THE OFFICIAL NORTHERN IRELAND MX5 / EUNOS ROADSTER OWNERS CLUB

The Eunos Roadster FAQ

Andy Thompson

 

1. Why an FAQ?

2. What is the Eunos Roadster?

3. What's the difference between a Eunos and a European specification MX5

4. What issues are associated with parts and servicing

5. Aren't these Roadster imports speed limited?

6. What specific problems should I be aware of?

7. What models are available?

 

 

1. Why an FAQ?

We've put this together to try and tackle some of the issues and myths affecting the purchase of used Japanese market Mazda MX5s in the UK, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and to a lesser extent, Australia. Naturally, however, we're focusing this mainly on those cars exported to Europe. We hope also, that potential purchasers of Mazda MX5's will also find the buying guide of help. Unless otherwise stated, we are describing the Mk 1 model; that built between 1989 and 1997, with the classic pop up lights (although there were numerous mechanical improvements along the way). We don't have enough experience of the Mk 2 model (1998 revised body) to really comment in detail on the differences between those and other markets.

2. What is the Eunos Roadster?

Eunos Roadster was the Japanese home market brand name of the car sold as either Mazda MX5 or Miata elsewhere. Recent revised models (since 1998) have been called Mazda Roadster. The "Eunos" brand name was intended to be Mazda' s premium brand, much like Toyota's Lexus, Nissan's Infinity or Honda's Acura brands, only it never really took off, with just a limited (and eclectic) range of models sold mostly in some Asian and Australian markets. Interestingly, Citroen models were marketed through Japanese Eunos franchises.

3. What's the difference between a Eunos and a European specification MX5?

The Eunos Roadster Mk 1 (1989-97) has a number of differences from the European specification Mazda MX5. Firstly, all Eunos Roadsters were right hand drive; no left hand drive models were built. It has become increasingly fashionable in the US to rebadge Miatas as Roadsters. The opposite is true for the UK/Ireland/New Zealand markets where most of these cars end up... Starting from the front, the nose badge used on all Roadsters is the same 1989-97, and is a circular badge with a painted chevron design. Some models have a metal bracket number plate holder (either centre mounted or off set to the passenger set), later models have a black plastic square moulding. Lifting the bonnet, most things are similar to UK model RHD cars; numerous Japanese language warning stickers should be present. The VIN code is clearly seen on two places on the bulkhead/firewall: a screwed on (not riveted) plate listing the VIN, option and paint codes, on the left hand side as you look at it. More or less dead centre on the bulkhead is the VIN stamped on. Japanese market cars start either NA6CE (1989-93 120PS 1.6), NA8CE (1993-97 130PS 1.8), NB6CE/NB8CE (1998-present revised model, 1.6/1.8). Note, the 90 PS 1.6 model sold in the UK/Ireland and some other markets from 1995 onwards was never sold in Japan. Moving along the car, some Roadsters may come with factory fitted chrome door trim strips. The next obvious external differences can be seen from the rear. Roadsters have a square type number plate opening similar to US-specification Miatas. 2 badges are present, in the familiar Miata type font. 1989-93 badging had black script, later models generally had red lettering, though some special editions had green or yellow lettering. All Roadsters have the boot/trunk mounted brake/stop lamp. European cars also have a foglight fitted into a moulded pod underneath the bumper at an off-set; the pod was actually fitted into a cut-out. Mk 2 Roadsters have a similar back to European market MX5s, except on the European cars, the off-side reverse light has been converted to a fog light. Japanese specification Mk2's are badged "Mazda Roadster", since the Eunos brand has now been mostly dropped. Moving to the interior, the obvious difference would be in the instrumentation, since its all metric. The oil pressure gauge reads kg/cm3, and the speedometer reads 0-180 km/h. The factory audio system was the similar to that offered in US models, though without security coding features. The standard model was a Panasonic1.5 Din unit, with a CD player option. Some top spec models from 1992 onwards had a Pioneer MSSS system fitted, recognised by the sexy chrome finish face, and stainless steel elongated speaker covers. Some also had tweeters fitted on the tops of the doors, and a bass-type system fitted into the seat bases. Www.miata.net has a fuller explanation of this option. Mk 2 Roadsters may have a Bose surround sound audio system fitted (standard on V-spec or leather option), plus they don't have the ugly digital clock fitted in the European cars. Other interior differences; craning down in the drivers side footwell, look at the accessories fuse box cover. The labelling is in Japanese only. On the passenger side, there is an emergency flare holder moulded into the footwell trim. All 1989-93 1.6 cars, and some early 1.8's appear to have the factory Momo wheel fitted, which differs only from its "European" counterpart in the name moulded into the rubber horn pad.. A later type moulded 3-spoke wheel (made by Nardi?) also appears. Few cars with manual winder windows were sold in Japan, so its likely that an imported Japanese market car will have power windows. These appear to be part of an option pack that includes power steering and air conditioning. The power window switches differ from that in other markets; other markets use a rocker type button, Roadsters are fitted with a "push-down/pull up" design, often with a one-touch auto facility for the drivers side. Examine the seat belt webbing, near where it anchored to the bodywork. There should be a manufacturers label. Unlike European spec cars there will be no "E" Euro safety marking, but it should carry a JIS safety mark, as well as the month/year of manufacture (this could be used to validate a car's claimed age). Looking at the sun visors, most of the Roadsters seem to have the 2-piece folding visor only present on early cars in other markets. Included on the drivers side visor are various warnings referring to safety aspects of the catalyst and the "heat" lamp. Lastly, all V-spec Mk2 Roadsters have a 6 speed transmission, and this was an option on other 1.8 models. The 6-speed was only introduced into other markets with the 10th Anniversary limited edition, and may become available as an option in these markets.

4. What issues are associated with parts and servicing?

Mostly this apparent state of events is due to a mixture of ignorance and pure deliberate myth. Most apparent differences can usually be put down to a different parts catalogue number being used in different markets. Common service items like filters, sparkplugs etc. are commonly available widely, and for most of the parts, your local official service agent may not be the best value. Some people will stick by an official Mazda oil filter, and there is merit in this. However, any of the quality OEM parts manufacturers will supply parts of equal quality cheaper. If you need to replace a part that's Mazda only, the Mazda service agent should have in his parts catalogue, exploded diagrams of different assemblies so you can locate which part(s) you need. I have had experience of many parts carrying different catalogue numbers (i.e. what's on the bag) from that actually stamped on the part. There are some significant difference however that you should be aware of however. The ECU's on 1.8 cars differ from UK cars, and almost certainly so do the 1.6 models. Genuine ECU failures seem to rare however (reportedly most failures can be put down to dirty contacts), but if you need a replacement, its probably best to try and obtain one from Japan, or from a scrapped vehicle. There is no reason why Japan/UK/US ECU's shouldn't be interchangeable. Www.miata.net regularly lists low miles ECUs for very low prices. Reportedly, Japanese models have non-collapsible steering columns, but I can't confirm this. Japanese market brake pads and clutch material are reportedly of different specification from other markets (lower speed rating?), but these are easily upgradable to European spec during the service. So far, the stock clutch in my own 1992 Eunos has performed fine for 75000 kms without sign of slippage. The catalyst on the Roadster, like all Japanese market cars, has a heat sensor built in to detect signs of the catalyst overheating. Other markets do not have this. However, unlike other imports, the Roadster exhaust component parts are externally the same size as other markets, so parts can be interchanged safely. The Japanese catalyst can be exchanged for a UK or US spec catalyst. For the UK market, if the car was first registered in Japan preAugust 1992, it can be replaced with a straight through pipe, which can be easily fabricated, or bought cheaply from many exhaust manufacturers. Exhausts designed for UK/US cars fit Roadster fine. All bulbs are the same as the UK spec. Most Roadsters seem to be fitted with sealed beam headlamps. Mazda will quote a very high price to replace these with the correct UK spec units. The headlamps are merely standard 7" bowl units (as fitted to land Rovers and Reliants!) and so there are a wide range of replacements available. Wipac and Ring make both sealed beam and halogen quartz headlamps (and these are "E" EU marked) for £15-25 a pair. Hella make rather better quality units for about £50 a pair. All should be available from your local motor factors. All the glass and rear lamps (but not the boot stop lamp) carry "E" EU safety marks. However, the windscreen, although European safety approved, is thinner than European models (hence you need to replace the seal as well as glass in the event of replacement. Japanese cars don't have a fuel pipe restrictor (to prevent fuelling with leaded fuel). This is only required for newer cars in the UK under the SVA rules. Ones got to be pretty lame brained to put 4 star leaded into a catalyst equipped car. The Japanese FM radio can't be used in the UK/Ireland/NZ unless an FM retuner is fitted; these are available for about £Stg 25, and are easily fitted. The factory CD player however, is not very satisfactory after 5 years use in most cases, so you may wish the whole unit anyhow. As for servicing; most Mazda dealers seem to be happy carrying out routine servicing (some seem to be loading the labour rate though for imports). The quality of service would seem to depend on the parts manager ; since often the only difference would be in the parts code used. Owners of older Roadster may wish to save a bit of money and have the car serviced elsewhere. By modern standards, the Roadster is not that complicated, with no real peculiarities (Mazda just raided the corporate parts bin for a lot of components), so a modern garage used to dealing with electronic fuel injected cars should be able to look after it fine. Contrary to myth, plugging in the diagnostics does not churn out a lot of Japanese. Diagnostic machines in Europe should work just fine with the Roadster. 4. Aren't these Roadster imports speed limited? Yes; by law in Japan, to 180 km/h. However, many seem to have been derestricted before export from Japan. The 1.6 cars are easy to derestrict, merely removal of a screw from the speedometer circuit board, but the 1.8's are restricted through the ECU (maybe as an antitamper design). To derestrict these requires remapping or replacement of the ECU. Whether you actually need to derestrict these cars is a moot point. Unless you're in the habit of exceeding 110 mph, its not really necessary as no other part of the car's performance is affected. Most speedometers are converted from kph to mph by fitting a replacement 0-110 face, which are usually of variable quality. However, fitting a 0-140 mph speedo (UK, US versions) is easy, just a straight swap, with correct calibration retained. Used speedos can easily be obtained in the US, through www.mazmart.com (about $100 plus shipping) or from European importers of Miata's who need to swap to kph. 5. What should I look out for. This isn't an exhaustive description; just some stuff I've picked up along the way. You should also familiarise yourself with other Miata buying guides as well. I've seen some really nice Roadsters, as well as some truly awful ones. Not all have been lovingly cosseted by their owners. Your biggest worry is likely to be accident damage. Ask to see the auction sheet (no matter what the salesman will claim, he's been buying from auctions in Japan). The cars are graded 1-5, in 0.5 increments. 1 is scrap only, 2 is pretty bad, usually accident repaired, 3-3.5 is average (which by our standards would be fine), 4 is nice, and 5 is impossible (i.e. as new, no marks faults whatsoever). The sheets are usually very detailed, listing all faults and dings (even minor scratches). Ask to see the service documents; unlike in the US, service invoices should be included. Although you can't read them fully, you can still read off dates, mileage's, VINs and emission checks. The main dealer chits are a list of tick off items. So you can see if anything is drastically wrong. Dates are written year/month/day, with the year worked out from accession of the Emperor (I think). 9 is 1997, 8 1996, 7 1995 etc. Date of service should be noted, as well as date of first registration. Check the VINs tally, plus check the last service. For mine, 2000 kms and 6 months had been added prior to me getting hold of it. There may be some stickers in the window, tallying to the month of Shaken (MOT) expiry); one large sticker on top dead centre of the windscreen (number on brightly coloured background, shaken expiry date), other one generally in a corner; number surrounded with other numbers on a disc (insurance expiry I think). Another sticker may be a profile of a car, and date which is the parking permit. You should also ask to see copies of the deregistration documents; these should be available in English. Some imports have been misrepresented as newer cars, so take care. It helps to know your major model year changes; www.miata.net lists these for the US market, so check on those. Walk around the car and check the body work carefully, looking for signs of respraying. The lower half of the body has a anti stone chip finish which should have a semi smooth finish. If it has a rough finish, its likely to have been resprayed. Check the tops of the wings, front and rear, for signs of damage to the lacquer. Red and green cars seem to be most prone to this. Silver cars seem to be prone to scratching on the plastic painted paints, so look for scratches and cracking. Check the black sill paint for damage. Check the front wings have plastic liners; all models have them, and if they 're missing, its likely the car has had some front end work. Check the roof for tears; its quite common for the rear screen to be cracked and split, but make sure the seller gets this replaced. Check the seals for really obvious signs of deterioration. Plus check the base of the roof where it disappears into the body for tears. The headlamp covers should be reasonably in line with the bonnet line. Check the headlamps rise smoothly and evenly. Open the hood and check if all the stickers under the hood are present. If not, it may be that the bonnet has been repainted/replaced at some point. Get the importer to get the car onto a lift so you can check out the underside. Genuinely, these cars arrive with really rust free components (little salt used on the roads in Japan). There is some factory undersealing, that extends back to the boot floor area. Check for obvious weld lines indicating a cut n shut job. Some dealers apply extra undersealant, but its much better if you get it done yourself. While the car is on the lift, check the wheels for sideways play (indicating worn bearings), and for too much steering play. If you're lucky, the dealer hasn' t steam cleaned the engine, and so you can see if there have been any oil leaks. Check the rear diff for any signs of oil leak (very important; numerous differentials on Roadsters have been known to fail prematurely). With the car back down, check the engine oil for any emulsion in it. Run a finger along the inside of the cam cover as well. Milky emulsion indicates water in the oil, probably due to a failed gasket, but potentially very expensive. The antifreeze in the radiator water should be a bright green, if standard Mazda antifreeze has been used. Start the engine up; some tappet chatter on cold is acceptable, but should quieten down when the engine is warmed up. When you turn on the ignition lights, a symbol should light up with what looks like a barbecue with "Heat" written underneath. This is the catalyst heat sensor, and it should go out when the engine is started. If it doesn't, assume the catalyst has failed. If the light doesn't illuminate at all its possible someone has disabled the sensor for some reason. The catalyst usually fails if the car misfires and sends some unburnt fuel down the exhaust. Very common with cars being driven (i.e. off a ship) with near empty fuel tanks containing contaminated petrol. Listen for any screeching noises from the front of the engine, indicating a pulley bearing failure. The idle should be nice and even, about 750 rpm when warm. If it keeps rising and falling, probably it needs idle adjustment (common on these cars, but get the dealer to see to it). The oil pressure gauge isn't really all that accurate, but when hot, the engine kg/cm3 should fall to about 1.8-2.0 at idle. Later cars (post 94) had a fake oil pressure gauge that just showed hi-low. If you've never had a car with a proper oil pressure gauge, don't bee alarmed to see the needle swinging around everywhere when you rev the engine. Check the temperature gauge needle moves to the middle and stays there. If it stays down, or gets cold on a clear run, probably the thermostat has failed in the open position, and its no big deal. If the car overheats, this could be due to a multitude of expensive problems. Walk away. Its quite common for there to be a bit of soot around the exhaust, especially if the car has been fitted with an aftermarket intake system (the air fuel mixture ideally needs resetting), but look for blue smoke indicating possible bore/valve wear. On the test drive, you may find the change 1st to 2nd very stiff; very common on early cars, due to a design fault, but the usual reason is lack of gear oil in the shifter turret. If the shifter boot is split, oil can leak out. When the car is up on the lift, you may just be able to see the boot and see if there are any splits in it. Cheap to put right though. The heat shield on the catalyst can burn through, giving a vibratory noise at about 3500 rpm on the level. The Roadster is a fairly creaky car anyhow, being a convertible, but listen for any unusual noises, from the rear (indicating a possible differential failure. Nearly all Roadsters were fitted a viscous-type LSD, which while ordinarily reliable in other markets, seem to fail quite often on Roadsters), or when turning through corners (which can be anything from an exhaust knocking to steering/suspension problems). If the car is fitted with a hardtop, this can generate quite a few creaks, especially if fitted poorly. Test-drive the car with the softtop up and down. Onto the interior; take a moment to check the seats and carpet for dampness, and tap the door trims to see if any drops of water come out. The roof seals are fairly prone to leaks, from around the seals at the tops of the doors. Leaks can also occur over time if the front clips aren't adjusted regularly (the roof vinyl can stretch over time).Condensation of the rear screen and a damp shelf carpet may indicate that the rain rail has broken, which is fairly labour intensive to fix. However, if you're looking at cars over 7-8 years old, then in nearly all cases, the original roof would have reached the end of its serviceable life and a replacement is in order. Check the seat upholstery for damage; convertibles are prone to fag burns. The earlier type cloth upholstery (upto the 93 1.8) seems prone to ending up like your favourite sweater; a bit fuzzy, especially on the outer bolster. The leather used wasn't the highest quality, so check for splits and cracking. If the car has sill trims fitted, check, if you can, for any corrosion underneath. With the engine running, and the roof up, check the aircon is working. Believe it or not, the ac is pretty handy even in the UK (fastest way to demist the windscreen). Close the windows, leaving one slightly open. Set the ventilation to fresh air (sucking air from outside), set to cold, turn on fan to max, and switch on the ac (push in the centre button on the fan switch). Give it a couple of minutes, and cold air should begin pumping out from the vents. Close the window, set to recirculation, and enjoy refrigeration. Actually, the Roadster refrigeration pump isn't the greatest, and its not going to cool the car on a real hot day like that rental Buick you had in Florida. When you switch the ac on, you should hear and see the pump switch on; there'll be a slight rise in the revs as you do so. If not, its failed. Its worthwhile switching on the ac every now and then; it actually extends the time between freon recharges (car aircon systems naturally leak over time through the rubber seals etc. (not exactly aerospace standard). I have no information on whether the air-conditioning parts on a Japanese, UK or US car are the same, so its worthwhile making sure this works OK. Check the power windows lower and rise OK. If they seem slow, its probable that the electric window cable is on the way out. They are not slow due to lack of use (I've heard that excuse before). This £5 part can cause very expensive repairs, unless you've very resourceful. Mazda don't sell just the cable; you need to buy an entire electric window assembly (£200 per side..). Eventually the window will get real slow and just seize up. In regards the factory radio, the headrest speaker problems described in Miatas don't seem to occur with Roadsters. Most problems are associated with the CD player, whether its Pioneer or Panasonic, e.g. skipping, reluctance to load/eject. Some cars come with an electric aerial (recognisable by a bigger housing on the wing); check it rises OK, as this is a Mazda-only part. Generic replacements won't retract fully into the boot. The door speakers are pretty nasty paper affairs, and after 5 years or so of Sushi musak, will have their fair share of rips etc. Check the lining of the roof for mould and mildew; it'll look like a white powder. Check the lining for signs of rotting (a break down in the fabric. Check the lining where it makes contact with the frame, as there are a number of wear points here. The bellows area behind the rear corners of the area is a pretty damp bit, so check carefully there. With the roof up, you can slip a hand in there to check. Check the vinyl bindings around the roof bars have not away from the roof (causing ballooning of the roof at speed), as satisfactory fixes are few, short of getting them stitched on. Unhook the front clips, to slacken the roof. Check the rear screen zip for damage (the rear screen needs to unzipped and laid flat everytime you lower the roof doncha know), in particular the teeth and the toggle. Check the rear screen for damage. If it is a Mazda original part, it'll have a stamp on it with US DoT info on it. If not, its a non genuine replacement, which is probably fine, but check its been stitched in OK. While you're messing around with the roof, check to see if the hood cover is there; many go missing at dockside, and can be expensive to replace.

5. What models are available?

This will be covered in some detail in another section as there were a number of limited editions produced for the Japanese market, some being very tasty. The main ones you're likely to encounter:

 

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