Okay, well I was reading the "flooding" forum and I have become seriously skeptical about buying this RX-8.

Is this the sort of problem that will not occur if the car is properly handled?

I live in the city and will be buying an automatic RX-8.

I heard you have to hold 3000 RPMs for 10 seconds upon shutoff if you have taken a short trip in order to avoid flooding....is this true?

Any pointers on how to keep the RX-8 de-flooded?

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

Yes it is possible to flood the car. Mazda addressed this problem with several flashes of the ecu which helped the problem greatly.My car is an 04 with 74k mi. and has never been flooded. Just follow the owners manual and don't fire it up and then shut it off. let it warm a few mins . Thats all I have ever done and have had zero problems with flooding. The 8 is a blast to drive ,especially with the manual tranny. Always keep your rpms low until the engine reaches operating temp. Then just drive it!

 

When I initially went on this forum to read about 8s before and after crashing my mazda 6..I was a liltle scared away from reading the problems (like flooding and failing compression).

From my experience tho, they aren't reality for the most part and most 8 owners have had very few problems.

 

The owners manual will give you instructions on how to prevent flooding and how to overcome flooding. However, here's the ultimate piece of advice.

Get your car warm by driving, take a scenic route if you're gonna do a short trip. You can certainly shut it down once or twice every now and then cold, but it's not something you want to keep doing. All it needs is a good 10-15 minutes of driving (go into manual mode to bring your revs up, it'll heat up better) to prevent flooding. The 3krpms method is more of a last resort if you definitely don't have the time.

 

First of all, if you do a search and check the FAQ, you'll find the answers you're looking for. But I realize not everyone wants to spend an hour wading through thread after thread just to find the answer to a simple question. So, without further ado…

1. Flooding is no longer "an issue", if it ever was. I've owned my 8 over three and a half years and have never flooded it. Most 8 owners have never flooded their car.

2. The mere act of explaining how not to flood the engine makes it sound complicated—it isn't. To avoid flooding, just remember this: Do not start a cold engine and then turn it off immediately—like when the car hasn't been driven all night, or all day, and someone asks you to move it 10 feet in the driveway. Don't do that. That's all you have to remember. (If the engine is warm, i.e. the car's been driven within the last few hours , then you can start it up and turn it right off just like any car.)

3. If you do have to start it right up/turn it right off, don't. Let it warm up first. Takes 3-5 minutes in the driveway. Or a trip around the block. The "rev to 3000 rpm for 10 second" thing is a precaution you would do only if the engine's been running for just a few minutes. How often does that situation happen? In the 3 and half years I've had the car, I've never had to "rev to 3000 for 10 seconds" before turning it off. Ever.

4. Owners who did flood their engine were generally not following the rule about letting the engine warm up first. Also, first year RX-8s were more likely to flood because they had a smaller battery and a less powerful starter motor. All 8's were upgraded to a bigger battery/starter motor. If someone floods their 8 today, it means they simply turned off the engine without letting it warm up for a couple of minutes.

Any questions?

 

Wher did you hear that? Was it from someone/someplace you trusted? Did you hear the entire short trip procedure?

Ken

 

It sorta IS in the owners manual

 

If you're skeptical and a worry-wart, the 8 is not the car for you.

 

No problems here.

I did move my car one time and I did not let warm-up nor did I do the 3k rev.
No flooding and it fired right up without any trouble.
Not to say it won't happen but what I am sayings is if you want an 8, I would say get it.

Again flooding could be an issue in older 8 without the new starter and battery but do not let it keep you from a good and somewhat rare car.

Rotary for the win.

 

why are you getting the auto?

 

I got a DVD with my car that covered the flooding. What not to do and what to do if you do flood it. Part of the procedure for warming it up while sitting still IS rev'ing to 3000 rpm for 10 seconds. I just take it for a quick spin if I want to move it cold. It literally warms up in a couple of minutes/miles anyway.

I'm not worried about flooding it myself. What I worry about is leaving it with someone else for service or something like that and they aren't aware if this and they go out and start it cold, run it into the shop and shut it off. Well, I left it for service at 2 different places last week and neither had a flooding issue. So, I'm not sure how much of an issue it really is, now, if you've had all of the reflashes.

Mine is an AT. I'm new to this forum but have read many posts and stickies and the following is what I've gathered for keeping the car running well and for a long time:

1 - the rotary engine is designed to inject oil into the motor to lubricate the seals as you drive it. Therefore, it burns a little oil anytime it is running. So, check the oil often, keep a quart handy, and add some when it needs it. I'm going to check mine every other fillup and add when needed.

2 - the rotary engine is a high-rev'ing engine and was designed to be driven like a sports car and not babied like a cadilac. Rev it to redline often to blow out any carbon buildup and keep the motor clean and running good.

3 - don't start the car and turn it off cold. However, if you do, follow the recommended procedure for restarting a flooded engine if it does, indeed, get flooded.

4 - while you shouldn't baby the car when driving it, you shouldn't ignore the maintenance of it either. Change the oil regularly and the other parts, not when they go bad, but when the schedule says to change them. I'm bad about this with my other vehicles (except my Harley), other than oil changes, but I intend to not be that way with this car.

5 - Mazda extended, retro-actively, the warranties on the engine core and the drivetrain on all 04's - 06's, so drive with the peace of mind knowing that, should your motor go bad for some reason before 100k miles or 8 years from the original purchase, you are covered, assuming you can prove you have maintained it as recommended.

 

Unfortunately, some people weren't born with the coordination necessary to drive a stick. My wife is one of those people and my daughter genetically inherited it, apparently. I've never tried my daughter on a stick but used to try to teach my wife to drive my old jeep several times and it just wasn't ever going to sink in. So, since my car is going to be my daughter's transportation, we went with the auto.

Nothing wrong with the AT. It's not the MT - 2 completely different cars from the reviews I've read and the opinions posted on this forum. But the AT is still fun as hell to drive. It has the manual mode with the paddle shifters on the wheel. So, if the AT is what you prefer, get it. You aren't going to beat an MT from light to light but that's not what it's about for everyone. It's still a rush to throw it down to 2nd and redline it and look down at the speedo and you are doing 70+. Not many stockers out there you are going to do that on a regular basis with.