Oil change maintenance reminder?

I recently bought a beautiful 2016 CX5 GT (Soul Red) it only had 21,000 kms on it and because I’ve done a lot of driving in the 2 months since buying it, I had to get an oil change today. I went according to the sticker on the windshield from the previous owners Mazda dealership and that said March/20 OR 28,000. I was at 27,770. But I checked the oil yesterday and was surprised to find it both a bit low (and dirty). I put a litre in and took it today right away for an oil change.

Well when I went to get the oil change at the dealership the oil was marked as “dirty” on their little report. Didn’t say nothing to me tho. Given the very low kilometres of the car I was kind of surprised because the guy I bought the car off of showed me regular maintenance oil changes done at Mazda. I do know that the car sat for long periods of time (hence being a 2016 and only having 21,000 kms on it when I bought it) could sitting cause the oil to become “dirty”?

Something else I have to ask.. (should have asked the dealership about it today but forgot) is that I thought that my car’s infotainment screen would tell me when I am in need of an oil change?

Just a vent but the dealership I brought it to today Mazda in Newmarket, Ontario was pretty lousy. I had intended on making them my regular service location but given that they didn’t bother taking the time to explain anything to me and just rushed me out the door after taking $100 bucks for my oil change I don’t think I’ll be going back to that particular location. didn’t even give me a lousy reminder sticker for the windshield lol. When I asked why they didn’t they said they “assumed” I’d be taking to a different location (the Mazda sticker that was already in the windshield was still there! They left it and didn’t bother to replace it with a new one. Why they assumed that, I have no idea. I bought the car privately and am beholden to no dealership. Maybe they don’t like that? No clue. Lousy service tho.

Please tell me: Do I have to manually set up the oil change/maintenance reminders myself in the settings or should the car already be doing this (and does that mean I have an issue to solve?) Sorry for the long post. This is my first Mazda and I loooove the car but I have to learn a lot about proper maintenance...and finding a worthy dealership;)
 
I wouldn't worry very much about the oil appearing "dirty" or what the dealer said. It sounds like the oil had at least 7K km on it (and perhaps more as it doesn't sound like you have a precise mileage when the last oil change was done) . And perhaps a lot of calender time. Most oils will look a little dirty at this time - it's just the oil doing its job. Now that you've got fresh oil and know the mileage, you'll be able to get a much better handle on whether the oil seems to get dirty prematurely. (If it does, it is sometimes points to an intake air filter leak letting dirt/dust into the engine. You can find out for sure with oil analysis which costs about $35.)

The current models do have a system built in to track maintenance, but it may have been introduced with the 2017 refresh. Someone here will chime in with the definitive answer.

Sounds like the dealer was a bit lackadaisical about the paperwork surrounding the maintenance. Not a great sign, but dealers vary so much on this sort of thing and even the same dealer may do well one visit and lousy the next. Windshield stickers are a nice reminder, but every time I've seen a dealer use them, they've assumed a ridiculously short/obsolete 3K mile oil change interval.

Tracking maintenance isn't a complex thing, so I'd just go old school with keeping a small notebook and logging there. It only takes a minute or two to make an entry. Or you can use any of several online websites if you prefer to go high-tech.
 
I recently bought a beautiful 2016 CX5 GT (Soul Red) it only had 21,000 kms on it and because I’ve done a lot of driving in the 2 months since buying it, I had to get an oil change today. I went according to the sticker on the windshield from the previous owners Mazda dealership and that said March/20 OR 28,000. I was at 27,770. But I checked the oil yesterday and was surprised to find it both a bit low (and dirty). I put a litre in and took it today right away for an oil change.
You’re in Canada and the recommended OCI by Mazda for 2016 CX-5 is very short and fixed 8,000 km / 5,000 miles or 4 months whichever comes first. Flexible OCI which is UP TO 10,000 miles or 12 months is only available in the US and Puerto Rico for 2016 CX-5.

If you need 1 liter to top off the oil level to the Full mark of the dipstick, you’d better watch the oil level on your fairly new engine as it may have oil consumption issue. It’s not a good sign for an engine consuming 1 liter / 1.057 quarts per ~7,000 km / 4,350 miles! I wonder the oil consumption issue could be part of reasons why the previous owner got rid of the CX-5 at such minimum mileage. When I’m looking for a used vehicle, the first thing I’d do is to check the oil level. If the oil level is low near or below the Minimum mark, I skip the car.

You should check the oil level now right after the oil change as a reference point. Keep checking the oil level more often afterwards and see how fast the oil consumption is. Don’t assume the oil level is at the Full mark after the oil change by your Mazda dealer, as over-fill is a norm doing the oil change by most dealers.

Well when I went to get the oil change at the dealership the oil was marked as “dirty” on their little report. Didn’t say nothing to me tho. Given the very low kilometres of the car I was kind of surprised because the guy I bought the car off of showed me regular maintenance oil changes done at Mazda. I do know that the car sat for long periods of time (hence being a 2016 and only having 21,000 kms on it when I bought it) could sitting cause the oil to become “dirty”?
Could sitting cause the oil to become “dirty”? No. You should be able to retrieve all service record from the Mazda dealer finding out the exact date and miles the oil change done by the previous owner, especially from the Mazda dealer showed on the record.

Something else I have to ask.. (should have asked the dealership about it today but forgot) is that I thought that my car’s infotainment screen would tell me when I am in need of an oil change?
Yes. The Maintenance Monitor app in infotainment can remind you on Scheduled Maintenance、Tire Rotation、and Oil Change. Yours may get turned off. Check the owner’s manual for details.

Just a vent but the dealership I brought it to today Mazda in Newmarket, Ontario was pretty lousy. I had intended on making them my regular service location but given that they didn’t bother taking the time to explain anything to me and just rushed me out the door after taking $100 bucks for my oil change I don’t think I’ll be going back to that particular location. didn’t even give me a lousy reminder sticker for the windshield lol. When I asked why they didn’t they said they “assumed” I’d be taking to a different location (the Mazda sticker that was already in the windshield was still there! They left it and didn’t bother to replace it with a new one. Why they assumed that, I have no idea. I bought the car privately and am beholden to no dealership. Maybe they don’t like that? No clue. Lousy service tho.
Your dealer did the right thing IMO. Your CX-5 equipped with oil change reminder right in your dash, and hopefully the oil change schedule in Maintenance Monitor has been reset properly by your Mazda dealer after the oil change. You can go in and check the reminders from infotainment screen making sure those reminders have been properly reset.

Please tell me: Do I have to manually set up the oil change/maintenance reminders myself in the settings or should the car already be doing this (and does that mean I have an issue to solve?) Sorry for the long post. This is my first Mazda and I loooove the car but I have to learn a lot about proper maintenance...and finding a worthy dealership;)
3 scheduled maintenance reminders require a manual reset each time you’ve done the specific maintenance via infotainment screen in Maintenance Monitor app. You should check the status of the reminders as your Mazda dealer may not do the reset for you. If you don’t feel comfortable for the service by this particular Mazda dealer, you can always try another Mazda dealer, such as the one on the old oil change reminder sticker.
 
I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the owner's manual. It will answer all of your questions, and more.
 
I recently bought a beautiful 2016 CX5 GT (Soul Red) it only had 21,000 kms on it and because I’ve done a lot of driving in the 2 months since buying it, I had to get an oil change today. I went according to the sticker on the windshield from the previous owners Mazda dealership and that said March/20 OR 28,000. I was at 27,770. But I checked the oil yesterday and was surprised to find it both a bit low (and dirty). I put a litre in and took it today right away for an oil change.

Well when I went to get the oil change at the dealership the oil was marked as “dirty” on their little report. Didn’t say nothing to me tho. Given the very low kilometres of the car I was kind of surprised because the guy I bought the car off of showed me regular maintenance oil changes done at Mazda. I do know that the car sat for long periods of time (hence being a 2016 and only having 21,000 kms on it when I bought it) could sitting cause the oil to become “dirty”?

Something else I have to ask.. (should have asked the dealership about it today but forgot) is that I thought that my car’s infotainment screen would tell me when I am in need of an oil change?

Just a vent but the dealership I brought it to today Mazda in Newmarket, Ontario was pretty lousy. I had intended on making them my regular service location but given that they didn’t bother taking the time to explain anything to me and just rushed me out the door after taking $100 bucks for my oil change I don’t think I’ll be going back to that particular location. didn’t even give me a lousy reminder sticker for the windshield lol. When I asked why they didn’t they said they “assumed” I’d be taking to a different location (the Mazda sticker that was already in the windshield was still there! They left it and didn’t bother to replace it with a new one. Why they assumed that, I have no idea. I bought the car privately and am beholden to no dealership. Maybe they don’t like that? No clue. Lousy service tho.

Please tell me: Do I have to manually set up the oil change/maintenance reminders myself in the settings or should the car already be doing this (and does that mean I have an issue to solve?) Sorry for the long post. This is my first Mazda and I loooove the car but I have to learn a lot about proper maintenance...and finding a worthy dealership;)

Welcome to the forums!

Personally I wouldn't have added the extra oil since you were going for an oil change anyway. The extra oil you added was basically wasted, but I do understand wanting some peace of mind, just in case.

IMO, I wouldn't automatically assume the engine has oil consumption issues. A certain (small) amount of oil consumption is normal, especially with a thinner 0W-20 oil. It's entirely possible the last person who worked on the car didn't fill the oil to the max mark and instead, filled to somewhere in between (which is perfectly fine). Thus the "oil consumption" may not actually be 1L/7k kms. Oil consumption of that amount could be possible, but the only way to know for sure is to watch the oil level from now until the next oil change. Check the oil level every time you fill up the gas tank and note how much the oil level goes down (if at all). That way you'll have a good idea of just how much oil you might be consuming over a period of XXXX kms.

Dealerships are privately owned, so it may be hard to find a decent one. Where in Canada are you located? $100 for an oil change is pretty high. If you're willing to DIY and have the tools/capability/space, you can change your own oil for less than $50 CAD (taxes in). Probably even less if you use Kirkland Signature 0W-20 oil from Costco as its much cheaper than Castrol or Pennzoil even when they're on sale. There are some benefits to getting your oil changed at the dealership - you don't have to do it yourself, dealer performs a basic inspection of maintenance parts, free coffee, etc. But the owner's manual lists everything that needs to be inspected at specific intervals, so you can do the inspections yourself (if you wanted to). Alternatively, you can take the car to an independent shop if you don't like the Mazda dealers near you.
 
CX-5 oil gets black pretty quick. If that's what you mean by 'dirty'. It is what it is on this skyactiv.

Don't worry much. It's good to change it on a new used car anyway.

Here is how 2500 miles Mazda Moly oil looks when drained. :)

20210113_121445.jpg
 
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