So... bought the 8 last night and two different people at the dealership gave the same advice about turning off the car. The suggestion was to come to a stop wherever you are parking and wait for 15 seconds. Once the 15 seconds is up rev the engine up to 3k and turn the ignition off.

This was the first I had heard of this and they said it is a rotary thing. Are they telling a good story here or just trying to help me wear stuff out for when the warranty goes out?

 

i think they are just trying to cover their asses so you dont flood it. after i put it in park i close the windows and turn it off. never waited 15 seconds.

 

what about the reving it up to 3k? do you do that?

 

I do. Whenever I shut it off cold I rev the motor to 3K and pull the key. I got in the habit of doing it every time, and the engine seems to start easier now that I do that. If I'm hurting anything someone please tell me! I thought since it was in the owners manual that it can't hurt anything.

 

It's in the owners manual? Weird... I did not see it.

 

This is the switch off procedure for when the engine is cold, or when you switch the engine off a very short time after having started it (like when moving the car). It is to prevent you flooding the engine. It is not necessary to do this every time you switch off the engine.

It is good information, and official from Mazda. The people at the dealer just wanted to be extra cautious by omitting the cold start bit...

 

So does it hurt anything to do it on a warm engine??

 

Shouldn't hurt anything. Just let it coast down without releasing the clutch (if you're parking it in gear).

Not sure it helps, but it will not hurt. A better recommendation the dealer should have given is to never start it cold then shut it off without letting it warm up first (temp gauge needle to warm position). This warmup occurs really fast if you force it to run at 3500 RPM. This should also not hurt anything (though it does use a little extra fuel - but maybe just as much as idle for 2-3 times as long).

It all has to do with "choke mode" which is engaged in the PCM (engine control unit) when the engine is started cold. It adds extra fuel, and it is not burned off completely until the engine is warm. It can "wash down" the small amount of oil that helps seal the combustion chamber at very low RPMs. This can make starting difficult, which in turn can cause the owner to enter a vicious cycle of trying to start a partially flooded engine which can result in a completely flooded engine (no start).

Not a good thing.

 

Yes, it is true, they say that because if you start your car, move just a short distance and turn it off you will flood it.

I know, i did it and had a flat bed tow truck come to our house curtecy of mazda though !

Anyways, if you have been driving for a bit of a distance and obviously ahve gone above 5,000 rmps various times then there is no need to wait to turn off ur engine.

However if you drive around the block and come back or just back up i n ur driveway to position ur car for a cleaning, then do sit there for the extra few seconds and give it a good rev to 5,000 ish or so and you won't flood it !

-Monte
www.surreal-media.com -Enter Minds.