Even God Hates RX8s............

[Vteckidd]

Let me tell you a story. So my daily driver for the last year has been a 2004 Mazda RX8.

Back at the end of August i went on a trip to Destin Florida for Dan aka GGPIS3s bachelor Party. I drove down there.

On the way back from Destin i was on US 431 (i believe in Alabama) heading back home. I went through a TERRIBLE storm, pouring down rain, debris on the road, etc. Well US431 is mainly a 2 lane road on the section i was on and goes through some pretty rural areas.

As the storm started to lift, i was on a 2 lane road in the middle of a rural wooded area, and it was still raining.

About that time i see a huge FLASH of light out of the corner of my left eye. It pretty much blinded me for a few seconds. It was followed by a tremendous rumble and sounded like something landed on the roof of the car. My left ear also went deaf for a minute as it sounded like someone fired a round off. Holy shit i had just been struck by lighting

At that instant, the car died. Everything shut off, warning lights came on, etc. As i was still moving, the first thing i did was pop the clutch to see if i could get the car to start. Lucky for me it fired up instantly. However, at this point i started to notice almost all the electrical systems in the car were not working including

1) Electric Power steering
2) Cruise Control
3) ABS BRakes
4) Digital Speedometer
5) E-Brake indicator light stays on
6) Tire Pressure sensor light stays on
7) Cruise Control buttons on steering wheel do not work

After doing some quick thinking , i decided to keep driving and to NOT shut the car off as i was in the middle of NOWHERE and did not want to get stranded. I proceeded to drive another 150 miles back to atlanta. Once i got home i inspected the car for burn marks , blown fuses, etc. i could not find anything wrong.


Monday morning i called my Insurance company, USAA. They stated it falls under my comprehensive coverage policy as "ACT OF GOD" and it will be covered. They wanted me to drop it off at a Dealership near my house, so i chose Jim Ellis Mazda, the place originally the car was purchased.

[Vteckidd]

I drop off the RX8 at Jim Ellis and explain to them that the car was going to have an insurance adjuster come out and look at the car. The guys at Jim Ellis said no problem and they would call me later.

Around 1pm the insurance adjuster shows up from USAA. He proceeds to look for damage he called "evidence of lightning strike". The things he was looking for was chips on the paint or burn marks, heat marks on my wheels , cracks in the wheels , or evidence of massive electrical failure such as fried wiring, multiple systems on the car not working , etc.

Upon his PRELIMINARY inspection he could not find any of the heat or burn marks that he said "USUALLY comes from a lightning strike". He then admitted to me that "I have worked some cases where the car was hit by lightning and i could not find the damage anywhere".

At this moment he asked the tech at Jim Ellis "Since i cannot find any evidence of a lightning strike, what do you think is wrong? What causes all these systems to not work?"

The tech replied "there are some modules under the clutch pedal that control or power the PS,ABS, CC we can look there and see if any wiring is fried".

This is where it gets trick so pay attention.

About 5 months ago, i had a problem with my clutch pedal in the RX8. Apparently its a common problem, the clutch pedal is spot welded to a plate that is bolted to the firewall. Over time, the spot welds fail/break and then you get side to side movement and a clutch that doesnt work. Well you can either A) Buy a new clutch pedal assembly , THAT WILL FAIL AGAIN, for $1200 or B) Put a larger weld on the pedal so it doesnt break again. I went with option B.

I had Mainstream Performance REMOVE my clutch pedal from the car, reweld it OUTSIDE OF THE CAR , then reinstall the clutch pedal. the car drove fine and its never given me another problem. Again this was OVER 5 MONTHS AGO before the lightning strike.

Ok back to the TEch at Jim Ellis. He decides to go looking under the dash for these control modules to see if there is anything down there that could be wrong. About this point he sees that my clutch pedal has been welded (the one from 5 MONTHS AGO). He turns to the insurance adjuster and says "Looks like they welded this clutch pedal, that prob caused all this stuff to fail". His contention is that we welded it ON THE CAR and didnt properly ground the car therefore causing the issues. Obviously thats not true

CASE CLOSED USAA calls me and says its my fault and it is not covered.

[Vteckidd]

Naturally i am FURIOUS that they didnt even call me to check with me on the matter. I explain to the adjuster that

1) There is NO WAY IN HELL the clutch pedal welding repair caused any sort of damage because it was removed from the car, and done over 5 months ago. Electrical systems either WORK or they DONT WORK. Theres not halfway working and magically all fail simultaneously at the same time months later.

2) I explain to him the problem with the RX8 Clutch pedals, and that its a common known issue that mazda refuses to warranty. I also tell him that the repairs were done at an ASE certified mechanics place of business.

3) I tell him that i find it highly unlikely these systems "just went bad" at the exact moment i was struck by lightning.

USAA Still contends that since they cannot find any evidence of a lightning strike, therefore it didnt happen. I faxed them repair orders, written statements from Mainstream Performance and FastLANE Import Auto repair (who does my regular maint) both companies saying that when they worked on the car everything worked, and that there were no signs of electrical issues. I also had Charles from MSPi write a letter stating how long hes been a welder and that it was impossible for their repairs to cause the current damage on the car.

Even after all this, USAA still claims that it doesnt matter that i can prove the car was repaired properly. They contend since there is NO EVIDENCE of a lightning strike , its not covered. EVEN THOUGH THE ADJUSTER TOLD ME THAT HE HAS WORKED CASES WHERE THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE TO BE FOUND.

So now im stuck with a $13,000 car that prob isnt worth much over $5000. Maxda wants over $4800 to replace the modules, and that doesnt even guarantee that they will fix my problems anyway. What if the ACTUAL computers are fried, or the wiring is fried, or the units themselves are bad (like the PS) etc.

Now the car runs, drives, lights work, etc. I guess ill attempt to replace a module or 2 from a wrecked car myself and see if i can find anything. but what really upsets me is that because some tech at Jim Ellis opened his mouth, USAA refuses to investigate any further. My family has used USAA for 30 years.

/the end

[thegovanator]

Maybe God just hates you and not rotarys?

[Benefit]

fuck u faggot

[stillaneon]

Maybe God just hates you and not rotarys?

I disagree

I've owned a rotary. God definitely hates them

[Elbow]

DAMN, that's crazy. My moms car was hit in their driveway years ago, it fried the ECU and other electronics. You could see the burn mark and follow it all the way. You're lucky it didn't get you.

[thegovanator]

stillaneon, you're probably right. God has fucked mine over a few times...

[xxbckiexx]

happened to my father before. he said he had to get all his electronics in the car replaced.. radio.etc etc.etc.... even the wires had to be redone.

[blue94eg6]

that sux bro that it happen to you

[xxbckiexx]

and to everyone else. god hates anyone dumb enough to buy a rotary. thus why all you fools with roatary's keep having problems

[thegovanator]

^ Sad but true, but I still love the things to death.

[Vteckidd]

fuck u faggot

Ill give you $1000 for that hunk of shit integra, then ill burn it in front of your house


Hows that sound

[xxbckiexx]

Ill give you $1000 for that hunk of shit integra, then ill burn it in front of your house


Hows that sound

sounds like i want in on half of that deal.

[AnthonyF]

You take a weird road to Destin.

-Ant.

[TheGodfather]

He probably hates you too.

[Vteckidd]

Yeah oh well, i guess ill just have to try an fix it myself and see what happens. MaYBE i will get lucky and find a bunch of wires burned somewhere but i doubt it.

Just sucks cause i couldnt make this shit up

[Vteckidd]

Maybe it was US331. Id have to check my GPS

[On_Her_Face]

That's pretty crazy, never heard of that happening before.

[SouthrnStyle]

Blow it up now!!

[AnthonyF]

Maybe it was US331. Id have to check my GPS

yeah, 331. That's how I go. To state road 85 past Betty's Fireworks.

-Ant.

[RandomGuy]

time for the first 2jz Rx8 lol


might as well

[RandomGuy]

wonder if it would have helped if you had witnesses or a police report on the lightning strike?

[Vteckidd]

wonder if it would have helped if you had witnesses or a police report on the lightning strike?

i wonder that too. There was a car behind me but i didnt stop to flag them down. At this point i dont think i physically got hit , i think the ground got hit RIGHT by me and it arced on the car somewhere

[hondachik]

Pay me $100 and I'll be a witness

[Vteckidd]

Thats right, lets perpetuate insurance fraud over the interwebz

[Buttons]

This might be an idea, but since you said it might have arched back up, check underneath the car maybe? I'm just suggesting it as an idea. It won't hurt to look.

[xxbckiexx]

This might be an idea, but since you said it might have arched back up, check underneath the car maybe? I'm just suggesting it as an idea. It won't hurt to look.

your posts hurt to look at. the stupidity level is unbelievable.

[browningboy7]

Something similar happened to my parents, They refused to cover it etc etc etc and my mom requested a sit down meeting with the adjusters supervisor and everything was smooth sailing from there. So I would definitely go that route if you haven't already tried, Just take in all the documents you have already faxed them and sit down and present them in person.

[HarietTubgrl]

that's what you get for being an alabama lol

that sucks, though. hope it gets worked out though

[bowdown201]

So did it crank back up after you got home?

[Julio]

Im shocked USAA hasnt try to work with you. And to think they are the best in the country as far as Customer serivice etc..

Keep bugging them.. I mean, they are the best for a reason..

weird.

[pixyspoxey]

That sucks man. USAA is usually a really good insurance company, one of the top rated.

[Echonova]

Maybe your car didn't get hit directly, since you were driving in water, which rumor has it... Conducts electricity.

Here's what you do: Listen to the news... If any region gets a lot of rain and starts flooding take the RX8 and park it in the newly formed lake in the middle of the road. Problem solved.

[§treet_§peed]

Damn Mike, that sucks ass. I still find it funny how a tech, that prolly doesn't know how a Wankel engine works said that the weld was the cause of your problems.

[Brady]

i never had any problems with my rx-8 luckily. 88k miles then i sold it...i miss it. sooo maybe God just loves me anyways, mike let me know if you need any parts...call me later today, i might be able to help with some stuff.

[Boosted FC]

Mike, Just get rid of that car. I love my rotaries, but I cannot stand the RX8 with how many problems that POS has.

[SPOOLIN]

at this point, pray for a passenger side T bone with no passenger in the seat so they can just scrap it lol

[Vteckidd]

I have a meeting with them today wish me luck

[Boosted FC]

time for the first 2jz Rx8 lol


might as well

Already been done.