This is the second complaint in 3 months regarding my new 2004 mazda rx-8. In december 2004, it would not crank due to the engine coolant problem. Supposedly, this issue was taken care of for the second time. Now, today, 3/21/05, the car sitting in the garage with 55 degree weather will not crank again. I would advice anyone interesting in purchasing this car - don't. After talking with the dealership where I purchased it as well as the mazda corporation - I get no where except to say they will send a book to tell me the correct way to crank it. I have been driving different vehicles for 26 years - I don't need a book telling me this.
2004 Mazda RX-8 engine complaints
Page 6 of 6: complaints 131 to 139 of 139, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Failure to start in cold weather. Vehicle was driven approximatley 45 miles, shut off, parked in the garage. Car sat for approximately 24 hours, car would not restart, electrical appears to be in order. Mazda tow truck arrived and noted the brakes were frozen, car was forcefully loaded onto tow truck. Dealer insists the problem is common an update was performed, spark plugs replaced. One week later the car again is not starting and is in the dealership unknown time of repair. Incidents reported to mazda awaiting response.
Purchased rx8 04/28/04, has had check engine light on nearly whole time of ownership, after 3 trips to the dealer at 50 miles one way, were finally told that the catalytic converter was bad. Had to special order so have to take the car back for the 4th time to get fixed. I don't see how a catalytic converter could be bad on a brand new car.
I purchased my automatic rx8 in late jan. 2004. As I write this, I have averaged 14.3 mpg with mixed driving conditions (city and highway) during my first 3000 miles. My worst tankful was 12.3 mpg. Mazda north america refuses to address my issue, which is: my fuel economy is well below the estimated fuel economy on the sticker. Either there is something wrong with my rx8 or mazda has intentionally misrepresented the fuel economy of the rx8.
There is contamination in the oil. So much so that it is impossible to check the oil. I've gone 3000 miles and never been able to check the oil. Even after wiping the dipstick, simply putting it back recoats the dipstick, so that the oil level cannot be read. The dealer simply changed the oil, but did not fix the problem. They said mazda knows about this, but won't do anything about it. All letters to mazda-USA are ignored. Why does mazda ignore such a potentially serious hazard? This could be a major safety hazard if the engine were to seize on the highway because of lack of oil.
If the car stalls after a cold start, it is either very difficult or impossible to restart. Using the procedure in the owners manual for this situation will work, if the battery does not fail first. I have had this happen twice, once the car was towed. The second time, the battery died while attempting a restart per the owners manual, but the car was in the garage and I recharged the battery and eventually got the car started.
I bought my car around the first week of november 2003. In the first month I took the car back to the dealership three times for repair. The problem was with the engine. Apparently one of the rotors was not firing causing a raw fuel smell to enter the car through the ventilation. With only 2000 miles, the engine was replaced after the third visit. Two months have passed and after three days of no driving, the car will no longer start.
Mazda rx-8, purchased dec 24th, 2003.f the vehicle 'stalls' when cold, the engine become non-restartable (even following the manif's deflooding procedure) and needs to be returned to the dealership to be "fixed". Causing a major safety hazard at rail-road tracks, intersections, and extreem conditions (such as driving far from home eg. Camping, and mountain driving).
Although I followed the owner's manual instructions, the engine flooded after driving a short distance (1.5 miles) and turned off. Engine was flooded when I tried to restart approximately 15 minutes later. Said to be a common problem with the new mazda rx8s. Tempature was 19. This is the second time in 6 days in very cold weather. This would be areal safety issue if it happens in a remote area.
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