[pboudreaux]

Ugh. Apparently I cannot trust the dealership either, so yep, I will take your advice and check it myself upon receiving it back from the dealership for the maintenance. I took a video of where the oil is on the dipstick and the mileage today. I will continue to do this. It will be such a hassle to have to go to the dealership for maintenance every 3 months for an oil change. I bought a new car thinking I would have less trouble and feel safer. This is obviously not the case.

Btw, the manual with my vehicle regarding oil maintenance states, "...on or before the maximum of 10,000 miles or 12 months, severe of 5,000 miles or 6 months..." My vehicle appears to need an oil change way less than the normal 10,000 miles, and still much less than the 5,000, and apparently every 3 months. This is really annoying. I'm 54 years old. I have never in my entire life since owning many cars from age 16, ever had to change the oil this often. Clearly, this has got to be a problem that needs addressing as soon as possible.

 

[pboudreaux]

That suggests the "oil change shop" didn't reset the maintenance reminder, and there was less than perfect communication after that. There is no way you needed the oil changed on May 18th. At the most it might have needed a quart added.

I think what you meant to say was that there was no way I needed the oil changed the very next day. Yeah, the dealership said that I had a faulty gasket or something, maybe a ring, or something was cracked regarding the oil, which probably made all the oil come out in one day. I understood how that may have happened. So, I don't mind disregarding that interval of service. However, I personally do not feel all the oil should have come out within 4 months of my purchasing the vehicle, then again, just the other day, made 3 months from the oil change the dealership did. And yes, I check it before I bring it to the dealership, and it absolutely was not registering oil between the dots on the dipstick. It was barely reading at the tip.

 

[JohnG]

Ugh. Apparently I cannot trust the dealership either, so yep, I will take your advice and check it myself upon receiving it back from the dealership for the maintenance. I took a video of where the oil is on the dipstick and the mileage today. I will continue to do this. It will be such a hassle to have to go to the dealership for maintenance every 3 months for an oil change. I bought a new car thinking I would have less trouble and feel safer. This is obviously not the case.

Cars are machines, not an appliance. Machines need care and attention and that is not something that reflects on it's reliability or safety. You should be looking at taking on this part of ownership as empowering, because there is no reason that you cannot do this yourself.

Btw, the manual with my vehicle regarding oil maintenance states, "...on or before the maximum of 10,000 miles or 12 months, severe of 5,000 miles or 6 months..." My vehicle appears to need an oil change way less than the normal 10,000 miles, and still much less than the 5,000, and apparently every 3 months. This is really annoying.

Oil maintenance reminder systems don't test the oil, they monitor the vehicle conditions that cause the oil to degrade. Short trips, heavy stop and go driving, specific ambient temperature ranges can all cause the monitor to "count down faster" than someone who has different usage habits. That being said, the oil change reminder interval can also be manually set to a lower distance / shorter time frame that the default setting. Go into your onboard service setting to see what it has been set at. You might find that it has been set to a more frequent schedule.

I'm 54 years old. I have never in my entire life since owning many cars from age 16, ever had to change the oil this often. Clearly, this has got to be a problem that needs addressing as soon as possible.

This is a perception based on a very short timeframe and some advice that can be misleading. Pre-Covid I was changing the oil on my Ford Escape about every six weeks and adding two to three quarts between changes. If I leave that accurate statement just like that and asked for advice it would likely get a lot of incorrect responses. Now once I add in that I was traveling close to 100,000 miles per year then the picture changes.

 

[JohnG]

I think what you meant to say was that there was no way I needed the oil changed the very next day. Yeah, the dealership said that I had a faulty gasket or something, maybe a ring, or something was cracked regarding the oil, which probably made all the oil come out in one day. I understood how that may have happened. So, I don't mind disregarding that interval of service. However, I personally do not feel all the oil should have come out within 4 months of my purchasing the vehicle, then again, just the other day, made 3 months from the oil change the dealership did. And yes, I check it before I bring it to the dealership, and it absolutely was not registering oil between the dots on the dipstick. It was barely reading at the tip.

I did my car's first oil change at 3800 miles. The next one at 9600, and then after winter at 12,800. (Cold ambient temperatures, and short trips age the oil faster) With Summer temperatures, and longer trips more common I'll do the next service in November or at 21,000 miles which ever comes first. I fully expect to have to add a quart or two of oil along the way till then. I expect to run this car at least as far as my Escape went (almost 400K miles) before corrosion started getting too bad.

 

[pboudreaux]

Cars are machines, not an appliance. Machines need care and attention and that is not something that reflects on it's reliability or safety. You should be looking at taking on this part of ownership as empowering, because there is no reason that you cannot do this yourself.

As a stunt driver (in specific vehicles used in films, not my own personal vehicle), yes, I definitely know the power and tenacity of these machines, and I do not need to be a car owner to feel empowered. I am very capable of checking the oil in my vehicle in a timely manner. Just did not think I would have to check it so often in a brand new, never been used ever, vehicle that I have spent a pretty penny on. I only drive about 24 miles a day in the thing Monday - Friday, and less than that on the weekends. If I go out of town and/or on vacation, I rent a vehicle, so as not to put the mileage on my personal car.



Oil maintenance reminder systems don't test the oil, they monitor the vehicle conditions that cause the oil to degrade. Short trips, heavy stop and go driving, specific ambient temperature ranges can all cause the monitor to "count down faster" than someone who has different usage habits. That being said, the oil change reminder interval can also be manually set to a lower distance / shorter time frame that the default setting. Go into your onboard service setting to see what it has been set at. You might find that it has been set to a more frequent schedule.

It is set at 5,000 miles, and still LOSES ALL THE OIL HUNDREDS OF MILES BEFORE THE 5,000 MARK.



This is a perception based on a very short timeframe and some advice that can be misleading. Pre-Covid I was changing the oil on my Ford Escape about every six weeks and adding two to three quarts between changes. If I leave that accurate statement just like that and asked for advice it would likely get a lot of incorrect responses. Now once I add in that I was traveling close to 100,000 miles per year then the picture changes.

Not sure if you had literally just bought your Ford Escape brand new off the lot, and had to immediately start changing the oil every 6 weeks or whatever, but with your travel of 100,000 a year, then heck yes I can see that being an acceptable situation. As I stated, I only travel about 24 miles per day, or less.

 

[JohnG]

Not sure if you had literally just bought your Ford Escape brand new off the lot, and had to immediately start changing the oil every 6 weeks or whatever, but with your travel of 100,000 a year, then heck yes I can see that being an acceptable situation. As I stated, I only travel about 24 miles per day, or less.

I got it second hand, it was a lease trade in. I needed something quick at the time because I had hit a deer with my Explorer which was my current travel vehicle at that time. It also broke 300K when I had a nephew that needed a car so we gifted it and he ran it for another 100K before he wrecked it.

 

[pboudreaux]

in 40 years of driving quite a few different new cars for their first 2-5 years of life, I never had to add oil between regularly-scheduled oil changes (& levels never dropped to those sorts of extremes). Excessive oil consumption that requires any oil to be added in-between regular oil change intervals is something that usually only occurs on older, high-mileage, worn-out cars. A newer, low-mileage car with that sort of problem is usually indicative of a design/build flaw - or perhaps someone who has somehow managed to grossly mistreat a newer vehicle to the point of premature integrity failure.

That’s what I figured. Thank you!

 

[etcsthorne]

Well, it appears mine has started to "consume" oil. My car has 8500 miles on it and I drive my car VERY GENTLY. I've also checked the oil every weekend since it was new. I do on all my vehicles. In the past 1,000 miles it's down half the dipstick (dead center between the low and high dots). I always check after an oil change and ensure it's on the top dot. This is extremely disappointing from a Mazda product. Good thing this CX-30 is getting traded in over the next few months when my 2022 MX-5 Club shows up. This isn't something I'd choose to live with in a car that costs this much and is NEW. I'll keep an eye on it until then and report back here. Crap.

Up until now, the oil level has stayed rock solid full over time.

 

[JohnG]

Well, it appears mine has started to "consume" oil. My car has 8500 miles on it and I drive my car VERY GENTLY.
Up until now, the oil level has stayed rock solid full over time.

Are you allowing for the change in ambient temperature making it easier to boil off contaminants? (water and/or unburned fuel)

Were you involved in the thread about being able to smell fuel in the oil? If so, can you smell fuel in the oil now?

Here are two scenarios that I have seen repeated numerous times through the years in both cases the owner has a vehicle that "never uses any oil".

Scenario #1 They happen to be short of their oil change distance so don't have the car serviced before going on a vacation. Say the distance traveled is about one thousand miles each way. They check their oil and while it was full when they left home it's no longer on the stick when they are at their destination. They have to add one and a half quarts to get it back to the full mark. They add the rest at some point on the way home. Once back home nothing is found wrong and the engine "appears" to go back to not using any oil. The cause is contaminants usually held in suspension between services boiled off during the extended trip revealing the true normal consumption.

Scenario #2 is different because they have the car serviced before the trip and discover that it is a quart low either while they are at their destination, or possibly on the way back home. Again nothing is found wrong, there are no leaks. This time there wasn't any chance to have the blow-by products accumulate in the oil and hide the consumption.

Engines use oil, if they didn't there would be no lubrication of the pistons, piston rings and valve stems. No lubrication means those parts are going to suffer wear and fail and THEN serious oil consumption levels would genuinely occur. When Is Engine Oil Consumption Considered Excessive? James on Engines #6 (bellperformance.com)

 

[20CX30JBM]

Are you allowing for the change in ambient temperature making it easier to boil off contaminants? (water and/or unburned fuel)

Scenario #1 They happen to be short of their oil change distance so don't have the car serviced before going on a vacation. Say the distance traveled is about one thousand miles each way. They check their oil and while it was full when they left home it's no longer on the stick when they are at their destination. They have to add one and a half quarts to get it back to the full mark. They add the rest at some point on the way home. Once back home nothing is found wrong and the engine "appears" to go back to not using any oil. The cause is contaminants usually held in suspension between services boiled off during the extended trip revealing the true normal consumption.

I would like to see some evidence of this. I have done may UOA's on several different vehicles that used no oil to a 1/2 qt between 5k mi. changes and never have I seen results from the UOA that gave any indication there was anywhere from 20-30% of contaminates (water/fuel) in my samples.

Engines use oil, if they didn't there would be no lubrication of the pistons, piston rings and valve stems. No lubrication means those parts are going to suffer wear and fail and THEN serious oil consumption levels would genuinely occur. When Is Engine Oil Consumption Considered Excessive? James on Engines #6 (bellperformance.com)

https://www.bellperformance.com/blo...s consider,and is also considered acceptable.


From your link;
One change comes from changes in the piston ringers for the sake of fuel economy. The highest friction point in an engine is the point where the piston rings are in contact the cylinder walls. The higher the ring tension, the more efficient they will be at scraping oil off the cylinder walls on the downward stroke of the piston. In order to reduce friction and achieve additional fuel economy, the auto manufacturers have reduced the piston ring tension. This ring tension change has resulted in small amounts of oil getting past the piston rings into the combustion chamber where it is burned. This is the primary cause of normal oil consumption in most properly-serviced vehicles.
Another change that has affected oil consumption is the move to lighter motor oil. Oil use in the marketplace is shifting towards lightweight grades like 0W-20 to reduce friction and to better lubricate internal engine components in cold weather. This lighter oil has a tendency to get by the piston rings and into the combustion chamber. The use of these lighter motor oils has resulted in oil escaping through oil seals and gaskets, which is usually not a problem with heavier weight motor oil.

 

[JohnG]

In order to reduce friction and achieve additional fuel economy, the auto manufacturers have reduced the piston ring tension. This ring tension change has resulted in small amounts of oil getting past the piston rings into the combustion chamber where it is burned. This is the primary cause of normal oil consumption in most properly-serviced vehicles.

"This is the primary cause of NORMAL OIL CONSUMPTION in most properly-serviced vehicles." The key word there is "normal".

The thing is it is/was true with engines that used "heavier" oil too.

 

[etcsthorne]

Are you allowing for the change in ambient temperature making it easier to boil off contaminants? (water and/or unburned fuel)

Were you involved in the thread about being able to smell fuel in the oil? If so, can you smell fuel in the oil now?

Here are two scenarios that I have seen repeated numerous times through the years in both cases the owner has a vehicle that "never uses any oil".

Scenario #1 They happen to be short of their oil change distance so don't have the car serviced before going on a vacation. Say the distance traveled is about one thousand miles each way. They check their oil and while it was full when they left home it's no longer on the stick when they are at their destination. They have to add one and a half quarts to get it back to the full mark. They add the rest at some point on the way home. Once back home nothing is found wrong and the engine "appears" to go back to not using any oil. The cause is contaminants usually held in suspension between services boiled off during the extended trip revealing the true normal consumption.

Scenario #2 is different because they have the car serviced before the trip and discover that it is a quart low either while they are at their destination, or possibly on the way back home. Again nothing is found wrong, there are no leaks. This time there wasn't any chance to have the blow-by products accumulate in the oil and hide the consumption.

Engines use oil, if they didn't there would be no lubrication of the pistons, piston rings and valve stems. No lubrication means those parts are going to suffer wear and fail and THEN serious oil consumption levels would genuinely occur. When Is Engine Oil Consumption Considered Excessive? James on Engines #6 (bellperformance.com)

Good scenarios John and worth thinking about. I did my own oil change about 2500 miles ago and checked (and re-checked) levels after I changed it. Same parking spot, same wait period for cool-down, etc... It was riding the top dot on the dipstick routinely until I noticed this obvious increase in consumption. For your #2, my comments on #1 apply for changing the oil and I haven't taken any long trips....nothing out of the ordinary. I've always smelled fuel in car oil for my MX-5's, the CX-30 and other cars. Even shortly after oil changes. I guess my nose just isn't that good and I've never sent oil off for testing. As for the last point, you and I will continue to respectfully disagree on that one. Even if I agreed, a sudden increase in comsumption like this clearly indicates something abnormal. Why all of a sudden around 8000 miles and nothing before, etc...? Cheers.

 

[JohnG]

As for the last point, you and I will continue to respectfully disagree on that one. Even if I agreed, a sudden increase in consumption like this clearly indicates something abnormal. Why all of a sudden around 8000 miles and nothing before, etc...? Cheers.

As I mentioned, summer temperatures versus winter temperatures. Maybe some other change in usage such as some longer trips that wouldn't be taken other times of the year. The NOAK volatility of the oil used during the last service? compared to the previous service. Seriously way too many variables to account for.

While we will never agree the part I find the most troubling is when someone who doesn't have a problem with their car get's convinced (falsely) that they do. Then instead of learning how to care for their car and enjoying it they feel as though they have been ripped off when that couldn't be further from the truth.

 

[etcsthorne]

As I mentioned, summer temperatures versus winter temperatures. Maybe some other change in usage such as some longer trips that wouldn't be taken other times of the year. The NOAK volatility of the oil used during the last service? compared to the previous service. Seriously way too many variables to account for.

While we will never agree the part I find the most troubling is when someone who doesn't have a problem with their car get's convinced (falsely) that they do. Then instead of learning how to care for their car and enjoying it they feel as though they have been ripped off when that couldn't be further from the truth.

I'm not falsely believing something is wrong now. Something IS wrong now. Do I feel ripped off? No. Do I believe Mazda has an issue they need to aggressively work with customers on to fix? Absolutely.

 

[JohnG]

I'm not falsely believing something is wrong now.

Like you said about agreeing to disagree.

Whatever you do in the future, don't buy a BMW....
BMWs do burn oil more quickly than most other cars, but this is a normal part of the car’s function according to the German manufacturer. BMWs can burn up to one quart every 750 miles, and even more if it’s a high-performance model.

From this article. (and many more like it) Do BMWs Burn Oil? (And Can Anything Be Done About It?) (thecarinvestor.com)

 

[etcsthorne]

Like you said about agreeing to disagree.

Whatever you do in the future, don't buy a BMW....
BMWs do burn oil more quickly than most other cars, but this is a normal part of the car’s function according to the German manufacturer. BMWs can burn up to one quart every 750 miles, and even more if it’s a high-performance model.

From this article. (and many more like it) Do BMWs Burn Oil? (And Can Anything Be Done About It?) (thecarinvestor.com)

LOL. I'd never dream of buying a BMW. I have too many friends with horror stories about those.

 

[conwelpic]

I took my first extensive trip since purchasing the car in July 2020 covering 1,200 km, and due to the comments on this thread I took careful note of the oil level before I left and when I got back and pleased to report that it did not change one bit. (mine is the standard 2.5L engine)

I do plan another trip in July covering nearly 5,000 km, so we will see how it goes on that one.

 

[SDH]

I took my first extensive trip since purchasing the car in July 2020 covering 1,200 km, and due to the comments on this thread I took careful note of the oil level before I left and when I got back and pleased to report that it did not change one bit. (mine is the standard 2.5L engine)

I do plan another trip in July covering nearly 5,000 km, so we will see how it goes on that one.

Glad to hear that the regular non-turbo engine is unlikely to suffer from excessive oil consumption. I would likely get rid of it if it did, since I have never purchased a new car in the last 40 years that required me to add oil to it in-between regular 3000-5000 mile (or 6 month) oil changes in order to prevent dashboard low-oil engine warnings & possible engine damage.

 

[etcsthorne]

Glad to hear that the regular non-turbo engine is unlikely to suffer from excessive oil consumption. I would likely get rid of it if it did, since I have never purchased a new car in the last 40 years that required me to add oil to it in-between regular 3000-5000 mile (or 6 month) oil changes in order to prevent dashboard low-oil engine warnings & possible engine damage.

43 years of driving for me, but couldn't agree more. And that included a 1963 Studebaker Lark, an Austin Healy Sprite (can't remember what year), a TR-6, a 65 Mustang and scores of newer cars and trucks. NONE appeared to "consume" any appreciable amount of oil. I've been a maintenance freak since I started driving....I'd certainly have noticed. And 24 years in the Navy made that maintenance freakishness even worse. Not acceptable in this day and age.

 

[JohnG]

43 years of driving for me, but couldn't agree more. And that included a 1963 Studebaker Lark, an Austin Healy Sprite (can't remember what year), a TR-6, a 65 Mustang and scores of newer cars and trucks. NONE appeared to "consume" any appreciable amount of oil. I've been a maintenance freak since I started driving....I'd certainly have noticed. And 24 years in the Navy made that maintenance freakishness even worse. Not acceptable in this day and age.

So you are telling everyone that cars that used road draft tubes instead of a PCV system didn't lose oil. Of course you used the word "appeared" so it's fair to say appearances can be deceiving. But anyway you are correct about one thing. In this day and age oil loss will soon be very nearly eliminated, of course getting rid of internal combustion engines altogether will be the primary reason for that.