I am having starting issues with my car. It seems like battery doesn't last anytime when needed to spend a few mins trying to crank it over. I think i have the starting problem figured out to possibly being a bad catalytic converter however in case it doesn't completely help i was thinking about the upgraded starter. I know there is a tsb about it apparently but are people paying for these upgraded starters or is more a recall and they are being replaced for free? Also it is getting about battery replacement time, i have the walmart everstart battery in it now.. in year 2 of its 3 year warrenty and only getting weaker.... enuf said about that lol. What is the highest cca that can fit in an rx8 battery box? I am sure i am going to get a different brand too, not sure yet, tons of threads about it tho, probably an interstate battery i guess.. thinking about cost to performance ratio here. going to get the cat removed wednesday probably to see if that helps, if not.. to the dealership it goes for testing. Before i go tho, i was hoping to get some info about the starter. It hasnt been to a dealer for maintenance since i got it in 06. I see there is a new pcm update for it as well.

Background: to avoid many questions about my actual problem, here is whats going on. The main problem is hot starts, but cold starts are getting slower too now the temp finally decided to drop. The power is still there mostly.. maybe a slight drop in power, sometimes a slight studder at steady speeds. i intermittently get the MIAC sound but not to often. Seems to be worse on hot days or lots of stop and go driving or extended (more than 45 mins) of driving. Ive never decarbed it, shall do that wednesday as well. 105k on motor. i know compression is a big issue.

a lot of info for 2 questions which i bolded, but figured i'd get asked everything under the sun so may as well spill the beans on my logic here lol.

 

i also read too that there was a TSB about the sun visor breaking, which mine has. Is that replaced by mazda for free like a recall or just saying that we know its an issue, this is how you fix it. Sorry we made an inferior product you have to pay to fix.

 

No, it's not free, unless you have some type of warranty that would cover that.

Biggest I've put in is a 34R
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-optima-red-top-battery-34r-series-187809/

 

It's not free. Unless you are under warranty + you complain about the "issue", or you have some sort of aftermarket warranty to cover that.

I just changed my starter today, cuz my old starter has this "dead spot" issue + starter speed degrades overtime ... it's an upgraded starter from 5-6 years ago(N3Z1) Changed it with Beck and Arnley Updated one. Starts so good now, starts less than 1 second.

For the battery, it's better to put one with "good" CCA and Higher RC than one with highest CCA but less RC. For example, Red Top Optima vs Yellow Top. Yellow top will last MUCH LONGER in this car than using a Red Top. I mean yeah I know Optima is not as good as it's used to be but I got it cheap so I don't see why not :D

 

A bit of clarification on RX8RX7's post.


Yes, there is a TSB that allowed for a free starter for the 2004s and some 2005s. The TSB never applied to many 2005s, and any 2006 or later.

A TSB is NOT a recall. A recall is a required thing that must be applied to all cars, a TSB is "some cars might experience this, and it's not safety related, so if they are still under an applicable warranty, fix it under the warranty coverage"

The starter is not considered part of the Engine Core warranty, which is the only piece of the Factory warranty left for 2004s and 2005s. It is considered part of the Bumper to Bumper only (not even Powertrain), and the Bumper to Bumper was 3 years 36,000 miles. So the last time a TSB would have applied to any car would be sometime in mid 2008 for the very last 2005s that it applied to. We are approaching 4 years since any car could "get a free starter".


It doesn't mean there isn't an issue, just that you will pay out of pocket for the upgraded starter now. Since it's 1 clip, 1 nut, and 2 bolts easily reached under the car next to the transmission, I'd highly recommend not paying someone to replace it for you. One of the easiest parts to replace on this car, and there are A LOT of easy ones.


The visor is the same thing. If you are still covered by a Bumper to Bumper warranty, you can get free replacements, if you aren't, then you have to pay for them.

 

if its easy.. im not paying anyone to do it lol. I am tight on money. I am simply trying to get the car in the best condition possible so i can get top dollar as a trade in. I honestly haven't been happy with this thing for about 2 years since it started doing this dying at random stop lights thing, and not wanting to hot start. I just don't have the money or time to give this thing the attn it needs all the time. If it starts to act right again, i may keep it for another year or so until i pay it off just so i can pay it off and have the bump up on my credit. but at the same time, it may be time for it to go lol.

 

Your issue isn't going to fix itself. Either is poor compression that is going to get worse, a starter that will keep failing further, coils that are failing and will die completely, failing plug wires that will continue to degrade, or plugs that will continue to be fouled further.

Wake up to reality. You are killing your car. Even if you have a justifiable reason why you can't take care of it, the fact remains that you are killing it.

 

Wrong. 2005 had 4 yrs 50k b2b warranty im sure all is done by now. Just wanna point it out ;p

And for the op, u should have got ur engine test when u still under 100k miles. U waited so long not doing a thing, so its really your problem now.

 

Actually, I have the documentation for my 2005. 3 years 36,000 miles.

 

Lol? Really, i have mine too and mine is 50k 48 months ... i got bunch of shir b4 it expires so its all good :-)

 

ya, its dying, thanks for pointing that out. lol which is why i am trying to repair it. I never mentioned it would fix itself, i actually mentioned several things im going to do to fix it. Please don't post comments like that. I was just saying i wouldn't waste money paying someone to do an easy repair that i could do myself. Would seem silly for someone on a budget wouldn't it? To be more specific, tomorrow i will be decarbing it, replacing the cat, oil change, possibly the battery, if that doesn't work then i'll be replacing the starter thats apparently insufficient since that is the most expensive im saving it for last. Either way it has 105k on the odometer and aside from the starting issue i love the car. ive tried replacing the plugs/wires/coils numerous times and rarely amounts to anything worth while accept the first time when i went like 60k before i changed them cuz i didn't realize it needed to be changed lol. I just have a lot of maintenance that i need to do to it that i have neglected to do over the last 2 years due to income restraints. not that i have any now, but i can't wait any longer.

 

Actually, you implied it, here:
No time + no money + "if it starts to act right again" = Hoping it fixes itself.

So if you don't intend to say a certain thing, don't use words that say it.

 

stop faffing about and just buy an upgraded starter already !

 

Upgraded starter is win.

 

i see where you could have gotten that now, but i was referring to it starting to work again as in after i replace those parts, if it acted right again, i may keep it. I have no hope in it working itself out lol its not been hot starting for 2 years. as for implying it.. nope i straight up said cat, battery, and starter being replaced in the first post. o well. im tired of talking about it. lets see what tomorrow brings aside from an empty wallet. i'll post a more detailed post about what the problems were and what i did, and what each thing did to help it and what finally fixed it once i am done to help anyone else who has hot start issues.

 

nice vid litters of fury. i was curious how much faster it would spin over. over 100 rpm diff is nice. wish mine started that fast. Hopefully it will soon. oh yes, soon it shall. lol.

 

One thing to remember is that the replacement starter isn't going to fix any issues you have of the car stalling when you come to a stop. It will just make it easier to start the car back up.

Well, hopefully it will.

Good luck fixing the car.

BC.

 

oh i know bladecutter. I just figure i am having multiple issues. I am having some or all of these 1: bad compression probably due to carbon build up causing it to not to hot start and stalling issues. 2: clogged cat, i do have over 100k which in most cars is about time to think about replacing it. I've also noticed a stronger gas smell. Also this could cause my serious decrease in fuel economy. It could also cause my MIAC when i have it. Always after it heats up, a clogged cat would get overly hot, could be failing out an O2 sensor even though i haven't seen a CEL for it yet. 3: Weak starter: in combination with bad compression the weaker starter isn't able to make up the difference on its own. Also a hot/clogged/ cat causing insufficient back pressure could cause many things such as this. 4: weak battery: it is a walmart battery on year 2 of its life. I recently had a bad alternator which i replaced and a bad battery cable terminal which i also replaced,which could have had a bad effect on the battery even though it passes a battery test at autozone.

I am hoping by replacing the cat after a decarb and oil change i should be ok and that the starter would then not have to work as hard. a little far fetched but possible. I just started a new job and don't have the money for a $200+ starter and $100+ battery. but knowing my luck as soon as i do it, it'll run great and then just destroy itself somehow that isn't covered by my insurance. lol.

 

ok so this morning i have had my catalytic converter removed, and i have seafoamed. Still no real change. My exhaust note is annoyingly loud and it may have smoothed out the throttle a tad. There was a lot of build up in the cat tho so even though it didn't do much i feel ok about getting rid of it. Is that a second cat in there or is that a resonator? The seafoam smoked like crazy for about 20-25 mins which is a lot longer than i've seen on the video's online. I took it for a drive once it went away and tried pushing it over 6k, in neutral it will but while in gear its seems like its struggling to go any higher, then shortly after that i get the MIAC sound and shortly after that , it did this only one time but i did get a flashing CEL once i was down to normal rpm range which i know is bad, my oil light also came on a bit before that but i don't think they are related. Any ideas? Oh and i checked after doing both those things, but it still wont hot start.

 

...

 

Pay someone to steal it and drive it into a wall at a high rate of speed far from bystanders.

 

lol are you offering?

 

update:

so i have removed the cat, straight piped it and now its loud as a crap. I also seafoamed it. I even took it a step further and removed the vfad. its running smoother now, smoother idle. I haven't driven it since the vfad so i dont know if its going to do anything for the miac issue when i peg it out, but we shall see. What lead me to the vfad idea is that it seems to flood when i peg it, figured it may not be getting enough air since i know my plugs and coils are good. I noticed a hose a few weeks ago dangling and didn't know what it was it attached to. later to find out that it was the relay for the vfad to open and shut. so who knows how long thats been out. removed it just a little while ago. Shall give it a test run on the way to work in the morning. It seems like the cold starts in the morning is taking longer and longer each day. I do believe not to much longer and i'll have a dead one. I need money fast lol.

 

Yup, that's an issue we all face.

I just need about $130k more and I can have a Maserati.
Hopefully you will get your new starter before I get my Maserati...

BC.

 

Upgrade rebuilt starter can be had for around $130 ....... Can you raise that much ?