2004 MAZDA RX-8 Unknown Or Other Problems

FRONT PASSENGER AIRBAG CRACKED DASH AND PUSHED OUT GLOVE BOX.

I NOW HAVE REPLACEDCLUTCH PEDAL THE FORTH TIME. IM WRITING THIS TO SEE IFI CAN STILL GET ONE FACTORY REPAIR OF THE PART THE PEDAL WILL BREAK IN WELD SPOT REGARDLESS OF MY TRYING NOT PUT TO MUCH PRESSURE.

PASSENGER DASH COVER HAS LOST INTEGRITY/CRACKED ALONG THE LINES WHERE THE AIRBAG DEPLOYS AND AM CONCERNED THAT THE FORCE OF POTENTIAL AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT COULD BE AFFECTED AND NOT WORK AS DESIGNED OR DEPLOY WITH TOO MUCH FORCE TO CAUSE INJURY OR DEATH TO THE OCCUPANT IF THE AIRBAG COVER SHOULD FLY OFF UPON DEPLOYMENT. THIS IS AN ISSUE WITH THE DASH OF MANY MAZDA VEHICLES AND SHOULD AT A MINIMUM BE REVIEWED. THE CAR HAS NOT BEEN IN ANY ACCIDENTS AND THE AIRBAGS RECALL HAS RECENTLY BEEN PERFORMED BY A MAZDA DEALER.

RUSTED OIL COOLER - LINES CAUSING MAJOR LEAKS THAT ARE SOAKING THE BRAKES AND TIRES WITH OIL.THIS COULD ALSO CAUSE THE ENGINE TO SEIZE WHILE DRIVING.

AS I PRESSED MY CARS CLUTCH TO CHANGE GEARS (6 SPEED MANUAL ) WHILE DRIVING ON MY REGULAR SUNDAY DRIVE IN A CITY STREET, I HEARD AND FELT A VERY LOUD EXPLOSION AND NOISES OF METAL PIECES EJECTING FROM UNDER MY CAR. I WAS IN THE 60KM/H ZONE SO WAS NOT SPEEDING OR GOING FAST SUCH AS ON A FREEWAY ETC. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER SAFELY WHILE ROLLING AS THE ENGINE HAD BEEN DISABLED IN THE EXPLOSION. I COULD FEEL MY LEFT FOOT WAS IN EXTREME PAIN. MY CAR WOULD NOT START. I FEARED THAT THE ENGINE HAD BLOWN UP. MY CAR IS VERY WELL MAINTAINED AND SERVICED REGULARLY WITH NO MODIFICATIONS. WHAT I DISCOVERED WAS THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD DETONATED, THE GEARBOX BELL HOUSING WAS TORN APART (GOT PICTURES TO PROVE IT) AND I FOUND PARTS OF THE CLUTCH IN MANY TINY PIECES ALL OVER THE ROADS....

PASSENGER SIDE DASH NEAR AIRBAG AREA (ABOVE GLOVE BOX VISUALLY) IS CRACKING HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY. VERY CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY OF THE PASSENGER, PREMATURE RUPTURE OF AIRBAG, RANDOM DEPLOYMENT OF AIRBAG. GARAGE KEPT CAR. CRACK HORIZONTAL HAS OVER TIME PROGRESSIVELY GOTTEN WORSE. VERTICAL CRACK BEGAN 12.13.16. IN GARAGE. HAVE APPOINTMENT WITH MAZDA DEALERSHIP TO REPAIR 16V-354-BUT RECALL PAPERWORK DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE AREA(S) OF DASH INCLUDED WITH REPAIR THAT WILL RESOLVE ISSUE AND POTENTIAL HAZARDS-INCLUDING ENCASEMENT OF AIRBAG. RECALL NOTICE DOES NOT ARTICULATE POTENTIAL PARTS ASSOCIATED. "PASSENGER FRONTAL AIR BAG INFLATOR" IS ALL DESCRIBED.

DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, WENT TO SHIFT UP INTO A HIGHER GEAR AND UPON DEPRESSION THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY SNAPPED AND BROKE PREVENTING ME FROM DISABLING THE TRANSMISSION AND ALLOWING THE TRANSMISSION TO GO INTO THE NEUTRAL OR ANY OTHER POSITION. I WAS TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 65MPH AND MY CAR HAS ONLY 46,135 MILES ON IT

THE CLUTCH PEDAL (ALREADY A KNOWN PROBLEM BY MAZDA, BUT NO RECALL HAS YET BEEN ANNOUNCED) CRACKED WHILE I WAS DRIVING LAST YEAR. I WAS ON HWY 13 IN MINNESOTA AND BARELY GOT CONTROL OF MY SPEED (WAS BARELY ABLE TO MAINTAIN USE OF THE CLUTCH) IT SAT UNTIL I COULD GET IT REPAIRED, THE SAME PEDAL IS NOW CRAKING IN ANOTHER SPOT, WORKING ON GETTING IT REPAIRED BEFORE IT BREAKS AGAIN, THIS TIME WILL REINFORCE IT.

PCM FLASH

CRACKS IN THE DASH IMMEDIATELY ABOVE THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WHICH IS CURRENTLY A RECALL ISSUE. IT SEEMS THAT A LARGE NUMBER OF RX8 EXPERIENCE CRACKING IN THE SAME SPOT ON THE DASH, GENERALLY FOLLOWING AN "H" SHAPE. REPORTS ARE THAT THE CRACKS FOLLOW THE AIRBAG MODULE ASSEMBLY UNDERNEATH THE DASH, AND THE CRACKS FOLLOW THE SEAM THAT WOULD BE CREATED IN AN IMPACT FOR THE AIRBAG TO DEPLOY. IN MY CASE IT BEGAN WITH A 4" LEFT TO RIGHT CRACK. IN 2015 A RECALL WAS PERFORMED INVOLVING A TEMPORARY AIRBAG FIX UNTIL A PERMANENT FIX COULD BE DESIGNED. AFTER THIS INTERIM AIRBAG RECALL WAS PERFORMED, THE CRACKS INTENSIFIED. JUST RECEIVED ANOTHER RECALL NOTICE THAT THE "FINAL" AIRBAG FIX IS READY TO BE PERFORMED AT THE DEALER WHICH WITH ALL THE REMOVAL AND JOSTLING OF THE DASH TO MAKE THE FINAL AIRBAG REPAIR, WILL PROBABLY CREATE MORE CRACKS. THE RECALL WAS...

CLUTCH PEDAL BRACKET SNAPPED AND CANNOT GO INTO ANY GEAR. GOT STUCK IN A STOP LIGHT UNABLE TO SHIFT INTO GEAR IMMEDIATELY...WHEN I WAS ABLE TO (AFTER 1MIN OF TRYING TO GET INTO GEAR), I COULDN'T GET OUT OF IT IMMEDIATELY (TOOK 15SECS)...VERY DANGEROUS CONSIDERING IF I WAS ON A HIGHWAY AND GOT STUCK IN GEAR WHILE EXITING...LUCKILY I WASN'T

THE CLUTCH BEGAN TO SQUEAK AND I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THEY FOUND THAT THE CLUTCH BRACKET HAD CRACKED AT ONE OF THE WELDED LOCATION. THIS HAPPENED UNDER NORMAL DAILY DRIVING TO WORK AND BACK. IT COST ME $369.00 TO REPLACE THE CLUTCH PEDAL ASSEMBLY WITH A NEW ONE. I DON'T THINK THAT THIS SHOULD HAPPEN UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL ITEM BECAUSE IF I DID NOT TAKE IT INTO THE DEALER RIGHT AWAY, THE CRACK WOULD HAVE LED TO A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE.

THE MAZDA PEOPLE HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR FAILING. THEY HAVE A TSB OPEN ON IT. I HAVE A 2004 RX8 AND I JUST INSTALLED MY 6TH VISOR. UP UNTIL NOW MAZDA HAS REPLACED THEM FOR FREE, BUT NOW IT'S OUT OF WARRANTY AND I'M PAYING FOR THEM. SOMETIMES WHEN THEY FAIL THEY FAIL BY DROPPING DOWN AND INTERFERING WITH THE DRIVERS VISION. I THINK IT'S HIGH TIME THAT MAZDA ENGINEER A FIX AND REPLACE ALL OF THESE VISORS OUT ON THE ROAD. FROM NHTSA WEB SITE. *TR

1. OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE 80F OR HIGHER. AIR CONDITIONER ON SEEMS TO CONTRIBUTE. POSSIBLY ALTITUDE IS A FACTOR. MUCH WORSE IN CITY DRIVING 2. CAR LOOSES POWER, ESPECIALLY AT TAKE OFF. I HAVE PULLED OUT ONTO THE FREEWAY AND TAKEN >1 MILE TO GET UP TO 50 MPH 3. MAZDA HAVE DOWNLOADED SOFTWARE PATCHES TWICE - NO IMPROVEMENT

WHILE DRIVING, THE CENTER CONSOLE GETS EXTREMELY HOT. THE AREA BEHIND THE SHIFTER AND ALSO INSIDE THE CUPHOLDERS ARE EFFECTED. I LEFT MY WATCH IN THE CUPHOLDER AND WHEN I GRABBED IT WHEN I WAS GETING OUT OF THE CAR, IT WAS SCALDING HOT. MAYBE THAT WOULD BE GOOD IN THE WINTER TO KEEP MY COFFEE WARM, BUT IT IS DEFINITELY ABNORMAL.

I JUST BOUGHT A 2004 MAZDA RX8 AND A PIECE OF ROAD DEBRIS HIT MY AC CONDENSER CAUSING ALL THE FREON TO LEAK OUT. THIS HAPPENED DUE TO THE GAPING HOLE IN THE FRONT AIR DAM OF MY VEHICLE. I LIVE IN SOUTHERN TEXAS WHERE TEMPS CAN CLIMB WELL OVER 100 DEGREES. (HIGHER INSIDE THE CAR) I WORRY MY 3YR OLD SON IS AT RISK OF HEAT STROKE OR WORSE FROM THE TEMPS. MAZDA WILL NOT COVER THIS IN THEIR WARRANTY YET THEY DO NOTHING TO PROTECT THE HIGHLY VULNERABLE CONDENSER, OIL COOLER, AND RADIATOR FROM BEING PELTED FROM ROAD DEBRIS. AS A MATTER OF FACT THE AIR DAM IS SO POORLY DESIGNED THAT IT ACTUALLY FUNNELS ROCKS INTO THE AC CONDENSER ITSELF. I AM NOW WORRIED THAT A PIECE OF ''ROAD DEBRIS'' MAY HIT MY OIL COOLER AND SPILL OIL ALL OVER THE HIGHWAY. THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT CONSIDERED...

I BOUGHT AN RX-8 LAST YEAR, AND HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT TROUBLE SINCE THE DAY I BROUGHT IT HOME. THE ENGINE LIGHT AND TIRE PRESSURE GAUGE HAVE BEEN RANDOMLY GOING ON AND OFF FOR A YEAR. I HAVE HAD THE CAR INTO SEVERAL DEALERSHIPS, NONE OF WHICH COULD FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. I HAVE EVEN REPLACED TIRES BECAUSE I COULDNT TELL THAT THE TIRE PRESSURE GAUGE WAS SHOWING A PROBLEM, DUE TO THE FACT THAT IT WAS GOING ON AND OFF SEVERAL TIMES A DAY. MORE RECENTLY MY CAR DIED ON ME IN THE LEFT LANE OF I95 IN SOUTH FLORIDA, AS I USED THE ACCELERATOR, THE CAR DECELERATED FOR NO REASON THEN DIED. IT WAS TOWED BACK TO A LOCAL DEALER WHEN IT WOULD NOT RESTART. AFTER 5 DAYS SAID THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AND SAID THE CAR WAS FINE. SHORTLY AFTER PICKING UP MY CAR, I...

DRIVER'S SIDE SUN VISOR CRACKED AND SEPARATED FROM POST. IT WAS HANGING AND WOULD NOT STAY UP, OUT OF FIELD OF VISION. THE DEALER REMOVED THE VISOR WHILE WAITING FOR THE REPLACEMENT PART. AFTER STARTING THE CAR LATER THE SAME DAY, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AND THE CENTRAL DISPLAY AND DOOR LOCKS DID NOT WORK. WHILE DROPPING OFF PASSENGER BEFORE RETURNING TO THE DEALER, PASSENGER FOLDED DOWN PASSENGER-SIDE SUN VISOR, WHICH ALSO CRACKED AND SEPARATED FROM THE POST. TOOK CAR BACK TO DEALER, WHO IS TRYING TO SAY THIS IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY, AND HAS CALLED MAZDA REP TO EXAMINE BUT IS KEEPING MY CAR. SEVERAL REPORTS OF THIS ON EDMUNDS AND OTHER AUTO CONSUMER SITES. I MERELY WANT VISORS REPLACED AND ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FIXED UNDER WARRANTY.*AK