Well, I posted before about my issues and I still have some of them. My main problem is hard starting, to the point that it takes numerous tries to get it to start on some occasions, three when I left for work today. My mileage "seemed" to be doing good this tank. It showed 75 miles when I got to the first quarter down mark, which is normal, and I had 98 on it when I got home last night and it was barely over one line below the first quarter down mark when I shut the car off. It was in that same spot when I left today. However, after driving 12 miles was all the way down to the halfway mark (and still dropping) and the car is sputtering like it is choking or something. It looks like I'll be lucky to break 15 mpg now.

My tire light is also blinking now, which started a few miles from home last night. I checked all the air in my tires and they ranged from 28-36, basically. One being 36, two being 29, and one being just over 28. I picked my car up from being worked on the 16th and they said it was great and my paperwork said they checked the air pressure and everything and that they were "great." It's quite obvious they didn't. They also said they drove my car but my paperwork shows my in mileage and out mileage as exactly the same. I wished I'd been paying attention when I dropped it off, but from what I remember, it changed less than 10 miles total for them having driven it to check out my problems.

I called to complain about the tires and the fact that I'm still having some of the issues, although the smoking has stopped, second gear works again (while they adamantly deny they ever touched my transmission or clutch), and my alarm doesn't keep going off constantly. Of course, now something on the front passenger side rattles like mad. I can manage to overlook that if they would just make my car like it always was again!!

I told them I thought my spark plugs might be bad after the last "incident" I had to take it in for, and they said they can't be because they were replaced during the recall. I told them they weren't because they were "too new" and the paperwork I had said the same thing. So, they acted all pissed at me. It's pretty bad that my car is this messed up all of a sudden when all I did was take it in for an oil change!!! My paperwork doesn't even say who it was that worked on my car this time, like it used to.

I'm taking it back in Monday and if they can't manage to fix it, then I'm going somewhere else, and they certainly aren't getting a good review from me!!!

I almost forgot. When I checked my oil I had brown "globs" on my dipstick, which I don't know what it is from. It almost looks like thick, old oil. (Edit: It's not the "foamy stuff" I'm positive).

HOW ON EARTH CAN SOMEONE SCREW UP AN OIL CHANGE THIS BAD????

 

The recall I had done just before the oil change couldn't possibly cause all this could it?

 

Tires are due to change in season. Temp fluxations causing pressure changes.

Read the manual tires have to be within two lbs. or the light comes on.

Check when cold and fill up when cold.

The oil glob is probably from cold tempertures and not warming up the car enough.

Read the dip stick TSB and threads.

So now your car is fine except the last problem of running. Still think the plugs are fouled from loose plug installation during recall.

Contact your Mazda district rep. Tell them what happened. Still think and hope it's only the plugs. I would be surprised if it was the coils.

 

Well, my car was fully warmed up when I did check the oil, so don't think that was it, but I don't know. I had driven the car those 12 miles, car fully warm. I let it sit for between 5-10 minutes first.

I am aware of the tire pressure changing in cold weather but why would they be totally mismatched pressures in each tire if they were "great" on the 16th when I picked it up, especially with one being 4 pounds over recommended? They should at least be reasonably close in their "lowness" and not have one significantly over!

I hope it's only a plug problem and they fix it, which would explain the hard starting and the sputtering until it's been running awhile and fully warmed up. I did notice a slight chlorine smell when I started the car today, but don't know if that means anything or not.

The mileage thing is what is worrying me the most. Why on earth would it drop from an average of 23 down to 16 and below? It seems like the more I drive it the worse the mileage gets, and it only occasionally seems to do okay. I can't think of a logical explanation for a 7 mpg drop and more. I can see when they changed to "winter gas" it going down a little, but last year on "winter gas" I still got in the 22 range on average. There was only about a 1 mpg change between the gas blends. If it went down to mid to high 20s I'd blame it on that, but it's gone down so much that I feel that something else is going on with it. The first 300 miles I drove after the recall (same tank) I g to 21.79 mpg, which also included extra long warmups in the morning because the weather was in the low to mid 20s outside and the car was covered in ice.

Then on the way to get my oil changed I got gas (officially using up the "free tank" from the recall). I have had problems ever since. I only use premium gas. I have tried using different stations in case I had gotten some "bad" gas. I have run numerous tanks through my car since then and it just keeps getting worse, and I have even used different stations, too. Of course, right after the oil changed is also when I noticed the loose plug, oily splatters, black smoke out the exhaust, burning smells.

The car is running better in general overall since they last had it and "did nothing" to it, so they were again telling me today, because apparently I'm hallucinating that my car is having problems or whatever. It is still starting hard, which wasn't addressed when I had all those other things for them to do. I know it's not flooded or even "pre-flooded" since I don't take short trips or shut if off cold for any reason. The shortest trip I have taken in my car is to the post office, which is something like 9 miles from my house. The car doesn't do it every single time, although most of the time it seems to, is that when I start it, especially when it starts extra hard, it will then run rough and sputter/choke for for several miles, which is what it did when I left today (took three attempts before it would start) and had that kinda "chlorine" smell. I then hung out at my boyfriend's store for about an hour (12 mile drive) before I had to leave to come to work. It cranked long and just kinda weakly started, and then ran rough and kinda sputtering until I was continuously driving it on the freeway, at which point it started running smoother. One person told me all the rain was causing this, but I wouldn't think so. I drove it in lots of rain last year and it was fine.

It's just really frustrating because my car was running great with no issues and high mpg and then I got a recall, followed shortly by an oil change, and everything all just went to hell, with no real reason for it that anyone can give me.

 

Rain! That's it! I was just going to suggest this before I read your last post.

Bad gas = water in tank = hard start and fuel hesitation sputering.

Try a can of heat at the auto store. It removes the water from the tank and fuel lines.

Have someone check that glob, you may have water in your oil. Usually if it's tto much water in the oil it will turn milky white. Maybe you have a little of both, moisture in oil and water in the fuel.

You can choose to use the heat or return it to the dealer and recomend they add it.
The problem is the car has to be driven to get rid of it.

Of courese they can always remove the gas filter which is whare the water collects and confirm it's there. If they discover water in the gas they may charge you for it.

alot of dealerships don't even change oil, they farm it out to places like jiffy lube!

 

The first 3/8 of a tank drives great and then it starts in with it's problems. This is why I thought it was fixed. It was running good after I got a new tank of gas. I hope that's what is wrong with it. I still think the spark plugs have a problem because of being loose. I hope I'm not wearing out the starter by having to crank on it so much before it wants to start.

 

That's a new one on me. I've never heard this before. Have you had a dealership or Jiffy Lube confirm that this is being done? Why would a dealership trust such a simple job, that they charge twice as much to do in the first place and should thus be a big profit item, to a third party that may or may not have employees that have the slightest idea how to deal withan RX-8? Not that I wouldn't put it past some dealers, but I'd bet even corporate Mazda would STRONGLY frown on such a a practice!

 

The TSB says don't crank more than 8 seconds and then wait inbetween cranking.

8 sec seems way too long for me. How about 3 to 5?

 

I guess that's the problem with Oregon and so much rain! It's been extra heavy lately after being so dry, so that everything is extremely soggy. My mom has had the water in the gas problem in the past in one of her Proteges. I just called her and she is going to pick some heat up for me (stores closed when I get off work and I want to take care of this as soon as possible). I hope it works.

I tried calling a different dealership who had the same recommendation, as well as probably needing my spark plugs replaced. They said the "glob" might have been from them not actually changing my oil, although I can't imagine (and neither could they) it being all thick and globby since I change every 3000 miles.

I certainly hope all this will help!!! It's just really annoying when you have a car with no problems and then suddenly it's full of them and you're told it's "fine."

 

I don't know that I've gone all the way to 8 full seconds but I know it did take around 5 before it finally did turn over the first time today. It's been taking at least 3 seconds since the problem started. It usually would fire up in about a second, really quick.

 

Don't forget to have someone re-charge your battery. You've been putting a alot of draw on it. It takes normal driving forever to bring it back to 100%

A 2 Amp charge for 4 hours. Once a battery goes down it's real hard for them to crank over the car.

 

The fuel gauge on the 8 is not caliberated all that well. The drop in the fuel level vs miles driven is not linear.

 

Yes, but I'm basing off what I have always experienced in my driving. I would always have a certain small range of how many miles I would have at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, light. I am basing it off this. That, and the fact that it mine used to drop fairly evenly instead of a huge drop and then stay kind of thing. I was told by someone that it drops and then, if you shut if off, will go back up because the fuel tank is two-sided (something like that) and when it reaches a certain point it then brings in more fuel from the other side. All I know is that I'm seeing stuff that is totally different than normal. That, and the fact that when I do get gas it is reflected in my mpg (miles driven divided by gallons used). It just seems odd that my gauge would also be "off" too, although I suppose it could be possible after reprogramming the ECU. It don't know what exactly controls it.

 

2 amps? Did you mean to say 20 amps?

Capacity of a typical car battery is in the 80 to 100 amp-hour range. If you have a very low battery, the alternator will usually charge at something like 30 amps, tapering off as the battery fills. It will take several hours of driving to bring it all the way up.

Ken

 

Hi bunnygirl , a quick question .
How often do you take your 8 to the redline ?

 

driver error

 

Yes. But when the battery is discharged, a 2 amp charge (or slow charge) will help charge it better than a fast charge (20amps)

 

About every other day that I drive it. I don't constantly get it up to redline or stay driving in high RPMs for an extended period of time, but I do get the RPMs up high at least once per trip.


I put that stuff in last night when I got home from work and have since driven it 49 miles to and from my boyfriend's house this morning. I'm not noticing any real change right now. It is feeling "normal" and the gas gauge is acting "normal" in how much I have used, but I had also filled up on the way home so my tank would be as close to full as possible when I did the treatment. I haven't driven it enough to see if it will actually stay "normal" past the point of using up around 3/8 of a tank, like last time. It did still start kind of hard. It cranked for a few seconds and then fired up, but much more strongly than it has been. I'm going to put more air in my tires today, too, as soon as the rain lets up (yeah right), since I don't want to be getting soaked dealing with it.

Other good news is that I don't seem to be going through anywhere near as much oil now. When I was having the "splatters" I had needed to add 2 quarts since the oil change, and it was at the full mark initially after the change.

The whole situation with my car is just too strange.

 

You will be lucky to break 15mpg...I WISH!!! I get consistent 12-13mpg...its the worst!

A blinking TPMS light means there is a malfunction. You might possibly have an intermittent bad sensor. The dealer had to replace two of mine.

 

But otherwise you still upshift at like 3,000 ?

 

Bunnygirl, as for your hard start issues...have you already had the battery/plugs/starter TSB completed? Also, you said it felt sluggish and hesitated...sounds like mine before I got the new engine! Did you have the last recall performed?

Sorry to hear you are getting such bad mileage. Before I had the engine replaced under recall I was consistantly getting 17mpg in town and 22 mpg on the highway. Now with this new engine I'm getting between 16 and 18 mpg in town and 22 to 25 mpg on the highway. I'm loving life now!

 

I had the recall done about two months ago and my car was still fine and perfect after that. Mileage still fell into the usual range. It had only dropped minimally (not even a full 1 mpg outside the average range) and this was including between 5-10 minutes of warm up each morning because it was in the 20s outside and my car was totally covered in ice and needed "thawing." I didn't have any symptoms before the recall or anything. Everything started after my oil was changed (by a "new" employee at the dealership).

Unless they updated the TSB it doesn't apply to me because I have an 06. When they did the recall they didn't replace my plugs because they put the new ones on in July (on backorder at the time my car came off the truck so had to wait to get them). Yesterday I took my car for a little drive because I was bored. I was stuck at home until early afternoon working for my part-time job, so I wasn't done in time to go to a family Thanksgiving thing. Anyway, it started up much better than it was. It's not quite normal, but like it was when I had the original "old style" plugs in when I first got my car (had gotten definite improvement when they were changed to the new ones). I have done about 80 miles since I put the gas treatment in (I'm at just under 100 miles total on this new tank, putting the treatment in at 17). My gauge is at one mark below the first quarter used line so far, which would be totally normal for my car. So, I'm hoping to have somewhere in my normal range of 150-165 miles when it hits the half mark. Since I have to go to the post office today, I'm going to go the really long way there and get in some more good driving time to see how it's doing. Like last time, I thought it was doing good up until approximately the same point and then it started running rough and using up a lot of gas again. I did get the air in all my tires back to 32 psi yesterday, so that should help a little, too. They were all about 4 pounds low, with one being 4 pounds over (odd).

I was going to take it back in Monday and drop it off at my dealership, but I'm going to wait now. I called another dealership to ask their service department (who advised me to wait on taking it in at this time) what they thought of my problem. They think I have water in my fuel lines/tank and told me to run the gas treatment through it for one tank and drive it until it's virtually empty, then fill it up again and drive it until it's nearly empty without the treatment, and then fill up and put the treatment in it again. They actually advised me that with all this rain we have been having/do have that I should probably put the treatment in about once a month during winter. They also said my hard starting may be fouled spark plugs from the one being loose for a bit and may need replacing soon. However, they said to do the gas treatment thing first, because that could also make it start hard. It did seem to start better after the treatment has been going through, unless it's just a fluke. I know the engine does feel and sound a lot better than it had been and it's "pep" is picking back up.

The other possibility mentioned for my issues by the other dealership is that potentially my oil filter wasn't properly seated.

I'm at least hoping that my mileage starts going back up several mpg, even if it doesn't make it all the way back to 23ish yet. I'll settle for 20, which is what I was hoping to get all along when I was planning on getting this car. I have always exceeded it except for when I very first got my car and hadn't quite gotten down letting out the clutch when I was stopped, so I'd kill it quite often for the first few weeks. Even in 90% city driving I would still break 20 mpg. Just before I'd take it in for recall work I had driven up to Seattle and got just over 27 mpg, so I know my car does really well mileage wise. I'd even done a tank with my car in the 5000-6000 rpm range pretty much the whole entire time and my mileage didn't drop much at all, maybe only 1-2 mpg tops.

I do generally shift at the 3000 rpm range about 90% of the time, unless I am purposely driving it hard or making sure I get my rpms up for a bit. I use the recommended shifting points in the manual for the most part.

The tire light is no longer blinking now that my air is even again and at the correct psi. My lowest tire was 28.5 when the light first started blinking, which I think is what set off the sensor. It wasn't considered "too low" to drive on, since it wasn't solid and beeping at me like when I got the screw in my tire and it was going flat.

Anyways, I'm crossing my fingers that the gas treatment is going to take care of my mileage problems as it at least seems to have (at the moment) improved my starting issues and my engine seems to be running better.

 

Don't worry, I'm sure Mazda will give you a run around, have you jump through hoop then ultimately blame you for a defective car.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mazda Service.

Zoom-Zoom-Doom

 

Did it cost you to get the sensors replaced? My light managed to not blink for about 20 miles worth of driving. But, it started in again last night and my pressures are all at 32psi now. I can drive for somewhere over 5 miles but less than 10 miles before the light will come on and blink intermittently. It's really starting to get on my nerves because I keep seeing this blinking orange light out of the corner of my eye and my tire pressure is where it should be. Does anyone know if it just takes awhile to reset itself, if it is something that needs resetting, or if it is something that will just keep on blinking?

I'm just more than a little annoyed with my dealership experience right now since they acquired a new service advisor that it totally lacking in people skills.

 

I'd feel better about this whole thing in general if instead of saying "your car is perfect, go home" they would have said they weren't able to find the problem at this time, or something like that, instead of talking down to me like I was an idiot and was imagining the whole thing. What makes it even worse is that several of the symptoms seem to have gotten better/resolved since I took it in, and they tell me they didn't do a thing to my car besides look!!! If it were that simple I'd just sit there and stare at it all day until it got better!!!

I can say that the gas treatment does seem to be helping with a lot of my continued symptoms. The hard starting is essentially gone at this time. Now I'm just hoping to see improvement in mileage (essentially the only remaining issue besides the blinking tire sensors). It does appear that it's getting better but I've only used up a partial tank at this time, so we'll see if it stays doing good. Who knows. I may just have to get gas every other day to keep good mileage if it sucks when it gets below 3/8 of a tank (as if what happened last time after looking to be doing good). LOL