2004 MAZDA RX-8 Complaints

MY 2004 MAZDA RX-8 ONLY HAS 53,000 MILES ON IT AND IS AGAIN IN THE SHOP DUE TO MANUFACTURER-RELATED ENGINE FAILURE. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IN LESS THAN 1 YEAR I'VE BEEN LEFT STRANDED IN HAZARDOUS CIRCUMSTANCES BECAUSE OF ENGINE FAILURE. I'VE ALSO EXPERIENCED POWER STEERING FAILURE AND LOSS OF ENGINE COMPRESSION/ENGINE MISFIRES WHILE DRIVING ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. AS A RESULT, I'M BECOMING INCREASINGLY CONCERNED FOR MY SAFETY, AS WELL AS FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHERS WHO OWN/OPERATE THIS TYPE OF MAZDA VEHICLE. PLEASE CONSIDER ORGANIZING A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST MAZDA TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR PUTTING MANY VALUABLE LIVES AT RISK. *TR

2004 MAZDA RX8 MANUAL TRANSMISSION. THE CLUTCH PEDAL BRACKET HAS RIPPED AT THE UPPER OUTBOARD BOLT TO FIREWALL. THE CLUTCH PEDAL RETURN SPRING INBOARD RETAINER CLIP HAS BROKEN OFF,OUTBOARD CLIP IS INTACT BUT HAS MULTIPLE FRACTURES. THE RETURN SPRING HAS WORN INTO THE BRACKET ABOUT 7 MM. VEHICLE OWNER STATED THERE WAS A SNAP LIKE NOISE AND THE PEDAL FELL TO THE FLOOR. THE VEHICLE LOST ITS ABILITY TO SHIFT. I HAVE VERIFIED THAT THE VEHICLE WILL NOT SHIFT INTO ANY GEAR.. UNLESS YOU HAVE IT IN FIRST WHEN TRYING TO START IT. EVEN WITH CLUTCH PRESSED IN, THE STARTER WILL FORCE THE VEHICLE FORWARD. THE BRACKET TO FIREWALL TEAR IS ABOUT 3 INCHES LONG. *TR

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.

NHTSA ACTION NUMBER : PE09045 AS INDICATED IN THE ABOVE COMPLAINT, MY CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY SNAPPED THIS WHILE DRIVING. I DEPRESSED THE PEDAL, HEARD A LOUD POP AND THE PEDAL BECAME PERMANENTLY DEPRESSED WITH THE LACK OF ABILITY TO ENGAGE GEARS IN A SAFE MANNER. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY STATED THAT THIS IS A NORMAL WEAR ISSUE AND I AM OUT OF WARRANTY. THE VEHICLE HAS 60,000 MILES ON IT AND HAS NOT BEEN DRIVEN HARD FOR THE PERIOD THAT I HAVE OWNED IT. I WAS ABLE TO FORCIBLY SHIFT GEARS AND MAKE IT HOME AFTER THE INCIDENT. THIS SEEMS LIKE AM EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR ANY DRIVER IF THE CLUTCH WERE TO MOVE UNKNOWINGLY BEHIND THE BRAKE AND HINDER THE ABILITY TO STOP. *TR

THE CLUTCH PEDAL BRACKET IN MY RX8 CRACKED. I WAS IN CITY TRAFFIC WHEN I HEARD A SNAP AND MY CLUTCH PEDAL BECAME MUCH LOOSER. ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER I HEARD ANOTHER SNAP AND COULD BARELY SHIFT MY CAR AT ALL. IT CAUSED ME TO STALL IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY INTERSECTION. UNABLE TO MOVE OR START MY CAR. *TR

EVERYTHING STARTED FINE. WHILE DRIVING MY CLUTCH PEDAL FAILED ON ME AND I WAS UNABLE TO PROPERLY MANEUVER THE VEHICLE. CLUTCH PEDAL STICKS TO THE GROUND AND THE GEARS GET STUCK AND I HAVE TO RIP THEM OUT. IT HAPPENED ONCE, BECAUSE NOW THE CAR IS INOPERABLE. TO CORRECT THE FAILURE I'M GOING TO REPLACE CLUTCH PEDAL BRACKET ASSEMBLY AND POSSIBLY AN NEW CLUTCH ALTOGETHER. *TR

I SLOWED TO LET THE CAR INFRONT TURN. WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR AGAIN, A BIG CLOUD OF WHITE SMOKE CAME OUT THE EXHAUST AND THE ENGINE COMPLETELY DIED. I WAS ABLE TO PUSH IN THE CLUTCH AND COAST INTO A FIRE DEPARTMENT. I TRIED TO RESTART THE CAR ONCE STOPPED BUT IT WOULDN'T RESTART. I COULD SMELL OIL COMING FROM THE CAR WHILE TRYING TO START IT WHICH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE OIL SEAL IS BLOWN. ONCE TOWED TO PEARSON MAZDA, I WAS TOLD THAT THE CAR NEEDED TWO COILS AND SPARK PLUGS. ONCE THOSE WHERE REPLACED, THE CAR STILL DIDN'T RUN CORRECTLY SO A COMPRESSION TEST WAS DONE IN WHICH IT WAS FOUND THAT THERE IS NO COMPRESSION ON THE REAR ROTOR AND THE MOTOR WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. ON FRIDAY THE FOURTH, THREE DAYS AFTER THE INITIAL INCIDENT, I WAS TOLD THAT MAZDA WOULDN'T COVER THE MOTOR UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER WAS HOLLOWED OUT. NOW ANYONE THAT KNOWS ABOUT CARS KNOWS THAT A HOLLOWED CAT WON'T CAUSE AN OIL SEAL TO GO ON A MOTOR. IT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED MANY PLACES ON THE INTERNET WERE THESE MOTORS LAST AS LITTLE AS 20,000 MILES AND HAVE TO BE REPLACED. MAZDA DOESN'T WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT. IT HAS NOW BEEN TWO WEEKS AND MAZDA STILL HAS NOT RESPONDED TO MY MANY CALLS TO GET THIS REVERSED. *TR

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON AFTER A FUEL FILLUP GO OFF AFTER DRIVEN PROBLEM STARTED LATE 2005 EARLY 2006 IN AND OUT OF SHOP CLEARED CODES REPLACED FUEL CAP, UPPER INTAKE, VACUUM PUMP, LATE 2007 THEY CLEARED CODES CLAIMED TO HAVE TIGHTENED A LOOSE CAP, AND STATED IF IT CAME BACK ON WILL NEED FUURTHER DIAGNOSES AT ADDITIONAL COST. I HAVE 8 INVOICES RANGING FROM PROGRAMMING PCM CLEARING CODES ONE FROM 2006 PRINTED ON THE INVOICE, CUSTOMER STATES CAME BACK ON SAME NIGHT SEEMS TO COME ON AFTER FILLUP. THAT WAS WHEN THE VEHICLE HAD LESS THAN 40,000 MILES. NOW THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED WORKING AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON CONTINUOUSLY, AND IT WONT PASS STATE INSPECTION. NOW ITS BEEN DIAGNOSED AS A FUEL SENDING UNIT COSTING OVER $600.00 THE PART IS ORDERED AND I INFORMED THEM THAT I WANTED ALL OLD REPLACED PARTS. *TR

THE CLUTCH PEDAL ON MY VEHICLE SUDDENLY BEGAN TO HAVE VERY LITTLE RESISTANCE WHEN PUSHING IN THE PEDAL ON FRIDAY MAY 28TH, 2010, WHICH LEAD ME TO BELIEVE I WAS GOING TO NEED TO BUY A NEW CLUTCH FOR MY VEHICLE SOON. THE PREVIOUS DAYS THOUGH, THE PEDAL WAS FUNCTIONING PERFECTLY FINE, AND THERE WAS NO SLIPPING OR PROBLEMS SHIFTING GEARS. THE NEXT DAY, ON THE 29TH, AFTER ABOUT 5 - 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING, THE PEDAL BECAME COMPLETELY NONRESPONSIVE AND COULD NOT BE DISENGAGED ONCE IT WAS PRESSED INTO THE FLOOR. I HAD TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY AND HAVE THE CAR TOWED. UPON A $100 INSPECTION BY A LOCAL MAZDA DEALERSHIP, THE CLUTCH AND RELATED COMPONENTS (MASTER, SLAVE, PRESSURE PLATE, FLYWHEEL, BEARINGS, ETC) WERE FINE, BUT THE CLUTCH PEDAL HAD FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I WAS HAPPY TO HEAR THAT I DID NOT HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE CLUTCH SYSTEM, BUT I WAS CHARGED FOR A BRAND NEW CLUTCH PEDAL, AND I FEEL THE ORIGINAL WAS DEFECTIVE AND SHOULD NOT HAVE SIMPLY FAILED AS IT HAD FOR NO REASON. *TR

MY CLUTCH ASSEMBLY ON MY 2004 MAZDA RX8 JUST SNAPPED TODAY AS I WAS DRIVING. ITS IS THE SAME ISSUE THAT CAN BE FOUND IN NHTSA ACTION NUMBER PE09045. *TR