I am new to this forum and I would just like some of your opinions.

I recently, Dec. 23rd, traded in my 2005 Equinox for a 2004 RX8. Since then I have had to take the car in to be serviced twice. The first time was no big deal. But, a couple of weeks ago, I went to start my car and it would not start. After having it towed in to the dealership and them replacing the battery, starter and spark plugs, I was told that I "super flooded" my car and that I did this by not letting it get warm before driving.

I was told when I bought the car that I cannot just start it an turn it quickly off. I was also told that since this car uses oil I need to check it frequently, about every time I fill up with gas. My problem is that I have been doing all of these things, as I understand they are necessary, and I feel as though I am getting the run around from the dealership as to how this car is supposed to be operated. One person tells me I have to let it completely get warm before I can drive it and another tells me I can take off as soon as I start it, among other things. The only thing I can think that could have went wrong is that I let the car sit for about a week without starting it, I drive a different car to work, and have since been told that I need to start it every other day if I do not drive it.

I don't consider myself to be an idiot when it comes to cars although I will admit that I do not know much about the rotary engine. But this seems to be a little crazy?? Can any of you tell me if these things are legit or if I am making to big a deal out of it?? I just don't want to have to take my car to be serviced every month!!

The last repair that was done is in response to a new service bulletin issued by Mazda for the flooding problem. The battery is stronger, the starter should provide a faster engine crank and plugs are a hotter heat range. All of these things are meant to reduce or prevent any future flooding problems. You do not need to let the vehicle fully warm up before driving it. Letting it idle for 30 seconds or so is just good general sense but longer than that is not needed. The 'allow to fully warm up' should be refering to what you should do before shutting engine back off. By far the most common event that causes the rotory to 'flood' is starting the engine, backing out of the garage and shutting it off. Wash car. Start engine back up and then pull back into garage and shut off again. If the engine is started when cold then allow to warm up (temp gauge in the middle ) before shutting off and you will greatly reduce risk of flooding. Hopefully with the new updated parts that were installed you should not have any other problems with that.
Rotatry engines do use oil and the level should be checked once and a while. The engine actually has an 'oil metering pump' that injects oil into the intake much the same way your fuel injectors inject fuel. I have not typically seen more than one quart used in 3000 miles but the oil consumption depends primarily on your use of the throttle. An occasional check every other weekend and topping up as needed with 5W-20 oil will ensure that you have no oil related engine problems.

congrats on new car!! welcome to the club.

let ur engine warm up fully before u drive, NEVER take off from cold start.

flooding problem is mostly in cold weather areas, i live in so. cal so i can't help much in this area. but if u go to rx8club.com and do some searching u will find allot of people that had this problem and fixed it.

most importantly since this is ur first rotory, check ur oil level every 2 to 3 times u fill up ur gas. yes ur car does come with a oil pressure gage, but it doesn't light up untill ur dangerously low on oil. so don't go buy that. always keep a bottle or two of oil in ur car. use the oil weight recemended in ur manual, never trust what people at auto shops tell u, they don't know crap. don't use synthetic oil, that will make the seals on ur rotory engine crack. mazda says they fixed that problem, but the car and the fix is brand new, so no one can say if that is true or not until a great deal of years later. i don't think u want to be the first geunie pig.

Gratulation to your Rex.
Have Fun

I know like 4 ways to unflood a 7 but Rx-8s I don't know. One method that might work if you flood it again is to pull the fuel pump fuse crank till you free up all the fuel in the rotor housings, then replace the fuse, start, warm up and go. Another thing is to put a little bit of oil in the sparkplug holes to help ignight the fuel and get it out, and if you go that rout, you get a lovely bluish smoke show. That is normal and your engine didn't just explode, but it will look like it does on TV when the car is spewing smoke and it's pouring out from under the hood. Hopefully you don't have too many flooding problems, enjoy the ride. After the dealer updated your bettery, starter and plugs, you shouldn't have to fix it again, but the fix won't be all that stuff replaced again, just the trick I mentioned above.

Thanks for the information! I have actually since writing the first post had my car's oil light come on. It was low but I wouldn't say dangerously low. I do carry a quart of oil with me but I was told by the salesmen I bought the car off of and a mechanic TO put synthetic oil in my car.....so that is what I did. I am receiving a lot of conflicting information and I'm not really sure who I should listen to.

Another thing about my car is that it hesitates when I take off. Say when I turn at a stoplight and give it some gas it will hesitate for a moment and then jerk when it finally takes off.

This car was a BIG impulse buy....I've always wanted one so I went out and bought one. I'm beginning to think I got more than I bargained for!

NO SYNTHETIC OIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the salesman sells all kinds of cars and he is used ot that for piston cars. Same with the mechanic if they weren't trained too well on rotaries, esp. if they didn't work at Mazda.
It causes carbon build up on the rotors and can dammage your compression and seals. You'll need an engine rebuild sooner than me if you keep that up for a few years. Rev your engine to just under redline and you may get some backfire, weather you do or not, a good rev will clear the rotor housings of carbon build up. Flush your oil and use non synthetic oils and your engine will last ALOT longer. A rotary's apex seals are its life. Bad apex seals can make you: not hold idle, lose 20% or more of your power, fail emissions, and even not start. Please, dump that synthetic out.

I don't know what to do. Half the people I ask say synthetic and half say no. Both have told me it will make my engine last a lot longer.

I have received too much conflicting information and to be honest my car is due for an oil change and what I WAS going to buy was synthetic because that's what I've been told to do. Now I'm not so sure.

Are these cars really that much of a pain to take care of????????? I'm starting to become really frustrated. More at myself for buying the car than anything but I would think this car should run just like any other.....

Ok, these half and half people. Which half is talking about cars in general, and which half knows about rotary? I say go non-synthetic.

Also they aren't too hard to take care of.

Oil checks frequently (check dipstick once every other time you fill up for gas, when it's about 3/4 or 1/2 the supply, top off.
Gas
Warm up before driving (45 seconds)up to 2 minutes for cold weather

But a rotary car isn't always right for everybody. I can't tell you what you like but you may want to look at soemthing else. Hopefully you'll saty with the mazda family, and moreso keep the Rex. PM me if you need any help and I'll be happy to do anyhting I can.

87TURBO II is correct the factory DVD says 5W-20 No Synthetic. It also offers a way to restart if flooded . See a dealer for a copy or email Mazda USA

I'm a new RX8 owner as well - just got mine at the end of January - and just LOVE the darn thing -- it's a daily driver -- yep, even in the ol Indiana snow it got driven (slowly and carefully - but it got thru everything just fine!)

I think most of your confusion/frustration may just be based on the switch from common motor over to rotory.... They are just two different creatures and you have to tweek your thinking when it comes to how you 'think' about general maintenance IMO....

DEFF use non-synthetic...deff check the oil at every fill up or once a week...what 'babyhuey' stated about the "start stop" is true true true...and deff use the primo gas, I've got to admit :shhhh: I tested between mid-range and premium -- and the way my car performs is substantialy different between the two - deff go premo on the gas.... lastly, read the manual - especially if you're new to rotory, there are a lot of tidbits in there that make you go "huh - wadda ya know..."

I've not had any problems with mine (outside of tire shock -- those babies dont last all that long and are not cheap to replace!) and it just purrs....
especially once you hit 85 :grin: - it's pure driving enjoyment and once you get use to thinking rotory, before you know it, you realize that maint isnt time consuming or difficult and you can start enjoying just driving ;)

Wow...why did you get out of such a new Equinox?? Anyway, I have had my RX 8 for almost 3 years. It just takes some getting used to. It's a tad bit more effort to maintain but if you love this car it will be worth it. It is not for the average person since most don't even like to check the oil let alone warm it up. I just would not shut down the car if the engine is cold....like pulling it in and out of garage and not having driven it all day......the car stays warm most of the time if you have driven it that day. Just in case.... rev it to 3000 RPMs and hold it there a few seconds than shut it off. Unfortunately, this car is not a good impulse buying car....this is one people must really learn about and understand.....I was on the forums long before I decided on actually buying one....I knew everything going in. I check my oil about every 1000 miles and add a little. Also no synthetic oil! Get winter tires if you drive it in a cold climate with snow....it handles great with winter tires. It's a fun, awesome handling and hot looking car! You will get use to it's little quirks, it's just unfortunate you did not get the chance to research it first! Mazda's are great vehicles and I am buying my third one(CX 7) in another month! P.S. I have an automatic and it does get better! Zoom,Zoom!!! Good luck to you!

The 2004 Mazda RX8, I knew nothing about mazdas and took a chance on this new rotary engine. I keep telling myself its a great cool car and I should be happy to own one but the truth is this car was the worse decision I ever made and I am deeply regretting it and wish I could take it all back. Ive only owned it 4months now and it constantly goes back to the dealership. twice because the headlights dont seem to be sized right, they keep building up condensation on the inside. And also like many of you THE F***N CAR WONT START!!!!!!!!! Only 4 months I remind you that ive owned it and it has been picked up and towed to the dealership 3 times now cuz it wont start. I can only think of a few things as to why this problem occurs. #1 I only drive it on the weekends and after reading many of these forums Ive learned that you have to start it up for about 5 minutes atleast every other day. #2 When you start it up for quick tasks like to move it from the driveway to the street or out of another cars way. Do not turn your car on and then quickly turn it off. atleast let it run for 5 minutes or drive around your street real quick then park it and turn it off. Ive been told constantly that starting it up and quick shut offs cause the rotary to flood. Im get kinda lazy so I have to say it is a B*** that you have to do this process but atleast you wont feel like a complete idiot when you have a girl over and your brand new hot car she admireswont even start. #3 This is the final tip i can give you. I didnt learn this tip from anyone, and i cant even tell you a good solution for it, All 3 times that my car didnt start was when the wheather got cold. I live in Texas so its generally warm. Everytime we got a cold front was when i had problems. Does anyone have this same problem? and does anyone have a suggestion for it?
Besides all that other problems are Very Low Gas Mileage, my friend has a new V8 GTO and even it gets better mileage than me.When you want to take off and really push down on the peddle the car will pause for a sec and then take off thatskinda annoying and embarrassing when your trying to show it off. Also check your oil every 2 weeks the thing drinks that up quick. Ive also noticed alot of things make rattling sounds when your driving very slow. sad to say while lookin for where the noises are coming from i noticed most of that car is just glued together. I could go on with a few other problems but if you read all of this i think i got the point across that if you bought an RX8 and your having these problems just accept it and come to the realization that you took a chance on this car without really knowing much about this rotary engine, and it was a big mistake. you made a bad purchase!!!
Once this sinks in please join me in one big cry over the whole thing
sux to be us

I too bought an Rx8 recently (the end of December). I love the car and did my research before I bought it. The sales person told me that Mazda recommends synthetic oil but the manual says no such thing. The manual only says 5w-20 oil nothing about synthetic or non-synthetic oil. I don't really have any problems with the maintenance. I have not had any problems starting it and I had the oil light come on once shortly after I bought it (apparently the dealership did not top off the oil when I bought it). I have been putting quite a lot of miles on the car and it does have a slight hesitation sometimes when taking off from a stop but I have found at least on the manual I can fix that by adjusting how I release the clutch. Before the Rx8 I had a Mazda 3 and I loved that car too but I wanted an Rx8 and had wrecked the 3 to the point where the insurance decided to fix it but the car was never the same after that so I got rid of it and got an Rx8. The rotary engine does have some problems but that could be because there is only one company that has used them so not as much development has gone into them as the piston engines but the power that it is capable of for the size of the engine is incredible.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v313/titanium6/Funny%20stuff/motivatorrotary.jpg

Rx-8 is not for a novis driver. It takes alot of care and attention. If you were not responsable enough to read the operators manual, you might not have the responability needed to keep your RX-8 running good. NO SYN oil

hi
im a newby to the forum and also new to the rx8
can any one tell me how long the engines last for compared to a normal engine.
the most i have seen is about 60,000 miles (96,000 kilometres)
hope someone can help
vicki:eek:

The 8 really isnt that much trouble if you enjoy cars... Checking your oil should be routine, for ANY car.. but especially "sports cars" like ours... and what else do you have to do when you are waiting for that Premium to fill up??? Unless ur engine is REALLY hot, check it... dont wait till the light comes on, cuz who says that the light WILL come on???? Respect ur car, and it will respect you