I recently noticed a few very tiny droplets of oil and coolant on the floor in my garage where I usually park my car. I thought maybe it could be possibly be from me checking and adding oil and a little bit of it spilling, so I was not too concerned.

However, doing some searches on this forum revealed that there were many many cases where several droplets of oil or coolant resulted in the entire engine blocked being replaced. The causes ranged from faulty oil injectors, to cracked rotor housing or leaky seals. https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/engine-being-replaced-3600-miles-12559/

Well obvisouly, I was worried so I had an appointment to bring my RX8 in this early morning to have her checked out to be on the safe side. I received a Suzuki Aero!!! rental car while my baby is being analyzed. This thing is a POS, although they offered me a second choice of a Focus which is even worst. The only positive thing at this point is the fact that the Aero had a CD player and better gas mileage.

Well all day, I was hoping and praying that I would not hear any drastic bad news about my car, and that I would get her back safe and sound at the end of the day without major problems. Well, low and behold, I got the call I feared and dreaded most.

The dealership told me that I had a bad engine with a cracked housing, along with leaky seals. I could not believe my ears! An new engine is being ordered from Japan, and should arrived in a week, and it would take another week to installed the damn thing. I'm going to be without my baby for at least 2 weeks which is crazy. I know the car is still under warranty and that Mazda agreed to replace the engine, but how could a brand new car need an engine replacement so soon?

I never heard of this before from any of the other car manufacturers having engines replaces so early. I just feel so depressed right now, having this bad luck, because I know I am one of the very few with a bad engine. Knowing that that my car might get abused at the dealership for 2 weeks just kills me.

Has anybody else in California experienced this problem? Thanks in advance for your kind feedback. For now I'm stuck for 2 weeks with an POS Aero awaiting my new engine to be installed. Do you know how embarrasing it for Mazda that my friends and family know my new RX8 is having an engine replacement so soon?. It does not bold well for Mazda's reputation. I could not be any more happier with the car up to this point, but this bad luck is just ridiculous...!

 

Did you ask them how the crack housing came about? I'm curious to know...

 

Tomorrow, I will come by the dealership so I can have a closer look for myself. I guess they already taking off some of the engine components. I'm not sure how the cracks came about, but my guess is out of bad luck, I got badly manufactured parts which might probably be rare. Obviously, I will be closely in touch with the dealership during this process.

 

....sounds to me that Mazda is honoring their warranty. hey, stuff happens and Mazda correctly identified the problem and is assuming responsibility. that sounds pretty good for their reputation to me. you are lucky, you get a new engine. poor you, you have to drive a suzuki for a while (your poor rep), it beats Mazda NOT honoring the warranty and YOU paying for a replacement core. oh, heres an idea, stop being such a cheap a$$, shell out some extra cash, and upgrade to the rental you want (save your rep). learn to appreciate the good things in life and stop bashing the company you invested in. and learn to make the distinction between mazda the company and mazda the dealership. usually dealerships are independent of the parent company. however the dealership treats you is not necessarily a reflection on the company (although you can report problems to the parent company). and if you do not feel safe trusting your local dealership, perhaps you can find one that you do trust.

 

no offense man, but this looks like Kharma coming back at you for flaming other forum members when it was basketball season.

I respect you bc your an 8 owner, but I don't think others appreciated when you talked to them like they were nothing. kharma my man.

 

the oil light is the new replace engine light.

 

you never heard of another car company replacing engines for a first year product?
um... gee let me think off the top of my head... ford, chevy, saab, audi, bmw. and that's just the cars that my family/I have owned. dont even get me started on all the faulty transmission i've seen people go through with american cars.
while it sux that your engine had to be replaced, its not a staggering number of replacements for a first year model and a rotary at that. in fact i'd say the numbers are pretty favorable considering the number of rx8s being sold.

 

Didn't quite a few of the new M3's pop their motors or something?

 

my old 2002 Sentra SE-R I traded to get the 8 was on it's 2nd engine due to a RECALL! No signs it was going either... went in for some recall work & was told here's your rental, see ya in a week with a new engine.

 

I'm in California and I had my engine replaced after 4600 miles. I've now got 14000 miles on the second engine; no problems. While I'm not thrilled about having a defect on the first engine, I understand and even expect for there to be some bumps in a product as novel as the RX-8. And Mazda has treated me and many other owners I know quite well (the pre-order program, the waiting period, the initial HP adjustments, the oil pan indicator, etc.)

 

Ectomort, Its nice hearing from another member having a similar experience. I really appreciate your response as it has made me feel less worried.

Could you let me know how long the entire process took, and did the Mazda dealership informed you at every single step?

Any noticeable difference in the car's performance as a result of the new engine?

How is the gas mileage?

Was there any conflicts with the PCM M-Flash and the newly installed engine? Thanks alot.

 

Blksf8, basketball season for me is like war because you know how much I hate the Lakers, being a long time Sacramento Kings fan and all. A little competitive basketball backlash never hurt anyone physically. But you do know the Fakers will suck next year right? Overall my Karma is pretty good so I'm not too worried about that.

 

Everyone pray that you don't see any small droplets of oil or coolant on the garage floor. That is a red flag for "NEW ENGINE" Along with Oil Lights, Engine Lights. I hope these engine replacements are isolated issues, because no educated consumer would just "accept" that fact just because Mazda is replacing them . Its not like they just need to change a minor component. We're talking about the entire Renesis Engine block here.!!!

I wonder how many RX8's have been sold and how many engine replacement do we know of. If anyone knows this information, that would be just wonderful knowing the percentage of defected engines.

 

ectomort, I'm curious to know what car rental did the dealership give you, and which dealership did you have the car serviced at? I got the Suzuki Aero, which is decent (much better then Ford Focus) and alot better then I thought. Power is 155 horses for a econo car is actually pretty good. I'm getting 30 mpg mixed! whoo-hoo! =)

Its only been 2 days without my baby RX8, and I already miss her...(

 

Hey rX8rEdLiNe what dealer did you go to, I am having major Nav problem with my car, and the dealer I got it from says everythign is OK. Even though when i drive somwhere it does not work right, I need to go to a better dealer.

 

i had oil leaking on the ground before, but they didnt do a big service on fixing the car. i dont know if this is or could relate to the same problem...but all they did was just replace, tighten, and reseal housing and bolt parts here and there. no 2 weeks more... like a day.

 

You should take a look at this thread in which I describe my experience. It took Mazda 4 days to get the new engine from Irvine to the dealership in Santa Cruz. Then it took a couple more days for the engine replacement. There was a weekend in between, so the total separation time was 8 days. Mine was the first replacement at that dealership, so they took their time (plus I had made it clear how much I had babied the car.)

I got very detailed information on their progress, but obviously the level of customer service depends on the dealership you choose. (Plug: Marina Motors in Santa Cruz rocks!) The worst part of the experience was when the dealership washed my car (I had told them not to in very explicit and detailed terms... So much for 12 coats of Zaino.


There was no difference in performance (after I had broken the new engine in, of course!) or gas mileage. I get about 18.1 mpg, typically.

I don't have the ECU M-flash yet, but I can't imagine there'd be any incompatibilities. You might ask your technician in case the ECU is part of the engine block (I don't believe it is, but I'm not car-savvy.)

 

Believe me, I know how you feel. I'm not sure which was more difficult, being without my car for a week, or having to spend the next 2 weeks meticulously breaking in my second Renesis.

Marina Motors in Santa Cruz.

The rental company (Enterprise) initially gave me a Ford Focus I took it back the next day and complained enough (the suspension was %&#^y) that they gave me a free upgrade to a Hyundai Elantra (much better, but still slummin' it.)

 

Also, be sure to check these other threads (or search on "engine replace")
Here, here, and a poll here.

 

I haven't been able to update on the progress of my engine replacement earlier because its been a busy work week.

Well my new Renesis engine arrived on Monday afternoon, and the technician began taking the entire engine assembly along with the transmission and all the attached components out of the car.

Is it necessary to take the surrounding parts including front suspension, and brake components to dislodge the engine from the car? I went to see for myself on Wednesday and saw bits and pieces of parts everywhere.

Anyways, they promised me the car would be ready Friday. Friday morning, I come by to check on progress, and it turns out the car is still not ready, with the new engine assembly still on the floor?!! . Unfortunately the Mazda service manager informed me that the technician working on my car called in sick friday morning so the engine replacment won't be done till at least Monday afternoon.

The technician did not feel well? Why now? Why me? You got to be kidding right?
I was hoping to get my car back this weekend but now I have to wait until at least Monday afternoon.

 

Wednesday this week, I actually saw the new Renesis engine in a crate next to where the car was being worked at in the dealership shop bay. I wanted to see for myself what the new engine looked like, and where the coolant leak was coming from in the old engine. Well to my surprise, the technician showed me the side housing where the crack was located at. There was a dried, corosion-like green substance coating the side of first-front left housing wall. I was told that this is the second engine replacement at the dealership and that this problem is very rare. The most likely explanation is because of a defect at the manufacturing stage, and was not exposed until 8 months later. Well, I felt more comfortable talking to the technician and seeing for myself where the problems lies. I just hope everthing goes smoothly, I get my car back soon, and there are no further major problems in the future .

 

Its now been 11 days without my babie, and it has not been an easy ordeal. Although Mazda is taking responsibility, no new car owner should have to go through this ridiculous mess in the first place. The past 11 days has been painfully slow. Well the only bright side is only 3 more days to go (total of 14 days) and this mess will be resolved.

Today, I drove the rental Suzuki Aerio Mazda gave me like as if it were my RX8 (Its a habit when you own an RX8 and becacuse I was trying to use my imagination). I got it up to about 90 until the steering wheel started to vibrating violently and the cabin starting making creeking sounds as I began to worried and slowed back down to the maximum safe speed for the Aerio of about 70 mph.

Again, I will drop by the dealership on Monday morning to check status. If possible, I can take some pictures and post here so you can see all the parts ripped out.

 

I got my car back on Tuesday afternoon, and have been driving her ever-since so I forgot to give the forum an update :p . So far, everything is looking and running excellent(knock on wood). I don't want to say too much as to jinx myself. All components to the engine such as the oil pan, spark plugs, and coils are brand new. They also performed a multi-point inspection to to check brake and tread wear. They recommended I change the tires ASAP. I'm currently at 18,000 miles and there is literally no treadwear left on the tires. The amazing thing is that this thing still performs and takes corners without much slippage with bad tires and all!!! I checked everything to make sure they didn't forget anything, and everything looks like its in place, back to normal, top notch. They even vacuum my carpet, wash the car, and even scrub the tires and rims to a squeaky shine. This was a very intersting experience but I'm glad its over and I have my baby back. Boy did I miss my baby. I now have a greater appreciation for my RX8 then even before because I realize once I have my RX8, I can't without her.

 

I took some pictures of my old engine when it was taken out. They placed it into a crate beside my car. I know the 13B renesis engine is only 1300cc's but when I saw the engine for myself, I imagined it was bigger. I had to marvel at this amazing piece of automotive engineering. The thing is so tiny yet puts out over 200 horses. Although peope complain about low torque or low gas mileage, you have to be amazed by the rotary engine. The engine itself consist of a tiny fraction of the parts in a conventional piston engine. This thing looks no bigger then a gas-powered blower gardeners use

 

What is your VIN #