Hot engine causes blood to boil

HELPDESK:Answering all your motoring queries

From C McAuley:

In 2008 I bought a 2005 Mazda RX-8 with 35,000 miles on the clock. Everything was fine for a while but then it wouldn’t start when the engine was hot. I would pull up at a shop and stop the car, five minutes later come back and try and restart it but no go. This car had a full service history previous to me buying it. I brought it to my local Mazda dealer and they said it was down to compression, which meant the seals on the rotors had worn, so it needed a new engine.

I got another opinion from another Mazda dealer and they said a new upgraded starter and battery. I called Mazda Ireland and told them the story so they looked into the car’s history and thankfully they said they would fit a new engine under warranty. I was delighted to get another engine: the car had 44,000 miles at this stage and I was told that once the engine was replaced I would never have a problem again because the new rotors are made from titanium, which wears better.

About a month ago I was at a shop and encountered the same problem with starting it again. I thought this couldn’t be another engine problem, especially since there was only about 10,000 miles on this new engine. I rang the local Mazda dealer and they booked me in for another compression test.

I brought the car down, they did that test, and told me the issue was with compression again and that they were sending the report to Mazda Ireland. The following week they said they had bad news for me. The car is going to need another engine and Mazda wasn’t covering it this time. I rang Mazda Ireland myself and told them that this wasn’t on. I got a call from my local dealer a few days later to say that Mazda were going to pay for half of the engine. It was still going to cost me €4,000.

I’m still really no further on, I have to bring the car to my local dealer because now they are saying that it’s a starter and battery problem. I’m just really disappointed with the RX-8. It’s an amazing car to drive, but the rotary engine needs to be addressed and I’m sick of all the hassle it has caused since I bought the car. Mazda Ireland seem to be doing their best but the issue remains.

A spokesman for Mazda Ireland said the issue was in the hands of the senior technical team from Mazda UK. He said they are of the opinion that the problem relates to the starter motor and battery. Mazda has reiterated that this is an individual problem they are endeavouring to resolve and they do not believe that there is a widespread issue with RX-8 engines. However, this is not the first time RX-8 owners have written to the Helpdesk about having to replace engines because of a failure to start when hot. We can only hope Mazda’s engineers find some resolution to the problem that will not involve you paying €4,000 to replace the engine once more.

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The Irish Times

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