I have an '04 Rx-8. I have 39,000 miles on it and it has been in the shop
5 times since January. Now Mazda is telling me I need a new engine.
OK.

My warranty is up in 11,000 miles. Mazda tells me the new engine will only be
warrantied for those 11,000 miles. This is bugging me. I have a 4 year
80,000 miles lease and I still have 21/2 years left.

If this second engine blowsm what will Mazda charge me to fix it?

Regards,
Greyson

 

Then you'll be looking at the same thing as the rest of us- especially since the chance of having a second engine blowing is going to be slim to none. Why would they warranty it any longer than the standard? You'll still get the benefit of the full Mazda warranty AND a new engine. I bought my car, which means that most likely I'll have it longer than you'll have yours- and mine isn't covered any longer than the standard either. And I won't have a new engine.

 

There are a few 8s that have been found to have defective engines resulting in compression loss, apex seal damage and coolant leakage, is yours one of them???

Otherwise, the renesis is a fairly robust engine. As long as you drive the car as intended your new engine should last you indefinitely and you shouldn't worry too much about your lease. You still have 11,000miles left, if the new engine should go it will do it way before the 11k miles are up IMO.

 

What has it been in the shop for?

I'd be more concerned with how much you're going to owe at the end of the lease with all the miles you're putting on.

 

So... let me get this straight. You signed a lease for 4 yrs/80,000 miles? Why not just finance for 5? I hope your monthly payments are VERY low. So, if (god forbid) you get engine failures or major mechanical problems after the warranty is up... you'll have to pay for major repairs on a car that is not even yours to keep? I just don’t get that! It's probably because most leases have warrantee coverage for the entire term.

Best of Luck

 

If I were you I would get the Mazda extended warranty (whatever they call it). You NEVER sign a lease that is longer than the car's warranty. In your case, too late - so get the Mazda extended warranty "just in case" the new engine needs work between now and 80k when you have to turn the car in.

BTW, anyone know of a discount dealer to buy the Mazda warranty cheap?

Dennis

 

I am nervous about the second engine. I keep seeing issues about the Rx-8
engines on this board. I have even seen posts about second engines going bad.
What would my out of pocket be for a new engine and installation?

Greyson

 

I hope you are correct. I didn't start to have any problems until I was in the 35k+
range. At that point it was the fouled plug issue. They ended up putting hotter
plugs in the car to fix it. They also said they would not pay for, fix or tow on my
car if it fouled again. I do know how to drive this car and I am aware of the issues
of how to let it warm up, etc, etc. This irked me a little but I let it slide. I figured
we would cross that bridge when I got to it.

I have 39k miles on the car. I drive it for work. My driving has been down and
should be 45k at this point. 11k miles will pass in a flash for me on this car and
I am concerned in a few months I have a car with a second bum engine.

Regards,
Greyson

 

No worries about the miles. I used this car for work and I have an 80,000 mile
lease. My miles do vary from year to year and over 4 years will be 80k

Greyson

 

As for buying vs leasing: These issues are different for business vs private
ownership. The lease deal is a great deal and my rate would probably surprise
you. But I digress.

As for the warranty. Well my thought was this is my 5th Mazda and I am aware of
what issues they face. I didn't expect an engine to go bad at 39k. My other Mazdas
would hit 140-170 easy. The only issues I ever had were standard fare: brakes,
exhaust, belts, etc. As an aside, I have always had problems with Mazda
exhaust systems. It is a real weakness in their product but acceptable
in my fleet. I did have a transmission fail on one but it was at 90k and
was an anomaly. But remember it's not like I got on the net and saw hundreds
of people talking about their transmissions failing either.

As for what happend to this car, I really don't know. I kept having the check
engine light come on and it would run rough. It only has been doing this
in the past 5000 miles. I would take it in. They would fix and give back. I was
in on average once every two weeks over the past two months.

Well this time, they tell me that I need a new engine. I asked if the new engine
was going to be an upgrade. I was told my second engine will have a different
oil metering system. I assume this was what went out my car but I really don't
know.

Regards,
Greyson

 

There was an issue with the MOP and I thought I heard in previous posts/threads about Mazda silently upgrading the oil pump in the 8. In any case most of the cars here that had their engine blow up are either: (1) Messing around with the ECU or (2) turbocharged (or both). Most N/A renesis here in the forum does not have engine issues other than poor mileage :D , Even the flooding issues that plagued early built RX-8 has been addressed. There is something going on in Las Vegas area that seem to be heat-related but I think is mainly an environmental issue and not due to the engineering of the renesis.