Where do you go for oil changes?

[player one]

I do it myself. Like others have mentioned, it takes about the same amount of time to drive to the dealer/mechanic and wait. The last time I changed my oil, it took 5.5 quarts to reach the full mark. It drained for about an hour.

 

[NelsonLewis]

Where do I go? My garage. Aka Jiffy Dave. The only mechanic I trust.

Smart man.

 

[jjp735i]

I used a Valvoline place for 6 years without any problems. The most important issue here is to change your oil every 5000-7500, although I prefer 5000 miles and your engine will be protected. I have also changed my own oil in my BMW because it's much cheaper and easier to do then find a place that carries BMW approved oil.

Probably will change the CX-5 myself most the time unless I get them dealer deals, which they have a lot. I'm also don't buy into all the BS about oil you can read on the web. You want the right stuff, but one over the other isn't going to make a huge difference if changed on schedule. Just my thoughts.

 

[CX-5um]

I leave an oil pan washer under my pillow and when I wake up my oil is changed by the oil change fairy. Zero botched jobs but last time they did it they left fairy dust all over my garage floor. Thinking about switching up to elves.

 

[NelsonLewis]

I leave an oil pan washer under my pillow and when I wake up my oil is changed by the oil change fairy. Zero botched jobs but last time they did it they left fairy dust all over my garage floor. Thinking about switching up to elves.

Be careful, the fairy flies, the dang little elf left tiny boot prints all over my garage and engine bay. I guess he couldn't reach the dipstick and oil cap without climbing up in there...

 

[yrwei52]

The most important issue here is to change your oil every 5000-7500, although I prefer 5000 miles and your engine will be protected.

Instead of fixed OCI, try to use flexible maintenance OCI which may go up to 10,000 miles or 1 year if you have 2016 or newer CX-5. It saves environment too.

 

[MikeM.]

Filling to the top line will not cause an over full condition.

I never said filling it to the full line would cause an over-filled condition. The full line is where an over-filled condition begins. If it's higher than the "full" mark it's over-filled. If it's lower than the "Low" mark it's under-filled. Anywhere between the two marks is normal and the oil pickup will not suck air. Hard driving is accounted for when Mazda decided what the normal oil level range should be. If you put the quantity of oil in that Mazda calls for it won't bring it all the way to the "Full" mark.

All I'm saying is there is nothing wrong with not bringing it all the way to the top line. That is something we did back in the day when engines regularly consumed oil and needed topping off between oil changes. I haven't needed to top off the oil in any of my cars in 25 years (and I don't waste my time trying to get the level to touch the "Full" line).

In addition, depending on where you drive. The oil never sits level in the pan. Going around turns pulling over .50 g's, uphill and downhill, will change the oil level. I climb 7%-12% grades and go down 7%-12% grades. I guarantee you the oil is sloshed up to the front of the pan when going downhill. With the oil pickup down at one end of the pan then it's probably a lot shallower near the pickup. Skimping on filling the oil can possibly cause a dry pickup condition if the conditions are right.

Mazda knows you are going to drive up and down hills and around corners. Zoom-zoom. Do you really think they failed to consider that when they determined what constitutes a low oil level? You are worrying about nothing.

You have an irrational fear of the engine not being fully lubricated. As long as the oil level remains between the upper and lower marks you are good to go.

 

[Sekmor]

I also do my own oil changes. Actually enjoy it, and you get to see what's happening else where under the car.
I did have a couple freebies from the dealer and the second one they made a huge mess. They got an earfull that day to say it nicely. The dealer ended up doing a full detail in & out, but I don't have that problem when doing the service myself.

 

[Unobtanium]

What are you people doing with the oil? When I was a kid, it went in the drive-way to keep the dirt from washing away, same as oil-top type road. Obviously not an EPA friendly solution, but my parents are from a generation where you could scoop a quart of mercury out of the oil-field and play with it and noone thought it was bad as long as you didn't eat it.

 

[Kinghardcor]

What are you people doing with the oil? When I was a kid, it went in the drive-way to keep the dirt from washing away, same as oil-top type road. Obviously not an EPA friendly solution, but my parents are from a generation where you could scoop a quart of mercury out of the oil-field and play with it and noone thought it was bad as long as you didn't eat it.

I put it in empt washer fluid containers and offer them up for free on Craigslist. I get responses right away from people that use it in oil heaters. Some municipalities offer recycling too.

 

[yrwei52]

What are you people doing with the oil?

Our city has a used oil collecting center that's where I dump the oil. All WalMart, Costco and other oil change center will accept used oil too.

But it'd been discussed before the recycling of used oil is not a pretty sight in the US. Most used oil is "burned" which is producing more pollution, only some is actually recycled for other uses.

That's why I still encourage people to use flexible maintenance OCI offered from 2016 MY or newer. It can reduce unnecessary oil changes as the OCI can go up to 10,000 miles or 1 year. It not only will save you money, but also won't void the new car and powertrain warranty.

 

[CX5_Pete]

My local autozone takes my old oil. Sometimes I stop by and have about 8 jugs of used oil. Where I grew up, we had this patch of dirt where everyone just dumped their oil and coolant.

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I usually stop by my local O'Reilly Auto when my two 2.5 gallon oil containers are full from changes. They direct me to the rear of the store and I empty in their recycle container.

 

[bmninada]

I use OCI, called Mazda and they confirmed there'll be no ill effects to warranty. The 1st. oil change i did at 5100 miles, OCI was reading 70%.

 

[yrwei52]

I use OCI, called Mazda and they confirmed there'll be no ill effects to warranty. The 1st. oil change i did at 5100 miles, OCI was reading 70%.

You drove 5,100 miles and the oil life was still showing 70%? Did you set to Flexible Maintenance on oil change at time you purchased the CX-5?

The owner's manual does say Mazda or Castrol 0W-20 oil are required for accurate Flexible Maintenance OCI calculation.

 

[avidballer]

I go to Rebel Automotive in Henderson, Nevada.

 

[bmninada]

You drove 5,100 miles and the oil life was still showing 70%? Did you set to Flexible Maintenance on oil change at time you purchased the CX-5?

The owner's manual does say Mazda or Castrol 0W-20 oil are required for accurate Flexible Maintenance OCI calculation.

Yes, dealer set it, not me. He said ODO was at 22 originally.I don't know about oil, since whatever oil was there was either factory or port installed. It was NOT dealer installed, I had confirmed that.

 

[Kinghardcor]

On my 10K oil change I set the flex schedule knowing I would change oil at 15K but wanted to see what it would say. At 15K it still said 80%. Actually it stayed at 100% for quite a while when I set it, then to 90% then back to 100% then 90 and finally 80%. I asked about it because of the TSB regarding that and they said there was nothing to change and Mazda was not happy about how it performs but eventually it will pop up as needing change.

Not sure I trust it. What are the parameters it uses? Does it account for short trips, cold weather, long idling, and all of those situations Mazda claims as "severe" in oil change schedule?

 

[GP 2004]

Proper fill is somewhere near the middle of the acceptable range, not right at the top.

Have those pesky Mazda engineers wrote a manual with errors? What do those engineers know? They just designed it. You should write them and get Mazda to do a recall and correct all those owners manuals that don't agree with you!! (sarcasm)

 

[MikeM.]

Have those pesky Mazda engineers wrote a manual with errors? What do those engineers know? They just designed it. You should write them and get Mazda to do a recall and correct all those owners manuals that don't agree with you!! (sarcasm)

If your oil level is dropping and you need to replenish it, the manual explains to fill to the upper line which makes sense because you are either dripping oil or burning oil. There is no reason to believe the oil loss will stop.

After an oil drain (w/filter change), Mazda lists the capacity as 4.4 quarts (2.0L) or 4.8 quarts (2.5L). Neither of these amounts will bring the oil level all the way to the full mark after a typical drain/fill. Mazda leaves a little room because it's important to avoid an over-fill condition. Normally a CX-5 will not use or leak enough oil to need replenishment between services and a normal fill is not required to go all the way to the line at the upper limit. No harm in doing so but be careful not to go past the line. In some places in the manual Mazda instructs to fill to "appropriate level" which implies you can use some common sense discretion, for instance, if your engine doesn't consume any oil, just fill it somewhere near the middle of the range. If you know your engine is oil thirsty (as it may become w/ high miles) fill it to the top of the range so you have a larger buffer between services.