Ilivfor6

Peekay and I had this problem as well. We changed the flywheel and clutch which resolved a lot of these issues. We also put full synthetic oil in our gearboxes which also seemed to help. Peekay has now removed his Toms Flywheel and TRD clutch and gone back to a standard setup. He at this stage is not having any issues. I would suggest you try the full synthetic lube.... (We used Redline MT90) We both agree the original clutch is too light but as a precurser try the Synthetic lube..at worst make the change to an after market Clutch assembly ie excedy or TRD. You do not need to do the flywheel as this was only installed for performance. Good luck

Sportivo every time!!! And that 8.2 for the standing hundred must have been in reverse. It is a lot quicker than that. A good driver can get another 0.5 to 1 second off that!

Can a lone metalic blue 8 come. I promoise I'll put Toyota badges on it and practice my "LIFT" sounds with carlo. Nobody will be able to tell the difference... Honest!

There is a temperature sensor in the bottom of the Throttle Body. Not sure if that is what you are looking for though!

Yeah labour pretty much costs the same if you just do the clutch of both the flywheel & clutch so Peekay & myself decided to do the flywheel as well. The flywheel was something we wanted to do down the track so it just made sense to do it all together instead of paying 2 lots of installation. I dont think you need to do the flywheel to fix the shift issues, just the clutch. But dont hold me to that as everyone I know who has fixed the problem did both. I have not talked to anyone who has just done the clutch.

The day I drove out of the dealer after picking up my new car I had the vibration. My rotors were warped from the factory but was told it must be my driving style so was only offered the machining option. Yeah... I drove so hard in the 10 metres to the dealers front door on his capeted showroom floor that the great effort to slow the car before going down the short driveway and into the street, warped my rotors! Like I keep saying, loved the car r... loathe Toyota Australia!

If you really want to up them, you also need to CC the major newspapers on your emails to them. No car maker likes to see multiple letters of complaint from multiple parties arrive in their mail boxes with CC's to the newspapers. Contact a newspaper and ask for a relevant email address. Explain to them the situation and they should be happy to give an address for the CC. Also in the CC include choice magazine, Motor & Wheels. I would also put consmer affairs. If you think you bugging them will have an effect wait to they start taking calls from journalists sniffing around for a story. In each of your individual emails attach a note specified towards the media that upon their request vehicles can be made available for their verification of the said issues. It would make a great read, especially with the background info on how the car failed ADR noise and was underpowered from stated advertising and possibly still is! If you can co-ordinate a number of emails in this way you will have Toyota's attention. I did just this with a group of about 20 BMW Z3 owners a few years back as BMW would not recognise the problems with our new Z3's. After all our emails and the 2nd phone call from the media BMW Australia suddenly paid attention. Having done it once already I just could not be bothered going through it all again. A decision each has to make! Be warned though your only problem is who would buy your car after that. The danger to you is yes you may get Toyota to fix the car but the resale will be worth nothing. After the issues with the Z3 I changed jobs and as it was a company car it was no longer my issue. I do know though on a 12 month old ($70,000) BMW Z3 the best trade they could get was $35,000 because people had begun to associate it as a lemon in the industry.

My gears were crunching 20% of the time even at 3000rpm with slow, carefull changes. With this happening so often there was no way the gearbox would last year after year. So I researched very heavily overseas and found this issue was also common in the States & Europe. In the States many celica gearboxes were dying between 2-4 years. That's were I started reading that those who had the issue who changed clutches fixed the problem. I spoke via the web to many of these guys and all had the same story. Again though it was not all the cars having the issue, it was random. Luck of the draw. When the clutch came out of my car it was totally nackered, and on the wear sections you could actually see hairline cracks. If I had kept the clutch in longer it's your guess what might have happened!

Not good mate. The first attempt they started the incision in the smallest appendage down there as would seem reasonable. Damn now I'm always going to have a scar on my left leg. :P

Thats what I have been saying all along. The clutch/flywheel combo is a compromise for ease of driveability. I first said this 12 months ago. It is the same as Honda and the S2000. They want to do high reving performance vehicles but still want your mum or the wife to be able to toddle off down the corner shop in it. Toyota is only putting their big toe in the water with this whole performance car thing. As far as I am concerned you either jump in or you stay out. Their marketing on this car has a lot to answer for! With the setup in the car it will take a few years to FUBAR your gearbox. The problem is this will probably be just after warranty runs out. Big bucks to fix. I deduce this because Toyota would not still be putting it in their cars if they thought it would not see out the warranty period. They do not wish to be replacing gearboxes for free. I just fear a lot of people will be finishing their warranty period with sick gearboxes. Hence, again that is why I did my clutch & flywheel as Toyota was not going to fix the issue for me, and that was made crystal clear! That's why I think ZEEROLLA is correct in advising if you wish to drive the car how most invisaged when buying and do not wish to own a mound of sludge where the gearbox used to be in a few years, looking after the cost of the fix yourself is starting to look like your only cure. If not you will just have to ease back on the revs a little! It's not fair nor is it right but if you really want to enjoy the cars engine the options are becoming limited. I am sorry to have to be saying that!

Mate its about time. You know during puberty when your testicles never dropped you should have had it looked at then. Hopefully now even after all this time they will go in and find you some balls! :P :P

Mate I am glad to see your happy with the CAI. In all those PM's I was wondering if you actually believed me on the benifts of the mods. As far as the go fasta mods go the CAI is my 2nd favorite. The best I did still was the TOMS lightened Flywheel & TRD Clutch. But boy it costs a lot more than the CAI Hopefully you are beginning to see now that with some of these mods how you can actually run a Type-R and be competitve if not beat it. Enjoy your driving Cheers

Well I'm afraid RX8 wouldn’t be the car either. Don’t get me wrong RX8 is a wonderful car but with kids you need loads of rear seat space and the biggest boot you can get :P ← For carting kids around I have another car with loads of room. The RX8 is for my enjoyment to and from work and day drives like yesterday... Although I had a big kid (Peekay) in the back most of the drive. The reason for keeping it over a long period is with a new family spending money on a new car for enjoyment not practicality would be out of the question. I have a feeling kids will chew up all available money. So the plan was choose car now and quickly pay it all off before then. For a while I was thinking the Sportivo was that car! I would agree with you. I would go insane trying to cope with kids and the RX8 everyday! A recipe for insanity. No the RX8 or whatever car I chose is my escape mechanism for getting out every now & then and enjoing a drive. And to have a little fun to and from work!

Yes mate... No lie. I am still grinning. The only thing it was missing was Lucio blasting past me at 200 in Lift! That's naughty Lucio ;) Next time though at the end of the road I will turn around and do that 10 km again and then probably again :D :D :D It's a stretch of road a lot of the guys on the performance bikes run. And you know if they ride all that way to give it a dash it's gotta be good! I will start to organise something very soon! Cheers

Hi mate, which car were you in? I was in the Subaru Black liberty GT.. and i didnt hear anyone mention on the CB radio who needs to go to a toilet break... btw, did you get the maps before we leave typhoon motor sports? I am Sorry to leave you behind the group being a orgainiser.. Wheres Macus??? ← Don't worry about it mate! I'm not!!!! Things happen. I was in the Blue RX8. Do not have a CB so could not let people know. The wife was close to messing up my interior so dropped back some gaers and floored it for a fast dash out of the group to the nearest servo. If nobody noticed that it is understandable. New car, leather interior... I am sure you understand the immediate need to get her somewhere We still had a great day anyway and would have never gone for a drive up that way anyway without your cruise. I probably would have been just sitting at home watching TV... And not discovered just how fun my new car is on high speed twisty roads. I am going Back for more :D Cheers mate

Zee is right. On my car that had a terrible shift after I had done the clutch & flywheel no more problem. The shift never again borked nor did it ever again crunch. Toyota Australia would not fix the car and the dealer could do nothing about it so that is why I elected to do the Clutch & flywheel at my own cost, lucky for me the dealer came to the party and cut the installation costs by a very large amount. The performance benefit was just a bonus. For all the issues I did have with the Stivo I still enjoyed it a lot. My deciding to get out of the car was more from my worry concerning a lack of interest from Toyota Australia. If it was not for me knowing well a dealer principle and his general manager there were a few things on that car Toyota would not have fixed and it is the same for Peekay. After 12 months and 30,000km the Stivo was starting to feel and look a little old. It was developing a lot of rattles and squeeks and just looking older (on the inside) than it was. My Honda Civic which I payed $21,000 for and drove for 4 years and did 100,000km and which by the way was more heavily modded than my Stivo and been cained a lot more, had hardly any rattles and creaks. The interior of the civic also looked the way it did the day I picked it up. My growing concern with Toyota had me questioning if this would be a car I wished to keep out of warranty. If you have all this trouble under warranty with them well how bad would it get outside of that. As my wife and I plan a family in the next 2 years the car I have in the next 12 months is going to have to do me for a good 10 years. I decided the Sportivo would not be that car. I was just lucky where I was in a position where I had the funds to make a decision and choose to trade. Unfortunately few people here are in a position to be able to do this. I just hope Toyota see's this and by reading how a lifetime Toyota lover (having owned previous modeled Mr2's) has been turned off from their brand and will probably never buy one again not because of the car but because of Toyota Australia's attitude The main thing is try to enjoy the car and the bang for the buck it gives. I still did. If you have the gearshift issue and Toyota does not fix it, and you are not in a position to trade then all I can suggest is replace the clutch when you can afford it. The cost would probably be between $400-$600 all up with labour & parts. Not cheap but if you save for it you will get there. Soory guys but for those with a the gearbox issue it may be the only fix :( Cheers

On the cruise I had to make a stop for the missus to take a toilet break. By the time we pulled back onto the road all the others had gone, so instead of trying to catch Peekay showed us some real drivers roads. Guys (and I meen the Melbourne boys on this forum) we have to organise a day to go back. Imagine a back road that goes for about 10km, no other traffic at all. Just paddocks on either side and you can see way off into the distance all directions. Now imagine the road is perfectly sealed with no noticeable imperfections, that sweeps through long corners and a few good sharp 90 degree bends. All this and the only road sign reads 100. This was honestly the best drive I have ever had. The whole length of this road I kept the RX8 in 2nd or 3rd above 6500rpm. Peekay was in the back grinning from ear to ear, the rotary was absolutely singing and the wife was snoring !... Honest she was. Even the roads back to Melbourne were good driving. For 3/4 of the distance they are long sweeping corners and short straights that just ooz driving fun. Both Peekay & myself drove the RX8 back along these roads and honestly finished in amazement at the cars handling. We have both driven a lot of top performance cars and have to say this car is right at the top of the table. Wow it was a great drive. Cmon guys we have to go back. You will not be sorry. It honestly makes the drive to Arthurs Seat look like a boring drive up a straight freeway! :D :D :D :D :D

I have to admit the issues with the Sportivo and a less than great attitude from Toyota Australia was one of the contributing factors to me choosing to trade to another car. A common attitude with them seems to be if you take the car over 6000rpm you are racing it and therefore they do not wish to take responibility for the issues. You do not put out a car that makes all its power well over 6000rpm if people are not supposed to drive there. You do not then advertise that car driving and reving hard on twisty mountain roads with a driver who gets over excited, and overdosing on adrenalin caused by that drive and the associated 141kw. I am afraid Toyota has lost me as their attitude is just to old school, and frankly they should not really be selling performance cars. In total contrast since the purchase of the RX8 2 weeks ago I have had 4 phone calls from Mazda Australia. The first was to thank me for purchasing the car and to give me a contact number at the head office for me to call if I have issues. They just asked that first I report it to my dealer and have them look at it and if I get the car back still with the issue without a satisfactory explanation to then call that number so as they can contact the dealer and ask why it was not addressed and then organise one of their people to meet me there to look at it. The 2nd call was to let me know that they were sending an invitation out to me to partake in some track days and high performance driver training as they wish for me to learn how to use my new car to it's full potential and are encouraging me to drive the car on the track so as to enjoy it for what it is. During this call I was asked if I was still satisfied and if I had any concerns of which I mentioned one about a noisy clutch. They asked me to contact my dealer the next day and have them look at it. I did not get a chance to call the dealer as they called me after Mazda Australia rang them about my concern. The 3rd call was to follow up with me about my clutch and ask if it was looked at and if I was happy with the outcome. The final call was to give me some information on a couple local clubs for RX series cars which hold various track days throught the year, so as I might join them on these days. I asked on this call about my warranty if I did these track days and was told it would not effect it as they encourage you to do it and would not sell this type of car if they were not going to support the owner enjoying it's abilities. Now I know they only do this with RX8 buyers but it shows real support for their product and confidence in it, and makes me feel very happy and confident with my purchase. Mr Toyota I hope you are reading this and take some notes, If you wish to keep selling performance vehicles marketed in such a way as to show they are just that then maybe you should support those who buy them and not just call us louts and hoons, passing off any issue just because you think they are boy racers because they had the audacity to fall for your marketing and buy your product!!!!! Sorry guys for the long email and I hope you do get some type of favourable settlement to your issues. Cheers

Bugger... Spent all that money upgrading and only jumped me 2 postitions up I want my money back Mr Mazda. OK I just looked out the window at it in the car park. All is forgiven Mr Mazda. I'm in love again! :D

Peekays coming too!

Mate, if it makes you happy then it was not too much. Does'nt matter what anybody says! It looks so hot.

Very... very nice indeed!

Holy sh!t mate he must be one good friend :o :o :o

It's nice to see the little fella making the bigtime B)

I needed 4 seats and was also after comfort, so instantly the 350Z and S2000 was out of it. Besides the S2000 is just too expensive. And in my eyes none of them has the looks of the RX8. Both Peekay & myself have been in the back of the RX8 for a fairly long drive and we both found it very comfortable and enough room to not feel all cramped up. No Peekay and myself have not run them together yet and probably won't either. We try to keep the competitiveness over our cars out of the friendship. It would only leed to a war on who can spend the most money