I'd be one of those. I usually crack it open at least once a day.

 

Anybody who has a problem is obviously going to post to a place like this, looking for help. Anybody who *doesn't* have any problems isn't going to start posting that they have no problems. Unless explicitly asked, in a thread like this. So:

No problems here. 7 months, 10.5k miles, and I've had more problems with this site than with the car. (and that's not a knock on this site)

 

who are these haters you speaking of? Anyone who are critical to the car? Pointless rant is just that but there are plenty bad news about the car out there.

I went with S2000. Couldn't be happier. But I am very fond of RX8's design. Having driven several of them extensively, I can honestly, say it is one of the nicest GT car I've driven.

Yes, It is a GT car. In case someone wants to argue with me about the term, go ahead and PM and I can educate you on it.

 

I'll be providing this data once I have a large enough sample of cars. When I have 25 cars per model year I'll start collecting data and reporting average trips to the shop and days spent there. Later on, when I have a larger sample, I'll be reporting the percent of cars with 5+ trips to the shop in a year and the percent with zero trips over X years.

Unfortunately there hasn't been much interest from RX-8 owners--I have only 9 2004s and 5 2005s. In general, people who buy sports cars just don't care about reliability. In contrast, I have little trouble getting minivan owners to join my panel.

You mention keeping RPM below 5000. Do you mean during break-in, or forever? I hope it's not the latter, or you're missing out on a key reason for owning the car. This engine only comes alive at 5000, and even at 9000 the limiting factor are the accessories attached to the engine rather than the engine itself.

One thing I didn't initially realize is that the rotors only lap the housing once every three revolutions of the "crank." So even at 9000 the big bits are only doing 3000 RPM.

 

18 months no problems at all. Everyone of those kms are driven in a spirited way. I love it!
Paint job is spotless, interior is spotless. Everything is holding up well... I love Japanese made.

 

I've had my car since 2003. I've flooded once. Had to have my tranny rebuilt. Had to take it in for an airbag issue, and had a random CEL. All of which was under warranty. Additionally, I was hit by a dog, and had random rear suspension damage...

Was it worth owning the car? HELL YES..

Stop worrying.. All cars break and have issues at one time or another.

 

not turbo rotary engines have been known to last FOREVER with proper care. Car and Driver even stated that they get faster over time. First 0-60 for a rx-8 i believe was 6 secs, but then they tested the exact same car with 40,000 miles and got 5.5 for 0-60.

 

I have definately noiced the improvement, almost right after breakin it seemed the motor came alive. Exhaust was throatier as well as better acceleration. anyhow I guess I should clarify....I won't go over 5K RPM in a normal driving environment. When I am out playing around, she will go to redline a few times, but I just didn't want to come across that I was giving the car hell.

 

The car has never left me stranded, but I have taken it to the dealer for CEL lights and it needed a new manual tranny a few thousand miles ago. The tranny gave me plenty of warning though, so like I said, I was never stranded. Plenty of recall trips to the dealer which never caused me any issues (they always provide me with a free rental when the 8 is in the shop).

 

Had mine since May '04- only problem I had was spending too much money for gas I love driving this thing . Only time it went to the shop was for the thermal blanket recall thing and a couple of mods and oil changes.