As others have mentioned, all sports cars had quirks back in the day. That changed in the last 15 or so years thanks to cars like the NSX and Miata. But even the Miata had some common problems, especially with the NA. Check out Porsche and other performance vehicle forums, and you'll see most of them have had some issues here and there.

However, none of the things mentioned in the DVD require constant attention and the RX8 doesn't need to be babied. Personally, I consider my RX8 reliable and trouble-free... if the stuff mentioned on the DVD is too much for someone, they shouldn't own a rotary-powered car.

Problems are things like the AC-not-working or the battery being too weak (and those have been addressed).

The engine consuming oil and requiring higher octane fuel are not problems. Needing to check oil in a car is not a problem. TPMS going off in cold weather is a minor annoyance, but is not a problem.

That leaves the cold-shutdown-procedure, which is the only item mentioned on the DVD of any significance. I don't think of this as a "problem" since with a little extra attention an RX8 should never flood (especially given that Mazda tweaked the RX8 to make it less susceptible to flooding). But I could see why others would consider this a problem and I assume Mazda does have resources devoted to eliminating this (if it's possible). In the meantime, putting out a "Rotary-for-Dummies" DVD seems like a smart thing to do. This whole thread has been much ado about nothing.

 

Agreed.

 

Tire pressure is correct and it still goes off? I have two sets of wheels, both have TPMS sensors installed - and I've never had the TPMS warning light turn on in any kind of weather.

 

It will turn on if your pressure is 4-5PSI low when cold, & then turn off when the tire warms & the pressure increases above the threshold of 26PSI. It just means the system is working as designed & the tire pressure needs adjustment.

 

Yes, my tire warning is always on and it usually beeps, also. I have a set of ASA wheels and Bridgestone Blizzaks for winter, so the system has an excuse. And my engine light is usually on (but never flashing) and the dealer said to ignore it. OK well now that we have that out of the way....

My question is this - when I checked my oil the other day, it was down to the bottom of the "OK" region on the dipstick. I know you're supposed to fill it all the way up. But I was wondering, is that a whole quart, or less? I put in half a quart, and it looked like it was half way up.

They went through all the trouble of making that video, and then they said "and be sure to fill it all the way up" and didn't say how much oil that is, exactly.

 

Dammit people......

aside from the TPMS, all of the issues covered on the DVD are not issues to people who are familiar with rotaries. They flood, they consume oil blah blah blah. I've had 5 RX-7's and they all do that. They are also VERY reliable.

I've got 55,000 miles on my 8 and it's never skipped a beat. No problems. I check the oil regularly and add oil regularly. It's flooded ONE time and I got it restarted with 30 seconds because I already KNEW HOW TO ******* RESTART IT !!!!!

aarrghhh

 

Just got it today............. with some things, it let us actually know whats right and whats wrong. It's useful!

 

Does it have any Horsepower in it?

 

Did anyone notice a mistake in the cartoon illustration of the pistion motor? I didn't bother rewatching it, but I think the valve on the right opens twice in a row at the end of the illustration.

With no pretty girls anywhere in the video, it hardly qualifies as a marketing piece.

 

Got mine yesterday....

 

1.8 quarts. Why they didn't mention that in the DVD is a good question, however, it is in the manual and has been posted many times here.

 

I think some of you are really reading into this DVD far too much. From what I gathered this DVDs is objective is to educate the ignorant RX-8 owner who might be used to a piston engine rather than a rotary. One example, a customer locally had no idea of oil consumption - used his RX-8 until the engine was dry! I think these are the folks Mazda are trying to help...

BTW Whats the easter egg?

Wayne

 

I essence I agree with you, believing Mazda's goal is to reduce the current expense of warranty service calls. My main point is that Mazda can also do this (going forward) with engineering changes, therefore taking the burdon off the car owner of requiring a special education to own a rotary.

Unlike many people on this forum, I believe that an owner should not need to do anything special to own a car with a rotary engine.

 

Got mine yesterday, pretty interesting it conincided with my certified letter to Mazda concerning returning the car under the Lemon Law.

 

I guess you need to define 'special' then... I don't think checking the oil every 2 weeks and letting the engine warm up a few degrees before shutting it off is 'special'... it's something people should do anyway, but most don't. My Miata wasn't a rotary, and I always did these things... it's just good sense.

They can't 'engineer' oil consumption out of the rotary engine... that's just its nature. They've done a good job at mitigating the flood risk with the latest PCM flash... I'm not sure what more they can do besides bang people in the head with a DVD since reading the manual must be too hard.

 

Is that speculation or are you an automotive engineer with rotary design experience?

 

Yes, we disagree on how to define "special".


Mazda recommends, as most manufacturers, that you check your oil level every time you refuel. True, the oil consumption can't be eliminated. However, as long as you don't have to add oil to a rotary any more often than piston, I believe no one will notice/care about the rotary's oil consumption. On the flip side, I agree this is probably a minor issue and didn't precipitate the DVD.

In terms of flooding, they need to mitigate the risk down to the level of a piston engine flooding.

 

Received mine. Rotaries for Dummies .....
While a little extra TLC is not an issue for me, I believe for the rotary to be better accepted by the general public (who puts in gas, checks the oil?, and changes the oil once a year no matter what) Mazda needs to engineer out the eccentricities of the engine.

I never treated my FC differently than a piston engined car. Never flooded. :D Moved from Va to Chicago. It would sit out in the cold for a couple of weeks and start up on the first crank.

 

I got mine today, and watched it. All of 11 minutes long and will educate the consumer quite well I think. Good idea by Mazda, but I do think they should be trying to FIX these problems instead of educating the owner on how to properly deal with them. Oh well.

This DVD should do some people good.

 

Did you notice that the 05 window washer container is white?

 

Got my DVD and watched it yesterday. I think it's an excellent little info campaign. Actually, I rather appreciated the discussion and demonstration of the "hard start" condition. I have not had any problems whatsoever with the car in the 12 months I've operated and maintained it. Some of the usual "service adjustments" were fixed in an afternoon stopover at my local service department.

Also just got done reading the thread to this point, so I think I'll stir the pot some more.

I have to agree with the crowd that feels that the DVD addresses operating and maintenance procedures, vice "problems." In the military we call failure to comply with recommended or required operating or maintenance procedures as "operator error."

First, the DVD doesn't relieve Mazda of any legal responsibility inasmuch as product liabilities or "lemon laws" etc. are concerned. It merely amplifies, illustrates, or demonstrates information about and operation & maintenance of the vehicle. Most, if not all, of the info is in the manual, so the notion that this DVD campaign will somehow "cover their ***" or shield them doesn't really hold up. There's no new info here (i.e., if they were libel for something, they couldn't claim the DVD as a defense). That's my opinion, of course, but you'd have a hard time convincing anyone it's unreasonable.

Second, while I concur with Miscreant's notion that a current trend for many consumers is to have "zero fuss" and "zero maintenance" vehicles, I for one appreciate the fact that operating the RX8 REQUIRES a bit more attention. Honestly, though, in objective terms, it's not really any more attention I or any other conscientious driver wouldn't already exercise. Furthermore, RX8s are not produced in high enough numbers to be marketable to a public that's not willing to pay negligibly more attention to the operation and maintenance of the vehicle. RX8s are for enthusiasts, and I believe Mazda is marketing the vehicle to that more passionate segment of the driving public.

Third, having observed the industry over the years, I believe Mazda has done a satisfactory, if not admirable, job in trying to make corrections and adjustments through TSBs and recalls, especially compared to other makes. What I have encountered firsthand, however, is less than consistent quality when it comes to dealing with individual service departments. I've now found an absolutely outstanding service department to deal with (Rosenthal, in Arlington), and I couldn't be more happy with them.

For those of you having consistently "unfixable" problems, I suggest you first get a new service department, and then research the "lemon laws" which are applicable in almost every state, if memory serves. Every model line has a fair share of these, and I don't think the RX8 is any exception. To be fair though, I've not observed anything so heinous as to indicate "lemon-like" problems occur at any greater rate in the RX8 than any other make/model.

Finally, and referring back to what I said about marketability, the RX8 is, by automotive industry standards, a fairly low volume product. If you look at Mazda's sales figures, the 3's, 6's, and Tributes are selling like there's no tomorrow. If they're passionate enough (they probably are), Mazda probably has some margin with the RX8. But they don't have to resort to margin from other products, because the RX8 has made all of its sales targets, again if memory serves. Plus it's still the darling of all the publications I've read. The DVD is certainly not an attempt to "save" the vehicle from the budget ax. No, I'm pretty sure the RX8 and potentially some other rotary-based products could be around for a while.

Sorry for the long post, but I just completed some heavy lifting and long hours at work this week, so I'm enjoying getting lost in the boards tonight.

Here's to driving passion.

Ciao!

 

I just received the DVD. It seems like a good idea, but I'm having difficulty getting it to play. Has anyone else had this problem?

Cheers,
Oranje

 

LOL -- too funny!

 

This should be moved to the DIY section. D:D

 

Obviously we need to get Mazda to put out a DVD on "Playing the RX-8 Product Update DVD". :D