Hi All.

Many of you know me as I had a 01 S200 for 3 years and attended the dragon and also had many Blue Ridge Run events.

I purchased an RX-8 because I had a son and there is no Airbag cutoff option for the S2000. I also needed a car a little more practical for daily driving.

The RX-8 was a great car for 2 years but the battery keeps going dead. I have paid to replace the battery on it 4 months ago and now Bob King Mazda in Winston-Salem wanted me to pay for another battery.

The car has had the battery go dead six times in the last 4 months. Two times I could jump it off, the other 4 times I had to take it to Bob King Mazda. There service is horrendous. I even tried it without the GPS and Satellite Radio which is plugged in to the 12v adaptor provided by Mazda.

I talked to the owner who is Rob (Bob is retired) and he basically said that the first time they fix an issue that MNAO (Mazda North America Operations) pays them a nice flat rate. However, they have no motivation to try to fix the same problem again because they do not get paid. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS. How can the owner possibly say that. I know it is true but why would anyone ever buy another Mazda if you get treated like total shit.

I have called Mazda of North America 6 times over the last 4 months and each time they have sent my info to the regional manager in Charlotte. That person will not contact me. I got her direct number from another dealer and have left her 5 voicemails and she will not return my calls.

I have been calling Mazda Roadside assistance on several occasions and I am averaging 4 - 8 hours before the car gets towed to the shop.

One time when it wouldnt crank and was already at 4 hours waiting for the tow service, I went ahead and purchased a battery from Autozone. As soon as it was towed to the Bob King Mazda, I asked the service manager if this would be a problem since it wassnt the Mazda brand but has the exact same specs. I said I could return and try another Mazda brand battery. She said no that the battery is fine.

Today they told me the problem is because I am not using the Mazda brand battery.

I have lost over 5 grand in income because I am a consultant who gets paid by the hour. I have told this to Mazda of NA, the local service manager, and the owner. They dont care at all. I pointed out that on Monday morning of this week when my car didn't crank, I was installing a new WAN/LAN and Server and the company had made plans to work off the computers that day. Fortunately they were understanding but in theory, I could have lost a 80k a year client if they are fed up with me because I am not dependable. And yes I would have gotten a taxi or something if they werent so understanding when I called.

If anyone has any suggestions, please help out a former S2k owner who loved his car. I am at Wits end here. The Mazda system is not bad but when you have a owner of a dealership that only cares about sales and would prefer not to service cars and then the escalation point is a regional rep who will not return any phone calls -- well I find it ludicrous.

The part that seemed scariest to me is when I posted this problem on the RX8 forum, a few people said they would take the dealers position and not fix the car because I have a GPS and Satellite Radio plugged into the 12v outlets provided by Mazda. I guess they cant read because I had unplugged the outlet for weeks and the car still wouldnt crank.

Anyways, any help, advice, or if anyone knows anyone in Winston-Salem that can help, please let me know. You can also email me at dean2900@schapers.org

Thanks for listening!
Dean

 

I used to be an IC so I know the need to be able to get to the client site.

My suggestion would be to let it go and trade the car in on something else. There are too many good cars available to risk your business on a POS. If you must have this car for some reason, get a beater for a 2nd car. Your business reputation is way more important than that car.

 

Oh my Gawd... Dean... good to see you (hear from you again)! Sorry for your car issue... best of luck!!

 

well, appearantly it's not your battery that's bad. Nor is it your alternator or your starter, for even the dumbest mechanics can diagnose those. I believe your problem lies in two other places. SOMETHING is drawing the current away from your battery and making it die.

1. The wiring coming off the battery, alternator and starter.

2. The ignition system in your steering column.

Honestly, I trust Midas to do anything the dealer can correctly. Try an independant shop, and if they fix it, send a bill to MNAO or eat the bill. For some reason you love this particular RX-8 SOOOOOOOOOmuch that you can't trade it for another, or buy something else.

You stated that you traded in your S2000 b/c of the airbag problem affecting the safety of your kid. What's the chances of an accident happening while your kid is in the car, 1 in 20,000? Yet you have had this car breakdown on you 4 times in the past 6 months, for an average of 4-8 hours a piece of which your kid could have been with you and stuck somewhere not safe.

MAN UP!

 

For one, don't batteries come with at least a one year warranty? I know I can go into Advance Auto and buy a battery with a 3 year warranty. Not that the battery is the problem if its been replaced as much as it has.

Second, would this fall under the Lemon Law as it is part of the original car? Same problem happening 3 times, documented at the dealer, 4th time they should replace the lemon.

Don't let them BS you about putting in a non-Mazda battery. There are laws that give people the right to put in non-factory items (especially when the dealer is refusing to own up to their own car).

 

Thanks for the replies guy. First off, I leased this car for 4 years on purpose. I didnt want to buy a first year car because you dont know what was going to happen. I thought my S2000 would be a real collector car because they were only going to make 4000 for 2 years and then they kept making more and more for example.

The RX-8 is a better business car in that it has a lot more room and can carry extra passengers or at least business material in the back if need be. It doesnt eat the tires of quite as quickly as the S2ki as has a lot more comfort creatures and is a lot quieter. It is a better everyday car. The S2K is a much better weekend car for fun. It's apples to oranges honestly.

My problem is with ONE PARTICULAR DEALER and a REGIONAL MANAGER who will not call back. The car has had one problem but they cant fix it and they never seen any drain in tests yet the batteries keep going dead.

As for the lemon law, it doesnt apply because it happened after 2 years that I started getting these problems. And the tricky part of the lemon law is that the dealers only have to say it was a different cause each time and the lemon law doesnt apply. They have way too much wiggle room in this state.

I am NOT going to pick the car up until the regional rep calls me even though Bob King told me it is ready. I am getting ready to call them and tell them until the Regional Rep contacts me, I am not picking up my car and keeping their loaner.

When my lease runs out, I am probably purchasing an Infiniti because the Infiiti dealers have top notch support.

The local Honda dealer is very mediocre but they look like the best service shop on earth based on Bob King.

Trust me, there are a lot of people that have had no problems with their RX-8 and there are people that have had problems with a dealer and their Regional Rep stepped in and solved the problem.

The regional rep wont even return phone calls for NC/SC.

 

Well, fwiw, you can mod an S2000 to add an airbag cut off, and the 06+ have airbag sensors in the seat for smaller kids, and you can also turn them off.

I've never heard of this problem with another RX-8, but bad service at a Mazda dealership is well known to me. Its the biggest reason I won't buy a Mazda, having owned one before and having had to deal with service departments. Simple, little problems drag on and get big and expensive because of the service department.

As for the battery, you can try a trickle charger to see how and when your battery is draining and also to keep it charged. If you drive the car every day and the battery is going dead, it is not a battery problem.

 

It is my business car so yes I drive it Monday-Friday.

When are the car companies going to learn that the Customer Service they receive is going to be a major factor in deciding whether to buy another car of the same Make.

The only other car company I had problems like this was when I bought a Mitsubishi many years ago. Their service center was horrible. In fact, every one of their service centers was horrible that I took it took.

I will never own a Mazda or Mitsu again. In fact, I am just going to stay away from Manufactors that start with the letter M. Mercedes are too expensive so they dont count

So far the High Point dealer has been real helpful and is trying to get in touch with someone to get my car fixed correctly. They said they will put as many hours as they need into it and dont mind losing money to gain my business. I am going to give them a chance even though it is a pain in the ass for me to drive so far away just to have service done on my car.

 

No offense guys but the S2000 is not the right car for me. I believe their are many people on this board that will confirm I think the S2000 is one of the greatest sports cars ever made. I used to have an integra as my beater.

However, at this point I want a sports car, or a sporty car with more room. Lets keep in mind even with the airbag cutoff on the 06 model, this still does not add another seat to the car so lets say I need to take my wife and son somwhere..

The suicide doors and extra trunk space give me plenty of room to put items in in the RX-8.

The G-35 doesnt have the Suicide doors but it does have the back seats for extra space and I can at least get my wife and son in the car if needed.

 

The Mazda dealership continuing to want to replace the battery is insane. It should be clear by now that the problem has absolutely nothing to do with the battery. They need to fix the root problem which is something draining the battery. My S sometimes sits in the garage for months and still manages to crank when I go to drive it and somehow my original battery is still alive and kicking.

You should trade that POS Mazda in on a nice new Honda Fit Now that would be BA...