2004 Mazda RX-8: engine overheating

Filed Feb 28, 2019 · Airbags, Engine · TX

Takata recall I received a call regarding an 'escalation' of my recall and when I called back the individual on the phone said they could not find my information. The last time I tried to get my rx8 repaired I was told I have to drive the car over an hour to the shop to get airbag fixed - this is after I received a very graphic postcard showing and telling me how I will be injured or killed if I don't get my car repaired. I am trying to get this car repaired, however I will not drive this car over an hour in heavy traffic in south texas heat and humidity in order to make the required 100% compliance easy for takata there are multiple other recalls on this car, including on the engine that I have replaced 4 times. Dealers were told to install the old engines that were in their inventory and not install the new design. The old engines continued to loose compression over time and even though mazda extended the warranty to 100k on the vehicle, eventually I exceeded 100k - and the 4th engine went bad @102k. Mazda never replaced the engine with an engine that did not have compression issues. The dealers used the same engine and mazda waited for consumers to exceed the 100k mileage and then refused to provide any further assistance. I have a beautiful rx8 that is basically a rolling chasis because it will not run, overheats the fuel system (can explode or catch fire), and airbags that can injure or kill me at any moment. I cant even open the door on this car for fear of injury or death. If the airbags werent an issue, I cant drive the car because the engine looses compression and power and can put the driver in a very dangerous situation in traffic, and finally if all else were functioning, the exhaust can overheat the fuel tank cause explosion and/or fire. At one point the interior of my trunk melted. My car has zero value because of mazda and takata.

Filed May 8, 2018 · Airbags, Engine · TX

Takata recall after responding to numerous notices regarding this recall and the deadly danger of the airbags, mazda still insists that I drive the vehicle an hour away and in heavy city traffic to have the service done to correct the airbag issue. In addition, for years the engine had compression issues and I found out that after replacing the engine 4 times under warranty, mazda was replacing the engine with the same engine that has compression issues after a time. I was told that I could buy a $7,000 gen ii engine that did not have compression problems, or take the replacement with the potential for compression issues as a warranty repair. They were able to deplete their stock of bad engines by using them as replacements, and as soon as my warranty expired I still have a faulty engine which also keeps me from safely driving driving for service work. The engine will loose compression and power in traffic and cause a safety issue. I keep my vehicles well past the 100k mark because I take care of them and keep them on the road. However, that has not been the case with this car, due to a combination of mazda's bad faith method of replacing faulty engines, and the potentially fatal airbag issue. Apparently the car also has issues with the exhaust overheating and causing a fire hazard, which I have never been notified of. Although a beautiful car that I would love to be able to drive, this vehicle is unsafe in more than one way and has a current value of $0. Im even afraid to open the door of the vehicle because according to the notices I have received, there is no way to know when or what might cause the airbag to deploy. I really cannot put a specific date on when the issues occurred, other than the service records for engine replacements up until the 100k mark. At 102k mazda refused to replace another engine that had gone out.

Filed May 27, 2015 · Airbags, Electrical · 80,010 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. The contact stated that the entire center console overheated to the point that it was unable to be touched. The contact mentioned that the passenger side air bag cover was bulging and could crack at any moment. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,010.

Filed May 23, 2013 · Steering · 100,000 miles · FL

Power steering fails due to faulty power steering harness connections. This failure happened while driving on the expressway at 65 MPH. (very dangerous). This is a very common problem with rx-8 owners. Power steering connectors are situated directly under coolant fluid reservoir tank overflow hose. If coolant leaks on these connectors it fouls the connection resulting in power steering loss. Insufficient soldering of these connectors to the connection housing by the manufacturer is also to blame. This harness has been revised 3 times by mazda in hopes of correcting an extremely dangerous malfunctioning part. There should be a recall sent to all mazda owners to have the faulty power steering harness f151-67-shob and f151-67-shoc replaced with the most recent revised part f151-67-shod free of charge and cost of labor.

Filed Oct 24, 2011 · Engine · 28,000 miles · NC

Vehicle was bought new,2004. I have every oil change, every 2,900-3,000 miles and vehicle is perfectly maintained by the dealership ( harrelson mazda -charlotte,nc ). Once 30,000 miles were put on the vehicle, engine began to fail ( stopped at red lights, stopped while on the highway,etc.). After about 5 return visits to the dealership technicians, my engine was finally 'replaced' under warranty. Now my new engine has failed again at about 40,000 miles for the same reason as originally: mazda specifically advises 10w-20 oil in this vehicle. But this is only to satisfy u.s. Epa standards. Everywhere else in the world, mazda strictly advises 10w-30 oil, because anything less will allow engine to overheat and fail. I was never warned this. I was never advised this. I serviced vehicle by every recommendation of mazda, the owners manual, and my mazda authorized dealership/technicians. My safety has been placed in jeopardy, solely at the fault of mazda, for not notifying buyers that the engine had incorrect maintenance specifications,etc. Feel free to contact me anytime for further information, receipts of service,maintenance, and technician testimony. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Jun 21, 2010 · Engine · 72,000 miles · NC · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. While driving at 45 MPH the exhaust system overheated and caused unknown wires to overheat and smoke. The dealer advised there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The current mileage was 80,000 and the failure mileage was 72,000.

Filed Jul 24, 2008 · Engine · NY

2004 mazda rx8 with water mixing in with the oil. Consumer states that the mechanic stated that water in the oil was normal and how the vehicle vented. There was red antifreeze in the vehicle and green antifreeze should have been used. *kb the dip stick was covered in a hard, crystallized, orange/white substance. The vehicle overheated and steam emitted from the vehicle. After inspecting the vehicle, it was determined that the thermostat had malfunctioned. The consumer was informed that because the wrong anti-freeze had been used, there may be future cooling issues with the vehicle.

Filed Aug 23, 2005 · Engine · 11,950 miles · NV

Around the middle of june I started noticing strange behavior in the performance of my engine in my mazda rx-8. While maintaining a highway speed of roughly 65mph I would hear a rattling noise in the engine, like marbles bouncing around inside. This would be followed by a significant loss of power in any gear. At no time did the temp gauge notify me of overheating. The problem would go away when I eased off the gas to a dangerously slow highway speed. Once getting off the highway, the car would accelerate, but with noticeably reduced performance. After the third occurrence of this problem in mid july, I decided to take the car in for a diagnosis. While explaining the problems to one of the servicemen, I was told that there was a recall on the fuel tank of which I was unaware. I was also told that the engine problem I described was a serious issue that they just started hearing about on many of the rx-8''s, and there was no known fix. He mentioned that my car could be there for several days, not the one day I was expecting, and that there were a large number of cars with the same ''mystery'' engine problem, and that one car had already been there for 35 days. This concerned me, but I was assured that mazda engineers were working on a fix so it wouldn''t be a long wait about 2 weeks later I received a phone call from sandra, my service rep, informing me that my car was ready. She told me that the knocking I was hearing in the engine is due to using the wrong gas. I told her that I have always used 93 octane and nothing lower, and that the noise was not the regular knocking you get from bad gas. She told me she would have to call mazda corp back to find out more about my problem. The next day she called me back and told me that mazda was going to replace my engine. From what she told me, no one really knew what was causing this problem, but that replacing the engine should fix it. I was told that my car wouldn''t be ready for ''a couple of weeks''.