i just bought a 04 rx8 and im hearing a lot of bad stuff about that year, is my car going to be ok? i mean i love the car but was it a bad choice to buy this car? please give me some feedback, thanks

 

read every newbie thread here and follow the recommendations and you'll be fine.

There's nothing wrong with an 04 AT if it's been taken care of... regardless of what everyone after me is about to tell you.

 

GL Can you return it?

 

do you know what the recommendations are?

 

god i'm tired of the 04 bashing around here ........04's are fine make sure u have all ur recall's and tsb's done on the car...also withthe auto i would recommend adding the extra oil cooler since the auto's only had 1

 

Not really bashing. The early 04's had the horrible PCM setting that didn't feed enough oil to the seals, and the AT's exacerbated the issue further. So the 04 AT is the bottom of the barrel for RX-8 purchases.

If the car has had an engine replacement, then you might be able to breath easier.

Of course, there's always the chance your AT will have no issues

 

does anybody know what the recalls and tsb's are?

 

I"ve only lived in Fl for about 8 or 9 months before that the Pennsylvania roads took care of it quite well haha.....

 

Take it to a Mazda Dealer and ask them to check the VIN and see if everything is up to date. They can tell you whats been warrantied too. I'm wondering how many miles it has on it.

 

its only got 32k

 

go to mazdausa.com and type in ur VIN and it will tell u every recall that's been done if any

 

no it will only tell you what NEEDS to be done. but its good info to know

 

where exactly on the website do you go?

 

Don't the later automatics have 2? If so, did this change in 2006 along with the 6-port motor?

 

Um i know the 04's had one I think the 6 port had 2 coolers but the 04 and 05 auto's only had 1

 

all 6 port motors in the usa have 2 oil coolers

 

Weren't most of the '04 AT engine failures in the Las Vegas area? With desert heat being a factor?

Hossg's in Massacusetts, which is considerably cooler.

Ken

 

i got an 04 in mass.....got 39k miles...mine is 6 speed...no problems...just make sure u pay attention to maintenance.

ohh and warm her up before u drive her...its 12 degrees out right now

 

im an 04 owner -- besides a replaced cat... never an issue really

 

Did you even research the car before you bought it? PLEASE go to this link and try and get as many issues(if any) resolved asap.

http://finishlineperformance.com/sto....php?pageid=11

Make sure you keep up with oil levels as well. Check your oil one to two times a month and add oil if needed.

 

I have an 04 AT and have been driving it since March. It had a new engine put in it about 20k back under warranty. It was before I owned it, so I'm not exactly sure why. I also had to ahve the motor mounts and bracket replaced a few thousand ago. They were causing some pretty strong vibration at idle. Try to get this done under warranty because it's around an $1100 job.

Read the stickies on this forum and jump into some of the painfully long mod threads and you'll get a better understanding of the car and its needs. It's not a drive and forget car like some of the push rod cars out there, but it's not constant work either.

 

I have an 04 MT that is about to turn 90k miles.The engine was replaced in September of 06 when it had 47k. I have all the latest TSBs and just changed the plugs and mine drives smooth and strong...

 

I have an 04. I had to get a new motor but I dont think it was that well taken care of by the previous owner. That is the only issue I had with the car though, mazda took great care of it and me though so I cant complain.