to Arizona.
By the time we realised on Friday afternoon that this was not going to happen, and as I could not reach you, I did not have any options to make arrangements for a rental that I could use to make my trip.

I am leaving town on Monday morning by plane to Phoenix.
I asked the people at ZZZZZ Mazda to call Mazda Canada and ask them to Fedex a set of 2 keys to the dealer, so they can complete the work (hopefully).

Personally I find it a bit frustrating that they were sent a new engine, ECU and everything else, but nobody at Mazda Canada bothered to tell them they needed both keys, or did not provide a set of keys with the shipment. Mazda Canada had 3 weeks to do this, after all.

Immobilizer systems that use keys with a chip in them are not exactly a new technology.

That the procedure requires two keys is not something that I or the dealer would likely know in advance.

I return next Thursday night.

I spoke with ZZZZZ with the understanding that I would expect to be going to pick up my car next Friday, the 21st.

I will keep receipts for my travel expenses and forward copies of them to you after I return.

My next trip is to Utah around December 2nd.
I am hopeful that by then I might have a functioning car.

I am also hoping that the new engine is one that will not have the flaws in it that caused this failure.

I also pray that the change will result in a car that can get better gas mileage than I have seen to date.
If not I will have to buy a gas can to keep in the trunk, as my present highway range is around 300km to 350km to an empty tank, and I know of at least 4 stretches on my route that exceed that, with few or no locations where I can purchase gasoline.

I look forward to your reply, comments, and possible remedies to the issues I have brought forward.


I still want to keep my RX-8 (barely) but I am trusting that your firm can make me some decent offer to compensate me for my experiences to this point, and for the future.

If not, there would be little point in my making the trip to the dealership next Friday.

While I am away i will have access to email, so if you need to ask or tell me anything I will be able to correspond that way.

If it is urgent you could also call my cell phone.

Thanks for your assistance and perseverance in this episode, XXXXX.

 

please do let us know what they say!

 

CZ: good luck with all this drama...sounds EXTREMLY frustrating.

on a nother note -
my VIN is 100510 and i've had no issues yet...niether CEL (which i'm guessing means "check engine light") nor oil light. i've got ~6300 miles on the car now...80 hwy/20 city driving.
swoodka - are u sure your VIN is "000818" and not "100818?

 

My vin is 679 and I've had no problems whatsoever.. my car feels strong above 7000 as well.. seemed to have gained a little extra kick around 1600 - 1800 miles. No CEL light ever, no check oil light ever, no squeaks, no rattles, no hesitation, no slow starts on cold mornings, no flooding issues (even after 10 foot trips).

I need to dyno my car or take it to a strip because it feels very powerful. I've hit 90 mph in distances less than 1/4 mile... easily. I know.. not very scientific. In any case the engine seems to have come alive recently... was not this powerful 500 miles ago.

Oh yes.. my city mileage averages 17 - 18 and highway driving is 22 - 24.

Good luck to you canzoomer! Hope you get your car back soon.

 

Geeze...

 

More on the saga.
Sticking with the Good News/Bad News theme, this is the tale of the last week.

Good News:
Finally the car is ready!
Got a call back from Mazda Canada, and the dealer.
I went to pick it up Saturday morning.
They tell me they had done extensive testing with the new engine over the past few days. Apparently so, my odometer was up 189km!
Drove it home (170km), and it runs really nicely, smooth.
Power seems as good or better than the original engine.
The oil pan was changed to the new kind. No more oil light! Yay!
No definitive test yet, but it seems to be getting better mileage.
I know pretty darned well what amount of fuel this 170km trip takes me, as i have done it about 30 times in the last couple of months. I got back using noticeably less fuel than before

Bad news:
While I was at the dealers picking up the car I tried to open the glove box. Will not open. Tried the key, but it was not locked.
Showed it to their mechanic, but as it was Saturday afternoon he seemed disinclined to fix it then.
I had to get home fairly quickly as I had other business on Saturday, so I left without this being fixed, as it would have necessitated leaving the car another couple of days over the weekend, and I figure I will either fix it myself, or have my local dealer look at it.

Got home, looked at the car more closely later on Saturday.
Big dent in the rear driver side door. Obvious ding from another car door.
Scratch on the front right fender.
Dent in the driver side door sill. Looks like a seatbelt buckle was there and door closed on it. Buckle is slightly bent.
Battery cover is held on with four plastic clips. One is broken off.

So, almost there. At least I have my car back and it seems to run OK.
A bit of work with Mazda to do yet.

Onwards and upwards.

On the bright side this is the first time I have had to drive my RX-8 in snow and ice. With the Nokians I put on for the winter, and the traction control system it is almost as good as driving a 4 wheel drive.
Sweet.

 

Checked my VIN and is 105001 and it has only 3400 kms on it but I really only drive it 16 kms a day. I did take it on a long drive to Kingston and back and the Oil Light came on. Took it to Mazda and they just topped my oil up even though it was still in the Mid-range level on the dipstick. When I went in to get my oil change at 3000 kms they told me about the oilpan problem and that if my oil light comes on again they may have to replace the pan. But I doubt they know what there talking about cause it took them 3 hours to change my oil......idiots didn't know how to do it firstly and then when they thought they were done they didn't know how to "re-energize" the oil pump or thats what they told me???


My baby is about to go away for the winter (if it ever comes- great Indian Summer were having up here)

Cheers
ALT

 

**** I would be just a little pissed! On the positive side you got your car back.

My new RX-8 (#121,xxx) starts easier, idles much smoother, doesn't do the idle dance at first cold start, doesn't stink up the garage near as much and seems to be getting better mileage.
It also is much smoother under light load and low RPMs.

Good luck!

Vince

 

CZ you seem pretty cool about having 4 instances of damage to the vehicle! How does this s*** happen? I just get the image of the old Samonsite commercial - the one where the gorilla is slamming the suitcase around in his cage...

Great news on the engine so far, though! I guess that was enough to buoy your spirits! I am really hoping that getting a later production date will avoid at least some of the initial teething problems. I will be interested in your mileage on the new engine.

BTW - what kind of dog is that?

 

Actually I am a fairly patient person.
Besides what choices do I have?

I decided to keep the car, and passed on the buyout.
I am heavily invested in RX-8 projects.

The pup is a long haired miniature Dachshund

When he grow up he will look like this:

http://pets.burnerkitty.com/3603

http://www.dogbiz.com/dogs-grp2/dach...h/dachs-lh.htm

 

So the good news about this is that you can apparantly pull out CanZoomer's mod chip, and still get a new engine if it blows up.

However, you may have to pay for a tow, unless you can take it out on the side of the road before the tow truck gets there to take you to Mazda.

Sorry for opening up an old thread, I got to it from a search and didn't see the date.

 

With the way we have packaged the kit now it takes 5 minutes and a 10mm socket and ratchet to remove it.

 

I love this mod and have read (or at least skimmed) the many threads discussing it. If I might ask a few questions (the answers to which may already be buried somewhere but I can't find them):

(1) Does the OEM ECU have any way to know, or record, the presence of the module via a fault code? (I would hate for it to cause warranty problems.)

(2) Using good gas, like 91 octane, does the more aggressive fuel mixture increase at all the probability of detonation, thus jeopardizing the engine?

(3) If the answer to (2) is yes, does the engine's knock sensor help avert this danger?

Thanks!

 

And to add to Hard 8's questions:

4) How much will it cost for the set-up in the US?

5) How far away are you from Washington state?

6) Are there any tell tale signs that something has been hooked up to the ECU?

 

Hi All:

Just for clarity's sake, it's the last five digits of your VIN that indicates what number of the production run your car was in that model year. Thus, a VIN ending in 00585 wold mean it was the 585th RX8 built this year. Next year, they'll start over with numbers that end in 200001.

Highest VIN I've seen thus far is in the mid-28,000 range for cars that are on US soil.

As for the 60-engine figure, let's say that it's dead accurate. At presumably about 30,000 cars built so far, sixty problem motors equates to a measly two-tenths of one percent. Let's say that only half the cars are on the road. Still four-tenths of one percent. And if we say the sixty motors are Canada-only -- still an extremely low failure rate.

A modern automobile is an incredibly complex device. Try reading your shop manual cover-to-cover some time if you doubt it. And just about every car model ever produced has had its fair share of teething problems in the first year. My '86 RX7 was a first-year-of-production car and it's given me 215,000 miles without any major problems, and my '94 is at about 91,000 - same deal. So obviously I'm sold on Mazda Engineering and Quality Control.

 

My 93 MX-6 was a first prod year (and the first use of the KL). Only problem it had was the ignitor failing at 110k, and too small for SUVs to notice. It was still running perfectly when I was rear ended, ending it's life at 122k miles.

My ex-girlfriend's 03' Mazda 6s is a first year and one of the first off the lot. She has had absolutely no problems with it last time I talked to her (although the Duratec 3.0 is not really a new engine). She claimed there is a metallic rattle in the dash during certain types of music, but I could never hear it, and her sanity was questionable anyway.

As far as first year cars go, Mazda seems to have a pretty good track record. I would like to know the figures on other first year cars. 60 replaced engines sounds like a lot.

After seeing how the average 20 something sales guy has absolutely no regard for "break-in" period, my guess would be most of the failures were due to too much abuse too early in it's life.

 

1) ANY ECU fault event is supposed to be stored. Using the device will not cause additional faults.
Ironically there is a bug in the RX-8 ECU where it does not usually store ECU events if thebattery is disconnected.
2) The chance of detonation is increased with a leaner mixture.
AS we are mainly leaner at places where the tuning was originally extremely over-rich the chances of detonation are no greater than running at medium throttle on the highweay with stock tuning.
3) The knock sensor could respond to knock, restarding ignition. In practice it is not triggered as knock should not occur.

Hope this helps.

 

Very helpful; thanks!!

By the way, as for the battery disconnect issue, do you have any sense of whether the factory ECU learns your driving style, such that it's a bad (or good?) idea to clear its memory and start from scratch? I remember that Sport Compact Car tried that with a WRX and lost almost 40 horsepower with a battery disconnect (driving hard with good gas, they had taught the ECU to employ much more aggressive fuel and timing curves than the defaults--they lost all that when they cleared the ECU).

(Also, I wonder whether the factory defaults are evolving month by month, such that a reflash (assuming it's even available) would have any benefits? So far my reading of this forum seems to tell me the answer is no, but I still think it's possible.)

Thanks again!

 

Canzoomer can you answer questions 4, 5, and 6 from above. Thanks.

 

We are still selling this for $500 USD
Shipping by Fedex Ground, insured, is $25

After Jan. 1 the price is going up to $750
We are not making much on it, and we want dealers closer to you to be able to sell it.
They have to make a buck too, and between those two reasons we simply had to raise the price.
However I promised this to a lot of people at $500, so as long as ordered by Jan. 1, and paid for by Jan. 15th, we will still do the $500


We are in Alberta, due north of Montana.

If you remove it there is no sign.
One should pay attention to details like dirty fingerprints, etc.
In general one does not need to remove it, as the dealer has no normal reasons to open the ECU cover. AS it is about 10 minutes of work few will do it just for the hell of it.
All theor electronic tests are performed by hooking up to the OBD port inside the car, under the dash.

For normal service it is best to remove it"just in case", I think.
Personally, however, i will not even bother, as i know the dealer I go to will not give me grief.

 

We are still selling this for $500 USD
Shipping by Fedex Ground, insured, is $25

After Jan. 1 the price is going up to $750
We are not making much on it, and we want dealers closer to you to be able to sell it.
They have to make a buck too, and between those two reasons we simply had to raise the price.
However I promised this to a lot of people at $500, so as long as ordered by Jan. 1, and paid for by Jan. 15th, we will still do the $500


We are in Alberta, due north of Montana.

If you remove it there is no sign.
One should pay attention to details like dirty fingerprints, etc.
In general one does not need to remove it, as the dealer has no normal reasons to open the ECU cover. AS it is about 10 minutes of work few will do it just for the hell of it.
All theor electronic tests are performed by hooking up to the OBD port inside the car, under the dash.

For normal service it is best to remove it"just in case", I think.
Personally, however, i will not even bother, as i know the dealer I go to will not give me grief.

 

Canzoomer,

I am very interested and would be willing to pay the extra $250 if my dealer could order it and it would not void my warranty. Are you working with any dealers right now?

 

Yeah, that's one downside... dealers. We all see posts here about clueless dealers, and those that are just plain evil (sarcasm).

Maybe CZ has a good relationship with his and they'd do it, but if any Joe Schmo walks in off the street and requests it, I'm not sure all dealers would comply considering the type of mod it is.

There might be some serious backlash from them.

Any thoughts?