I have a 54 reg RX8 with 23,000 miles on the clock. I've spent ages trying to resolve the starting problem with my car. When the engine is hot and you turn the engine off and back on again after a few minutes (for example when you get petrol) the engine struggles to turn over and takes up to 4 attempts to start! Car is fine when cold or starting after 10 minutes.

After taking it to two Mazda dealers (first one lying and saying the cat converter had gone), the second dealer said the car has low compression.

They changed the Spark plugs, coil pack and leads, still not resolved the problem. They're not sure what else to do other than put a new engine in it, very expensive and ridiculous for a car with only 23,000 miles!

Any one heard of this and know how to fix the problem, other than a new engine with i refuse to pay for.

Thanks

 

location.. what is a 54 reg?

there are tests for compression and the cat..

beers

 

23k miles = still under warranty = new engine is free

 

Start by telling us what country you're in. I'm sure people on this board can help solve this problem.

Paul.

 

If you live in the USA and its a 2004, you are covered by SSP 77 and will need to pay for some misc parts. Should only cost a couple hundred bucks. If it is a 2005 or newer, you are covered by SSP 67 and won't have to pay a dime. If you live outside of the USA, your fucked You can try a Mazda Zoom Zoom Engine Cleaner to decarb the engine and try to raise the compression.

 

I live in the UK, and the car is a 2004 reg so won't be covered under warranty even though the milage is only 23000. I have had the cat checked and it's fine. I have had the compression test done which is how i know the compression is low. Not sure of the readings though Mazda didn't give me them. They said they're 'borderline'. Seems like if you live in the UK you are pretty much fucked as the Mazda dealers here are useless

 

You might be able to squeeze some life out of it by doing the decarb procedure.

 

Experienced the exact same problem and been through the same process of plugs, cat converter etc - Conclusion is that engine needs to be replaced.

Currently in talks with the supplier but happy to discuss once I make some headway. Early signs not good.

 

God Bless the USA. I would be pissed if when my engine blew at 22,000 they did not replace it.

 

Did you get any joy?? I do have my Compression readings (from the dealer) which identify that engine requires replacing. Not making very good headway currently although in the process considering various options.

 

HI guys,

I have the same Engine Low Compression Issue.
My question is, what can i do to fix it?
My car is a second hand and has no warranties anymore
Changing engine is not an option as its very expensive here in Malaysia.

Pls help.

 

ya so wht ended up happening with the car?

 

I've been researching alot of these threads for over a month now, just never posted anything because at the time there was no need to however I am actually having a similar issue to the gentlemen here now after purchasing a 2004 rx8 with 109k miles 2 weeks ago. The car seemed to drive great and only really had trouble starting at one time after a long drive however it started right up on the second attempt, and I have followed all the proper steps per drive thanks to helpful sites like this. I wanted to have it looked over with a fine tooth comb and have routine service done so I just got back from a very unpleasant trip to my local mazda dealer, who claims I have:

the cat. needed to be replaced as it was throwing up the check engine light(typical...)
two bad motor mounts(WTF??)
the core oil lines are rusted and need replacing(no big deal)
For a total of roughly 1,900 to fix

At this point I was a little irritated with dealership because I had been waiting in the lobby for 2 hours and they forgot to run a compression test and change the oil. So after waiting another hour heres what they had to say:

the engine had recently thrown up a misfire code
Rotor 2 failed a compression test...pretty bad however the "verbage" they used to explain it was unclear as they only said it had a variant of greater than 1.5 from rotor 1 which had passed according to the mechanic.

At this point the mechanic told me not to bother changing the oil until the engine is replaced...which they quoted me 5,900 for a new engine with a 1 year/12k mile warranty thats including the 14 hours of labor. Ill take pictures of the failed comp. test later.

Not sure if that's a decent price for dropping an engine in, seems kinda pricey, and all the small stuff I can take care of myself. And if this wasn't a wankel rotary engine I wouldn't think twice about doing a rebuild myself, as I have rebuilt an engine in the past when I blew my GSR up about 6 years ago.
Thoughts?
I live between Cinci and Dayton in southern Ohio.

 

Did you get a solution? I have a same problem with 2004 RX8. Thanks.