JohnCarrJr

My RX8 has only 4400 miles on it. SES dummy light comes on, I don't know what it means, cuz I'm a dummy. So, I take it in to Mazda service. They have the car for a few hours but I hadn't heard from them, so I call up the service dept. The mechanic says that I shouldn't be driving the car right now because it is misfiring and needs new coils and wires.

In English, what the heck does he mean?

BTW, I'm a network guy, not a car guy.

John

ken-x8

Ignition coils and spark plug wires.

JohnCarrJr

I read somewhere on here that's a common problem with the RX8. True?

chetrickerman

the plugs failing is a common problem. 4400 miles seems early, but if its under warranty, i say get it done

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

You should be able to get both under warranty. I had my coils replaced under warranty, but I yanked the OEM plug wires out first day I had the car.

Startl_Respons

Super common. EVERY RX8 owner will sooner or later have the ignition coils (or simply coils) go bad, probably sooner, but still not as soon as you. Mine went bad at around 90,000 miles and almost no one on this forum had theirs last that long so I consider myself lucky. Mazda gave us really shitty coils that can not withstand the heat in the engine compartment.

Coils are part of the electrical and ignition systems of the car. Other parts of the ignition system include spark plugs and the spark plug wires (which simply send electrical current to the spark plugs). Although critical to the proper functioning of your engine, coils are peripheral components and relatively cheap and easy to replace.

When the coils are replaced, you should probably make sure all the downstream components, which are spark plug wires and spark plugs, are replaced as well just to be sure. Your car is under warranty so everything except for the spark plugs should be free. Your engine and catalytic converter should be just fine if you haven't continued to drive it too long when misfiring.

Here's a definition of coils from Wikipedia:

"An ignition coil (also called a spark coil) is an induction coil in an automobile's ignition system which transforms the battery's 12 volts (6 volts in some older vehicles) to the thousands of volts needed to spark the spark plugs."

So the battery drives different electrical systems, including the coils. One end of the spark plug wires attach to the coils. The other end of the spark plug wires then connect to the ends of the spark plugs. Obviously, the spark plugs have to fire correctly for the engine to run correctly. If the engine is misfiring, anything starting from the spark plugs and going upstream (or all of them) can be the culprit.

But for your peace of mind, you need to know it's not a big deal at all. Just get the 3 items replaced. You'll have to pay for the spark plugs though, unless you're sure your current ones are just fine. Remember, you would have to replace them at some point anyway (typically around 35,000 to 50,000 miles for folks on this forum). Getting them done early is better than late, especially under warranty.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Mazda should cover it under warranty

Like others said, one day, it will fail, but shouldnt be THIS early.

anyway, Let them do what they gotta do. thats all

and Im surprised a network guy does not know google.com or wikipedia.com

mystroaz

I'm new to rx8's also, are there any good aftermarket coils, like msd or accel that would work better than stock? like a higher output. And can you use a diffrent size millimeter wire that could help?

chetrickerman

nothing but this

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Stock coils are fine for most. and remember you can get a whole new set for maybe about 110 bux shipped, then you can install it yourself with just basic handtools in maybe 1 hour the most (for 1st timer)

So dont worry too much

Stock wires you can change them to something better, you just need to jack your car up thats it. get some like from Racingbeat.com or Magnecor KV85 wires. do NOT get Nology wires no matter how good they say, its going to mess your car up.

JohnCarrJr

They better not make me pay for the spark plugs. I could see if I had 30-50k miles on the car, but its less than 6 months old. Less than 5k miles. The plugs shouldn't go bad that fast, if they do, its a defect and should be covered.

Mazurfer

I agree and they'd be hard pressed at 4400 mile to make me pay anything at all.

Hey..............someone else chime in............ but remember when they used to switch the plugs out for free after the break in period. Wasn't there a thread about that. I know the did mine after about two weeks of ownership.....that it had to do something about the plugs used when when shipping on the boat. Now.....this may have been only for 04's and 05's before P4206F emissions recall(in a sense) was done on all cars out of the factory.

I'll go see if I can find any reference. Check back here later.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

they changed those plugs back then because

04 and early 05 shipped with older style plugs with no gaps between them. the *newer* designs came with gaps to prevent flooding (gas can stuck in them)

After I think mid 05 model year they start using those new plugs on all rx-8. so no more changing afterwards.

Trust me if they want to push **** on you they could.

They probably failed to do the final delivery inspection. Which most dealers failed to do. Thats why they just give you all new plugs and stuff no questions asked.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I know, neither did I.

but thats how it was tho.

The HKS plug that I got looks mostly like the old original Rx-8 plugs. want a picture of it ?

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I started another post about the plugs. dont want to hijack this one

shaunv74

Let us know what the dealer says. You should have everything replaced for free under warranty.

They should not charge you for new plugs. If they try to you should argue that the bad coils led to the fouled plugs and should be replaced under warranty.

If you have a good dealer they shouldn't even hassle you about it.
If you need to find a good dealer after this encounter check the regional threads on this forum and ask the other folks where they get their work done and they'll tell you who's good in the Baltimore area.

Ain't the internetz great.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

but the internetz saids that Ford made Rotary engine !

and My cat ate my dog, and my mouse ate my cat !!!!!

Startl_Respons

Yeah actually you are in a great position to argue for free new spark plugs. Demand them- but be nice about it- from the dealer.

JohnCarrJr

Actually, I really like my dealership. I've bought 3 cars from them, and they absoultely LOVE me. I get freebies from them quite often. I seriously doubt I'll have any issues. I'm glad this forum is around to help educate myself on some of the problems.

Startl_Respons

You get "freebies" from a woman?