I just purchased a used 04 RX8, it is a base model automatic. I have done some searching, but it seems this car has been through quite a lot with recalls and reliablility issues. I do not mind the high upkeep since I am retired and have all the time in the world. So I guess I should get to the point.

Should I keep doing what the manual tells me or does a newer one exist?

With all the after purchase work done by the dealer on this car I'm worried the manual might be out of date.

Thank you for your time in this mater.

 

As far as I know none of the recall significantly affects what's written in the manual. If you follow the common rotary wisdom (let it warm up before high revs, don't baby it too much or you'll foul the plugs, check oil level frequently, don't shut it down cold) you shouldn't have to worry.

 

I concur with Mendossa. The maintenance information in the manual is still appropriate.

It seems like there have been a lot of TSBs and recalls, but a lot of them are for piddly stuff like the heater control **** and the sun visor breaking. The significant ones are the one for the front ball joint (which I understand happened on very few US cars) and the ones re-flashing the ECU. None of those meant any more trouble than bringing it in.

It's not a demanding car to maintain. IMHO, the only recurring difference between this and an ordinary car is checking the oil every couple of weeks instead of every month or two. It's not like, say, a 1950s/60s British sports car where you move into the garage with it so you can keep the SUs balanced.

I'm afraid you're going to spend your golden years behind the wheel of your RX-8 instead of under the hood.

Ken

 

When one of the ECU updates was done they applied some stickers to the manual pages to update the instructions. If your manual doesn't have those you could request them from the dealer.

 

You remind me DarkBrew... the start-up procedure for a flooded engine isn't right in the original manual. Something along the lines of "crank for 10 seconds" was changed for "crank for 7 seconds"... that's what what on the sticker I think.

A search would probably turn it up quick.