2014 Mazda6 oil change intervals

olc

Member
Mazda says 7500 miles or six months whichever comes first. That seems overly aggressive (and expensive and unfriendly to the environment) for someone like me that drives about 2000 miles in six months. I called Mazda for an explanation, since almost every other manufacturer says 7500 miles or one year. They told me two things. 1) If I don't change every six months, my warranty is void. and 2) the reason they require it is that oil "clumps up" after six months regardless of mileage (LOL).

Then yesterday I get an email from Mazda telling me about their mymazda.com site that will remind me when I need maintenance services. So I signed up, giving my vehicle info, my current mileage on the car, and how much I drive per week. It then tells me

Your 2014 MAZDA6 is due for maintenance:
Recommended Service
7,500 Mile Service
View Full Maintenance Schedule
When:
In 7,235 miles - (about 41 weeks)

And this is a Mazda run website. The only conclusion I can come to is that Mazda thinks that there are 42 weeks in six months, or 82 weeks in a year.

This is my first Mazda, and I love the car. The rest of my Mazda experience has been less wonderful. Anyone have any experience with Mazda over oil change intervals?
 
Hi olc. I'm pretty up on oil changes being a frequent visitor to the "Bob is the Oil Guy" site. Even though you only drive 2000 miles in six months (my wife drives about that same amount), I always change the oil every six months regardless of mileage, even with synthetic (although an argument could certainly be made that you could push this interval to 9 months to a year with synthetics and I have done that occasionally). Any oil will gradually absorb moisture over time and it's good practice to change it in the early spring and again in the late fall, before the hot summer months and the winter (depending on where you live) respectively. I'm guessing you take frequent short trips which never gives the oil a chance to warm up fully and burn off some of the aforementioned moisture, which is detrimental to engine longevity (long term). So there is some logic to Mazda's recommended change interval here (the first one) despite their inconsistent messaging on same! Hope this helps....Rampage. P.S. - I would stick with OW-20 (which is a synthetic) as Mazda calls for it for their Skyactiv series of engines to avoid any potential warranty issues. The dealer threw in the first three years of oil changes free on my 2014 M6 purchase, after that I'll do it myself likely using Mobil One 0W-20 (which should be widely available at Sams Club/Costco by then)!
 
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Hi olc. I'm pretty up on oil changes being a frequent visitor to the "Bob is the Oil Guy" site. Even though you only drive 2000 miles in six months (my wife drives about that same amount), I always change the oil every six months regardless of mileage, even with synthetic (although an argument could certainly be made that you could push this interval to 9 months to a year with synthetics and I have done that occasionally). Any oil will gradually absorb moisture over time and it's good practice to change it in the early spring and again in the late fall, before the hot summer months and the winter (depending on where you live) respectively. I'm guessing you take frequent short trips which never gives the oil a chance to warm up fully and burn off some of the aforementioned moisture, which is detrimental to engine longevity (long term). So there is some logic to Mazda's recommended change interval here (the first one) despite their inconsistent messaging on same! Hope this helps....Rampage. P.S. - I would stick with OW-20 (which is a synthetic) as Mazda calls for it for their Skyactiv series of engines to avoid any potential warranty issues. The dealer threw in the first three years of oil changes free on my 2014 M6 purchase, after that I'll do it myself likely using Mobil One 0W-20 (which should be widely available at Sams Club/Costco by then)!

Thanks. I'm in San Diego so there are no hot summer months or cold winter ones. For the last 20 years we have had Hondas and have changed to oil once a year, which is far less that 7500 miles. I can buy the Mazda GF-5 w/moly oil for less than Mobile1 (which my Costco doesn't have in 0W20). My dealer uses Peak bulk, which is pretty much bottom of the barrel (pun intended). Our trips are mix of short and ones on the expressways so we do get to full operating temperatures fairly often.


I don't understand why Mazda is different in OCIs that other Asian cars, and I certainly don't understand why they can't get a consistent policy from them. The other thing I don't get is why the same car specifies 5W-30. According Mazda, for what that's worth, the cars and drive-trains are identical, and the OCI has nothing to do with the Skyactiv features.
 
Good points all. For what it's worth, I had the same issue with my 2004 Mazda MPV when I bought it, there was much discussion about 0w-20 v. 5W-30 at that time on the MPV forum and in the oil forums at Bob's, and I've been using Mobil One 5W-30 since day one in that vehicle with no issues at all. Back then the general consensus was that Mazda spec'ed the lower weight oil to meet the tougher mileage demands from the govt (on paper at least) and it was more of a reporting thing than an actual demand to use 0W-20, which is very thin.

Still, for the new M6, I'm going with the 0W-20 that Mazda specifies, but I have no doubt 5W-30 full synthetic would work fine, since it's used in the European and other international spec too. I don't think you can go wrong either way other than the potential "voiding the warranty" issue should it ever come into play.
 
I agree the oil viscocity differences across various markets have nothing to do with drivetrain differences, but the engine compression ratio in US cars (13:1) specifically addresses the retardation of engine knock while running 87 octane gasoline. The exact compression ratio in European, Australian, Japanese, and other foreign market gasoline engine 6's is different from the US market 6, though not exceedingly different. Just saying.
 
I use 0w20 Amsoil in mine and go every 6k, rotating tires every oil change. Never and issue yet. Id never let a car go as long as a year no matter what.
 
Short trips, idling, freezing cold starts, stop and go driving are what kill oil faster. Long highway trips do next to nothing with oil. The surest way to know? Oil analysis. If you have proof your oil is within spec and go over 6k, Mazda can't do anything because your oil wasn't 'bad'.

If you don't like the 6-month recommendation you can use something that is guaranteed for longer. Amsoil makes Signature Series 0W-20 that's guaranteed to go for 15k or 1 year and they warrant your engine when using their oil from oil-related failure. The only way to decide is to do the cost per mile calculation and don't forget to factor in labor.
 
Thank you for*good*communication.

Oh and when people say Amsoil or Mobil 1 or Penzoil and don't specify which tier, you'll need to have them ask/clarify to get the whole story.
Amsoil has OE (meets spec), XL (heavier duty: 10k miles/6mos/up to OEM recommendation), Signature Series (15k-25k miles/1year/up to OEM recommendation)
Mobil has your standard mobil 1 and they have the Mobil1 Extended Performance that's a 15k miles or 1 year.
 
I use 0w20 Amsoil in mine and go every 6k, rotating tires every oil change. Never and issue yet. Id never let a car go as long as a year no matter what.

Just a question for you-Why would you use synthetic oil if you are only doing 6k oil changes? Standard non-synthetic oil is good for at least 5k these days. Just sayin, why waste your $$ on sythetic if you are only using half it's mileage life basically? It's all a matter of opinion I suppose
 
I started using 5-20 Mobil 1 when it came out on all my cars, new and used.

Switched to 0-20 on my last Toyota, and it's still awesome at 140K miles; dealer said "...it's like new..." at last check.

IMO, even exotic lubes are cheaper than a blown or damaged engine. That's not a place where I 'save money', ever.
 
Dealership was offering lifetime drivetrain as long as I let them do all the maintenance. I was getting the oil changed and tires rotated every 5,000 miles. Last time I took it in, they wanted $475 for the 30,000. Told them no......I guess I'll be saving tons of money on oil changes and tire rotations now!
 
wrong move my man

Dealership was offering lifetime drivetrain as long as I let them do all the maintenance. I was getting the oil changed and tires rotated every 5,000 miles. Last time I took it in, they wanted $475 for the 30,000. Told them no......I guess I'll be saving tons of money on oil changes and tire rotations now!

the 30,000 mile scheduled service is for replacing oil filter, replacing manual transmission oil, replacing rear differential oil, replacing brake fluid, rotating tires, clean air filter, tighten bolts and nuts on the chassis and body, lubricating all locks and hinges, inspecting the coolant level, function of all lights, the cooling system, the drive shaft dust Boots, the drive belts, brake lines hoses and connections brake fluid levels, clutch fluid level, disc brakes, tire inflation pressure and tire wear, power steering operation and linkages, front rear suspension ball joints and wheel bearings Axle play, power steering fluid level, fuel lines hoses and connectors, and washing fluid level. you might want to check what they are doing before your say no next time or look in your maintenance manual and make sure that is more than a oil change and tire rotation my friend. it will save you money in the big picture out all
 
We use 5w30 liquimoly in our mazda 6. the car LOVED it compared to the garbage 0w20 we were using in the past.

we change oil every 7-8000KM, not miles.
 
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