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Mazda Complaint - Lack of Customer Service - 2004 Mazda RX8
2004 Mazda RX8 - Complaint
This is my first and last Mazda. I purchased the 2004 RX-8 and the car can be described as nothing more than a lemon. My troubles began shortly thereafter. The engine would run sluggishly or completely stall in the middle of the intersections. This problem was finally resolved by getting a brand new engine! After further research, I learned that this was an issue across the board and also learned of the coming problems that I would experience. Leaking taillights, (known issues with Mazda, not covered), cracked visor above the driver’s seat, (known issue, not covered) and costly tune ups ($1,500) that I found needs to occur every 30,000 miles or the car will simply become inoperable. The newest issue is the heater control (well known issue with on websites and with the dealer repair center.) In the middle of winter, the heater control knob allows for heat about 50% of the time or stops working mid-drive. It is not on recall, but I was told that I could pay for the $600 repair and be reimbursed if they decide to recall it. Since this was a known issue, I called ‘customer service’ to get this resolved. Follow up was done and they decided not to pay for it. I asked to speak to a supervisor since this was not an isolated concern, but encompassed the 3 years of me owning this vehicle. She hardly listened and showed no remorse for what I was going through. After a point, where I assume she was finished listening to me, she hung up. I assured myself that it was an accident and called back. She assured me that she did in fact hang up on me and assured that there was no one else that I could speak to. After a moment or so, she again hung up. I called back and tried to speak to a different supervisor and was told, several times that there was no one that I could speak to above her and was transferred again to her! I have only owned Toyotas and Hondas in my past and have NEVER dealt with anything remotely close to what I experienced. I will be trading in my car this weekend and taking loss, but at least will be finished with the continuous issues that I have been facing. The point of this blog is that hopefully I will save an undecided customer the same stress and aggravation that I have been faced with over the past three years with Mazda.
Comments:
Posted by trmn8r on 2011-01-21:
That's a shame. Sounds like a lot of known issues. 2004 was the *first* year for the RX8. There was a lot of buzz surrounding the reappearance of a rotory engine in the US.
We had an RX4 like 100 years ago. I completely rebuilt the engine due to an internal engine failure - it was really neat experience as the block I could carry by myself, and it has those neat rotors. The motor acts a lot more refined in the RX8 (when it runs), and I didn't like the test drive I had.
Buying a new model is risky - I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
We had an RX4 like 100 years ago. I completely rebuilt the engine due to an internal engine failure - it was really neat experience as the block I could carry by myself, and it has those neat rotors. The motor acts a lot more refined in the RX8 (when it runs), and I didn't like the test drive I had.
Buying a new model is risky - I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.
Posted by azRider on 2011-01-21:
I use to own an RX2. Man that was a fun little car. but the rotary engine has always been prone to stall if you feed it gas to much. lots of issues for that engine design. it was a cool idea, lots of power, little weight. but they have issues with the design. stalling, backfires, worn out gaskets. when you buy a non-standard engine be ready for large tuneup costs, it comes with the territory.
Posted by trmn8r on 2011-01-21:
Mazda worked hard to improve the engine, but it is still only one manufacturer working to further the state of the art, in the absence of competition. Two chief issues in the past were oil seal reliability and fuel economy.
The engine in ours had one of the rotor seals fall out of place, which then got jammed into the rotor housing, seizing the engine. The engine design is quite novel compared with a piston engine. That motor really hauled, and at high RPM. I seem to recall flying along in 2nd gear up to 55mph. You can do that in a V8 Mustang, but that rotary power was so smooooooth. The current design tamed the character of the engine quite a bit. More "refined" (boring).
The engine in ours had one of the rotor seals fall out of place, which then got jammed into the rotor housing, seizing the engine. The engine design is quite novel compared with a piston engine. That motor really hauled, and at high RPM. I seem to recall flying along in 2nd gear up to 55mph. You can do that in a V8 Mustang, but that rotary power was so smooooooth. The current design tamed the character of the engine quite a bit. More "refined" (boring).
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