Yeah, a couple months after having my starter replaced I'm having some issues with it taking a while to fire up.

I did the reset that Charles suggested and it seemed to work, but I'll wait a couple weeks to see whether it has more problems.

 

Haha, I got my 8 back from the dealer today, because I had dropped it off yesterday because I had been holding off for a while now. So I first take it in and wait and wait, and finally the guy gets back to me and questions me and asks me if I have ever messed with the catalytic convertor, and im like no i haven't i bought the car used. So he is like Ok ill be right back, and when he gets back they tell me that I need a new Cat, because that one failed the emissions test.

So today I go pick it up, and I get the paperwork for it and it appears that they gave me a new Cat and also switched the sparkplugs, and im guessing they did the reflash as well, but overall im happy simply because my check engine light went away, and the cars exhaust doesn't seem as bad as it use to.

 

Yet another discovery re: my e-shaft reset.....

I also had the "oil-soaked air filter" problem after I got the 4206 reflash from the dealer. After I reset the e-shaft profile I also turned my air filter around so the clean end was under the intake horn. Yesterday was about a week since the reset and I checked the air filter. It is still clean and the problem with oil drooling out of my intake pipe is gone, too. I have a little residual oil that I need to clean out but nowhere near the amount I had before. Am I offering the e-shaft reset as a miracle cure? No, as Team said, it should not need to be reset after a factory reflashing but there is a lot of weird stuff going on with these cars and my car is still running great after the reset. Don't know the explanation but it doesn't hurt to try it.

Josche, keep us posted as to how well/how long the reset seems to be working for you.

 

So far, so good. It's been starting the way it's supposed to for the last week.

 

I finally had the recall done after receiving the letter in October. No engine replacement needed as was expected. They gave me new plugs (my second set in 13 months). In general it was uneventful and the reflash did nothing to change the car's driveability. I'll report later whether my mpg or oil consumption change noticeably.

White glove service? !!!!!!NOT!!!!!!

My loaner was a Chrysler Sebring. I got the car back with the same 1/2 tank of gas I dropped it off with. It had oily finger prints and smudges all over the hood and left fender (I had an oil change too). Even an oil smudge on the driver's inside door. It was so bad the service writer just shook his head, apologized and said I could drop the car by any convenient time for a free car wash, which I did the next day.

Or maybe they really are talking about the other kind of white glove (latex, that is) ......

 

my bad, I was wrong: https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=371

they did 4206F recall, but not the "cranks, won't start" TSB despite being told that it floods and is hard/slow to star, car runs well, but still feels like the battery/starter is about to die on every crank-up, it's so slooooooooow

 

Recall work done in Early November 2006. No new engine but dealer replaced battery, coils, and spark plugs, reflash. (side note - got the new front brakes per TSB on squealing). This month. Car will not crank. Will drive it for any length of time, turn it off and if I try to start it up within 10 minutes of stopping the car won't start. Will strat after about 15 minutes though .. very odd. Took it to dealership and explained this never happened prior to warranty work done (which is true). They again replaced battey and spark plugs and then started asking what kind of gas do I use and do I rev the engine to high rpm's just before shutting off car to clear engine. How could battery, and plugs go bad in a month ? I also never heard of the reving engine right before shut down but have heard you need to run the RX8 above 5000 rpms from time to time to keep plugs clear. I notice others have had the no start issue since recall. IS there a link to a seperate discussion on that issue anywhere ?

 

Not flooding! If there is fuel trapped in the combustion chamber or fouled plugs it is not going to fix itself consistently after 15 minutes of sitting.

There is a high BS factor in the dealer's questions to you and even the changeout of the new plugs and battery. They need to stop fooling around, diagnose and then fix the problem!

 

I'm to say the least very disappointed with my RX-8 experience. The car has been in the shop more then any vehicle I have had and that includes many which I purchased used. I had a RX-7 twin turbo (1988) which I bought used and it didn't have half the problems this car has had.

After this last recall....it has gotten worse milage. This last fill up...I have gone close to 65 miles and this has been on interstate...it used a quarter of a tank. I can not afford this! My milage on my old Jeep Grand Cherokee was better then what I am getting now on the car.

I purchased it because of the good experience that I had with the RX-7. And its kind of like giving up a girlfriend that you love but you know she is not good for you. That is how it is with this car. I love to drive it, it gets a lot of looks, etc. but with the gas and all the problems....its not worth it.

I'm planning to take it back to the dealer on tomorrow to get the oil changed and I plan to tell them about the milage as well as it used to start right up but now it takes a few seconds or so.

Don't know.... I saw a 2007 at the auto show last week. I didn't notice much change with the exception of the seat colors. Alot of people were looking at it...I thought about warning them but then decided not to say anything.

Maybe I just got a bad one but it doesn't look like it from what many of you guys are saying....

I'm not sure how long I will hang on to it. I don't know about your area but here in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia the value has gone down alot for these cars. I have seen several used units that stay on lots for months. Its scary....

I feel like Mazda should really step up to the plate and buy back those from people who want to get rid of them. Its not fair but then life isn't either is it?

 

^Just get rid of it! Mazda already did a buy back program. Also, my first 1/4 tank is about 60-70 miles but I always end up getting around 325 out of the tank. On my past vehicles and this one the gas mileage has always been an assload better in the 2nd half of the tank. It might have something to do with the less weight and the pressure built up in tank, I dunno.

On another note, It's been 5100 miles since I had the recall and new engine installed and I could not be more satisfied!!! I've been getting 22-25 mpg on the highway and 13-18 in town depending on how I'm driving!

 

Drive the car down to 1/4 tank before measuring your mileage and do it several times at the same pump. We typically get only about 60 miles from a fill up to the 3/4 mark, but the consumption seems to slow down as you drive further. I suspect the tank measurement/gauge readings are not consistent through it's range. BTW, lately when I refill at the 1/4 mark , I've been averaging about 20MPG in mostly highway mileage--not bad considering it's the middle of winter. this is on a MT '04'.

 

the RX-8 fuel gauge is not an accurate indicator of the actual fuel level, this is well documented. That said, any significant use of the throttle results an equally significant drop in mileage.

Conclusion following the 4206F recall, our 2004 MT is performing well except for the slooooooooow original starter and battery. We don't monitor mileage in it though.

 

Uneventful for me. New plugs, and then I had them do the 15K service. Got a full tank of gas and car washed. My highway mileage has been 20 mpg on two tanks. I got 20 once in the summer a year ago. It's usually 17. It will be interesting to see what happens with mixed driving.

My loaner was a groaner: Chevy Cobalt with nothing remote. I didn't think anyone made cars without electric windows and remote locks any more. Not even a single push button inside to lock all the doors. Needed to lock each one separately.

 

Had recall done, I actually took the car in maybe october or november for the recall and the dealer told me that I had already had it done, didn't make sense to me because I had just received the letter but I went with it. I took it in friday for some TSB work and the 30k service and when I was dropping it off the service guy said it hadn't been done.

Got the flash and the spark plugs replaced, full tank of gas as well.

It turned out to be eventful for me to say the least. On my way home my friend was reading the service log. On it said "Customer states Check Engine light turned on" I never did have a CEL show up so I was very confused. Our theory was that they did the flash, something went wrong and then the CEL light up. Car drove fine, no big deal

Today I was out, start up my car, CEL lights up, Electronics on my Radio are all dead. Called up the dealer, have to take the car in on friday, hopefully they can fix it. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Recall for me resulted in same new coils many others have also reported, was already on the most recent flash for my USA version 04 MT so this was not done. Since I'm running a reman engine now and had again reported a little drop in top end throughput (the same early warning sign I first had when the original equipment motor was headed for the exits), I qualified for the full test. Had the results of same documented on my service order for future reference - just in case. Have not had a chance to run it yet (winter conditions) to see if the top end fall-off was resolved with the new coils or to check for changes in fuel consumption.

 

A little update. Since this post. One day after getting spark plugs and battery ( for the second time in two months) I went out and my 05 AT didn't start at all. Road Side Assistance towed it back to dealer. Needless to say I was livid and let them know. They gave me a loaner. 2 days later dealer calls and says they are going to put in a new fuel pump. Three days later they call and say they are still getting readings they do not like and Mazda has decided to replace engine. Great I guess. This is the same engine that didn't fail the recall tests back in November and the same car that before the recall testing had no problems at all. What in the world is Mazda doing to my poor 05.

I now am so pleased (not) to be driving around an *** ugly mazda 5 for my loaner. A minivan ... yuck.

 

[QUOTE=tlljr]This last fill up...I have gone close to 65 miles and this has been on interstate...it used a quarter of a tank. I can not afford this! My milage on my old Jeep Grand Cherokee was better then what I am getting now on the car.
QUOTE]

I only get 45-50 miles for the first 1/4 tank. You should've done some research before you bought the car.

 

Just had the recall done yesterday.

New leading plugs and flash. They had a problem getting the car to idle correctly at first...so they say.

The service guy tryed to tell me that I had reflashed the computer or something like that, and I that I had removed some temp sensor. The only things I had done was the Throttle Body bypass and the breather filter. They told me that it wouldn't idle after the flash, and I was going to have to pay to have them put it back to stock so it would idle. I said that it idled fine when I brought it in. Then I said that they could reverse the bypass, and I'd pay for it if it idled correctly afterwards. But, if it didn't, they would put the bypass back in, fix what was really wrong, and I wasn't going to pay for anything. AMAZINGLY the car started idling correctly right after I said that. Go figure.........

I HATE MUNDAY MAZDA in Houston.

Cel

 

To reply to the gentlemen who said I should have done research before buying the car. My milage was better before I had the recall done. Also at the time that I purchased the car....there was not that much about the milage being that bad.

 

that's about the norm for gas mileage. you are fortunate. some are getting less than 15 mpg on a regular basis.

 

gas mileage before recall and new motor..~ 21mpg after ~21mpg...

beers

 

Had just purchased my 04 about a month ago with 56500 miles on her. Took her to the shop to make sure recall was done, and to fix a problem I had with her stalling when coming to a stop. They called me the next day to tell me they are replacing the engine, not sure yet about the cat. They didnt let me know I was able to get a car from them to drive. Think I will call them and inquire on that tomorrow. Engine to be in Thursday and quote to be installed by Tuesday. I'll repost with the results.

 

New engine in!! Now receiving 22 mpg, was 17-18 mpg on original engine. Seems to be a little lag on 1st gear now though. But 2nd and third are alot better response. They did give the car back to me with under a 1/4 tank of gas. Wasnt able to say anything that night since the service dept. was closed. No car wash either, but it didnt matter it started to rain as soon as I pulled away.

 

Brought it in...got new leading plugs and flash. Kinda hoping for a spanking new engine.... DOH!

 

Had recall done yesterday at Fitzgerald Mazda in Annapolis:

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Winning Blue '04 MT