6speed8

Well it's very clear Mazda did not really do proper testing of the RX-8 (and perhaps Renesis) before they released them for sale - Shame on Mazda. Most companies these days do that 'rush to market' thing, but the RX-8 borders on the absurd. Where was this car tested? Was it in an air conditioned climate controlled track? This car was not tested in ANY real world conditions and Mazda should fire the jerk (or team of jerks) that gave the okay for production.

Some will say Mazda is stepping up to the plate, but I say they are covering their butts. I am not sure about all of you, but I have already spent WAY too much time at the dealer with the previous recalls, TSBs and flashes AND YET the car STILL doesn't make anywhere NEAR the power that Mazda touted or bragged about. I had the squeaky and dust making brakes replaced with the 'improved' less dusty brakes, but now THEY are starting to squeak AGAIN!

I have head the headlights and tailights replaced for Fogging/mositure. All the flashes, heat shield, A/C amplifier (which by the way is a joke, all it really does is set your A/C to Recirculate when you first start the car). Battery and starter have been replaced.

I say Mazda really blew it, and yet somehow, I still LOVE this car. I cannot imagine how much more I could love it IF it made 250 hp and didn't need things replaced all the time!

tiggerlee

I would assume they know very little on the subject so far, considering the news just broke. If you've been reading this thread today chances are you probably know more than they do. I can only imagine how many phone calls Mazda dealers must have received today from 8 owners about this.

rotarWEEE!

True. I'll go easy on them!

rxeightr

swoope --
Are you saying the reflash you just got did not take care of the problem?

swoope

iTrader: (5)

yes,
i stated that in the flash reflash thread... i think the damage was done....

it runs fine with premix though.

beers

Spin9k

Talk about useless doom and gloom - Bah! Why not wait til next week, see what's up w/the recall?

For those it does happen to - I'd imagine it'll be taken care of quickly and efficiently. That's why they're doing it - to satisfy the customer that has had problemsl. But they have to first id the bad apples and do the swap. That's what a recall is.

This paranoia is and serves no good purpose for anyone - esp as Mazda is trying to do something good for us and their (our) beloved rotary. If they screw up the recall, well then I'll bitch along with everyone with good reason. Till then..... I think Mazda deserves some credit and an A for the effort they've shown (not to mention the expense they'll incurr working to id and resolve this for those unlucky ones)

swoope

iTrader: (5)

that is my attitude...

the people with the problem know the have the problem...

my dealer has been great...

beers

swoope

iTrader: (5)

and this is the best written stuff about the reality of the problem...

GOMEZ YOU ROCK!!!!!

this is for the people that wont look at a link...


I wouldn't assume this issue will affect us here.

The US cars have had local engine issues for quite a while now. You need to understand the differences between the US and Australian spec vehicles. They run 5w-20 oil. They have to, their EPA demands it. They demand it because a 5w-20 oil will cause less frictional loss. Less frictional loss means less fuel consumption. Less fuel consumption means cleaner air in Los Angeles....

They have different PCM flashes to us. Their cat converters must last for an incredible 100,000 miles (US EPA mandate....ADR 37-00 requires our cats to last half that [80,000 kms]). This means Mazda have to control the exhaust temperatures to save the cat from too high a temperature. The easiest way to do that is to pour more fuel into the engine. This results in (you guessed it) high emissions and poor economy. There is a very fine balancing act Mazda has to accomplish to satisfy the customer and the EPA.

Many of the problem engines have come from the hot dry states like Nevada. They see temperatures in summer of 40degC for weeks on end. We don't get that here.

We haven't seen engines failures of this type happen here. I don't think we'll get this recall, but it's a wait and see I suppose.

beers [B]

Japan8

Never saw the post on mp3car where a tech got caught on a high speed joy ride, huh? Someone left their car computer on with GPS tracking/logging, but screen off and locked. When he checked the logs later, turns out that one of the techs took his car for a long, high speed joy ride. Of course this person then went back to the dealer and showed the service manager the logs and told him the story. End result... I believe that tech got fired.

Tirminyl

Or the tech that took a ladies Cobra out, thrashed it and bragged about it on a message forum, only to find her and her husband visited the forum...got fired.

Not to mention those who are have the ***** to run your car in while you're there.

max5roadster

FWIW, I got the flash today. I'll be going back for comp check later, but to date I have been fortunate enough to not have any issue. I live in southern Indiana where temps have been 95+ this summer. I have no cat to clog (B&B Midpipe), have premixed, and used Royal Purple 5-30 for the last 14K (since 18K). I noticed very little difference in the car after the flash except low/mid range seemed to be up on power. On an interesting note, our local 8 club has had 3 members w/ replaced engines. 1 auto for "marbles" sound and 2 MTs. Not sure about 1 of the failures, but my service manager mentioned that the other was because he "failed a high idle/rpm vacuum test." This was about 1 week ago. As for me, I'll wait and see. I put my faith in RG with the RP oil and I am glad I did. I also picked up on the LUCAS UCL as a premix and am thankful to the forum for this. (And for saving me $$$ since I went with the rx7 plugs.) The way I see it, doing these 2 things seems to keep me out of the dealership alot compared to those in the club that do just the basic mazda maint.

rddragoness

thanks guys all of you for your information. I just bought my 06 shinka 6 weeks ago...what will they do to help those of us left stranded while they rebuild these engines?

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Your "06" car may not be included in the recall.
Last August when I was waiting for a new engine, I was supplied with a 4 door Ford Focus rental.

Nubo

The seals are constantly scraping old oil (and carbon) off the side plates. Maybe at some point the ratio of liquid oil to (dry) carbon gets too low and the scraping action becomes ineffective. Sort of like rubbing or claying your car's finish -- if it gets too dry the solids cake up.

Raptor2k

Care to furthur describe your friend's situation with the auto?

Chrisbert

If I'm over the Warranty (52K), does a recall still apply? I thought a recall was a recall. If I traded it, and someone else bought it off a lot the recall would show up on Carfax and have to be performed.

jus7o

is there any chance of mazda doing another buy back? could a lemon lawyer free me of the car if i run into problems after a 'new' engine swap? what are my options? i have a 2005 RX8 with 23k miles on it.

thanks

Tirminyl

A recall is a recall so it will be performed. Dude, I had an 86 Integra back in 2001. Took it to the dealer for overheating problems and got a freaking brand new Integra rental and all recall work done with no charge.

Tirminyl

Seriously, everyone just need to stop with this.

expo1

^
Ditto.
Unless Mazda can clearly state what they changed on these rebuilt motors. I do not want to give up my perfectly fine running 72,000-mile engine for a 're-man' of uncertain heritage. I am also quite leery about leaving a perfectly fine 8 at the dealership. I do not put it past a dealership with a slow shop to fudge the results of this test in order to get more warranty work.

max5roadster

Sure, but you'd be better off getting the details from him: indyflyboy. Just PM him, or go here: www.indyrx8club.com/forums and PM him (<-this will get you a quicker reply). It basically took 15 trips to the dealer and multiple calls to Mazda Tech w/ no resolution, except for a temporary improvement when his PCM was outed to CA for reprogramming, but in the end the noise returned. He then called MNAO and they authorized the dealership to get him a new engine.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

This recall is a good thing. If you are having a problem, the recall will identify the problem and give you a new engine. If you are not having a problem, the test will verify everything is OK and the engines get better with age anyway. An update to the ECU and your on your way.
It's a win/win situation.

Imp

Exactly my fear. My car feels fine to me and with only 14.5K miles on it since Oct '04, it's still a baby.

Every time it does go "out to play", it's at an auto-x where it gets the full gamut of exercise: Relaxing drive to the event; full motion of the rev range in 1st and 2nd gear; and then a relaxing drive home from the event. Sometimes, it's just towed to and from the event where it just gets the exercise dodging cones.

0 problems to me.

--

Tirminyl

Thats fine but everyone is blowing this way out of proportion and they don't even know the details.

Gomez

Yeah. Really, some of you need to take a step back and breathe a little. Don't panic. Some of us oldtimers have survived three or four recalls already...the sky didn't fall in.

The sun will rise in the morning.