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From my experience with my '04 RX-8, if it is indeed flooded, then you may need to replace the plugs since one or more may have become fouled out.  It may also need a new ignition coil.  My local dealership mechanics stress the importance of using 93 octane gasoline everytime I fill up, and check and replace the lost oil around every 1 or 2 fill ups.  IF the oil gets low or low octane gas is used, it can cause the engine to misfire which will hurt the it's performance.

My car has been flooded in the past, primarily from not letting it warm up before turning it off).  Last month, I thought that my car was flooded, and it turned out needing a new intake manifold (2k plus labor), and cat. converter.  This caused problems with my tail pipes and muffler so they covered that under warranty luckily.  

Also, they suggest that I allow the RX-8 to warm up before taking off, and allow the car to idle momentarily before turning off. This may seem out of the way, but if it prevents damage to your engine then I think it's worth a shot.  

Also, they suggest that I run the car at higher RPMs like 5-8 RPMS, and use the interstate to run the car harder than on normal city streets.  When higher RPMs are used, they say that it can help with carbon build up in the intake manifold.  They also say that the car performs better at higher RPMs.  

I hope that this information is helpful.  

I have an 04 RX-8 that seemingly had no problems ...where is was the wood to knock on.  

Then it happened ... flooded. Moved the car from the carport to the driveway, rev'd it, turned it off.  Yep ...dead.  New starter, new plugs and voila, running like a champ.

Move forward 18 months ... driving home and I get the "John Deere" effect.  Sounds like crap. Barely moves.  Get it home.  Next day, starts runs fine on the way to the dealer. Just like the kid that gets well on the way to the doctor.  The dealer diagnoses this issue as "bad plug wires."  So before thinking I pay and have it fixed.  New wires, new plugs and a reset.

After talking to a tech from another dealer, he believes that this is the begining stages of the engine going.  He said that some techs believe that the engine struggles because of heat, lack of oiling or some other malfunction.  Then the slight engine retarding makes the misfiring happen.  The timing on a rotary is so fine, I am lead to assume that even the slightest misadjustment is big.  This was a $500 fix ... boy does my butt hurt after that reaming.

Then ... flooded again ... this time the car was drive and warmed properly.  Hmmm, sounds different.  The dealer covered this ...

I like the rotary engine car.  The engines are not for those that want a maintenance free life.  They are for real enthusiast not Mom and her kids.

I understand (and agree with) everyone that is pissed off, disgruntled or about to kill their local Mazda dealership staff from the GM to the receptionist.  Mazda needs to find another solution to this.  Replacing and engine with one that is a clone does not solve a problem but leads dowm the same path again.  Mazda needs to rework and test a rotary that has a better plumbing system.  Both the cooling and oiling systems suck.      

I am expecting that my car is headed down the replacement engine path.  The check engine light has illuminated again, it is running rough and I know that it is not the 8th mass air flow sensor.

Good luck to all ...  

I seem to be one of the very few who has had good luck with their RX-8. I have a 2004 6-spd with 55,000 miles and haven't had anywhere near the problems everyone else seems to be having. The engine is strong and smooth. I religously change the oil every 3000 and don't drive it hard ... well not that hard.  Let's see ... squeeky brakes, leaky windshield, new plugs already and a noisey throw bearing in the tranny, all fixed for free. Although I will probably start having problems just due to writing this. I think the problem could be the region you live in.  Since I live in the northeast which means it doesn't get that hot, and I very very rarely sit in traffic the car doesn't get that hot.  What I have problems with is condensation in the oil when the temp falls below 30.  I have even had ice on the dip stick! The only hope I have is that it doesn't seem to be in the oil just on the dip stick. I'll certainly join the group if I start having the same problems.  Good Luck!  

I also have a problem with the crap RX8 its a 2005 with only 26k the engine blew out on the road coming home from work at 3 in the morning. picture the greatfull event I had. The car was towed the next day to the dealer. The dealer claimed there was no oil in the engine and wanted the oil change invoices. After digging for invoices from 2005 the dealer said they would not cover the engine. Im on board with the law suit. I sould of never sold my VW R32. Now im stuck making payments for a car I cant drive!! Does anyone have any advice?????  

I understand you are a Mazda Mechanic and I just had some concerns.
I have owned 4 rx-7's in the past. I am a rotor head for sure. I love the rotary engine. I have owned an 82' rx7, and three 87' rx-7's.. I just got my 2005 rx-8 in feb 2008..I have had good luck so far,it has been in the shop for plastic parts and such that have broken..I got it with 38,000 miles on it..it has 41000 on it now. By the time I got it ,,the PCM had already been updated and the exhaust system checked out..everything ok so far but all this information scares be bad. I have not changed the plugs yet..they will be done in two more days..but today the OIL is super thin and smells strong of raw fuel. I use only chevron gas to run clean and castrol GTX -what i used in all the rx-7's..I am just nervous that I made a bad investment and wondering if this gas in the oil is bad? I have new NGK plugs that will be put in but just wondering how you feel about this newly designed engine? the production date of my car is SEP or OCT of 2004...so was later model.. I take care of it...making sure the oil is topped off and everything..but all this information about these engines on so many sites is freaking me out. Can you help me out with your thoughts?  

All i can say to people who own the RX8 is becareful and dont expect for Mazda to stand by their product! i have taken them to court and the BBB. I lost both case's in the out come of my blown engine. I must say to anyone who wishes on going on a road trip dont just think because you did a oil change before you left your car is ok. 750 miles into the trip the car had already burned all 4 quarts and on the high way the engine blew. 28k miles and i have a 2004 RX8 with a blown engine that wont be fixed by mazda because they said it was user error. if you dont have an RX8 dont buy one! to anyone whom wishes to get people in a class action sew i wish the best to you, and if you need backing i wouldnt mind going to court again. it would be the third time but i cant count the times i have heard the same story of this poor designed engine!  

Every thing you said was true. I gave up and sold mine to a dealer for nothing. I could not sell it to a enemy.    

The rotary engine was an experimental engine for Mazda.  Apparently the factory tip seals, and side seals are worthless.  It's not the lightweight oil causing the problem.  I do however agree that Mazda should be taking care of this problem. I am not sure whether anyone, factory or after market has designed seals that can put up with the wear and tear that a rotary engine put on these seals, but that's where to start looking  

Thought I should tell you all what I did with the pennies on the dollar I got when I traded in my RX8. Wait for it, yes, a Corvette 2008 LS3 coupe. Does not handle as well as the RX8, but it is damn fast and looks beautiful. I lost a lot of money on the RX8, but I am pleasantly surprised by the quality GM has put into their flagship car. Maybe there is hope for American car companies, after all.

P.S. The gas mileage is soooooo much better with the Corvette!  

So how does one get involved in this class action law suit.

My story, my Mazda was running rough and had a loss of power/ stalling when accelerating. I suggested my wife take it in and get it checked. Well Mazda tells me it needs a NEW ENGINE....I thought hmm....O.K...I'll take a new engine. They told me it had air restriction in the manifold and carbon build up that couldn't be fixed unless they replaced it. After asking a few subtle questions I soon came to the conclusion I was being lied too. It's sad they assume we consumers are stupid.

Well they put a new engine in and it runs better than it ran when it was new. However, that brings me to "what now". I knew we were not being told the truth so I began researching the loss of power in Mazda RX 8 rotary engines. All I can say is wow! I never dreamed the problem was to this extent.

I read all the posts on this forum as well as others. I have experienced all of the above mentioned problems: loss of power, stalling on acceleration, flood out (where they picked it up and replaced plugs and coil), a knocking/rattle of the engine, the tractor sound of the engine, rough idle, and the melted plastic smell from the passenger side (I was actually in the passenger side riding when it happened, I thought a piece of plastic from the highway and wedged on the engine, there was none there).

I love the car but am seriously concerned about its durability and expense. I do feel Mazda should do more than replace the engine. If they have truly fixed the problem they should have no problem giving a 100,000 mile engine component warranty to it's customers for free at the VERY least. I'll check back to see if anyone has information about the class action suit. Good luck to everyone. I think if we do this as a group we will win unlike the unfotunate gentleman in the above post. Thanks for all the useful information.  

You're lucky they replaced your engine at all.  Many MSP, MS3, and MS6 owners, including myself, have been denied warranty claims for their blown engines, many with less than 30k miles on them.  Thus leaving owners with a choice between getting rid of the car while continuing to pay off the car loan or dumping another $13k-$14k into a car that may soon experience another failure for which Mazda may not honor their warranty  

I, too, am curious about a class action suit against Mazda for lack of reasonableness in dealing with warranty claims.  They place the burden of proof on the consumer to show that the damage should be covered under warranty.  There are too many stories of Mazda finding easy things to blame the damage on without having first done a thorough investigation to find the root cause.  It sounds like in your case they may have blatantly misled you knowing that there was little that you could do to counter their position.  Consumers do not have access to Mazda's comprehensive warranty and service history on these vehicles nor their expertise and tools to diagnose root causes.

I'm not one who's quick to sue, but it seems like there's a pattern of questionable behavior here on Mazda's part that consumers are not aware of when they are making their purchase decision.  Mine certainly would have been different had I known then what I know now.

Caveat Emptor, Zoom Zoom Boom.  

I own a 2007 Mazda RX 8 Sport (with the performance package), its an awesome car. Mine has about 23k miles on it, drove it from Ohio to California and back. I live in a rural-ish area, so I rarely sit in traffic. I suspect that *some* of the drivers that have engine problems were never given "the warnings" by their Mazda sales rep. This is what I was told when I bought the car:

1. Do *NOT* let the RX8 sit "parked" for more than 5 days straight without driving it
2. Do *NOT* drive it until the engine has warmed up (There are two thicker lines by the C, should be 2 lines past that)
3. Rev it up to 3k RPM and then pull the key out (if you need to move it without driving it far, in your driveway etc)
4. Always put 93 octane fuel in it (mine has at BP more or less consistently)
5. Use 5W-20 oil

I'm wondering if people who had problems live in markets where you just can't get minimum 93 octane fuel. When I drove to California, some places I went through on I-40 (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona) only had minimum 90 octane fuel. One gas station attendant in New Mexico that I talked to said he got rid of his RX8 because the engine failed, but he had been putting 90 octane fuel in it.

So would be interesting to see how many people actually sit for the 3 or 4 minutes until the car warms up, or do you just hop in and drive? I put snow tires on the RX8 to avoid having to go through the effort of draining the engine to park it for the winter, lots of fun

A couple of things I've noticed about the RX8 though:

One dealer I used to use put Kendall oil in it, it'd accelerate really well, act smoothly for the first 500 miles, then it'd be slightly less "zoom zoom" until the next oil change. I started bringing Castrol 5W-20 (non-synthetic) to the dealership for them to use instead, and it remains that way between oil changes. There was never less oil in it, but I'm wondering if the quality of the oil just degraded faster.

I started changing the oil myself because the dealer is about 45 minutes from here, and it was a waste of gas, especially now at over $4.00 for 93    

( PLEASE HELP!!-This might seem long, but it's pretty interesting!)
I had seen that you had said that you took mazda to court and to BBB. You said you had lost because of your blown engine. Well, I'm in a situation where I want to take them to court and been trying to decide if I would it's even the effort. I was wondering if you have the chance to see if you can give me a little advice since you have already taken them to court.
        Well my 2004 rx-8 is still running(some what it feels like it's fixing to die on me any minute). I bought it used only a couple months old and after a couple months started having problems. Well in 2007 my car caught on fire. FROM THE EXHAUST. Was driving car started stalling and dying- was trying to take it to the close dealership when a lady told me to get out the car and there was FLAMES on both my exhaust. I ran away from the car and started crying and shaking. Mind you, I was 17 years old. The fire truck came and EMS came. Then I freaked out again because if it wasn't for the lady, the fire would have escalated and the FUEL tank is very very close. It would have blown up.
       Took it to the dealership they were saying about all these charges and that something went bad and blah blah and it would be this much to fix. How could they be so inconsiderate when I told them that MY LIFE was almost taken away from me?? I'm trying to get something done now because back then I was 17, my parents didn't speak english so it was all on me. I thought that whatever the dealership told me was true and they seemed to say it wasn't there fault. Well just a week ago I found there was a recall similar to what had happened to my car! Went to the dealership and they kept     saying your car wasn't under this recall and the recall is closed, and to call Mazda coporate, and I did call them, they said go back to the dealership. Giving me the run around.
        Do you think I might have a chance to even win if I take them to court? I know they are WRONG and my LIFE was in danger-and I just want some justice.  

So how do we do a CLASS ACTION SUIT. I'm ALL IN. 100% percent!  

I have been looking at RX 8s to buy one and I am seeing a ton with over 100k from 2004.  I am just surprised from reading this entire post that any could make it that far. I would be interested in buying some of these RX8s that people are giving away or selling becuase they are junk.  If you are serious and need to get rid of one email me at jeff@jbramblet.com.  I will post later what kind of response I get from frustrated people wanting to get rid of thier piece of junk for cheap.
Thanks
Jeff B.