2004 MAZDA RX-8 Complaints

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA RX-8. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START THE VEHICLE DURING COLD WEATHER, THE MOTOR FLOODED WHICH CAUSED THE STARTER TO FAIL. THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE STARTER WAS REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,000.

IN EARLY 2012 I STARTED TO NOTICE THAT WHEN THE WEATHER WAS COLD MY STEERING WHEEL WOULD SHUDDER AS I BACKED OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY. AFTER A THE INITIAL WHEEL TURN THE PROBLEM WOULD DISAPPEAR UNTIL THE NEXT DAY, OR WEEK. THROUGHOUT THE YEARS THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN WORSE TO THE POINT THAT THE POWER STEERING FAILED ALL TOGETHER FOR 3 MONTHS IN LATE 2013. INEXPLICABLY THE POWER STEERING RETURNED IN EARLY 2014, BUT IF THE TEMPERATURE WAS COLD THE STEERING WAS VERY HEAVY FOR A FEW DEGREES OF TURNING AND THEN THE CAR WOULD SENSE I HAD TURNED THE WHEEL A FEW DEGREES AND WOULD THEN ASSIST TOO MUCH AND THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK IN THAT DIRECTION. AS THE YEAR PROGRESSED THE PROBLEM CHANGED TO A CONSTANT SHAKE BACK AND FORTH WHEN I FIRST STARTED THE VEHICLE. THIS ISSUE WOULD HAPPEN AT SPEEDS RANGING FROM 0-10MPH AND ONLY WHEN EITHER INITIATING A TURN OR WHILE UNWINDING THE WHEEL FROM A TURN. I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS IN THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, AS THE TEMPERATURE HAS FALLEN AGAIN, WHEN DRIVING STRAIGHT AND ENTERING A GRADUAL CURVE IN THE ROAD (TRAVELLING AT ANY SPEED) THE WHEEL WILL NOT GIVE POWER STEERING ASSIST AND THE WHEEL IS VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN (COMPARED TO IF POWER ASSIST WAS WORKING CORRECTLY) AND THEN AFTER A COUPLE OF DEGREES THE ASSIST WILL JUMP IN AND THE CAR QUICKLY OVER CORRECTS AND VEHICLE VEERS IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STEER NECESSITATING IMMEDIATE CORRECTION IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. THERE APPEAR TO BE MANY COMPLAINTS FROM A LOYAL MAZDA FAN BASE ABOUT THIS EXACT ISSUE, AND HOW SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE NEARLY HAD AN ACCIDENT, BUT THERE HAS BEEN NO RESPONSE FROM MAZDA. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO EXACT FIX ISSUED, NOT EVEN A SERVICE BULLETIN.

I TYPICALLY DRIVE MY RX8 LIKE IT SHOULD, ONE DAY I COME HOME PARK MY CAR PER USUAL. NEXT MORNING I GO TO TURN ON MY CAR, THE DSC LIGHT STAYED ON, THOUGHT NOTHING OF IT, THEN ON MY WAY TO WORK, I WAS DRIVING CAUSALLY, THEN WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN, MY STEERING BECAME VERY HEAVY AND ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO TURN, MY POWER STEERING HAD WENT OUT. AFTER DEALING WITH ABOUT 2 FULL DAYS AT THE DEALERSHIP, SPENDING THOUSANDS, STILL NO POWER STEERING, AND I'M NOT CREDITED ANY PORTION OF WHAT I PAID TO GET FIXED AND ITS STILL NOT FIXED. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE AND A RECALL MUST BE DONE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE PEOPLE SERIOUSLY GET INJURED, INJURE OTHERS, OR EVEN DIE. THIS IS ALL POSSIBLE, IF I DIDN'T HAVE BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL, AN ACCIDENT MOST DEFINITELY WOULD HAVE TAKEN PLACE. *TR

MAZDA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE REPRESENTATIVE AND RECALL COORDINATOR: THIS IS AT LEAST THE 5TH TIME I HAVE CONTACTED MAZDAUSA REGARDING THE FAULTY AIR BAGS ISSUE AFFECTING MY 2004 RX-8. YOUR ORGANIZATION'S BOILER PLATE RESPONSES THAT I HAVE RECEIVED ARE UNACCEPTABLE. I EXPECT THIS ISSUE TO BE FULLY ADDRESSED AND MY AFFECTED AIR BAGS TO BE REPLACED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER OF THE VEHICLE FIRST REGISTERED IN CA, A HOT AND HUMID STATE. THROUGHOUT THE LAST 10 YEARS, MY CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN AND GARAGED IN MANY STATES ACROSS THE NATION THAT ARE HOT AND/OR HUMID, INCLUDING NEW YORK AND NEVADA. MY CAR IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION, AIR BAGS NOT WITHSTANDING, AND I EXPECT TO OPERATE IT FOR MANY MORE YEARS. HOWEVER, I WILL NOT CONTINUALLY DRIVE A CAR WITH DEFECTIVE AND LETHAL AIR BAGS. IT HAS BEEN WIDELY KNOWN THAT TAKATA HAS BEEN AWARE OF THEIR AIR BAG DEFECTS SINCE 2001. CONTINUED DENIAL BY MAZDAUSA TO ADD MY VEHICLE TO ITS CURRENT AIR BAG RECALL CAMPAIGN IS VERY TROUBLESOME. AIR BAG EQUIPMENT ARE DESIGNED TO SAVE LIVES, NOT END OR MAIM THEM. I FEET THERE SHOULD BE NO DISCRIMINATION OF VEHICLES IN MAZDA'S PERCEIVED GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF ITS AIR BAG RECALL. ALL AFFECTED VEHICLES ON THE LIST AS PROVIDED BY THE NHTSA WEBSITE, AT ALL GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS, MUST BE INCLUDED IMMEDIATELY. THIS CONCERN HAS BEEN FILED WITH THE NHTSA. I EXPECT IMMEDIATE ACTION ON YOUR PART TO CORRECT THIS BLATANTLY INCOMPLETE RECALL CAMPAIGN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. *TR

THE DRIVERS SIDE DOOR WILL NOT UNLOCK. THIS IS AN APPARENTLY KNOWN ISSUE WITH MAZDA AS SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IN CLUB SITES AND THERE ARE EVEN VIDEOS ON THIS ISSUE ON YOUTUBE. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE IF YOU CANNOT EXIT A VEHICLE QUICKLY AFTER AN ACCIDENT OR FIRE PEOPLE COULD DIE. SOMEONE ALREADY MENTIONED THIS ISSUE BACK IN 2010 AND FROM HOW I READ HIS INFORMATION NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS ISSUE WITH THESE DOORS NOT BEING ABOUT TO UNLOCK AND OPEN. *TR

DASH BOARD NO PASSENGER SIDE WHERE AIR BAG IS FOR ABOUT THE LAST 2 YEARS DASH STARTED CRACKING IN THE SHAPE OF A H EVERY SUMMER WHEN ITS HOT THE DASH LOOKS LIKE ITS GOT A BOW IN IT LIKE THE AIRBAG IS GOING TO JUST POP OUT IT HAS GOTTEN WORSE EACH YEAR NOW DEALER SAID NO RECALL BUT THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE AIRBAG TO DEPLOY WITHOUT A CRASH OCCURRING MANY RX-8 OWNERS ARE HAVING THIS CRACKING WHERE AIR BAGS ARE IN PASSENGER SIDE BUT MAZDA WANT DO ANYTHING TO FIX THE ISSUE UNTIL SOMEONE GETS HURT OR KILLED FROM THESE DEFECTIVE AIR BAGS ON THE RX8. *TR

ABOUT A MONTH AGO, MY POWER STEERING MOTOR ON MY 2004 MAZDA RX-8 WENT OUT (APPARENTLY IT HAS NO PUMP, IT'S ALL ELECTRICAL). IT GOES IN AND OUT WHEN I CRANK IT UP AT DIFFERENT TIMES, MOSTLY OUT MORE THAN IN, BUT ANYWAY, IT GOT TO WHERE IT DID IT ALL THE TIME. I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC AND BEFORE HE COULD FIX IT, THE STARTER WENT OUT, AND IT WOULDN'T EVEN CRANK! SO WE REPLACED THE STARTER AND THE POWER STEERING, AND THE NIGHT I PICKED IT UP THE POWER STEERING LIGHT WAS ON AND STILL DIDN'T WORK, EVEN WITH A NEW POWER STEERING MOTOR! IT GOES IN AND OUT, SO IT MUST HAVE WORKED WITH MY MECHANIC. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS MAZDA? EVERYTHING THAT CAN GO WRONG ON THIS CAR DOES. MAZDA DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE THEIR CARS. THIS MODEL HAS ABOUT FIVE RECALLS AS IT IS, WHY IS THE POWER STEERING NOT ONE OF THESE? AT THE DEALERSHIP, A NEW MOTOR IS $1800 DOLLARS. AT THAT AMOUNT, THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE A RECALL CONSIDERING IT TO BE SUCH A SMALL PROBLEM WITH SUCH AN EXPENSIVE PART THAT CAN BE POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS. IT SHOULD BE RECALLED BECAUSE ON ALL OF THE RX-8 FORUMS THAT I'VE READ, THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM. THIS COULD GET SOMEBODY KILLED, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING. PLEASE HAVE MAZDA DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. ALSO, ON THE FORUMS THE STARTER IS A 2004 RX-8-WIDE PROBLEM. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA RX-8. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE IGNITION AND FUEL RELATED COMPONENTS WERE REPLACED, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE ENGINE COMPLETELY FAILED AND WAS DAMAGED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA RX-8. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH AND MAKING A RIGHT TURN, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD NOISE AND THE BALL JOINTS SEPARATED AND FRACTURED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTIFICATION FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 05V325000 (SUSPENSION). THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THAT THE RECALL REMEDY WAS NOT REQUIRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS PENDING THE MANUFACTURER'S APPROVAL FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000.

HORRIBLE IN 2004 YEARS OF THIS VEHICLE AIR BAG LIGHT POPPED UP SUDDENLY FOR NO APPERANT REASON. *TR