Free. Instant. No signup. Pulls recalls and complaints for your exact vehicle.
Couldn't find that VIN. Check the digits and try again.
162 owner complaints and 1 active recall campaign on file. Here's the breakdown — what's serious, what's noise, what a working mechanic would actually do about it.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 Mazda rx-8. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign numbers: 16v793000 (fuel system, propulsion), 15v382000 (air bags), and 16v354000 (air bags). The parts to do the repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer…
2005 Mazda rx8; excessive squeaking noise from clutch pedal upon engagement and disengagement and feels loose. *tr
I bought a used Mazda rx8 (2005 with about 60 thousand miles) with a manual transmission. After about 3 months of daily driving (no racing or hard shifting) my clutch pedal broke while approaching a red light. The bracket that holds the pedal in place broke due to its very thin…
2005 Mazda rx8 with fuel leak and gasoline fumes. Consumer states that she will not park the vehicle in the garage because of fear the house will catch fire. She states the fumes are heavy after fill ups. *kb the consumer stated the gas leakage happened after each repair…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
Fuel leakage, in the presence of an ignition source, could result in a fire.
NHTSA has an open defect investigation covering this vehicle — the step that can precede a recall, not a finding of fault. EA21002 on NHTSA →
NHTSA has an open defect investigation covering this vehicle — the step that can precede a recall, not a finding of fault. EA15001 on NHTSA →
How NHTSA investigations work, and what's open now →
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 7.4 out of 10 based on 162 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2005 Mazda RX-8 is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
The 2005 Mazda RX-8 is acceptable, with specific caveats. Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy. The record behind that call: Reliability score 7.4/10 — around the segment average; 1 recall campaign on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is powertrain, with 50 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 77,174 miles. Average repair cost runs about $2,500 at an independent shop.
The powertrain is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $2,500 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 77,174 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 162 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $2,500, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.