CX-5 2.5L Oil Usage

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Unobtanium

:
RDX Aspec Adv.
A while back I read how these vehicles used oil. So, I waited...I have about 4700 miles on this oil change, and I went out and checked the oil level. Assuming you divide the space between the top hole and bottom hole in the dip-stick into 4 equal blocks, the oil right now is sitting at 3 blocks full from the bottom hole (1 block down from the top).

As I recall, this is exactly what it looked like when the oil was last changed. I am sure *some* oil was used, but I would not even come CLOSE to considering even adding 1/8th of a quart at this point. It's just fine.
 
Unobtanium said:
A while back I read how these vehicles used oil. So, I waited...I have about 4700 miles on this oil change, and I went out and checked the oil level. Assuming you divide the space between the top hole and bottom hole in the dip-stick into 4 equal blocks, the oil right now is sitting at 3 blocks full from the bottom hole (1 block down from the top).

As I recall, this is exactly what it looked like when the oil was last changed. I am sure *some* oil was used, but I would not even come CLOSE to considering even adding 1/8th of a quart at this point. It's just fine.
Click to expand...
Yeah, oil level at 3/4 or 2/3 of the Low and Full marks is our dipstick reading since our CX-5 was brand new. People also reported that putting in 5 US quarts of oil for oil change instead of 4.8 quarts of oil specified by the owner's manual, the oil level reading will be at the same position.

I'll wait a couple of days until the weather is getting a little warmer before the cold rain is coming and do my first oil change at 5050 miles. The flexible oil change monitor says the oil life has 30% left. 5 bottles of Mazda moly oil and OEM filter with washer are ready to go in anytime.
 
Unobtanium said:
A while back I read how these vehicles used oil.
Click to expand...

Where did you read that CX-5's "used oil"?

On this forum all I've seen is one or two posts by someone who claimed their oil level had dropped which was always followed with an overwhelming number of responses that their CX-5 went the entire oil change interval without dropping. In other words, I've never seen any reputable evidence that either of the CX-5 gas engines have a reputation for being anything other than very tight when it comes to oil consumption. Such threads invariably descend into talking about the Subaru that DO have a history of using measurable amounts of oil.
 
MikeM. said:
Where did you read that CX-5's "used oil"?

On this forum all I've seen is one or two posts by someone who claimed their oil level had dropped which was always followed with an overwhelming number of responses that their CX-5 went the entire oil change interval without dropping. In other words, I've never seen any reputable evidence that either of the CX-5 gas engines have a reputation for being anything other than very tight when it comes to oil consumption. Such threads invariably descend into talking about the Subaru that DO have a history of using measurable amounts of oil.
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Wasn't it some Brit that worked for a dealership that said theirs hoovered oil?
 
Unobtanium said:
A while back I read how these vehicles used oil. So, I waited...I have about 4700 miles on this oil change, and I went out and checked the oil level. Assuming you divide the space between the top hole and bottom hole in the dip-stick into 4 equal blocks, the oil right now is sitting at 3 blocks full from the bottom hole (1 block down from the top).

As I recall, this is exactly what it looked like when the oil was last changed. I am sure *some* oil was used, but I would not even come CLOSE to considering even adding 1/8th of a quart at this point. It's just fine.
Click to expand...

Are you using 0-20 and how often do you change oil?
I use kendall 0-20 and change every 7500 miles and there is a noticeable drop in oil by the time I change. I have about 45k miles.
 
Rafale said:
Are you using 0-20 and how often do you change oil?
I use kendall 0-20 and change every 7500 miles and there is a noticeable drop in oil by the time I change. I have about 45k miles.
Click to expand...
Try to use different brand of 0W-20 oil sometimes it'll stop the oil consumption. Try Mazda moly oil next time and see. 7,500-mile oil change interval is not outrageous if you have many highway miles and if you change your oil at least once a year.
 
Unobtanium said:
Wasn't it some Brit that worked for a dealership that said theirs hoovered oil?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reminder, you mean the guy who worked at a Canadian Mazda dealership. I guess I don't put any stock in that type of unreliable info. First he swore they used 0W-20 non-synthetic even though there is no non-synthetic that meets Mazda's minimum specs (and he never did report back with the specifics), then he claimed the technicians at his dealership accidently put a non-approved viscosity in their CX-5 but, when they realized their mistake, they were so responsible they decided to leave it in "only" 3500 miles! He also claimed their primary CX-5 shuttle driver regularly "drove it like she stole it" (or something similar).

Maybe it did burn oil but that's exactly what I would expect if you use the wrong oil and thrash it. I'm no stranger to the upper end of the tachometer and never hesitate to floor it when I need the extra acceleration but, I always use oil that meets the minimum spec. This motor simply hums between 4-5000 rpm's. So smooth and sweet. I agree with others who pointed out it gets a slight raspy note from 5-6000 but it never lingers there as it's ready for the next gear in short order. But no measurable oil consumption here.
 
yrwei52 said:
7,500-mile oil change interval is not outrageous if you have many highway miles and if you change your oil at least once a year.
Click to expand...

Not only is it not outrageous, it's the normal factory approved interval for vehicles in normal service. Only severe service conditions call for the 5000 mile interval.
 
My engine started using some oil 1/3 ~ 1/2 per 6 months over a year ago. Seems fine otherwise. I followed the recommended break-in procedure.
Now with genuine Mazda oil with Moly, so we'll see.
Keep in mind that most owners don't check their oil level at all. So, unless they need to add oil, they'll never know.
 
ALafya said:
My engine started using some oil 1/3 ~ 1/2 per 6 months over a year ago. Seems fine otherwise. I followed the recommended break-in procedure.
Now with genuine Mazda oil with Moly, so we'll see.
Keep in mind that most owners don't check their oil level at all. So, unless they need to add oil, they'll never know.
Click to expand...
I agree. I don't even check the oil often enough recently just assume it won't burn any oil after checking it once a week for the first couple of months. Some people here dismiss any negative comments toward CX-5 even though they are legit. I hope my oil level is steady when I change the oil within a couple of days. I know the feeling of having a car which burns oil. Our VW Passat is burning a quart of oil per 800~1,000 miles since new and I hate it! Hopefully by changing the oil brand it can slow down your oil consumption.
 
Rafale said:
Are you using 0-20 and how often do you change oil?
I use kendall 0-20 and change every 7500 miles and there is a noticeable drop in oil by the time I change. I have about 45k miles.
Click to expand...

I use the correct oil. The Mazda Moly oil, I believe it is 0-20. I change it every 5K miles because I live 2 miles from work, and if I don't go anywhere but work, the oil never gets hot enough for my taste to run a longer interval with. My previous vehicles all had oil-temp read-outs, and it takes an honest 10+ miles on the freeway to hit 200*F oil temps on a cold day (30's). To get the oil into the mid 100's takes far more driving than I do to work/home. moisture contamination is why you change oil sooner/more frequently, along with other factors like towing, etc.
 
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yrwei52 said:
I agree. I don't even check the oil often enough recently just assume it won't burn any oil after checking it once a week for the first couple of months. Some people here dismiss any negative comments toward CX-5 even though they are legit. I hope my oil level is steady when I change the oil within a couple of days. I know the feeling of having a car which burns oil. Our VW Passat is burning a quart of oil per 800~1,000 miles since new and I hate it! Hopefully by changing the oil brand it can slow down your oil consumption.
Click to expand...

I have always switched oils until I found one that worked. I have had very good luck with Group IV's from Europe. My LS1 car would run through 1 quart of Mobil 1 5-30 EP every 2500 miles or so. After going to 0-30 GC, it would go through about 1/2-3/4 a quart every 4500-5K.

My 370Z, I just ran whatever synthetic I wanted in it. Typically Mobil 1. Although I did try Redline. It would use maybe 1/2-1/4 quart every 5K miles. It was a 6-speed, and I drove it. Rev-matched downshift all the time, etc. I was impressed! 7500rpm motor that saw redline daily. Motor was the best/only part of the car I liked, and that's coming from an LS7 car before it. The suspension and brakes were trash though, and the transmission belonged in a Sentra.
 
Still on the fill line. No reason to believe it will become an oil burner.

Unobtanium: How many miles did you have on your 370Z? Early VVEL's would use the oil. My 3.5L HR doesn't use any oil.... a far cry from the 3.5L DE motors from '01 to about '07 depending on application

Infiniti still uses the 3.5L HR in the Q50 Hybrid models as of 2015... IIRC....I hear they are going to some 2.0L turbocharged Mercedes motor for '16 on the hybrid model.
 
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I sold it at 35K miles. It was a 3.7L, of course.
Kedis82ZE8 said:
Still on the fill line. No reason to believe it will become an oil burner.

Unobtanium: How many miles did you have on your 370Z? Early VVEL's would use the oil. My 3.5L HR doesn't use any oil.... a far cry from the 3.5L DE motors from '01 to about '07 depending on application

Infiniti still uses the 3.5L HR in the Q50 Hybrid models as of 2015... IIRC....I hear they are going to some 2.0L turbocharged Mercedes motor for '16 on the hybrid model.
Click to expand...
 
yrwei52 said:
ALafya said:
My engine started using some oil 1/3 ~ 1/2 per 6 months over a year ago. Seems fine otherwise. I followed the recommended break-in procedure.
Now with genuine Mazda oil with Moly, so we'll see.
Keep in mind that most owners don't check their oil level at all. So, unless they need to add oil, they'll never know.
Click to expand...
I agree. I don't even check the oil often enough recently just assume it won't burn any oil after checking it once a week for the first couple of months. Some people here dismiss any negative comments toward CX-5 even though they are legit. I hope my oil level is steady when I change the oil within a couple of days. I know the feeling of having a car which burns oil. Our VW Passat is burning a quart of oil per 800~1,000 miles since new and I hate it! Hopefully by changing the oil brand it can slow down your oil consumption.
Click to expand...
Did the first oil change yesterday and found our 2.5L also used some oil. I topped it off with Mazda moly oil when I found out the oil level on our brand new 2016 CX-5 purchased on March 12th was at 2/3 between Low and Full marks on the dipstick. This is a easier way to remember for checking the oil consumption. The oil level was at 2/3 between Low and Full marks again when I measured it before the oil change. This is close to the oil consumption ratio as ALafya's. I hope the hot Texas summer may have something to do for burning some watery 0W-20 oil off. Still I'm a little disappointment as our Honda CR-V and BMW 528i didn't use any oil when they were new!

I set to Flexible Oil Change maintenance schedule and was hoping for longer oil change interval. But the Wrench symbol and "Oil Change Due" red warning message was on yesterday even though it has 30% of the oil life left?! This means I need the oil change at 5073 miles according to on-board computer calculation, far earlier than 7,500-mile oil change interval recommended by Owner's manual!
 
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yrwei52 said:
Did the first oil change yesterday and found our 2.5L also used some oil. I topped it off with Mazda moly oil when I found out the oil level on our brand new 2016 CX-5 purchased on March 12th was at 2/3 between Low and Full marks on the dipstick. This is a easier way to remember for checking the oil consumption. The oil level was at 2/3 between Low and Full marks again when I measured it before the oil change. This is close to the oil consumption ratio as ALafya's. I hope the hot Texas summer may have something to do for burning some watery 0W-20 oil off. Still I'm a little disappointment as our Honda CR-V and BMW 528i didn't use any oil when they were new!

I set to Flexible Oil Change maintenance schedule and was hopping for longer oil change interval. But the Wrench symbol and "Oil Change Due" red warning message was on yesterday even though it has 30% of the oil life left?! This means I need the oil change at 5073 miles according to on-board computer calculation, far earlier than 7,500-mile oil change interval recommended by Owner's manual!
Click to expand...

There's a maintenance reminder built into the trip computer where you can set the intervals you want the vehicle to remind you to change your oil, rotate tires, etc. Your dealership probably programmed it to say the oil change was due in 5k miles which is why it went off, not because of your 30% oil life. Interesting to see they added an oil life monitor though. My 2014 doesn't have that.
 
Seminole said:
There's a maintenance reminder built into the trip computer where you can set the intervals you want the vehicle to remind you to change your oil, rotate tires, etc. Your dealership probably programmed it to say the oil change was due in 5k miles which is why it went off, not because of your 30% oil life. Interesting to see they added an oil life monitor though. My 2014 doesn't have that.
Click to expand...
For 2016 CX-5 you can set "Flexible" oil change interval by yourself. This is very popular feature worldwide but not in the USA. You change your oil when the on-board computer tells you. There is no pre-set mileage or time period for oil change. If you set your OCI to flexible, the screen will show percentage of oil life instead of mileage due.

I don't go to dealer for maintenance unless some warranty issues I can't handle. ;)
 
I checked the oil on my 2015 CX-5 this morning before my wife takes it in for the scheduled 7500 mile oil change and it seems to be about a half notch down which I assume is about half a quart. Nothing alarming about that but I was a little surprised even half a quart would be used at only 23,000 miles. I had a Subaru Outback fully loaded on order last December but canceled the order after reading about the class action lawsuit against Subaru. I haven't heard anything bad about Mazda vehicles burning oil so assuming that between 7500 mile oil changes half a quart is used I see no problem.

Does that sound normal for other Mazda owners?
 
As an update I just talked to my wife and she was told that that half notch is the normal line the oil should be on. I didn't check the level after the last oil change so maybe he is right. I will start monitoring this after the oil change and see what results.
 
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