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I am having the same problem as everyone else on this forum.  I can not feel safe in a car that will not even run when the tempature in the air is high. Dealer told me that the car needs to be driven hard-ok, I'm a girl but what the heck did they think I bought the car for?  I drive it hard and I am sorry if I need to drive it at a top speed that exceeds 136mph.  (that is when I chickened).  

I am in danger everytime I have to stop because the car will stall or be very slow on the take-off. When it starts idlying roughly, I have to turn off the A/C to see if I can possibly make it without stalling.  I have had my car to the dealer 3 times now and they sent me home with a car that still has problems.  

I am considering buying a rotary engine I've found at an auto wrecking yard.  It is from a 2003 RX8.  Does that mean that it is a 13B-MSP Renesis?  How can I tell the difference between a 13B and the Renesis engine?  This particular engine that I've looked at has no distributor...how does that work?  

Oh my, all of you are scaring me to death! I just bought a 2004 RX 8 today. It stopped in my driveway as soon as I got home, but started back up after a bit. I was going to show my new (used) car to some friends 2 miles away. It stopped at a stop sign and I called the salesman to let him know asap. Tommorrow they will pick it up. The salesman told me that they had accidentally put regular gas in the car when they filled it up for me. He also said he'll send a mechanic out to put something in the tank and blow the car out. He said that was what happened with my new baby. It is so beautiful. I am so sad.... Please e-mail me asap! I need your help! Barb  bcootes@verizon.net  

Don't let them give you the "it got put in the wrong gas or you got bad gas" reply.  Not true. My ex-husband put regular gas in my car and it ran very bad, but did not ever die out.  Gas levels are so minimal that they can not control if the car runs or not.  They can possibly control the performance it runs at, but I do not believe that it will stall or not start for "wrong/bad gas".  My 2005 w/21,500 is in the shop again for the stalling and all.  Good luck.

I love my car-but if a KIA can get me around-Oh Well-Maybe that is what I should get!  

You gotta be kidding me. MazdaTech
If you are defending Mazda and speaking behalf of Mazda
shouldn't you be at least feel sorry for those who suffered from the crappy Rx-8?
Are you suggesting that it is drivers' fault?
Have you even tried to look for the posts on problems with Rx-8 engine?
It is countless.
How dare you talk to victims of Mazda like the company has nothing to do with it.
Oh.. was this our fault because we didn't check if it was lemon in the first place?
I understand 5% of car being lemon from the mass production.
But, Mazda seemed have achieved the record-breaking 50% lemon. (*all-applause)
MazdaTech, you are just lucky that I can't run you over with my Rx-8 because the engine will fail me beforehand.  

Good Evening Folks,
Here is my rx8 horror story. I own a 2005 rx-8 with 48000 miles on it (bought it new). Friday night I was on the way to work (doing about 45MPH) and she died on me. Keep in mind I have an aftermarket intake on the car. I had thetowed to Strauss auto because they were the ones who installed the intake. I recieved a call the next day from strauss and they staed that the breakdowm had nothing to do with the intake. The computer was reading "misfire". So I had them replace the spark plugs and the coil pack .....still no luck. Car would start but it sound more like a John Deere than an RX-8. I had the car towed to the mazda dealer yesterday and I just got the news this morning...........I need a new engine. I asked the svc manager what the problem was and he stated "it was a misfire" (no kidding, i know that already) but never went into actual specifics on what the exact problem was.  He stated it could be an issue with the fuel/air mixture. I couldn't believe it! I understand that the intake was was not covered under my warranty but......How do I know exactly what caused this problem? For all I know Mazda is using the intake as an excuse.I never had a problem with the car, no check engine light, no nothing. Now I have to pay for a new engine ($8,000 big ones) AND I have a wedding to pay for.  

Well today I brought my 05 rx8 in once again to the dealership to get serviced.  Mine too stopped running when I was in the middle of a turn no less.  I had to let it sit for a couple of minutes until it would turn over again.  Then crept it down to the dealership for them to replace the coil pack and spark plugs.  It did nothing for the car.  My car idles really rough and has alot of hesitation at low speeds.  They were suppose to call me back today but had not heard from them yet.  I Live here in Vegas and have already heard of alot of 04s getting engine replacements.  I've had my car in about 6 times now.  Once was for motor mounts.  Had the pcm flashed 3 times, 2 recalls.  This car sucks!  Should of kept my Montero. LOL This last time I brought it in they said it was misfiring, so they replaced the coil pack and spark plugs.  When I enter freeway traffic and really open it up theres a rattle under the hood and when I get to where I'm going and hit low speeds it too sounds like a John Deere tractor.
I'm glad I got the extended warranty cause I'm going to use it to the fullest.  Have 10mos till Im from under this car then I'm getting rid of it.  Piece of !@#@ !!!!!!!!!!  

It's absolutely ridiculous to me that Mazda can still try to pretend that they don't know what's wrong with the vehicles when people bring them in with these symptoms. To anyone who is having these symptoms -- IT IS YOUR ENGINE. IT WILL NOT BE FIXED UNTIL THEY REPLACE YOUR ENGINE! I had my RX in the shop at least seven times (which amounted to about two months if you put it all together) within a four month period and they tried everything they could think of EXCEPT the engine, when obviously they had to have known it was the engine.

On a brighter note, I made a deal yesterday to get rid of mine. Nissan is buying my trade-in (for the new Rogue!) -- a 2005, 71,000 miles, new engine and all -- for $12,650. I'm happy to get anything for the piece of junk. The car has run perfectly since they replaced the engine, but of course I don't trust that to last forever. I'll sure miss how gorgeous the car is, but if it can't get you from point A to point B without breaking down in the middle of an intersection, it's not worth a you-know-what.  

Do you really own an rx-8..."Families of 5 don't hop into the RX8 to see the relatives in Iowa."  The rx-8 only has 4 seats, not 5 (well at least not legally or comfortably)????  Also don’t bash all rx-8’s just because yours is having problems, every car company has problems with their cars (even Volvos and Hondas can), if its so bad for you to own this Mazda, then go buy a different car and stop complaining.  Because some of us love our rx-8’s and hate hearing all of you bash them…go buy your 350z’s and watch your self drive a boat and get smoked by rx-8’s on a real world track or road.  

I've had my 04 RX8 for about 7 months and it just died yesterday. Ive been down at the dealership for odd popcorn nosies but they never did anything about it. The dealership should be picking it up on Monday because it wont even start. I have a 7 yr warranty but it just makes me sad and mad that i have had so many problems and the dealership has done nothing. Im down for a lawsuit. well wish me luck. If anyone knows anything more just let me know some info.  

I have the same problem as the rest of you.  The main difference is that it only took me two trips to get my engine replaced.  The car had cut out on me two times. One was while I was coasting through a toll plaza, that was interesting, and the other was while I was stopped at a stop light.  I have also found out that in addition to my engine replacement, I get the joy of replacing my clutch.  I can't believe I have to replace my clutch at 40,000 miles.  BTW the clutch replacement is NOT covered under warranty.  Since the engine is already out of my car I only have to pay for parts, which are still $630.  I am so frustrated with all of the different problems I have had with this car.  I would be thrilled if Mazda would buy the car back from me.  Also, the cat is out of the bag when it comes to trade in value.  Your RX8 is not worth crap, which makes it impossible to get rid of the car.  I am so upside down on the car because of the extreme drop in value.  Edmunds and NADA over value the car.  You will not got what they say for trade in.  
Good luck all!
Pissed off RX8 Owner  

Ive experienced some issues with my 8 too. I just want everyone to know I used to be a big mazda enthusiast. I recently have been having this problem when i turn it on it sounds like someone poured pop rocks in my engine. Also when I hit the highway my a/c feels like its distributing hot air and it gets HOT in my car and my car has died a few times for no reason, I top my oil off every 3 fillups as advised by a mazda tech and I still get rough idling, it feels like I'm driving a big block V8 with how it idles. I also don't appreciate the false advertisement on the mpg's being 18 to 25 when it's really 14mpg, the way I look at it as, if I wanted the low mpg, I would've gotten a V8 at least it would faster than my grandma's Buick Le sabre, Im front and center for those who really want to get this handled.  

We had same shocking news for our 2004 / 60,000 miles RX-8. After a year or so we bought car, it started making rougher noice than usual pleasant rotory engine sound of a new car when you start it. We have recieved ENDLESS compelements from passer bys and the only problems we had before a week was flooding and huge gas bills. Our dealer had told us never to start this car and shutdown without moving it for a while or it will get flooded. We should have listened to him, get in to our senses from the mesmorizing beauty of this car and walked away to buy another car. But we didn't. And now finally, the dreaded day arrived. A month ago we went on vacation and came back about a week ago. It was cold tiring midnight from airport and RX-8 refused to start.We thought it was just sitting there for weeks so it must be battery problem. So we tried jump starts. Didn't worked. Finally we towed to the dealer. Dealer said he needs to replace battery, spark plug and starting motor and that will put us in for $1100.  This car was just parked and sitting in garage for 3 weeks. We did nothing to it. It's not our fault in any way. I'm not sure how dealers expect people to pay such numbers. But do we have a choice? After all that replacements and a week of waiting it still did not start. Dealer now says he needs to replace engine because compression in one chamber isn't as expected due to carbon build up or something. He called up Mazda rep and they recommanded to replace the engine. Nice! What was my fault? Buying this car and trusting Mazda that they sell cars that lasts more than 60,000 miles? We are completly frustrated. We were counting on paying up car loan and saving money soon and now we are hearing all these news. If we buy new car we will be back to circle of paying loan for next 5 years. The dealer says the car isn't under warrenty so it's up to Mazda to decide whether they will replace engine for goodwill or we have to take $5500 hit for none of our fault.  If they don't then I'm sure planning to sue them for not fully disclosing engine defects and such a short life span. Anyone who would like to join me please email sytelus@yahoo.com. I do have subsidized legal support through company I work for. Also if you have already started lawsuit please let me know and I'm willing to chip in to the cost.


Anyway, some questions for you good readers:

Do know what is Mazda's policy to change engine when we have already crossed 50,000 miles?

If Mazda refuses to take responsibility, what are our options? Has anyone done trad-in with bad engine? What would be cost if you pay yourself? I saw the number $8000 somewhere in this thread and dealer told me $5500.In anycase it's high enough for me to be worth a lawsuit.  

I've owned my RX8 since October 2003, and its had a new engine, transmission, cat. converter, and now it needs a new "Intake Manifold" which the local Mazda dealership quoted $3,455 (part, labor, tax) to repair.  I called Mazda Customer Service to request assistance for being a loyal customer, and Mazda is not willing to help because the miles, 92k, are "out of parameter."  Needless to say, I'm pissed off at Mazda for selling me a lemon, and I will "NEVER BUY ANOTHER MAZDA AS LONG AS I LIVE!"  

Now, I feel stuck with this car because 1) It needs a major repair  2) Who in their right mind would buy this car from me  3) Dealers don't want them.  

I'm scared that I will fix this problem and another major problem will happen in the next few months (like it always does).  Everytime I take it in it needs something (new tire, new breaks, transmission, engine, cat. converter, intake manifold).  Not to mention the excessive costs of operating the car and the large monthly payment.  

Luckily my lease runs out in October '08; however, I will have to pay for excessive mileage.  But, you know what?  I am almost willing to pay anything to get out from under this car.  It was the worst financial decision of my life to buy a Mazda RX8.  Sounds to me like I'm not the only one with problems; Everyone that owns this car is having the same issues...

If there is a Class Action Lawsuit on Mazda, I will gladly add my name to the list(3156 Chipstile Turn, Rock Hill, SC 29732).  Mazda needs to pay for the what they have put me through.  

I OWN A 2004 RX8 AND IT WONT START, SO ITS SITTING AT MY SISTRS HOUSE 8 HOURS AWAY FROM WHERE I LIVE...SOME PEOPLE TELL ME THAT IS FLOODED, BUT I SEE DIFFERNT PEOPLE HAVING ALL THIS PROBLEMS    I DNT KNOW WHAT TO DO ANYMORE....CAN ANYBODY OFFER SOME ADVICE?????