2008 Mazda Rx-8 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (5) · Steering (4) · Fuel/Propulsion System (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mazda Rx-8 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (5)
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2018-06-15 · campaign 18V402000 · 308,591 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 and 2004 MPV vehicles nationwide. Mazda is also recalling 2005-2006 MPV vehicles in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia,
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 6, 2018. Mailing to the affected RX-8 owners began July 6, 2019. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: With the addition of the RX-8 vehicles, this recall fully supersedes recall 16V
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2018-06-15 · campaign 18V404000 · 4,184 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain 2005-2006 Mazda MPV vehicles sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. On July 9, 2019 this recall was expanded to include certain 2005-2009 RX-8 vehicles that were previously recalled under 17V-011 but have not ye
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in metal fragments striking the vehicle occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began July 6, 2018 for MPV vehicles. The recall began July 9, 2019 for RX-8 vehicles. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500, option 4. Mazda's number for this recall is 2618F. Note: With the addition of the RX-8 vehicles, this recall fully supersedes recall 17V-011.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2017-07-26 · campaign 17V474000 · 308,992 vehicles ⚠ DO NOT DRIVE
Defect: Mazda North American Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2003-2008 Mazda6, 2004-2008 RX-8, and 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6 vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Owners are advised not to drive their vehicles until the remedy is performed. Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began on September 12, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1417G. Note: This recall supersedes recall 15V-382.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2017-06-01 · campaign 17V354000 · 69,447 vehicles
Defect: Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 RX-8 vehicles. Heat from the engine and the exhaust may cause the main fuel pump pipe to crack.
Risk: If the fuel pump pipe cracks, fuel may leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump filter kit, free of charge. The recall began on July 31, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 1017E.
Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump 2016-10-31 · campaign 16V793000 · 69,447 vehicles
Defect: Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2004-2008 RX-8 vehicles manufactured April 10, 2003, to February 18, 2008. The affected vehicles have fuel pump sealing rings that may deteriorate due to exposure to heat from the engine or exhaust pipe.
Risk: The deteriorated seals may leak fuel, which, in the presence of an ignition source, can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump sealing ring set and add a thermal insulation pad to the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began July 31, 2017. Owners may contact Mazda customer service at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 0516J.
Service bulletins (186)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2026-09-11 · SA-041-26a · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
description if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by asking if any aftermarket devices have been installed. aftermarket devices may be the cause of the electrical con
Unknown Or Other 2026-08-20 · SA-055-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
product quality information (pqi) description service information mt-041/12 is no longer valid. it has been unpublished and superseded by the field quality information report (fqir) reporting system.
Visibility/Wiper 2026-07-29 · 09-022-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this bulletin supersedes the previously issued bulletin(s) listed below. the changes are noted in red text. 09-042/04 12/10/04 description some vehicles may exhibit inoperative electric rear window defroster grid lines, integral antenna concerns causing radio reception issues or terminal tabs pulled
Engine 2026-06-19 · SA-041-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this sa supersedes the previously issued sa(s) listed below. the changes are noted in red. sa-061/25 12/17/25 description if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by ask
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-21 · SA-029-26 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service alert supersedes the previously issued sa listed below: the changes are noted in red. sa-011/24 02/12/24, 06/06/24, 07/29/24 description mazda has developed factory recommended scheduled maintenance services that support all major vehicle systems. mazda recommends dealers follow the sch
Electrical System 2025-12-17 · SA-061-25 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
if you encounter any type of electrical concern (e.g, dead battery, engine no start, dtc(s) stored...), interview the customer before proceeding with normal mgss diagnosis by asking if any aftermarket devices have been installed. aftermarket devices may be the cause of the electrical concern. below
Showing the 6 most recent of 186 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2019-03-29 · Steering · 88,862 mi“while driving to work on day during a turn the power steering partially went out making the turn very difficult to hold and to straighten out after. upon leaving work the steering worked fine until the next day when making a turn on my way home the same thing happened with the power steering but still no light indicating a problem. i then decided …”
2019-03-29 · Unknown Or Other · 88,862 mi“i took my rx in to get power steering issues fixed just to find out that the oil cooler lines were rusting out which is also a recall in other parts of the world but not the us. in the upper states this can be a massive problem if oil starts spraying all over the motor and the ground it could cause environmental, and safety hazards to other people…”
2018-03-20 · Air Bags · 78,000 mi“i am trying to get the airbags replaced but i cannot find a place who will service our car. we are trying to avoid driving it until the airbag problem is fixed.…”
2017-11-14 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 73,000 mi“takata recall, my car suddenly stopped on the side, of the 101 freeway off the west lake village exit going south, and would not turn on. i had my car towed to the mazda dealership after finding out of the recall on the fuel pump and air bags on the mazda website. after 3 days at the dealership and being charged 3 hours of $115.00 hour they were n…”
2017-10-09 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 220 mi“on september 30th, 2017 i took my 2005 mazda rx8 to the gunther mazda dealership located at 1800 south state road 7 (441), fort lauderdale, florida 33317 for recall work of the fuel pump seals. the next day i filled the tank and went to work, i drive form hollywood to boca raton daily. the smell of gasoline was strong and my tank wasn't lasting as …”
2017-09-22 · Unknown Or Other“to whom it may concern. i purchase the car on july 21 2017. the ac has not been working properly since i purchased the car. now the mazda dealership wants me to pay for this to get fix. i was wondering if some can help me out with this. before i give this car back to the dealer and they can keep the car. i'm not paying 1.900.00 to have the car fix.…”
2017-05-25 · Seats“the dash is all cracked around the passenger dash side. is exactly where the air bad sits 4 large cracks all the way around it ..also the driver seat right side lower lumbar is shift up and down...poor manufacturing…”
2017-05-18 · Unknown Or Other · 45,437 mi“the dashboard that covers the passenger airbag has been cracking in the outline of the airbag since prior to 10/4/2012. mazda said they would not cover the replacement. i've attached my 10/4/2012 request for an estimate of repair, but i did not get it repaired. i believe they should be paying for this defect. i've also attached a picture of the…”
2017-05-09 · Steering · 85,000 mi“power steering failed at only 85000 miles, almost caused me to crash with my two toddlers in the back seats!!! now it is going to cost me over 2k to fix it, i am a military wife, in germany, and almost crashed due to mazda's lack of quality!!!!…”
2016-08-24 · Steering · 98,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2008 mazda rx-8. while driving 45 mph making a left or right turn, the steering wheel seized and became difficult to maneuver. the failure recurred numerous times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was diagnosed, but not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approxima…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.