Owners have filed 642 complaints on the Mazda RX-8, covering 2004–2011. The system named most often is Power Train (176 reports). Worst years by volume: 2004, 2005, 2006; cleanest: 2011, 2010, 2009. 24 reports describe a crash, 15 a fire. On average the car was 7.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Mazda RX-8
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 642 RX-8 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 176 Read
I was driving to work and as I was shifting gears I felt the car did not have any acceleration. The top speed I got to was 55mph. When I was about to get off the car, I saw smoke coming from under the hood and from inside where the shift know is located. I checked under the car for a possibly fire, and there it was.…
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…
Clutch pedal mounting bracket snapped at the bolt which results in clutch not engaging properly. The issue renders the car useless until repaired. It occurred to me on the highway and I was forced to make an emergency stop and have the car towed
Engine And Engine Cooling 106 Read
There is contamination in the oil. So much so that it is impossible to check the oil. I've gone 3000 miles and never been able to check the oil. Even after wiping the dipstick, simply putting it back recoats the dipstick, so that the oil level cannot be read. The dealer simply changed the oil, but did not fix the…
The 2004 rx8 has internal seals fail prematurely. This causes the engine to "blow" by a loss of compression in one of the two rotor chambers. The problem being the car with still run with half power. I continued to drive to find help off the highway. The rotor that is not working is dumping gas into the catalytic…
Engine light came on with no noticeable problems. Called dealer who advised bringing it in. On way to dealership, approx. 4 miles, car began to misfire, producing smoke from exhaust pipes. By the time I pulled into the dealership, smoke was coming from every area of underside of car, as well as interior. Wife…
Air Bags 94 Read
I have a 2007 mazda rx-8 and I was recently involved in a side impact collision, but my airbags did not deploy, but later on in the body shop, they did deploy after the fact while it was being driven. There is an obvious safety issue related to this and why the airbag did not deploy properly
Had an incident today where my rx-8 had been t-boned at an intersection. My side curtain airbags did not deploy though. I hit my head against the interior doorwell and have a bit of whip-lash. They hit the side of the vehicle hard enough to make it so my door doesn't open any longer and in-fact it's pushed up a bit…
The contact owned a 2005 mazda rx-8. While driving approximately 35 mph, the contact veered to the left to avoid hitting a deer. As a result, the contact crashed into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver did not sustain any injuries. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The…
Steering 86 Read
Vehicle can turn left on its own with a faulty power steering rack and/or control module
On april 3,2012 at 10pm in buffalo ny. I was driving my 04 rx8 around a bend at 35mph. I experienced a jerk/twitch in the power steering. The indicator light came on instantly I lost the steering sending me into the front of a steel divider of a train bridge. I was taken to ecmc by ambulance. I luckily only suffered…
The contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. The contact stated that the driver was traveling 35 mph when another vehicle crashed into the vehicle preceding the contact. The preceding vehicle then spun into the front driver's side door of the contact's vehicle. The air bags did not deploy and the steering wheel was detached…
Engine 26 Read
The contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. The contact stated that while at a stop light, the vehicle started to shake and jerk forward. The contact accelerated and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact restarted the engine but black smoke was seen from exhaust. The vehicle was unable to be driven. The contact had…
The contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. While driving through a drive-thru window, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was pushed to a parking space. While attempting to start the vehicle, a loud pop sound emerged from the engine compartment. Immediately afterwards, smoke and flames appeared. The fire department extinguished…
The vehicle experienced a starting issue unexpectedly. One day it no longer wanted to start I towed it in to mazda they said the vehicle was flooded. Again in february 2015 the vehicle started experiencing the same issue having difficulty starting eventually it was taken in again to midas the issue again was due to…
Fuel/propulsion System 23 Read
The incident occurred on 02/08/2023. Prior to this, I brought my car to the dealership due to a recall to fix gas mounting rings, recall number . I do not feel comfortable with their repairs and I do not believe that the dealership performed the repairs properly which caused my car to smoke and stall on the road and…
Fuel leak at gas tank area caused massive fire
While driving I noticed a fuel smell coming through my vents. After checking around the engine compartment I saw fuel pooling on the engine passenger side. I'm unaware at the moment of the cause add I am taking it to be checked at the dealer tomorrow
Electrical System 19 Read
The contact stated that while going 70 mph in cruise control mode the vehicle back end swerved left and then right. The vehicle was able to be driven after the incident occurred. The vehicle was not taken to the service dealer, however the contact suspects that traccion control system failed
The contact owns a 2004 mazda rx-8. While driving 45 mph, a burning odor entered the vehicle. The contact stopped the vehicle, lifted the hood, and noticed smoke. The contact observed that the wires underneath the hood were melted. The contact also smelled fuel coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was…
The contact owns a 2006 mazda rx-8. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start and the instrument panel lighting illuminated. The failure recurred several times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000
Suspension 17 Read
On may 7, 2013, I brought the vehicle to paretti mazda of metairie because a fluid was leaking from somewhere near the driver's side rear tire. The service tech told me they would take care of it and directed me to enterprise rental for a rental car. About an hour after I obtained the rental car, the service tech…
Hi, I want to report a control arm failure on my 2004 mazda rx-8 that resulted in an accident and minor injury. I was driving the car on december 7 in oklahoma city and after completing a right hand turn at approximately 30 mph, I was accelerating away when the right front control arm separated at the ball joint…
There is already a prior recall on lower control arms for earlier made mazda rx-8s. Why are the later models also not included? Is it because the model I have there were not as many made, so not as many left on the road? You can hear a dull pop when turning the corner time. Family member is a mechanic, he advised what…
RX-8 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Fuel System, Gasoline | 1 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2009 | Fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 5 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 16 | 10 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 98 |
| Average complaints per series | 6.6 |
| Worst single series | 33 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 7.1 years |
A model average of 6.6 hides a worst series at 33. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the RX-8?
By complaint volume, 2004, 2005, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which RX-8 years are the cleanest?
2011, 2010, 2009 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Mazda RX-8 have?
642 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2004–2011. Of those, 24 describe a crash and 15 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.