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So Frustrated with the 8 :( (Must read)

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Old 08-03-2009 | 07:06 PM
  #1  
atruerx8racer's Avatar
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From: El Paso
So Frustrated with the 8 :( (Must read)

Omgosh I dont know wtf is going on with my car... ( I'm so fk'n frustrated!)

2-3 weeks back I got my engine replaced... as some of you know whoever read my previous post. ("New Engine" (Got questions) ) For those of you who haven't read the post.

The reason why my engine was replaced was b/c of some oil leak in the rotary chamber and b/c of low compression. Thats what the dealer told me when I took it to them. The reason why I took it to the dealer was b/c I was having alot of stalling problems while I was driving on the highway/freeway... I was not able to rev over 5k rpm.. when I did try to rev the redline beaker would only stay at or below 5k rpm... it wouldn't go over or wouldn't change gear until I let go of the gas pedal. (Wtf?!) Anyways... they told me I had to replace my engine... They ordered a new engine (covered under warranty) (this is my second engine at 69k miles) ) They also made me buy a new air pump with my own expense which costed close to 600$ with my own money. Anyways that was last month.

After I got my new engine... replaced (on the 20th of last month) I've been researching alot about the 8... and planned on taking care of it very very.. well. I've heard alot of facts about "DO not redline" for the first 1000 miles... (keeping it under 4k rpm) I followed it persistently for 2-3 weeks. Today this morning I had my mileage at 950 miles on my new engine... so I was like hmm.. let me jus try to redline it for once... Since I'm almost close to 1k miles.

This morning I tried redlining it and my engine was having a tough time revving up between 4-6k rpm (it was giving me a stalling sensation at 5-6k rpm) and at 6-7k rpm it jus stops revving up it wouldn't even touch the redline mark (hearing no beep, but the engine is roaring loud) When I kept pressing the gas in doing so my check engine light came on? ****!!! and the light started to blink... I immediately stopped and turned the car off on the side of the road... waited for a few mins and drove it slowly to the dealer... (the light went off). Right now its at the dealer (****!!!) going thru diagnosis again...

IDK WTF to do... since the time my parents bought the 8 for my bro and since I started driving it a year and half ago... its been at the dealer more then it has been at my house. Every other month I have some kind of a different problem. And I dont think its any of my fault b/c I take care of it like a baby. I love everything about this car especially the design of the rotary.... but I hate to say this car has alot of problems... Any comments/suggestions will be appreciated.

Last edited by atruerx8racer; 08-03-2009 at 07:15 PM.
Old 08-03-2009 | 07:12 PM
  #2  
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sold the 8... :(
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change your coils

/thread
Old 08-03-2009 | 07:13 PM
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coils?
maybe time to find another mazda dealer?
Old 08-03-2009 | 07:14 PM
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sounds like a misfire.
Old 08-03-2009 | 07:19 PM
  #5  
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Originally Posted by FazdaRX_8
coils?
maybe time to find another mazda dealer?
Sad to tell you but where i Live which is in El paso, Tx there is only 1 dealership near me which is 20miles away (very bad customer service). The dealer that I go to... I don't even know if the people there know anything about fixing cars. I go back almost every/other month for almost the same or if not different problem relating to the previous problem. The other one is in NM and its close to 250 miles away.
Old 08-03-2009 | 07:36 PM
  #6  
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Originally Posted by atruerx8racer
Sad to tell you but where i Live which is in El paso, Tx there is only 1 dealership near me which is 20miles away (very bad customer service). The dealer that I go to... I don't even know if the people there know anything about fixing cars. I go back almost every/other month for almost the same or if not different problem relating to the previous problem. The other one is in NM and its close to 250 miles away.
road trip!! let us know what happens when you get it back.
Old 08-03-2009 | 08:33 PM
  #7  
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I traveled 3 hours to get my 8

I suggest coils also
Old 08-06-2009 | 04:56 AM
  #8  
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This is so sad...your car probably NEVER needed a new engine and yours has been replaced twice. Dealerships probably do this to make money for the service department out of warranty. Im no mechanic but if you have the same issue with a new engine...then u never needed one. Than everyone starts worrying how soon they will need a new engine ( I know I do). There was a thread here where some chic was told she needed a new engine and these 2 guys from this website went and fixed her car...its really sad how these garbage *** dealerships are ruining the reputation of the rotary.
Old 08-06-2009 | 05:26 AM
  #9  
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Originally Posted by atruerx8racer
Omgosh I dont know wtf is going on with my car... ( I'm so fk'n frustrated!)

2-3 weeks back I got my engine replaced... as some of you know whoever read my previous post. ("New Engine" (Got questions) ) For those of you who haven't read the post.

The reason why my engine was replaced was b/c of some oil leak in the rotary chamber and b/c of low compression. Thats what the dealer told me when I took it to them. The reason why I took it to the dealer was b/c I was having alot of stalling problems while I was driving on the highway/freeway... I was not able to rev over 5k rpm.. when I did try to rev the redline beaker would only stay at or below 5k rpm... it wouldn't go over or wouldn't change gear until I let go of the gas pedal. (Wtf?!) Anyways... they told me I had to replace my engine... They ordered a new engine (covered under warranty) (this is my second engine at 69k miles) ) They also made me buy a new air pump with my own expense which costed close to 600$ with my own money. Anyways that was last month.

After I got my new engine... replaced (on the 20th of last month) I've been researching alot about the 8... and planned on taking care of it very very.. well. I've heard alot of facts about "DO not redline" for the first 1000 miles... (keeping it under 4k rpm) I followed it persistently for 2-3 weeks. Today this morning I had my mileage at 950 miles on my new engine... so I was like hmm.. let me jus try to redline it for once... Since I'm almost close to 1k miles.

This morning I tried redlining it and my engine was having a tough time revving up between 4-6k rpm (it was giving me a stalling sensation at 5-6k rpm) and at 6-7k rpm it jus stops revving up it wouldn't even touch the redline mark (hearing no beep, but the engine is roaring loud) When I kept pressing the gas in doing so my check engine light came on? ****!!! and the light started to blink... I immediately stopped and turned the car off on the side of the road... waited for a few mins and drove it slowly to the dealer... (the light went off). Right now its at the dealer (****!!!) going thru diagnosis again...

IDK WTF to do... since the time my parents bought the 8 for my bro and since I started driving it a year and half ago... its been at the dealer more then it has been at my house. Every other month I have some kind of a different problem. And I dont think its any of my fault b/c I take care of it like a baby. I love everything about this car especially the design of the rotary.... but I hate to say this car has alot of problems... Any comments/suggestions will be appreciated.

Well replacing an engine does not solve all the problems concerning peripherals. Here in Greece every time that we change an engine we replace spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel pump, oils and coolant and inspect the catalyst and change it if has failed.

Those peripheral part changes might not always be needed but it may be proved to be crucial in certain conditions.

Always care about the ignition and fuel supply of your car , specially when you change engines.

The dealer may not direct you all the times to the right path of peripheral part replacement so you have to search for your own.

So If I were at your condition I would do the following actions:

1- compression test of the new engine (may be a bad rebuild , it happens)
2- change ignition coils and spark plugs and plug wires
3- Inspect your cat (emissions, optical inspections , look inside it where it is possible)
4- Inspect fuel pump filter or even better change your fuel pump.


I guess that if you do 1 through 4 the problem should be found.
Old 08-06-2009 | 05:43 AM
  #10  
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Originally Posted by boizart1
This is so sad...your car probably NEVER needed a new engine and yours has been replaced twice. Dealerships probably do this to make money for the service department out of warranty. Im no mechanic but if you have the same issue with a new engine...then u never needed one. Than everyone starts worrying how soon they will need a new engine ( I know I do). There was a thread here where some chic was told she needed a new engine and these 2 guys from this website went and fixed her car...its really sad how these garbage *** dealerships are ruining the reputation of the rotary.
why? it could, and is most likely, a combination of problems.
coils wouldn't affect compression readings anyways

and if i'm not mistaken, I believe an independent mechanic told that "chic" that she needed a new engine, not the dealership.
Old 08-06-2009 | 08:12 AM
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Originally Posted by rotaryPilot
Well replacing an engine does not solve all the problems concerning peripherals. Here in Greece every time that we change an engine we replace spark plugs, ignition coils, fuel pump, oils and coolant and inspect the catalyst and change it if has failed.

Those peripheral part changes might not always be needed but it may be proved to be crucial in certain conditions.

Always care about the ignition and fuel supply of your car , specially when you change engines.

The dealer may not direct you all the times to the right path of peripheral part replacement so you have to search for your own.

So If I were at your condition I would do the following actions:

1- compression test of the new engine (may be a bad rebuild , it happens)
2- change ignition coils and spark plugs and plug wires
3- Inspect your cat (emissions, optical inspections , look inside it where it is possible)
4- Inspect fuel pump filter or even better change your fuel pump.


I guess that if you do 1 through 4 the problem should be found.
Sharp diagnosis methods. Not all dealers have techs who care or know what they're doing and Mazda doesn't always make it much easier.

Paul.
Old 08-06-2009 | 08:55 AM
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It definitely sounds like a seriously crippled Air/Fuel ratio, probably associated with lack of information for the ECU on how much air is available. 'Not revving over 5k' is a pretty severe coil problem, if it is coils. Generally it is just loss of power, but you can still get to redline.

I had the exact same symptoms when I accidentally left the MAF sensor plug disconnected after my coil change. Your MAF sensor may be unplugged, damaged, fouled, etc...

If it is an ignition problem (coils, plugs, wires), then you combustion won't be complete, but you will generally have issues all across the range, becoming more noticable at upper RPM. It happens that ignition problems also manifest themselves at low RPM instead of high.

If it is a sensor problem measuring air flow, then default map will be fine for low RPMs, and completely fail to provide any power to get over a certain RPM

If it is a fuel delivery problem, then you generally get complete stalling, and generally under a specific set of circumstances. (Keep in mind, an air flow sensor problem will probably result in reduced fuel flow, even if there isn't anything actually wrong with the fuel delivery system).

If it is a problem with expelling the exhaust fully (i.e., clogged CAT), then it will act 'choked', and have trouble revving under load, but you should also be able to see or feel intense heat from the CAT. Often the CAT is visibly glowing after a drive.


My money is on the MAF sensor for this particular problem.
Old 08-06-2009 | 05:29 PM
  #13  
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coils and check cat....!nds like cat to me
Old 08-06-2009 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by atruerx8racer
Sad to tell you but where i Live which is in El paso, Tx there is only 1 dealership near me which is 20miles away (very bad customer service). The dealer that I go to... I don't even know if the people there know anything about fixing cars. I go back almost every/other month for almost the same or if not different problem relating to the previous problem. The other one is in NM and its close to 250 miles away.
I travel 1 and 1/2 hour to get to a "good dealership"

There is 5 dealership around me ... and they all suck.


For your problem, it wasn't your airpump, air pump has nothing to do with your engine not revving pass 5K + , it was more like your coils, plugs, or Catalyst Converter, or all.

Hmm ... you should demand a refund on the air pump since it obviously did NOT fix your problem.

Also, tell them to plug their WDS into the ECU and check the Thorttle Body readings. Trust me.
Old 08-06-2009 | 07:17 PM
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First off there is nothing wrong with redlining a new engine. Come on people this is 2009 not 1987. That being said, don't ridiculously redline it for the first 500 miles or so. Change the oil then you are good to go.

As for your problem - probably coils.

Agree about the reputation being ruined by bad dealerships. It's truly a shame when you tell people you have an RX-8 and they say "nice car but too bad the engines don't last".
Old 08-06-2009 | 08:59 PM
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Never Redline a car while its in the break in period. They call it a break in period for a reson.
Old 08-06-2009 | 09:02 PM
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Change your coils, plugs and wires. I had a similar problem and it was fixed right after.
Old 08-06-2009 | 09:11 PM
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Ignition Coils QTY 4 http://www.finishlineperformance.com...cat=338&page=2

Spark Plugs Leading QTY 2 http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk...%26+Drivetrain

Spark Plugs Trailing QTY 2 http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk...%26+Drivetrain

Saprk Plug Wires Moroso Spark Plug Wire Set https://www.fluidmotorsports.com/p-9...ccesories.aspx or Contact Charles R. Hill for wires and plugs.

If you want to upgrade your ignition system, Charles aka BHR sell a nice kit.
Old 08-06-2009 | 10:26 PM
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Okay, I'm not an expert by any means, but I just got my car back from the dealer yesterday and I had to take it back twice. They replaced the engine, but the coils were on back order so, I had to wait two weeks for them to come in. It drove like **** in the mean time. The CEL was blinking the whole time. I took it back last Thursday. They put new coils, plugs, plug wires etc. The check engine light still would not go off. Well, Yesterday, they found the problem. A vacuum line pinched in the manifold. It was like night and day. All of a sudden I can see Red in my Blackbeauty again Don't give up on these cars, you know you love the drive.
Old 08-06-2009 | 10:27 PM
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+1 for def. checking your cat
Old 08-06-2009 | 11:52 PM
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Generally it is just loss of power, but you can still get to redline.
Not so, last year I was having the axact same issue as the OP (car would drive fine up to 4-5k then would bog like crazy, no power. Changed plugs, coils, wires and bam! Power was back.

New Coils are not included with the reman. I had to get new OEM coils before they would replace my motor. But I just yanked out the new OEM coils yesterday and installed my BHR kit.
Old 08-07-2009 | 01:29 AM
  #22  
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coils plugs and wires. not a big deal.
Old 08-07-2009 | 03:21 AM
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hate to be the insisting idiot but does anyone suspect that maybe he only needed coils to begin with?
Old 08-07-2009 | 03:29 AM
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That is what is being suggested: that the dealership has neglected to use any intelligence or common sense in properly diagnosing the problem to begin with, which is likely the reason that he is having the same problems all over again.

Bunch of bs.
Old 08-07-2009 | 03:34 AM
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^ are you saying the dealer is bsin or that info is bs


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