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Mazda's Biggest Mistake? The Fatally Flawed RX-8 Driven and Reviewed (JDM Legends Tour Pt. 35)

JayEmm on Cars

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Another day, another piece of fabulous Japanese motoring. This time, I am behind the wheel of a Mazda RX-8. A car notorious for many expensive problems - so what could possibly keep bringing people back to them? Let's find out.

#Mazda #RX8 #Rotary

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20 Comments

@Terry67ism 6 years ago

Just let go of my 2004 RX8. I’ve got to say it broke my heart. Every day for 16 years, I have always been eager to drive it. At 80,000 miles Mazda replaced the engine on there dime. As I let it go, the second engine had 106,000 miles on it. The body looked great, no rust. But at my age (70) it was time to get something a little more practical. But I will never regret buying my RX8. I just regret I had to let it go.

@timakimat 6 years ago

Probably one of the most misunderstood cars ever

@tassiecoinsandbullion6957 5 years ago

I have daily driven an rx8 for almost 7 years. I’ve always kept an eye on the oil and given a daily redline. No engine rebuild 180000km, compression is still fine. Completely stock apart from a cat and exhaust upgrade. Starts and drives flawlessly, only thing I’ve replaced was a slipping clutch plate. This was probably from 4 years of city driving with lots of hill starts. Very fun car, surprisingly practical if you take the spare tyre out the only downside is that it does 22L/100km in the city.

@Jakdaw 6 years ago

Best feature of my RX8 was that if you got it on a good road and drove it like you stole it, it'd return 18 MPG. If you drove it like your granny you might just eek out 18.5 MPG! Warm up and short journeys killed it; but actually under-load it's an extremely efficient engine. Just a shame most driving isn't like that!

@paulgmarriott 6 years ago

Had one from new for 9 years; apart from a handful of the customary cold-morning start issues, trouble-free. Absolutely loved it! Will always remember Clarkson eulogising as he was test driving one: "God it's smooth. It doesn't feel like it's running on anything as coarse and vulgar as petrol. Feels like it's running on double cream".

@essexrotary1540 6 years ago

Thanks for the mention guys, glad you where not too harsh about the review

@paulrobinson3528 6 years ago (edited)

My best memory of an RX8 was one i attended at the Holiday inn at j15 Warwick. It just about started but was running really badly. After having a poke around, as you do, i found that it had 2 faulty ignition coils. I replaced them and asked him to take it for a drive whilst i put all my tools away etc. All i could hear was the guy ragging it from j15 to j14 and back a few times. when he came back, he had the biggest smile on his face and said "it's never gone that well ever, it's so fast". I reckon it had a ignition coil down for ages, maybe before he purchased it, and the 2nd one just made it undriveable. He was one happy chappy!!

@gonzomuse 6 years ago

Really nice to watch a balanced, fair and honest review of the eight. Us owners know they drink oil (although nowhere near as much as some would have you believe) and that they use a lot of petrol (that IS as bad as you've heard!), but the driving experience is totally worth these inconveniences.

@louisvidalinc2678 6 years ago

I know someone in Dublin who Renesis swapped his NC MX-5, I'm sure he'd happily lend it to you for a review !

@DjDolHaus86 6 years ago

In my experience RX8s come in 3 flavours:

Good mechanical condition but overpriced
Reasonably priced but waiting to explode
A pretty body shell for peanuts because engine swaps are a pain in the arse

@rxrxrotary 4 years ago (edited)

I’m that person who did get the £7k R3, and I couldn’t be happier. 4 years of ownership, no issues and honestly even if it goes boom one day at least street or bridge porting will be good fun ;) (if a bit expensive) p.s Essex Rotary is great, my car’s looked after by them.

@jamiedewberry6702 6 years ago

I pre-ordered mine when they first came out in 03, funnest car I have ever owned. I wish I still had it but I did not have the money for an engine swap and at 140k miles I really needed a new engine. If I had space for a project car and money to spend I will still own it today. I keep hoping Mazda will do one more RX series.

@marksaxby607 6 years ago (edited)

Good review, but I disagree about the rear seats. I'm 5'10" and have travelled decent distances in the back of my RX8.

Agree it would be a great engine in an MX5, but not instead of the RX8.

I had mine for years (yes it had an engine rebuild, at 76K), but I still miss it enormously.

Such a great car to drive, all the time...

@breadstacka 6 years ago

My first car and i still have it 4 years later no problems. Honestly an amazing car if you know how to look after it

@Element_y 6 years ago

I owned one of these back in 09/10 out in the United States. Even drove it cross-country, didn't skip a beat. Still one of my favorite cars I've ever owned. I was one of the lucky ones; I drove it from 50k-80k miles without a single issue. The trick is though, you need to drive it hard. If you drive it like a nanny to the grocery market, you're going to have problems. I red-lined it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME I drove it, and I think unwittingly that was the secret to its longevity.

@tomandtinamatthews6866 6 years ago

I bought one with 30k on it and drove it to over 80k. The only failures were 1 ignition coil and a crank sensor. I knew how to warm it up and to keep the oil level up and maintained. It was a great car. My wife didn't want to get rid of it even for a newer one. They are great fun to drive and sound amazing but a lit of people didn't understand how to take care of them.

@Redshift42 6 years ago (edited)

Going on 17 years with my RX8 at this point. (Ordered Jan 2003, delivery in July 2003) First batch of cars that came to Canada. Still love it.
As an aside, part of the reason you probably love the gearbox so much is it is the same Aisin gearbox as the S2000
*Edit: Also, I've been to the rotary rally 3 time and expecting to go again this year.

@paulrobinson3528 6 years ago

I love attending these for non starts, nearly always flooded with fuel. Usually caused by the owner moving the car a few feet and turning it off and/or the battery is getting weak. The smoke out the back on start up is superb lol

@johnkobach6025 6 years ago (edited)

I own a Gen 2 2010 R3 with 105k miles. The car has been flawless and not one issue. Proper maintenance is key, and oil top offs are important. I've done basic maintenance such as brakes, oil, filters, coils, and plugs. Most reliable car I have owned, hands down, and still running strong at 105k+ miles. The driving experience puts a smile on the face! I live in Denver and it is driven year round. No rust.

@AntoniusTyas 6 years ago (edited)

My friend was once considering to get a Scirocco TSI to replace his previous car. Reliable thing, but here in Indonesia, when it breaks down, spareparts are few and far between. And they're ruinously expensive.

Ended up buying RX-8 Spirit R instead, since it is much easier to find Mazda dealers and spareparts here. And he ended up loving it to bits.