A little about me first, I am currently 22 and Live in Southern California.

I have been an avid rotary fan since I can remember first seeing an Rx-7. A friend of mine had one and it just blew me away with everything, From styling to sound to speed.

I was searching for quite some time for a used Rx-7 but just didnt have much that was below the 14k mark for this area. So I instead looked into a Rx8. Now I didn't know much about them at the time but I knew I wanted one so I hit the internet.

Fast forward a bit, I found the perfect car that I wanted. It was a 2004 Black on Black with Black rims rx8 with 60k miles. When I purchased it from the dealer lot, It had a vibration that was explained to me to be a untightened exhuast from taking off the aftermarket one. I was a bit skeptical so I took it into the shop to get the Ignition Coils replaced and Low and behold it was the motor mounts almost completely gone.

So 500 bucks later and those replaced I was happy to finally be driving my new car.

Next week the Engine light kicks on. I was beginning to worry that this car was a lemon. I went back to my mechanics shop and this is exaclty how it was explained to me "The Code says that a rotor is mis firing, But I drove the car and it drives fine. So it should be ok I wouldnt worry about it".

Now at this point I will be the first to say I am not a mechanic at all, I trusted this guy to tell me the truth and if it need to be fixed to fix it. When he told me that I was a bit skeptical and after some research on a misfiring rotor it seemed to be a big problem.

I let it sit for 2 weeks and Drove it only from work to home with is a 30 minute drive.

Then the worst thing happened. It wouldnt start. I got a new battery thinking it was that. No go. I get it towed over to the shop. He calls me back in 2 days, " Well i have some bad news, I got a "Mazda" guy to come down and the motor is completey gone. It was running on one rotor and usually one can make the others go after it gets into high RPM but now the pressure is so low it wont do anything. I have called Mazda and they said it would be 7k to replace the engine with a used one. I have called around and looked for a used engine but since yours in an automatic (Now before i get flamed for the automatic I have a fiance and she cant drive a stick, She didnt drive the car that much but out of convience for her I got the automatic, + traffic in a stick sucks in LA.) its a rare engine to find. I will call you back when I find something more."


So here I am, Talking to anyone out there that can possibly point me in the right direction for how I should even begin to start fixing this. Thanks so much for reading and I hope that it wasn't to much. I come on the forums regulary but I don't post much since I have little to contribute other then, Man that car is amazing.

 

8 yr 100 k warranty up?

 

Seems strange that the mechanic turned down work. Must not be must of a rotary mechanic and probably didn't know what he was doing, seeing that he turned down a job and chance to make some money from you. Sorry to hear though. Any chance you're covered under the 'engine warranty?' It's worth a shot.

 

How can I find out if the car is still under warranty, When I bought it from the place I didn't receive any info about that.

 

Read this: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/8-years-100-000-mi-extended-warranty-147287/

 

Well the mechanic said he called and spoke to Mazda about getting a replacement, I am thinking they didnt mention it to him about the warranty. Does this warranty cover any mazda they made or was it a purchase this warranty for x dollars and you have x protection?

 

There are some links on the mazdausa.com site that suggest you to call a phone number. I remember when i blew my motor i called the number and gave them my vin number and the guy on the phone told me on the spot if my car was still under warranty. I can try n' find the number but i hope this helps in the meantime.

Btw, be ready to submit supporting information like receipts for maintenance and supporting back up if you qualify for a new motor. Also, if you do turn your car over to a dealership to inspect - check out Tustin Mazda. They're awesome people (that's where i got my motor replaced)

 

Thanks Atilla, the Car is still over at the shop so after I get it towed back or i can get the VIN i will call and check

 

By chance, what shop? I'm in socal too in central OC.

Btw, if you call the number from the mazda site and the person confirms that your car is still under warranty, they can provide free towing. It's part of their road side assistance thing iirc. There might be a limit in distance tho...i can't recall. I do know that my trip from La Mirada to Irvine (20+ miles)was covered.

Good luck!

 

It never ceases to amaze me how many people buy these used without doing any research. I mean I wouldn't even buy an 8 year old Honda Civic without a compression check let alone a 8 year old rotary.

The warranty may cover but you will need to provide proof of maintenance and depending on the dealer, that may be a pain in the ***.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/5227222148/

 

Just out of curiosity,
when your mechanic installed the spark plugs, did the install 2 leading and 2 trailing plugs? If your mechanic is saying, "it was running on one rotor and usually one can make the others go," seems kinda skeptical to me as there's only 2 rotors in a 13b. I've been down this road before, so what I would do is call Mazda and see if you still have any warranty remaining. If you do, some dealerships do not charge for compression tests if it's under warranty. After the compression test, change your coils, spark plug wires, and make sure you actually had 2 trailing and 2 leading plugs installed and that they are in the correct order. Engine misfire can happen due to incorrect plugs or if one of the coils are fouled as well. Also, ignition parts does affect compression so your compression could be low due to the wires,plugs, and coils so it doesn't necessarily mean your engine would be toast. If anyone wants to argue with that, I bought my 8 cheap due to a "bad engine" and the dealership wasn't aware Mazda extended the warranty and all I did was replace my coils, plugs and wires and the engine lasted another 40k miles after it "needed a replacement."

And regarding your engine not starting, if your ignition parts are bad, it can cause your engine to flood easily, thus not starting.

 

When I bought the car Compression was fine. I had it checked out. When I took delivery is when I felt the vibration and had that fixed asap.

 

Here is what I was told.

How long ago did you replace the Ignition coils? I replaced at 65k. Car is now at 71k.

They said the engine might have been flooded and replaced the spark plugs.

I had a guy come down and who builds "racing versions of rx7's and 8's" and do a compression check, Its very low, I don't remember the number stated but it was something like 30 out of 100.

 

How many miles between when compression was good and now?

 

Lets see I bought it around 59k miles and we just hit 71k before wont start.

 

Ah ok.

 

My grams is very good friends with a Mechanic at this place for toyotas. The only reason I considered it is because the guy who owns the place has an rx8.

Its called Toyo Pro's.

 

oic

random quesiton - does your car have any engine modifications(ie intake, exhaust, midpipe) ?

 

I just called the Mazda of Tustin and they said the car is still under the 100k warranty so there is some good news about that. As far as mods go, I have only had the car since around august. So really havent had time to get much done, Got the windows tinted and redid the audio but thats about it.

 

They're supposed to give you 3 numbers per rotor @ xxx RPM. There are 3 faces of each rotor so you should have a total of 6 readings. I believe anything under 6.9 @250RPM is considered failing.

If your car is still under warranty, speak with your nearest dealership ASAP.
If they deny you, try another. They get an extra 12m/12k mile warranty added onto the new engine so if your warranty is about to expire, you still will have another year to go.

 

Getting the car taken to a dealer ship tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks so much for the help guys. Car is underwarranty and all is good in the world.

 

You know, I just bought MY 2004 RX-8, and the previous owner thought the motor was blown too because it simply wouldn't start....however it WASN'T blown.

I HIGHLY recommend taking your car to Tri-Point Engineering in LA, and have them go through the car thoroughly.

http://www.tripointengineering.com/

Talk to Mark, the owner.

With my RX-8, I was ready to invest thousands in a new motor, etc...but it turned out that I was able to save quite a bit of money just replacing a couple parts, and having them thoroughly DE-flood the motor.

Tri-Point certainly charges an arm and a leg for labor, but their work is reliable.

As far as from MY personal rotary experience with 3rd Gen RX-7's, including my current one....when I blew the motor it happened DURING driving...and it was incredibly obvious...the engine noise, exhaust note, rough idle, and shaky boost/vacuum gauge. The car WOULD still start, however. In fact, when it blew, I still drove it to the shop to park it. lol

Basically...you need to just start with the basics!

Compression check to see if it it's just flooded out, or needs a new starter, plugs, wires, etc...

Always start with the simple stuff!!

Best of luck

- Mike

 

Glad to hear the warranty will cover it man. Post pics now please!

 

[IMG][/IMG]
This is her when I first got her.

She is tinted now and lowered.

 

Big *** pic...lol