Burning oil?

S

speedtrader

Member
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2013 Mazda CX-5 Sport MT
About two weeks after I bought mine, I checked the oil level and it was a half quart low. I topped it off thinking the dealer just missed it. It's been another 5 months and 5000 miles and so far I've put in another half quart. There are no drips on my garage floor so I'm pretty sure it's not a leak. Has anyone else experienced this? I've never had a car that burned this much oil.
 
You prompted me to check my oil. Thanks for that, but, can't say I found anything similar here. Just over 1K on the odometer and oil is just right.
 
No I have not experienced any significant oil usage in first 9K miles (I had my first oil change done at 7.3K miles and oil on dipstick was down less than 1/4 quart at that point).

But 1/2 quart of oil usage in 5K is not considered abnormal for a modern engine and certainly will not get any attention from dealer service department while car is under warranty. Generally they will take no action for oil usage under 1 quart in 1000 miles, despite being somewhat abnormal.
 
I don't think this is normal in a modern engine. All my previous cars were driven well passed 100K miles have never lost oil anywhere close to this rate. Has anyone else checked there oil recently? Regardless, I'm bringing this up to the dealer during my first oil service.
 
I would have it inspected. 1qt in 5000 miles seems excessive.
 
I am down one quart after 4000 miles and I have 70% highway millage daily.
I am due for the first oil change next weekend and will bring up this issue to the dealership.
 
speedtrader said:
About two weeks after I bought mine, I checked the oil level and it was a half quart low. I topped it off thinking the dealer just missed it. It's been another 5 months and 5000 miles and so far I've put in another half quart. There are no drips on my garage floor so I'm pretty sure it's not a leak. Has anyone else experienced this? I've never had a car that burned this much oil.
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Nope, oil still full after 1900 miles.

Sometimes if the oil is checked too soon after shutting the engine off there will still be oil clinging to the internal parts (it takes time to drain down and register on the dipstick). This is especially true if the engine was not completely hot when shut off.

In this case, adding more oil will over-fill it and cause more oil to be consumed than normal.

There is a reason dipsticks have a RANGE of oil levels (upper hole and lower hole). The oil does not need to be to the upper hole to be considered "full", it simply needs to be between the two holes.
 
CX-SV said:
But 1/2 quart of oil usage in 5K is not considered abnormal for a modern engine and certainly will not get any attention from dealer service department while car is under warranty. Generally they will take no action for oil usage under 1 quart in 1000 miles, despite being somewhat abnormal.
Click to expand...

I would say it is definitely abnormal for a modern engine to be burning any noticeable quantity of oil at such a low mileage. A "new" and modern engine should not be burning any oil and a well cared for recent engine should not be burning much either. I burn less than 1/2 a qt per 5k miles in my '03 MSP with 104k on it.

If your dealer doesn't consider anything under 1 qt per 1000 miles to be significant then it is time to find a new dealer for service. At that rate, you would run the car dry between oil change intervals which cannot by any definition be considered "normal". Even a rotary doesn't go through oil quite that fast
 
PSUENGR said:
I would say it is definitely abnormal for a modern engine to be burning any noticeable quantity of oil at such a low mileage. A "new" and modern engine should not be burning any oil and a well cared for recent engine should not be burning much either. I burn less than 1/2 a qt per 5k miles in my '03 MSP with 104k on it.

If your dealer doesn't consider anything under 1 qt per 1000 miles to be significant then it is time to find a new dealer for service. At that rate, you would run the car dry between oil change intervals which cannot by any definition be considered "normal". Even a rotary doesn't go through oil quite that fast
Click to expand...

Agreed not normal from my personal experience excluding early 4.6L Fords and aircooled Porsches. But ON topic, and another dealer (or another brand for that matter) 1/2 quart in 5K miles, they will do nothing. Even if we call it abnormal.
 
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Mazda Vienna told me oil consumption between 0.4-0.8 liters per 1,000km is normal. Somehow it feels way too much tolerance, especially for a diesel (lower revs than benzine).

Cheers,
Miki
 
Like I said (yeah that's the party line at dealership service departments, not that they really believe that much oil loss is acceptable)...

But 1/2 quart in 5000 miles (the topic per OP), standard diagnosis will be NPF.
 
Keep in mind that the Mazda Skyactive 2.0 uses 0W-20W synthetic oil and that makes it easier for some to slip past the oil rings. The guys with the manuals will tend to use engine braking more than the automatics, which will draw even more oil through the rings as the vacuum in the cylinders will be higher more often under those conditions. I've checked mine and it doesn't budge but my wifes older 2001 Volkswagen Jetta with the 2.0 engine would burn 1 quart in 3000 miles easily and Volkswagen said this was within the range of normal. (scratch)
 
Just brought mine in for first service this weekend @ 6 months ~6300 miles. Oil change, tire rotation, and Mazda full circle inspection. Everything check out for now but I'll continue to keep an eye on the oil level.
 
CX-SV said:
Like I said (yeah that's the party line at dealership service departments, not that they really believe that much oil loss is acceptable)...

But 1/2 quart in 5000 miles (the topic per OP), standard diagnosis will be NPF.
Click to expand...

He's exactly right guys.
 
At this point nobody has brought up any oil usage situation (within 7.5K mile interval) with Skyactiv 2.0 gasser that would prompt dealer service to take corrective action.
 
I did have a Audi that burnt quite a bit of oil during the running in up to first service.
That was in year 2000, apparently Audi use a special oil to help with the engine bedding in, the instructions clearly stated that no oil changes were to be carried out other than the schedule.

After the first oil change it burnt no further oil. So i wouldn't be concerned until the engine has bedded in, and don't be too gentle running in, it does more harm to the engine than thrashing it.
 
down 1/2 litre as well!

I'm at 7,500kms (4500miles) 6 speed manual and yes I'm down about 1/2 litre as well. Mostly highway driving at 110kph (65mph). I'm hopeing it will get better after the first oil change. To tell you the truth, I did not check it at delivery.
 
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