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#8 of 13 Re: Back after awhile... [trispec] by nergal_lv

Jan 07, 2007 (9:56 am)

Replying to: trispec (Jan 07, 2007 9:14 am)

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• pathstar1 (Jan 07, 2007 10:17 am)

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#9 of 13 Re: Back after awhile... [nergal_lv] by pathstar1

Jan 07, 2007 (10:17 am)

Replying to: nergal_lv (Jan 07, 2007 9:56 am)

Ahh, the "real" reason for getting a standard transmission comes out - to keep your better half from driving -your- car.

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#10 of 13 aux input by nergal_lv

Jan 07, 2007 (10:37 am)

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• pathstar1 (Jan 08, 2007 8:25 am)
  • nergal_lv (Jan 08, 2007 6:52 pm)

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#11 of 13 Re: aux input [nergal_lv] by pathstar1

Jan 08, 2007 (8:25 am)

Replying to: nergal_lv (Jan 07, 2007 10:37 am)

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• nergal_lv (Jan 08, 2007 6:52 pm)

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#12 of 13 Re: aux input [pathstar1] by nergal_lv

Jan 08, 2007 (6:52 pm)

Replying to: pathstar1 (Jan 08, 2007 8:25 am)

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#13 of 13 Long Time Away - Another Long Trip by cheezeboy

Nov 30, 2008 (9:03 am)

AGAIN, been away from the boards for a bit. And again this seems like the forum to post this in! I just completed, yet another, long road trip in my '04 Automatic. This time Ft. Lauderdale to Vegas and back in 10 days. Now this trip was a bit different than most that I do - I had a beautiful co-pilot! (A friend who hadn't been to Vegas either!) I have not taken the car in for service yet; will be doing that this week.
I will hi-light the trip:
- 2nd day in Biloxi, the engine service light came on after a fill up. Drove another 200 miles and it went off....then on...then off...throughout the 10 days. Annoying, but I think it's the fuel filler cap thingy.
- an hour after Biloxi, the oil light came on. Pulled over, put in 1.5 quarts of 5w-20. Made it to Vegas and back without anymore oil issues.
- somewhere in West Texas, the car started to shift hard when trying to pass traffic. the car would down shift hard from 4th to 3rd - so much so that everything in the car would violently move around. Problem was, this wouldn't happen every time. Random. Will discuss with Mazda.
- My co-pilot and I wanted to see the mountains, so in Albuquerque we went up to Sandia Peak.....well, almost up. The car drove fine up until 10K feet. Then the engine would not rev past 1K rpms. I floored it - nothing. I am gonna guess some sort of oxygen sensor issue?....anybody else have a suggestion? we drove at 2 mph for another 300 yards or so, then decided not to risk anything else. Turned around and drove back down the mountain another mile and the car was back to normal.
- stopped by the French Quarter in New Orleans. Some really crappy roads, sorry to say. After an hour of driving around, the back right started to make a nice 'clanking' sound on every bump/pothole we hit. Horrible noise, but once we got back on the freeway, all was good again. I looked underneath but, not being a Madza Tech, I have no idea what to look for unless it's hanging down, scrapping on the ground! Again, will discuss with Mazda.
- could really use an 'easy' aftermarket way to hook up an MP3 player - I bought the 'FM Transmitter' type, but it was goofy to deal with.
- do NOT open up your 'ChilliPepper Wreath' in the car! I now have 1000's of pepper seeds all over the back seat!
- again, mountains are so much fun to drive in
- and Route 66 has some great roads in AZ
- outside of Florida and Vegas, I only saw 3 RX8's on the road. Not a popular car in rural Texas and New Mexico.
- in total, 5600 miles in 10 days. From sea level to 10K!..Whoohoo!!!
 
So, in summery, I would totally do the drive again. The car rocked, even with the above issues. I've had my problems with the car in the past 6 months, but this trip has again, restored my faith in my 8. Hopefully this post will not jinx anything!!