Wait, when am I supposed to have the car serviced again?

Ok, I have two options that I can set in the display (2016 Mazda 3, base model, which is isport).

It seems like it's telling me I can pick between two different maintenance schedules (not the tough conditions one). It looks like one will monitor the oil for you and then the wrench light will come on when it's time to change it, etc. The other appears just to be every 5,000 miles.

Unfortunately, I've never been a "keep on top of things" kind of guy, and you know, I get the oil changed when "hmmm, it seems like it's been a long time since I changed the oil" starts to creep in the back of my brain, or, when it's inspected (once a year). Tires, drive 'em till they blow; battery, use it until the car won't start one day; brakes, oh, you're supposed to change those?

So it's usually when I take it into the shop for something else (inspection typically, or a repair on an older car) when they say something to me like, "you need to get this replaced".

But I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and keep up on the maintenance of this car. So I'm wondering what the difference between these two schedules are, and which one will be easiest for me to keep up with - if a light comes on on the dash that I know is not critical, but I should get taken care of within the week, that would be great.

I do 5000 mile interval because it is easier to keep track of.
You can set the warning in MID to warn you about it.

However, last time I did that, the light lit up while I was in the middle of nowhere.
It scared the *sh*t* out of me. I thought there was something wrong with the car.
The light should come up while the engine/system starts up, not while one is driving.

BTW, since synthetic fluid is used for Skyactiv engines, 7500 mile interval is perfectly fine for Mazda3.
(even if you do lots of short drives)
Synthetic fluid can easily last 10K or 1 yr before replacement is needed.

But be sure your filter can last that long. Not all can. I set mine so that the computer's algorithm computes when I need to change it. Most likely, I won't get too much past 5000 miles in a year's time, anyway. My 01 Corvette's display would tell me what percentage of oil life was left. After 1 year, it was typically at 30-50% at the 5000 mark.

The setting which "monitors" the oil probably doesn't monitor it at all, but instead probably considers operating conditions to estimate a suitable interval. Regardless, it seems like a sensible way to ensure changes when needed without changing oil excessively. Why not just let it do its job, and when it says to do an oil change check the manual for what other services might be appropriate at that mileage?

I'm a preventative maintenance believer and will change my oil filter at 5k and continue using my synthetic oil another 5k. It may be hard to change a habit of devil may care when it comes to service and car maintenance. You'll be making a better choice and reducing the likelihood of unexpected problems just set your service reminder and heed its little reminder light and you'll be fine. If you not sure about running the synthetic oil out 10k just send a sample of the used oil to Blackstone and check their report once they send it to you.