Just got my May issue of Top Gear magazine....it's imported from the U.K. so I get it late.

Anyway, they had a little blurb on the RX-8. Here it is:

"This year's survey saw the rotary-engined Mazda beat its nemesis, the Nissan 350z, by six places - which can only be good news for RX-8 owners...but there's a twist.
Of all RX-8 owners quizzed in the survey, 27 percent of them said that their cars had broken down, against just three percent of 350z owners. So how exactly did Mazda come out on top then? Well, dispite questions over engine reliability, owners loved the build quality, highly rated the car's spaciousness and like the service they received from their dealers.
The RX-8 also scored low in the fuel economy section, but that didn't stop owners racking up the miles - they just loved driving it. In fact, 85 percent of owners would have another, against 69 percent of 350z owners. Even despite the odd breakdown."

I was happy to see some more press on the car in this mag.

 

Doesn't surprise me at all. Thank God for Brits, Europeans—not to mention auto journalists the world over—who really know cars. And get it.

 

That breakdown percentage is worrying though. I wonder what percentage of that was flooding and owner neglect. Either way, that ain't good.

 

Could you list the cars that beat the 8 in order. would appreciate very much

 

holy ****! 27%! that is super high.

 

"like the service they received from their dealers."

Wtf?

 

^ America needs to take this lesson^

 

EXACTLY......

no matter how quirky the car is, real fanatics cant stop driving it! look at how many would buy again!!!!!


the breakdowns were prolly 90% from flooding so they chalk that up to engine reliability but i chalk it up to dumbass owners

 

What a joke. I love how people are so insecure they have to put everyone else down saying they "don't get it" just to feel good about their purchase.

The only reason it was ranked high in the UK despite it's **** poor reliability is because the people were happy with the service received. Unfortunately, Mazda dealers in America are atrocious.

There's nothing to "get". The car has poor fuel economy, bad reliability, and terrible service departments backing it up. If you think that's worth the fun that the car is to drive good for you. Just because the rest of America tends not to agree with you doesn't mean they're not "getting" something.

 

10 bucks says saturn boy has a 4 port auto and has flooded it 12 times so far......

 

From what I assumed his comment meant, he was aiming for how in america, in most situations the car that can go faster by stepping on the gas and going in a straight line is the better car for performance, but drivers over there appreciate all aspects of performance. Generally speaking, that would be accurate I believe though I've taken no official survey

 

That was just a blurb in part of the mag. I'll try to dig up the other cars that beat out the 8.

 

Eh, my 04's been reliable and my service department is excellent. Despite 18mpg, I've put on about 30k miles in just 2 years or so, just so addicting....so bah 2 u, while I continue to pwn n00bz in teh twisti3z.


27% Breakdown? Hfs. I really hope that was a just a terrible sample...and what does breakdown mean? Flooding? The flooding has been worked out by Mazda...what else could be severe enough to say it brokedown? People who had their engines replaced under the recall didn't 'breakdown'.

 

I don't understand how Euros can live with a gas guzzling car like the 8 with their fuel prices....

Did you ever see how expensive gas is in the UK?

 

Smiles per gallon it's called However, I'm looking for info on a poss LPG conversion.....Any takers??? paddyosullivan@lycos.co.uk please

 

Saturn does not own a Mazda or RX-8...

IF the RX-8's "**** poor reliability" was so bad it would reflect in Mazda's World-Wide reliability and quality surveys where they are ranked number 1 or 2....
except the USA of course...engine flooding really has nothing to do with reliability, more of the owners ignorance and 'quirks' of the rotary engine.
I do not care how much one thinks they know about rotaries trying to "compare" the engine to piston types or your existing car is a no brainer....as I have said before if you can not handle adding engine oil because it is normal, or understand that the cars fuel economy is like that of a large six or small V8, and an engine that is meant to REV for 'performance'....then do not buy one!

 

I'm fine with that logic, but who says the same isn't true for every other car ever made? Maybe it's just a bunch of idiots roaming around in their 350Z's not adding oil, etc. It's too easy to just try and explain away any inconvenient stat that you hear and it comes off like blind favoritism.

Any time someone criticizes the reliability of the 8 in a tangible study they either claim that the institution providing the study is corrupt or that they sampled idiots who don't know basic maintenance. I just don't understand why that's acceptable logic to most peopole around here.

I think what this survey really conveys is the huge differential of Mazda's service quality between the US and the rest of the world. I'm pretty sure most of us already knew that.

 

 

with any data source you have to question the credibility and what the criteria are for each rating. Asking for a breakdown or explanation is just good statistical analysis instead of just blindly accepting the interpretation of the stats presented

 

What were the top 10?

 

False.

I have owned many brand new cars. The RX-8 was the least reliable of them.

Stalling while idling at stop lights, not starting on the first try. crappy mileage in the winter.

It happened to be ECU tuning, and nothing mechanical, but unreliable all the same.

 

Would you consider that poor engine reliability (like the one in their survey)

 

I dunno.

Do flooding and ECU tunes, stalling, failing to start, and poor winter mileage have anything to do with the engine?

I'd say yeah.

I don't reckon they had a section on "ECU" for reliability. Engine probably covers it.

I also hear a lot "You must have got a lemon".

Well, 26% of owners must have acquired lemons. At some point it stops being somebody buying a lemon and starts being a chronic problem.

It isn't nearly as bad as the FD, as most of the RX-8's problems aren't requiring engine rebuilds.... but it is still not very good.

 

Well flooding can easily be prevented and you admit that you would consider that poor engine reliability. I know my friend floods his once a year but readily admits that it's his fault for moving the car out of the driveway in the winter and shutting off when the engine is cold.

You know all mileage goes down in the winter right? It just so happens we already start with poor mileage.

 

I can't think of any other new car that has the flooding problem that the rx-8 has.

I also have never seen another owner's manual that actually plainly states that "If your car doesn't start the first time you turn the ignition, turn the crank for 10 seconds, turn it off, and try to start again"

And all mileage goes down in the winter. But there are no other 210 (yeah, flamebait) horsepower cars (that I can think of) that such a large number of owners that complain about getting 10 miles per gallon.

Yeah, the rx-8 gets crappy mileage. But crappy would be 18-24. 10-12 is abysmal, and far more common than it should be.

The engine is unique. Reliable, probably not. And I really think a lot of the issues were working out the ECU tuning.. But this still doesn't explain how so many other people are experiencing reliability/mileage issues.

In my STI (which is all wheel drive and with lots more power), I regularly get 17mpg in the winter, heck, when I push it, I can even get 15. Which is less than the 18-24 the window sticker says. I expect it. I wasn't pushing it when I got 11 miles per gallon in the '8.

But the cycle continues.

Lots of rx-8 owners refuse to admit that there are any issues at all, because they either 1) don't have them or 2) think the issues are worth it for rx-8 ownership.

This survey reflects that, I think.

I still really like the rx-8. I wish I could own a (reliable) rx-8.