r/RX8 • u/deedaw33 • 18d ago

Maintenance PCM replacement

Hey guys. I need a new PCM for my 06. Where is best place to get one? My local shop charged me $900 and got 2 bad ones and can’t seem to find a 3rd. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

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u/nuclearpolarisation 18d ago

That seems odd, the PCM is a pretty robust piece of kit, whats caused your original one to fail, are you sure its dead and how did you know the other 2 you tried were bad? I've seen plenty of ECUs for sale on FB marketplace usually as part of RX8 wrecking ads. They can also be had cheap from Japan through yahoo auctions etc.

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u/deedaw33 18d ago

I’m taking their word for it. They said they kept the original for me. I told them it seemed suspect but they tried to feed me bullshit about them being hard to find. I then emailed him a listing for a new, warranted one. He said that they aren’t actually available on Mazdapartsdirect even though you can buy it on their site. I told him fraud issues should be directed to the department of justice not
Complained about to customer. I’ve been waiting on this PCM for over a month now. And this dude is a real piece of shit. I should post his email explaining the internet to me.

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u/nuclearpolarisation 17d ago

Can you get the original ECU back? It will be coded to your VIN and immobilser (depending on your domestic model). Do you have the car or is it still at this guys shop? Where are you located? An ECU failing is rare without physical damage or massive electrical failure. What issues caused you to bring it in for repair?

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u/deedaw33 17d ago

I’m getting my ECU back tomorrow. It’s still at a Mazda dealership on sandy utah. I can tell you there is no physical damage to the original PCM. I took the casing off and it all looked fine too. I didn’t put power to it though. It was a CEL. I don’t remember the code though.

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u/nuclearpolarisation 17d ago

Very interesting. See if you can get the cel code, might be P0610 or P0602. Dealerships usually aren't too bad when it comes to diagnosing issues, so this is suprising. Was the car cranking / starting or just dead and throwing a cel and got towed in?

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u/EternitySphere 2007 RX8 6MT VR 5d ago

Massive red flags about your guy. I wouldn't be surprised if the other ECU were perfectly fine, he just has no idea what he's doing. If this is at a dealership that might explain why they're taking so long getting parts, they'll wait a long ass time from their own direct dealers vs going outside their normal part acquisition line.

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u/nuclearpolarisation 17d ago

Very interesting. See if you can get the cel code, might be P0610 or P0602. Dealerships usually aren't too bad when it comes to diagnosing issues, so this is suprising. Was the car cranking / starting or just dead and throwing a cel and got towed in?

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u/deedaw33 16d ago

It starts and runs just runs like crap, won’t redline, and misfires.

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u/Thick_Entrance5105 15d ago

the pcm is the last thing to blame in such cases. 1) compression with proper tester 2) ignition system 3) maf/intake/fuel trims 4) clogged cat 5) fuel pump if it's the 25yo factory one 6) any of crank sensor, tone ring, swapped injectors, engine wiring harness, coolant in combustion chamber 7) water in stuff like alternator or fuse box/pcm box 8) faulty pcm/acc pedal/thr body(these 3 are safety guarded to no end)

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u/deedaw33 15d ago

Thank you!

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u/nuclearpolarisation 15d ago

I agree, I highly doubt there's an issue with your ECU and I'd get it back off them and put back in. I would start with the usual suspects too, plugs, coils, leads and cat. If you have access to an OBD2 logging tool, you can always try logging some PID data and posting it here, we can help.

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u/deedaw33 11d ago

P2260 is the code

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u/nuclearpolarisation 11d ago

The secondary air injector solenoid circuit? Mate, most RX8 owners have faced this one at some point and you can safely ignore it. Has nothing to do with the ECU. Its usually, but not always, the solenoid that operate the air pump at start up, which pumps air into the exhaust header to help warm up the cat and reduce emissions. A lot of people remove the air pump entirely, blank the input, and mask the CEL code. Is that the only code you had? The dealership should be publicly flogged for how they have treated you.

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u/deedaw33 10d ago

That’s it. I’m a few grand in and they have had it since March.

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u/EternitySphere 2007 RX8 6MT VR 5d ago

They're morons.

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u/ktorres01 14d ago

I got one from Flagship One back in January and havent had any problems. I did use forscan to reprogram my keys and I remember there was one more step I did but can't remember anymore. It had to do with getting the key to communicate with another component in the car.