Look at this! They have redone this SB. Just as some of our guys have told us. We now have it in writing. Battery-Spark Plugs-Starter Motor!!! Check your VIN#.....
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...4-05-1448e.pdf

 

I can still do this even though my warranty is expired right ?

 

i posted the full TSB here https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...rt#post1194272 when this came up earlier this month. The TSB has looked just like that since the previous re-write. the only thing that has changed on this re-write was some of the warranty information that the dealers use for billing back to Mazda. The bulk of it remains the same since the previous re-write.

 

I'm confused as to whether my car needs the plug replacement or not. my vin is #..154990.
the chart on p.15 seems to say *all* cars after 150744 need plug replacement, but on p.1 it says cars built 3/05 and thereafter already did this at factory. How do I determine the build date on my car?

 

open the driver's door and you'll see the build date printed on one of the white stickers

 

It's good to see they are going back to an FA style spark plug. I never had any flooding problems with my FA's.

 

So could this be why it seems to take longer each time I go out and try to start my car? I never turn it off cold, but recently it takes a few few seconds to start, where as before it was immediatly.

 

I'm impressed: they allocate 0.4 hours (24 minutes!) to replace the starter for the AT; 0.3 hours (18 minutes) for the MT! Gotta be the easiest starter replacement on the planet.

 

^^either that, or dealers will be pissed off when they have to follow the TSB because they won't be able to charge more to Mazda.

 

I knew my car didn't have enough juice and spark on startup. Although it hasn't failed to start, it's been w-e-a-k.

Build date of 07/04.

 

i just had a new starter, battery and plugs put in and now my car starts up like a jet engine.

 

same here. it sounds sweet.

 

What a timely post....my car is at my local dealership as I type this. I had it towed in on Friday. I don't drive it that often, so I was a little annoyed when it would not turn over. The dealeship just called me to tell me that they are replacing my starter and battery. After reading this post, I called back and asked about the spark plugs. "Oh yeah....of course we are replacing those too". Yeah....ok. This is coming from the same service guy that told me Mazda road service probably would not tow my car in and recommended that I use their tow service (for a fee, of course). I called Mazda road service Friday morning and a tow truck was in my driveway 30 minutes later. It will be interesting to see how she starts when I get her back on Thursday. At least they offered me a renta.

 

Did they do that without you flooding the car? I plan to take the bulletin in and see if they will do mine, although it has never been flooded. Will be interesting to get their reaction since the dealer I go to is a small dealership.

 

Damn, I can't get this done.

LAME

 

What a difference this has made on my car. Took mine in and they swapped it all out with the new parts. Now my car starts up right away, one crank and its running like a dream

 

not picking you out in particular....

you do not NEED anything. This is a service bulletin to inform techs of common problems and in this a case engineered solution. It is not a recall, it is not required for the dealer to just give you the parts if you have no problem, and if you don't have a problem why in the world do you want parts that fix a problem you don't have.

 

no i didn't ask for it, I took it in for other things, and when I called to see if the car was ready they said they were just finishing putting in the new parts. i was like, uh ok, sweet.

 

How odd this TSB comes out now that I am having problems starting the car. Before my latest service, my car would start up quickly. Now, I'm experiencing what I used to see on other RX-8's after meets. I always notice how other cars needed like a 5-second cranking before it finally starts. Mine does that now I need to take this TSB asap.

 

Not long after I got the 8 in Jan. 04 my wife stalled the car when the engine was still cold and it flooded. It was flatbedded to the nearest dealer and deflooded. But they didn't replace the starter, battery or the plugs. It hasn't flooded since but I have had slow starts and a few times it has barely started with an initial rough idle from time to time. I'm still under warranty (about 10 K left), anyone have any guidance on whether or if I can get the TSB replacement parts done without having had it flood since?

 

That may depend on whether your dealer is customer friendly. Print out the service bulletin and take it into the service manager. Tell him/her exactly what you just said and they should not hesitate to do the update. I did basically the same thing and will have the starter and plugs installed on Monday. (I had already purchased the upgraded battery on my own.) I was asked if the car had failed to start and my truthful response was: no, but it cranks very slowly in the colder temps and I'm concerned that it will leave me stranded one day.

The upgraded starter and the newer spark plug were not available back then. As I recall, they were made available in early or mid-2005. Certainly it was well after Jan 2004.

 

Based on postings in a variety of other flooding threads, it appears that many dealers will do the TSB on request but a few won't unless your car is flooded or has some form of starting problem. As pointed out earlier, being a Service Bulletin, they are only obligated to do it if your car has that problem.

For example, My battery was getting weak (slow cranking if the car has been sitting a week). I took my car in yesterday for them to look at the problem and asked for the TSB work and they did it.

It never hurts to ask. Also, since the bulliten contains an updated procedure, if you have been de-flooded by the dealer in the past you can make a case that the de-floor repair was incomplete and they need to go back and make sure you have all 4 things done (PCM update, leading plugs, battery and starter).

IMHO - Mike

 

I guess that I'll give it a try and talk with the dealer. I certainly am concerned about the slow cranking/starts when it gets cold (not that we've had much of that around here this winter, maybe the upcoming colder trend may help demonstrate it to the dealer, eh?). They did do the required PCM updates over the past year so I am current in that regard. If they balk, maybe I'll print out this thread as well, I like the idea that the flood repair performed is incomplete. Thanks for the insight guys.

 

...keep in mind down the road your going to be replacing the starter after it dies from seeing too much voltage

 

I don't understand. Can you elaborate on why the starter will die?