I just fixed it. I saw some info from a Doctor in Hawaii who described reaching up inside the machine with some success and this inspired me (Thanks!). I had been getting Malfunction 8 for some time, and letting the machine cool (turning it off) for 15 minutes was the only way to not get the error. It always sounded like it was "straining" to make coffee. It would generally try 3 times to clear itself before the Malfunction 8, I'm sure those with the problem will recognize the symptoms. All the rinse/ decalcify/on/off stuff was temporary. We lived with this for 5 months or so. Finally, it would only get a Malfunction 8, and so became unusable, and we were considering sending it in for repair. This was the second round of Malfunction 8 problems; the first seemed to fix itself for an unknown reason. On to the fix: Unplug, remove the water tank, pull out the bucket and tray, and allow to cool if necessary. Now - smaller fingers are better - reach into the machine, palm up. Feel as far back as you can, then work your way forward, toward yourself. As you move toward you will feel a flat area about an inch wide (measuring front to back). Just back of this (away from yourself), you'll feel a crack about 3/8" to 1/2" wide. Push your fingers up into this area and feel around. You will probably feel stuff that feels like light, chunky rocks. Break these up and they should fall out. Again, small fingers are better and once I got an idea of what I was doing, I described it to my wife and she did it. There is a tendency to not feel far enough back in the machine, so be sure to find the flat place at the lowest point of the mechanism then go just past it and up to find the crack. Pulled out about five crusty chunks of burned, almost charcoal like compressed coffee. I also got about a foot of plumber's tape (the metal stuff with holes in it that's useful for just about everything) bent it with a 4" radius, and worked it up into the crack to break up any stuff we couldn't reach. Work at this until no more stuff is in there. Now, tilt the machine toward you and "pat" firmly all over to jog anything left into the crack area, and check for chuncks again. When that's done, put everything back together, move the machine to where you can work from the top. Don't start it up. Get a flashlight and a wooden spoon. Open the top "pre-ground" door and peer in. With the wooden spoon handle, poke in there and tap everything to break up any stuck things. I thought a shopvac with a small tube might work here, too, but wasn't sure whether something bad might happen. Anyway, tap tap tap about 100 times. Now start up the machine. Keep peering in; watch how the mechanism works, and don't trap the spoon handle! Now, try to brew some coffee. While it's actually squeezing out the coffee, tap some more on the "closed" mechanism to free up any more stuck coffee. Do this whole procedure 3-4 times to be sure, but don't drink any of the coffee it brews: The first ejected puck looked really aweful - it looked like about 1/3 moldy coffee; of course the machine had been sitting for 3 weeks, probably stuck in the middle of a puck ejection cycle. Anyway, the machine should run good as new. Good luck and please comment as to whether it works for you. - Woody

Just called capresso and spoke to customer service rep. He had me take the bucket off the tray and then run 'maintence.' That resulted in a coffee 'puck' being dropped into the tray. He then had me reach behind the plastic part that hangs down and clean the metal disc that tamps the coffee. Finally, he suggested that we run a cleaning cycle using one of the tablets as Malfunction 8 indicates a clog in the system. So far, so good.

Had the same problem - reached into the unit from below as you described and did get some crumbled coffee "rocks" out. But it seemed strained to move the parts and got stuck with "malfunction 8" even after multiple rinse cycles. So I decided to lubricate - with water that I poured slowly into the "ground coffee" opening. About half of a small espresso cup. That did the trick. Repeated that a few times and more old grounds were flushed out.

I got a Malfunction 8 during tablet cleaning.
I unplugged the machine for a few minutes, then plugged it back in.
I started the cleaning cycle again, by pressing and holding the Maint button.
It began the cleaning and at one point asked to empty grounds. I removed the tray, discovered that I had not put the grounds bucket in the machine. I put it in and the machine completed the cleaning cycle.
my machine is 3 years old; I had a malfuction once before and the tech rep that I called told me to unplug and plug the machine back in, then go through rinsing. It cleared up the problem.
I could not find any malfuction error message documentation, it is Sunday morning, the help desk is closed, so I tired the same unplug/replug. It worked.
good luck.

Twice now this has happened to me - probably cycling more than three times but as you say it eventually ends with a Malfuntion 8.

I believe the mechanism for dumping grounds becomes stuck as is evidenced by my being unable to remove the tray (the mechanism is down and the grounds bucket snags on it.) I am unsure if the mechanism is down when the malfunction message shows up on the display and the cycling quits.

Often I get worried that something is going to burn out with the constant cycling and I unplug the unit before it gets to Malfunction 8.

Both times my F9 has exhibited this behaviour I have found that (being careful to unplug the unit first) if I pull the tray out from under the grounds bucket and then remove the grounds bucket, a combination of dry and warm air from a hair dryer on low and some gentle tapping around the case will cause some moist puck of coffee grounds to eventually crumble and drop out.

I reassemble the unit (it takes some time to get the grounds bucket into position since the mechanism is down and then to slide the tray underneath it) and then plug it back in and the problem is gone. The first time I did this the fix lasted for at least six months. The second time only just occurred, but a larger amoung of old grounds came out.

Malfunction 8 is related to the brew unit typically. It is usually an indication of the brew unit motor having to work too hard to move the brew unit up and down. This is usually cured by disassembling, cleaning, replacing any o'rings that may be bad, and lubricating the unit, then reassembly.
I have had to do this twice on an an E75 and an E8. I finally broke down and bought seal kits and food grade lubricant for doing this. (I have only been able to buy parts from Europe online) One could by a new brew unit off of e-bay and change out the whole thing. But a simple cleaning or rebuild will typically suffice. One note. The cleaning tablets tend to strip the lubricant from the inside of the brew unit over time. Ocassionaly the seals in the brew unit will fall apart and bind up the unit. Either of these is usually accompanied by a sound of the brew unit motor straining to cycle the machine.

Mike

Error 8 is a general error for not being in sync. There is a encoder disk that tracks where all the mechanical pieces are during the process. When they are not where they are supposed to be its an Error 8. This can be caused by a jamb, being dirty, faulty sensor... lots of stuff. Probably means your unit needs to be cleaned.
The quick way to fix this is pulling the cord out of the wall and wait a few seconds and plug it back it. This will cause everything to reset and usually clears the error... until you can clean it.
If you need help, parts guru has videos on youtube, parts and will rebuild you brew group for you. I have repaired mine 2x.

Jura Capresso Home and Professional Espresso Machines