Hi guys, new to this forum and have had my rx8 for a couple of years now and had plenty of rx7's before then. This has been a great site to read through and have finally decided to join.

Lately I have had hard start issues only when the car has been sitting for more than 20 minutes or so. It idles rough after it starts for about 30 seconds and then seems to be fine. It will occasionally throw a P0302 code and flash and then turn off or stay on. I ve changed all plugs, coils and wires. Did the brake pedal tap to reset the position sensor. Took it to the dealer where they checked the fuel pressure and did a zoom zoom flush and couldn't come up with anything. I took it to an exhaust shop who tapped the cat and said it didnt sound like the substrate was loose and figured it was ok (original and car has 100k on it). 6 months ago i was on the highway and I got the rotten egg smell for a minute or two and it sound like a piece was rattling around and then it seemed fine. Its been frustrating and I cant figure it out. The car still gets about 270 miles to the tank full and pulls fine to redline, when i clear the cel the times it comes on. Could it be an O2 sensor and cat after all ? Car always starts right up and runs fine when warm. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Please give us all the history on your car..year, model, mods? Have you cleaned your MAF sensor?

 

Think I would clean the MAF, clean the EPS sensor, check that a plug wire didn't come loose, check all coil connections, because that is a misfire code. Then if you got 100k on original CAT, I would unbolt it at the front and you can move it to the side with some force...just enough to peer in with a flashlight and see if the honeycomb is intact. Actually, you could also go for a drive at night, then park and look under to see if it's glowing around the o2 sensor, but I would prefer to peer in with a flashlight.
Is it always a P0302 when it comes on?

 

So i pulled the maf out last night and cleaned it real good. I have a K&N panel filter that didnt look too dirty and started it up this morning and sure enough the frick'n thing started great with a quick blip of hesitation. I figured the dealer, by hook'n up their scan tool would be able to figure that out somehow. May need to change the plugs again from all the hard starts the last couple of weeks. I ll have to keep an eye on the cat for the glow but besides that everything else seems to check out. What a fiasco and thanks for all the input guys! Some of the simplest things are often overlooked.