I'm thinking of getting an RX-8 but must admit to being concerned about the flooding issue since I do lots of short trips.

I've read half of the 60+ pages in the big thread on this subject, but since that goes all the way back to when the cars first appeared I'm wondering if in general the problems have been significantly reduced?

- new stronger battery/starter has been said to help, are these now standard on new Rx-8's or do you have to insist on getting upgraded with the dealer?

- flash upgrades are said by some to make a difference, is this generally regarded as the case ?

- are there other improvements of note?

- is it believed that the 2006 RX-8's will have all the latest thinking on ways to avoid this built into them? (and any new outlook on when the 2006 cars will appear?)

thanks to all, this forum is very informative although the sheer scale makes it hard sometimes to pick out the dated news from the current 'latest and greatest'

 

Judging by frequency of flood reports here, the M flash made the biggest improvement. Didn't have many complaints after that. Later flashes seem to have retained the fix. There were a few incidents reported a bit later which seemed related to the weak battery after a year or so. The bigger battery seemed to take care of that one. The better starter seemed to come out around the same time; I don't know how much difference it made, but faster cranking RPM can't hurt. Improvements were also made to the spark plugs by the addition of a slot to let excess fuel drain from the plug's recess. Optional hot plugs were also made available though I'm not sure if they're generally needed now that the other issues have been taken care of.

I never had a flood, but a few hard starts before M. After that I was ok. I replaced the stock battery with an Optima Yellow-top because I like its features. I haven't bothered with the starter. It would be nice to have but I don't think I can make an argument for a warranty replacement and it has performed well enough to not make me anxious to replace it myself.

short answer - it seems to be well under control

 

i don't think the flooding issue was ever 'out of control'....

 

What do you mean by short trips?

Flooding is an issue for starting the car moving it 20ft and stopping it. My car is warm by the time I get it out of the development I live in.
--R.

 

Flooding will always be a possibility. But I'd say remote. You probably have to worry about a dead battery or empty tank of gas first.

 

If your short trips consist of 10-15 feet, then yes, there may be an issue. Like moving the car from your garage to the driveway.

Seriously, I don't think you'll find many recent flooding posts. Recent ECU flashes seem to have cleared up the rich start condition that was causing the problem.

 

The jury is still out until after this next winter driving season. The battery, starter and latest flash all have gone a long way to correct a problem that Mazda has known about since the early days of rotary cars.. well not the *flash* stuff. Big battery, big starter.. those are a no brainer with rotary. ..Anyway.. If we go thru this next winter with few flooding problems, for the most part the problem will be considered solved. Cold weakens batteries, cold thickens oil.. especially those that have changed to higher weights, and the possibility of degraded spark plugs may show up in some flooding situations. We will have to wait and see. I'm guessing that there will be far fewer floods than there were the in the first winter of operation.. but the jury is still out.

 

Thanks for the replies. My short trips involve going 1 mile to the post office, 1 mile to drop my kid off at school (I have to park it and take him in), going to the bank etc.

I do live here in the Santa Cruz area of northern California so our weather is mild...usually 60's to 80's

Could I expect the car to be warmed up sufficiently then after 1 mile of driving?

I see the 33% of all owners have the flood problem survey and get alarmed but if that was basically 30% in the first few months of the car's release and seldom since then it's obviously a different story.

The RX-8 was a much superior driving experience to the Mustang, I'll say that!

 

I am not sure what flash I have but I recently did a turbo timer install and was constantly cranking the engine and shutting it off and never flooded. I used to be real careful about it but once I did it a couple of times when I first got the car and nothing happened, i worry about it less. If you do short trips, please be sure to redline quite frequently to keep your carbon lock at bay.

 

You mean 33% of the people who responded to that poll.

People are much more likely to respond to that poll if they have had trouble. I believe the problem has been virtually eliminated judging by the lack of "OMG!!! - I flooded my 8" or "WTF!!!! My car won't start" threads.

 

Basically you want the temperature needle to get off the "low" peg, then you're alright. 1 mi should be just fine. It's the 20ft 45 sec. runs in cold weather that cause flooding.
--R.

 

you'll be fine, just for the record i move my car in and out of the garage weekly to wash it, 10 ft out, off, 10 ft in off, no probles what so ever.

 

the problem is all but gone, very few cases recently....you shouldnt have any trouble with your car flooding.....although enjoy the gas miliage in those frequent 1 mile trips

 

thanks for all the comments, it's comforting to hear that flooding is regarded as a non-issue these days.

I'll just remember not to take an RX-8 to Las Vegas during 115 degee weather...

 

Apparently my roommates fooded mine while I was away and now it will not start. Towed to dealer today. It has 18000 miles and no updates yet to the flash. So I presume now that it is in the dealer it will be given fresh flash and the recall mods etc. Perhaps flooding will be in my past. there is an easy way to avoid the flooding problem. the engine simply needs to be revved above 3000 RPM for at least 10 seconds. you can do this even when you back the car out to wash it. Or drive in second gear all the way to your 1 mile errand. :-)

In any case as annoying it is to have had my car towed today I still think it is a great car and would not use this as a reason not to buy one.

 

The classic flooding scenario is:

- RX-8 has not been driven recently (car cold)
- You start the RX-8 and back it out of the garage (15, 20 feet)
- You shut it down
- You come back the next day and the car won't start

In many (not all) cases this will require a tow to the dealer. Mazda does not have a 100% fix for this. The Mazda position, from the "Product Update" DVD, is that for short trips let the car run until it reaches operating temp or for 5 minutes, then 3K for 10 sec, let got to idle and shut off. It is unclear if all this is "required" to avoid flooding from a short trip.

As long as your 1 mile trip gets the engine to normal operating temperature, you should not have a problem. If you are just backing it out of the garage, beware!

 

I got tired of worrying about short trips. I have too many things in the garage that need the car moved to access them. I even stopped using the 3000 rpm procedure once the heat issue came out. I just move the dang thing like any other car. If it floods someday, fine. In the meantime I'm not going to pussyfoot around with it. So far so good.

It's sort of like poison ivy. I once heard that 10% of the population is not allergic. So I decided to rub some on and find out. Hey, if you're not allergic why spend your whole life avoiding the stuff? I found out I was in the 90% group. Lol, I guess that weakens my point but it's a similar principle.