NHTSA Complaint #10498181 — 2005 MAZDA RX-8

I WENT TO START MY RX8 AND IT WOULD NOT START. I CALLED AAA TO HAVE IT JUMPED, THINKING IT WAS A BATTERY PROBLEM. THE AAA EMPLOYEE SENT TO JUMP THE CAR COULD NOT JUMP IT AND I HAD TO TOW IT TO MY MECHANIC THE NEXT DAY. MY PERSONAL MECHANIC LOOKED AT IT AND SAID IT WAS A SPECIFIC PROBLEM WITH THE ENGINE THAT WAS COVERED BY AN "EXTENDED WARRANTY" MAZDA ISSUED BECAUSE THE 2005 RX8S HAD SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR PROBLEM. INSTEAD OF DOING A RECALL, MAZDA DOES EXTENDED WARRANTIES. THEY DID THE SAME THING WITH THE CLUTCH PEDAL BRACKET, WHICH I HAD TO JUMP THROUGH HOOPS TO GET THE DEALERSHIP TO TAKE CARE OF IT AT NO COST TO ME. THEY ALWAYS WANT TO CHARGE, EVEN WHEN IT IS SOMETHING COVERED BY A WARRANTY. SO, MY HUSBAND HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE NEARBY DEALERSHIP. AUTOMATICALLY, THEY TELL US WE HAVE TO REPLACE THE BATTERY BECAUSE THEY NEED TO DO A DIAGNOSTIC TEST TO FIND OUT THE PROBLEM. BATTERY $185 WITH LABOR AND $150 FOR A DIAGNOSTIC TEST. THEN, WE ARE TOLD THAT ONLY IF THEY ARE ABLE TO PROVE THAT IT WAS A SPECIFIC PROBLEM COVERED IN THE WARRANTY THAT MAZDA WOULD COVER IT UNDER THE WARRANTY. IF THEY FIND IT IS NOT THAT SPECIFIC PART, WE WILL HAVE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET. I WAS TOLD BY MY PERSONAL MECHANIC IT WAS THAT PARTICULAR ISSUE WHICH IS COVERED BY THE WARRANTY, BUT OF COURSE, MAZDA WANTS TO DO THEIR OWN TESTS. MY CAR HAS LESS THAN 50,000 MILES ON IT AND IT IS RIDICULOUS THAT I WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENGINE FOR $4,000 WHEN A QUICK ONLINE SEARCH SHOWS THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS SPECIFIC CAR. I THINK MAZDA SHOULD HAVE THEIR FEET HELD TO THE FIRE AND DO RIGHT BY THEIR CUSTOMER. *TR