2004 MAZDA RX-8 Complaints

ENGINE FAILURE, PURCHASED CAR 3/11/2006, A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER THE CAR STARTED IDLING ROUGHLY, THEN STALLING, THE COMPUTER MODULE HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE, THE ENGINE ONCE, I STILL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH ACCELERATION, THE LAST INCIDENT HAPPENED LAST WEEK 7/29/2007, I WAS IN THE CENTER LANE PULLING OUT INTO THE PASSING LANE AND THE CAR LOST ALL POWER BUT DID NOT STALL MY HEAD WAS SLAMMED FORWARD ALMOST HITTING THE STIRRING WHEEL AND A FEW SECONDS LATER SHOT OFF LIKE A ROCKET SLAMMING MY HEAD BACK AGAINST THE DRIVERS SEAT, CAUSING MY NECK TO WHIP LASH I HAVE HAD A BAD HEADACHE SINCE, AND I WAS ALMOST HIT BY A BIG DIESEL TRUCK. THE CAR IS IN THE SHOP AGAIN GETTING THE OIL AND TIRES CHANGED, AND ALSO GETTING CHECKED FOR THIS PROBLEM BUT THEY ARE SAYING THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING ON THE ROAD TEST. WELL IT HAPPENS TO ME QUITE OFTEN WHEN I GO TO PASS SOMEONE ON THE INTERSTATE, IT HESITATES BEFORE IT KICKS IN AND SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET KILLED. I AM PAYING FOR A CAR THAT SPENDS MORE TIME IN THE SHOP THAN OUT. I BOUGHT IT 3/11/06 IT STAYED IN THE SHOP ALMOST CONTINUALLY UNTIL 7/18/2006, AND I WAS MAKING PAYMENTS. NOW IT IS STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN WITH THE ROUGH IDLE AND HESITATION. I AM GETTING TO THE POINT THAT I WANT MY MONEY BACK AND I'LL GIVE THEM THE CAR BACK. I AM GETTING TO SCARED TO DRIVE IT. NOW I FIND OUT TODAY ABOUT OTHER RECALLS THE CONTROL ARM I WAS NOT AWARE OF, I GUESS THAT IS WHY MY CAR IS STARTING TO PULL HARD TO THE RIGHT, NOW I HAVE TO HAVE THAT TAKEN CARE OF. I HAVE MOVED 350 MILES AWAY AND I CAN'T LEAVE UNTIL MY CAR GETS FIXED AND OUT OF THE SHOP, THIS IS STARTING TO BE BULL!!! SOMEONE NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING I HAVE A FRIEND WHO ALSO HAS AN RX8 WE PURCHASED OURS ON THE SAME DAY AND SHE IS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS AND HERS IS A 2006 WHERE MINE IS A 2004, SO MAZDA HASN'T FIXED THE PROBLEM.*JB

THE REAR PASSENGER TAIL LAMP ON THE 2004 MAZDA RX-8 IS KNOWN TO COLLECT WATER INSIDE THE LAMP, SOMETIMES AS MUCH AS 2 INCHES OR MORE. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH MAZDA AND THEY WILL REPLACE THE LAMP ONLY IN UNDER WARRANTY. BUT ACCORDING TO THE MAZDA DEALER WHERE I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE, WATER IN A TAIL LAMP IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY HAZARD AND WILL NOT ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO PASS THE ANNUAL TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY INSPECTION IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, ALTHOUGH IT IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY HAZARD BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, THE REPLACEMENT OF THE LAMP WOULD NOT BE COVERED BY MAZDA SINCE MY VEHICLE MILEAGE EXCEEDS THE WARRANTY. IF IT IS CONSIDERED A SAFETY HAZARD BY THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO THEIR INSPECTION PROCEDURES AND IT IS A KNOWN DEFECT BY MAZDA, I BELIEVE THAT MAZDA OWNS THE RESPONSIBILITY IN REPLACING THE TAIL LAMP. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MAZDA RX-8. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE TOOK HIS VEHICLE IN FOR A RECALL REPAIR. THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO REPAIR HIS VEHICLE BECAUSE HE DID NOT HAVE A RECALL NOTICE PRESENT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE. SINCE THAT TIME, HIS VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER, EXCESSIVE AIR CONSUMPTION, AND POOR MILEAGE. THE # OF CYLINDERS IS 0 BECAUSE THE VEHICLE HAS A ROTARY ENGINE. THE CURRENT MILEAGE IS 71,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 65,000.

ON 1/26/07 I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR THE LATEST RECALL REPAIR AND A TUNE UP, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO ADDRESS THE POWER LOSS PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR. PRIOR TO THIS, THE CAR WAS STALLING, LOSING POWER AND HAVING TO DOWN SHIFT IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN ITS SPEED WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE, AND LITTLE POWER WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE. THE TUNE UP INCLUDED REPLACING THE SPARK PLUGS, AIR FILTER, AND OIL CHANGE, IN ADDITION TO THE RECALL WORK. THE CAR SEEMED TO RUN FINE AFTER THE WORK WAS COMPLETE, BUT LASTED ONLY ABOUT A WEEK. THE CAR EXHIBITS THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH POWER LOSS AGAIN. TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, WHO SAID MY SPARK PLUG WIRES ARE NOW THE CULPRIT, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE OKAY A COUPLE WEEKS PRIOR. SAID THE SPARK PLUG WIRES ARE NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY, WHICH IS OKAY, BUT I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE CAUSE SINCE THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN PRESENT SINCE SHORTLY AFTER BUYING THE CAR. MY CAR IS ALMOST OUT OF WARRANTY, AND THEY STILL HAVE NOT FIXED THIS PROBLEM. *NM

PROBLEMS WITH ROTARY ENGINE STARTING. USUALLY HAPPENS AT A TEMPERATURE BELOW 25 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT. POOR IGNITION SYSTEM FOR COLDER WEATHER. I HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH IT EACH WINTER I HAVE OWNED THE CAR(2004 TO PRESENT DAY). A TRIP TO THE DEALER HAS BEEN NECESSARY EACH TIME AND WHILE THE WARRANTY IS STILL VALID, THIS IS AN INCONVENIENCE BUT IT'S AFTER THE EXPIRATION IS WHEN I WORRY. A RECALL WAS NOTED AND REPAIRS WERE COMPLETED THE FALL OF 2006 BUT THE SAME THING HAPPENED YESTERDAY. THIS RECALL INCLUDED SPARK PLUG REPLACEMENT, BATTERY REPLACEMENT, STARTER MOTOR REPLACEMENT, AND REPROGRAMMING THE ONBOARD COMPUTER CHIP FOR IGNITION CHANGES. THE NEW STARTER MOTOR MADE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO STARTING TIME BUT DIDN'T CHANGE IT'S CONDITION IN COLDER WEATHER. THE MAZDA DEALER HAS BEEN LITTLE HELP IN RESOLVING THE SITUATION. THEIR REMEDY HAS BEEN JUST TREATING THE SYMPTOMS AND NOT FIGURING ON A SOLUTION TO THE IGNITION PROBLEM. THEY HAVE TOLD ME REPEATEDLY THAT "THESE CARS DO NOT LIKE COLD WEATHER" AND "THESE CARS DO NOT LIKE SHORT TRIPS". I WOULD FIGURE THAT IF A COMBUSTION MOTOR CANNOT START IN TEMPERATURES BELOW 25 DEGREES F, THEN THEY SHOULD OFFER A BETTER CAR/MOTOR REPLACEMENT. *NM

ENGINE FAILURE, AFTER DRIVING SHORT DISTANCES ENGINE DOES NOT ALWAYS WANT TO RESTART; DURING TIMES OF SITTING IN TRAFFIC, CAR WILL IDLE ROUGHLY AND SPUTTER, SOMETIMES DIE AND WON'T IMMEDIATELY RESTART; CAR HAS DIED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO START OUT INTO TRAFFIC; TRANSMISSION DOESN'T CHANGE GEARS PROPERLY... I HAVE HAD MY CAR SINCE FEB. 04 AND IT HAS BEEN SERVICED OVER A DOZEN TIMES FOR ENGINE FAILURE AND TRANSMISSION ISSUES ALONE. IT HAS HAD A NEW TRANSMISSION, LINKAGE, GEAR BOX, STARTER, BATTERY, AND THEY ARE CURRENTLY PUTTING IN THE 2ND REPLACEMENT ENGINE. NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHY THESE CARS HAVE SO MUCH TROUBLE, BUT I WOULDN'T HAVE ANOTHER ONE IF IT WAS GIVEN TO ME. *NM

PURCHASED A 2004 MAZDA RX8 DURING MAY 2004. AUG. 2004 THE CAR WAS IN FOR A RECALL ON HARD START/ LACK OF POWER ISSUES. SINCE THEN THE CAR HAS BEEN OUT OF SERVICE FOR 24 DAYS AND HAS REQUIRED 8 TRIPS TO THE SERVICE DEPT. FOR ENGINE RELATED PROBLEMS. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE PCM WAS SHIPPED TO MAZDA USA FOR A REPROGRAM. THIS SOLUTION DID NOT WORK AND THE ENGINE HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE SYMPTOMS INCLUDE POWER LOSS, HESITATION, ROUGH IDLE, AND CEL LIGHT PROBLEMS. INITIALLY, I WAS TOLD THIS WAS A HIGH SPEED LEAN OUT CONDITION. ACTUALLY, THIS VEHICLE HAD A DEFECTIVE ENGINE FROM THE DAY IT WAS PURCHASED. THIS IS CONFIRMED BY THE FACT MAZDA HAS EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON ALL RX8 ROTARY ENGINES AND THERE IS A RECALL ON ALL ROTARY ENGINES FOR TESTING TO SEE IF THE ENGINE NEEDS REPLACEMENT. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS FIX MAY OR MAY NOT WORK. OTHER OWNERS HAVE HAD MULTIPLE ENGINE REPLACEMENTS. MY CAR HAS STARTED TO EXHIBIT THE SAME SYMPTOMS THAT LED TO THE FIRST REPLACEMENT. ALSO, THE ENGINES ARE REMANUFACTURED FURTHER REDUCING THE RESALE VALUE OF THE CAR. THE TREATMENT FROM THE DEALER AND MAZDA USA CUSTOMER MEDIATION IS ACTUALLY "CUSTOMER NO SERVICE" AND A DISGRACE. IN A PRESS RELEASE RX8 OWNERS WERE GUARANTEED "WHITE GLOVE TREATMENT". IT APPEARS THAT THE ONLY REMEDY SEEMS TO AN ATTORNEY AND/OR THE LEMON LAW. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE PERFORMING GENERAL MAINTENANCE, THE BRAKES WERE OBSERVED TO BE CORRODED. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE BRAKES WERE CORRODED DUE TO NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALERTED. THE CONSUMER STATED THE ROTORS WERE CORRODED. UPDATED 11/30/06. *JB

NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH EXCESSIVE HEAT IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT. CAR LOSES OR LACKS POWER. CAR HAS DIED MANY TIMES. VEHICLE HAD TO BE TOWED TWICE TO DEALER. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN THE DEALER FOR SERVICE OVER 7 TIMES. VEHICLE HAS UNDER 32000 MILES. TODAY: 2 NOV 2006. CAR HAD TO BE TOWED TO DEALER. CAR DIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. I PICKED UP CAR YESTERDAY FROM DEALER AFTER BEING REPAIRED FROM SIMILAR (POWER) PROBLEMS. I HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A CAR TOO MANY TIMES. *NM

DRIVER AND PASSENGER SUN VISOR CAN CRACK/BREAK AND OBSTRUCT VISION WHILE DRIVING. *JB