2012 mazda5 manual recommends synthetic oil changes every 4 months, 5000 miles

calbear88

Member
Hi, I have a 2012 Mazda 5. The Manual recommends using a full synthetic oil SAE 0W-20, and under Schedule 2 Harsh Driving, changing the oil every 4 months or 5000 miles. Under Schedule 1, the recommendation is every 6 months or 7500 miles.

Just wondering if every 5000 miles seems excessive for synthetic oil

Thanks for you opinions.
 
5000 mile mark is easy to remember and why not change it before it starts to break down. 7500 is pushing it for me but to each it's own.
 
Most people fall under Schedule 2, and the pre-2012 OM recommends the same intervals. But the synthetic thing is new, most likely because of the 0W-20 requirement which I don't believe is achievable in anything but synthetic.
 
I've been changing mine every 5,000 miles with full synthetic (Mobil 1). 5,000 intervals are easy - 5K, 10K, 15K, 20K, 25K, etc etc.

'09 Sport.
 
Change the oil every 7500miles and you will be fine. 5000miles if you do a lot of stop and go.

Synthetic will not "breakdown" in 5000miles. As long as you don't use a piece of crap Fram orange car junk filter, you will be fine. Wix is a good bet.
 
0W-20 is for a tiny, tiny bit of fuel efficiency. Mazda doesn't have to worry about whether or not using that thin of oil will eventually cause engine problems because those will occur after the warranty anyway. But guess what? We have to worry about it.

I will never use anything less than 5W-20. In fact, the day the warranty is up, I'll be switching to 5W-30 Redline in my '09.
 
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Most people fall under Schedule 2
 
0W-20 is for a tiny, tiny bit of fuel efficiency. Mazda doesn't have to worry about whether or not using that thin of oil will eventually cause engine problems because those will occur after the warranty anyway. But guess what? We have to worry about it.

I will never use anything less than 5W-20. In fact, the day the warranty is up, I'll be switching to 5W-30 Redline in my '09.

0w20 is not thinner than 5w20. They are both 20 weight oils at operating temperature. The 0w20 only thinner at very cold temperatures.

Going to a 30 weight oil will do nothing for your engine other than remove a bit of fuel economy. there is no protection benefits for 5w30 over 5w20 with this engine. In fact, tests show thinner oil yields better wear numbers than a thicker oil.

Food for thought.
 
0w20 is not thinner than 5w20. They are both 20 weight oils at operating temperature. The 0w20 only thinner at very cold temperatures.

Going to a 30 weight oil will do nothing for your engine other than remove a bit of fuel economy. there is no protection benefits for 5w30 over 5w20 with this engine. In fact, tests show thinner oil yields better wear numbers than a thicker oil.

Food for thought.

You said 0W-20 is not thinner than 5W-20 and then said it is at colder temps. At colder startup temps is when the most damage occurs. I'll take 5W and you can keep 0W.

Redline is a Group V synthetic that from my experience behaves at high temps more like a 20 weight when specified at 30, especially after the first 1,000 miles on the road or 50 miles at the track. I have run Redline 5W-20 in the 5, but for only a short period. I observed very good results, but based on the six other 4-cylinder vehicles that I have experimented with, the 5W-30 would make me feel better about driving the 5 in a spirited manner. I can't speak to the experience of anyone other than myself, but I've been auto-xing cars since 1988. I've learned a lot in those 20+ years about how various groups, weights, brands behave in various types of engines. My observation of results will override a random stranger's opinion at my house, but I do find your opinion consistent with that of others who talk a lot about oil.

It depends on many, many factors whether or not a certain weight leads to more or less wear. Common sense says that cannot be a universal conclusion.

I would enjoy reading about these tests that you refer to, mainly so that I can understand your conclusions.
 
You said 0W-20 is not thinner than 5W-20 and then said it is at colder temps. At colder startup temps is when the most damage occurs. I'll take 5W and you can keep 0W.

Redline is a Group V synthetic that from my experience behaves at high temps more like a 20 weight when specified at 30, especially after the first 1,000 miles on the road or 50 miles at the track. I have run Redline 5W-20 in the 5, but for only a short period. I observed very good results, but based on the six other 4-cylinder vehicles that I have experimented with, the 5W-30 would make me feel better about driving the 5 in a spirited manner. I can't speak to the experience of anyone other than myself, but I've been auto-xing cars since 1988. I've learned a lot in those 20+ years about how various groups, weights, brands behave in various types of engines. My observation of results will override a random stranger's opinion at my house, but I do find your opinion consistent with that of others who talk a lot about oil.

It depends on many, many factors whether or not a certain weight leads to more or less wear. Common sense says that cannot be a universal conclusion.

I would enjoy reading about these tests that you refer to, mainly so that I can understand your conclusions.

All start up wear is attributed to lack of lubrication when cold. The thinner the oil at startup, the faster the oil can get to wear it is needed and thus reduce the wear. I use 5w20 personally, but I know that 0w20 is not a thinner oil when it is at operating temperature.

They are both 20 weight oils. Oils thin to a certain level and then stop. It just so happens 5w20 starts out thicker than 0w20. They both end at the same mark.

The only benefit of 0w20 is that it will flow better at cold temperatures. That is all.

If you need proof, check out the forums at bobistheoilguy.com. Best source of oil knowledge on the planet.
 
can anyone tell me what the difference is between these 4 mobile one synthetic oils and if there really is that much difference? thanks
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I purchased my 2012 Mazda5 brand new in 2011 Summer. Thus the car is exactly 6 years and 2 months old. 82,000 miles. I have done every oil change myself. WIX or OEM filter, and 0w-20 Mobil 1. 7500 miles intervals.

I have done Blackstone oil analysis twice and the results came back fantastic. Car also burns no oil (which is surprising given the history of these Ford motors)

I plan to keep the car 4 more years or 150,000 miles, whichever happens first.
 
can anyone tell me what the difference is between these 4 mobile one synthetic oils and if there really is that much difference? thanks
oil.jpg

Well, here is the good news. All four, in my opinion, are excellent products and will work great in your 5's 2.5L engine. Heck, assuming that the car spends all of its time in FL you can probably even run it on straight 20 or 30 grade all year long... but that has little to do with your post assuming you are picking between Mobil 1 products only. Sorry. :)

The way I see it, M1 markets these oils this way:
1) the "regular" M1 oil is just darn good quality full synthetic motor oil
2) Advanced Fuel Economy (AFE) is an opportunity for someone who is used to the "regular" 10w-XX/5w-XX M1 to get a little bit of fuel economy improvement during cold starts
3) Extended Performance (EP) is for someone who wants to extend oil change intervals to one year or 15k miles
4) Annual Protection (AP) is a new product... sort of an enhanced EP oil as it can be in service for one year/20k miles

I've used "regular" M1, M1 EP, M1 AFE, etc between my 5 and other cars I've serviced/owned. All have been fine to my knowledge. I think I got one or two used oil samples with M1 oil over the years and results were excellent in terms of wear, contamination, etc. In the end, it depends on how you drive and how often you intend to change oil. In my opinion, if you go with 5k or 7.5k mile OCI and don't do any towing, heavy load carrying, excessive idling, etc then you can run any of these motor oils without issues. Just a matter of getting the best price. If you want to extend intervals then you should probably look at the EP and AP varieties exclusively.
 
I do full-synth M1 every 5K because of heat, dust, all-city use. When I drain it, it looks dirty enough that I wouldn't push 7500.
 
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