The 2004 Mazda RX-8 has 21 recalls, the most serious involving Takata airbag inflators on both the driver and passenger sides that can rupture and send metal fragments into the cabin, posing a risk of serious injury or death.
Several recalls cover fire risk from the fuel system. The main fuel pump pipe can crack from engine and exhaust heat, and the fuel pump sealing rings can also deteriorate from the same heat exposure; either failure can produce a fuel leak that may ignite. A related issue affects vehicles where the engine is run at high RPM while parked for extended periods, which can melt components near the exhaust and also result in a fuel leak and potential fire.
On the chassis side, the front lower control arm ball joint socket can crack, allowing the ball joint to separate from the arm while driving. If that happens, the driver loses steering control. This issue appears across multiple filings but describes the same underlying defect.
There is also a wiring concern: the front passenger airbag was improperly wired on certain vehicles, meaning it may not deploy correctly in a frontal crash.
On manual transmission models, a heat insulator on the transmission can crack and eventually fall off the vehicle, creating a hazard for traffic behind.