2004 Mazda RX-8: won't start

Filed Feb 7, 2019 · Transmission · 112,000 miles · CA · crash · 1 injury

As I pressed my cars clutch to change gears (6 speed manual ) while driving on my regular sunday drive in a city street, I heard and felt a very loud explosion and noises of metal pieces ejecting from under my car. I was in the 60km/h zone so was not speeding or going fast such as on a freeway etc. I was able to pull over safely while rolling as the engine had been disabled in the explosion. I could feel my left foot was in extreme pain. My car would not start. I feared that the engine had blown up. My car is very well maintained and serviced regularly with no modifications. What I discovered was that the transmission had detonated, the gearbox bell housing was torn apart (got pictures to prove it) and I found parts of the clutch in many tiny pieces all over the roads. The clutch was replaced by mazda 30,000kms ago and at a mazda dealership using oem clutch kit. The force of the gearbox explosion was so great that the clutch pedal impacted my left foot and shattered the bones of the left foot in pieces (yes I was wearing thick soled sneakers) and caused severe trauma to my foot in general. At the hospital, the surgeons words were " it looks really bad". I was operated on and titanium plates and 4 screws were inserted to try to hold my shattered bones in place. 8 months and a lot of hospital visits later, I am still recovering from the day. I had further surgery few weeks ago to perform a bone graft because one break wasn't healing. I have approached mazda regional head office. Initially mazda contacted me via phone asking for details of the crash. I sent them photos via email. I have not heard from them since. I then also contacted the dealership. They promised to ring back and they too, have stopped. It's been difficult to find a lawyer who can see the obvious problem, that a vehicle should not blow up, or catch fire etc no matter what age it is. Help!

Filed Apr 26, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 57,000 miles · NC

I purchased my 2004 automatic rx8 in september of 2011. It began giving me trouble with the type of gas it took. I finally figured out that bp premium seemed to keep it from "coughing". I thought that I had fixed the issues and it drove fine for a good while. I changed the oil religiously at about 3000 miles or less. It would display the oil light after only about 1500-2000miles. I had a dealership look at it and they said the oil level was fine and they didn't understand why it had the light on. The oil light now comes on at just 300miles into the last oil change. In feb of this year is when the car started deteriorating at a rapid pace, and I was completely dumbfounded till I began doing some research and saw that many others have had the exact same issues I have had. For one- the AC never works correctly. I have to play with the knob for a bit to make it cool, and still even then it does not work. I am not able to drive it to and from the store now because I am worried it will not start back up. I always make sure the engine is warmed up and sometimes just leave it running instead of taking the chance of turning it off. The engine light also comes on and random times, and I was told that it was because the gas cap was not on tight enough. That is a lie, I always make sure to tighten it, and why would the engine light come on after the oil light everytime if it was human error. The car whines when at a stoplight or sitting for a brief period of time. It sounds as if it is coming from the front left side of the engine if you are sitting in it. No one knows what that noise is either. This faulty car should come with a warning on the front windshield. I am scared to drive it, I am scared to put my family in it, and I am disgusted with the way mazda decided to treat me when I called them to inquire about certain recalls.

Filed Jul 15, 2010 · Engine · 30,000 miles · IL

I own a mazda rx8 and I have had so many problems with it, I would come to a stop and it will stall, can't start it back up and have to have it towed to the shop. I will drive it to the store and come back out to leave and it will not start, have to have it towed. Have had the engine replaced one time already and it still has all the same problems. I can not drive it now because it is completely dead and will not start it has been in this condition for almost a month. Mazda most of the time says they can not duplicate the problem and as soon as I leave my car would break down on the way home. If you go to the web site http://forums.automotive.com/70/6305605/mazda/rx-8-lawsuit/page4.html you will see that this car is just a death trap and so many people are having all the same problems with this car that I am. Please do something about this. I am not a wealthy person and can not afford to be taken advantage of like this. I paid $23,000 for this car and it is costing me an arm and a leg to keep it running. I do not own another car.

Filed Mar 16, 2010 · Engine · 45,000 miles · IL

I own a 2004 mazda rx8 and have never had more problems with a car in my life. Shortly after buying it, it would not start, had it towed to dealer, they could not find a problem. Have had to have it towed 8 times now because it stalls when coming to a stop or when taking off. It has sat all winter due to not starting. My had sweat just thinking about driving this car and I will only take back roads, one near miss on the highway was enough for me to stay off and stay on back roads, at least then I have some chance of getting it to the side of the road. My car has been in the shop so many times I have lost count although I have all of the repair orders. They did replace the engine, but it still runs rough, now the engine lite is on again!!!! This is the only car I have to drive and I can not trade it in because all the dealers know about the car and will not give me even one half of what I paid for it. I have seen so many complaints on this car for so many reasons and can not believe the car itself has not been recalled. They should buy them all back for what we paid for them mine was $23,000. Why aren't you doing what you have done to toyota??????? I am going to die in this car!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You ask for approximate incident date, well I have about 20 of them and you only allow one.

Filed Mar 12, 2010 · Engine · 47,000 miles · CT

I own a mazda rx8-2004. Since purchase it has always idled rough. On occasion the vehicle will not start, supposedly flooded. Now just yesterday it was idling rough again but while merging on to the highway the engine cut off in an instant. The car lost all power. I was able to pull over to the side of the road and it did restart. I'm afraid to have my family in this car anymore. There are known issues with the rotary engine and failure it a big problem. This car has been recalled for the engine before but passed the mazda "tests" and was never replaced. It's been documented by thousands of consumers. This engine failure is no different than the toyota gas pedal problem that is putting consumers lives at risk. This problem is the reverse, you could be changing lanes and loose all power and get run over by a tractor trailer. Why are the complaints about this vehicle being ignored? Is it because it's only one mazda model and it doesn't have that many cars on the road? This vehicle is a lemon and a danger to drive. I cannot believe more deaths have not occurred and mazda is allowed to sweep this under the carpet. I would get rid of this car but all car dealers know the deal with it and won't give you a penny for it thus I need to continue to drive this death trap. Please help us helpless consumers. Mazda should not be able to allow this to happen.

Filed Oct 28, 2009 · Engine · 59,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx8. When attempting to turn the ignition the vehicle exhibited a no-start condition. The battery was replaced. The repair did not remedy the failure. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for inspection. The technician was unable to identify the cause of the failure. The vehicle was taken to the independent mechanic on four separate occasions for identical failures, but the failure has not been remedied. The failure mileage as 59,000. The current mileage was 62,000.

Filed May 12, 2009 · Engine · 40,000 miles · KS

Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. When the contact attempted to stop the engine, the motor would kick, but the engine would not stop. A mechanic stated that the fuel pump was faulty and made the replacement. The repair only lasted one week. He took the vehicle to a mazda dealer and they stated that there was a flooding issue. The dealer repaired the vehicle for free, but the failure recurred a month later. The mechanic stated that the outer grip on the fly wheel was loose. The mechanic repaired the vehicle, but the engine still would not start. The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 42,000.

Filed Jan 7, 2009 · Electrical · 75,000 miles · SC

2004 mazda rx8 vehicle would not start in cold weather or damp weather. Many trips to dealer to no one could find what was wrong. Problem progressively got worse would only start when it wanted to, finally got to the point that it would not start at all. Once this happened, it was determined that it was the immobilizer module however service tech's at dealer can not say for sure that it is the only problem. Have read complaints from others that own this vehicle have had same problem believe that it is a defect in the vehicle.

Filed Jun 3, 2008 · Engine · FL

I have a 2004 mazda rx-8. Three times within the last six months (since december 2007) I have had to have the car towed to the dealer because although the car would start, it would not "catch" and fire up. The dealer says that it is a problem particular to the 2004 rx-8 (no other year of this model has this problem). They said the engine gets flooded if the car isn't run "hot" for at least 1/2 hour (like it can happen if I just run to the grocery store and back). They said this is a recurring problem with the 2004 rx-8. If this is a huge problem, why hasn't there been a recall to repair it? It costs me over $150 each time it has to go in, not to mention lost hours at work because my car won't start.

Filed Apr 12, 2008 · Engine · 38,632 miles · MD

I purchased my vehicle on 12/5/06 at russel mazda in catonsville, md. Very satisfied with the look of the vehicle and having no prior knowledge the vehicle I made my decision to purchase. Several of my family members own mazda?s and believe in your vehicles but none own the rx-8. On 1/4/07, after moving a short distance to park the vehicle, the vehicle wouldn?t restart 5 minutes later. Vehicle had to be towed back to russel mazda in catonsville for service. Dealer states ?no start condition. Car towed in. Customer hears a whining sound from under the hood when trying to star engine. Engine does not turn over, ?possible starter?. Car flooded, de-flooded car as per bulletin #01-048/06xxb479r1//.3 ? Procedure ?a? Only. After believing this problem was resolved, I assumed everything was ok. To no avail, on april 4, 2008, due to an emergency, once again I had to drive the vehicle a short distance. After parking vehicle at home for 2 days during a short illness, I went to start vehicle to go to work vehicle wouldn?t start. ?de-javu?! I waited a few minutes and tried to start vehicle again. After that, I had to call out of work advising them of car trouble. I then waited 4 hours to try starting again, still no start. I called the castle ford/mazda in beltsville who advised me to tow vehicle in. Once unit arrived, after one week of waiting for results of diagnosis, vehicle was flooded again. The dealer gave me an initial repair estimate of $850.00. I was able to have them lower that amount to $650.00. My trust in mazda?s products has truly been tarnished.

Filed Feb 25, 2008 · Fuel system · NC

My mazda rx-8 has stalled many times while at a traffic light and while going on trips on the interstate and all of a sudden it would lose power and stalls and I would have to pull over and start it again which it would take a few minutes before it would start. I have had my mazda towed from my house to the dealer bec it would not start and I was told that it was flooded. Now it won't start again and it is really frustrating and starting to worry me how dangerous it is driving my mazda. I have had my mazda for a year now and the only time I drive it is when I go on a long trip or to go shopping and mostly on weekends or after I get off from work. I would like to have this resolve so that I won't get hurt or somebody else will get hurt bec of this. I understand that mazda rx-8 had a recall on fuel system I just wonder if this was taken care of for this car. The dealer told me the car is fine and to make sure to warm it up before you shut the engine down ,I have done that and now my mazda will not start again.

Filed Dec 3, 2007 · Engine · NJ

1) car often stalls/won't start 2) engine cranks and won't start/ had to take it to a shop many times 3) dealer says "engine flooded" and repaired.