Standard Oil vs Full synthetic? Mazda offers both?

J

jhu8

Member
:
16 CX-5 GT AWD w/ Tech
Okay, so far I have had free oil changes for my 16 cx5 so I haven't given this much thought. It's time for my next oil change and I am curious as to why in MyMazda coupons, I have two options for oil change, standard oil or full synthetic. The owners manual states the car takes 0W-20. Which is a fully synthetic oil. If I went into my Mazda asking for the standard oil, what would they use then? Don't they have to use 0W-20 which is a synthetic oil? I am now curious as well as to what they've been using.

Also, do most you guys go the dealer for your oil changes? With all my other cars I have always gone to other shops but I also didn't have a new car then either.
 
Because it calls for 0W-20, the only acceptable oil is synthetic.
 
craigo said:
Because it calls for 0W-20, the only acceptable oil is synthetic.
Click to expand...

Right makes sense, but what is the standard oil that they offer then? I mean its $30 cheaper and if they're still going to put 0W-20 in my cx5, then why not just do that. I
 
Actually, Pennzoil makes a 0w-20 blend now, only $18 for a 5 quart jug at Walmart. 0w-20 doesn't come in standard oil, assuming you mean dino variety..
 
Dealer clarified that is says standard but it's only for the old CX-9 I believe. So it's not a specialized coupon to my cx5. Just a generic one. Well that clears that up.
 
My dealer said they will do blend for my free oil changed. After that they recommend go full synthetic every 7500

Sent from my ZTE A2017U using Tapatalk
 
jhu8 said:
Dealer clarified that is says standard but it's only for the old CX-9 I believe. So it's not a specialized coupon to my cx5. Just a generic one. Well that clears that up.
Click to expand...
This. Because they do have cars that use regular oil... Like that old minivan. Those aren't coupons only for your exact car.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 
They change the oil on decades of cars, many will use regular. Recent cars generally do not.
 
If you are in an emergency and not synthetic oil is available what can you use?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
SEOR MAZDA said:
If you are in an emergency and not synthetic oil is available what can you use?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Don't put yourself in that situation. Every parts store and Walmart in the country has full synthetic in stock. To avoid ever needing to buy oil at a gas station or something, keep a quart in the trunk.
 
You know there is no fixed standard for what classifies oil as synthetic. Standard mineral, semi synthetic and fully synthetic are all based on the base oil that comes from crude (stinking black mud). What distinguishes whether they are elevated to semi or fully synthetic is the amount of additives used to fortify the oil. There is no legal demarcations. It's down to the manufacturer to declare what he considers the ranking.

However, it just so happens that most of these modern very low viscosity oils are heavily loaded with synthetic modifiers and to that extent, I would agree that fully synthetic would be best for very modern engines.

Another misconception is that lower viscosity or "thinner" oil doesn't offer the same protection as "thicker" oil. This is not true as oil cannot practically be compressed as far as an engine is concerned. As with hydraulic and pneumatic systems, the smaller the pipe, the faster it travels and the same applies to a modern engine with very fine tolerances. Very low viscosity oil gets all round the engine lightning fast after the engine is started. They also offer less resistance to moving parts so they tend to contribute to fuel economy.
 
The questions still remain. If a modern engine has very fine tolerances, why Mazda and many other car manufactures are recommending different viscosity in different countries? I.e. Mazda recommends 0W-20 only for Canada and US, but 5W-30 in Mexico for CX-5? In Europe the owner's manual still lists wide range of viscosities for different temperature range. Secondly, Mazda specifies 0W-20 for naturally aspirated SA-G 2.5L, but 5W-30 for SA-G 2.5L Turbo. Mazda OEM 5W-30 oil sold in US Mazda dealers actually is Castrol GTX conventional oil. So Mazda itself specs inferior OEM oil for its SA-G turbo engine, but the much better Mazda 0W-20 moly oil for a SA-G naturally aspirated engine?

Mobil 1 claims its oil uses true fully synthetic base stock and it's Group IV oil, although I don't use it and many people believe Mobil 1 is not a good oil.

Yeah dealers will use the cheapest bulk oil for "standard" oil change, even the oil sometimes doesn't meet manufacture's minimum requirement.
 
yrwei52 said:
The questions still remain. If a modern engine has very fine tolerances, why Mazda and many other car manufactures are recommending different viscosity in different countries? I.e. Mazda recommends 0W-20 only for Canada and US, but 5W-30 in Mexico for CX-5? In Europe the owner's manual still lists wide range of viscosities for different temperature range. Secondly, Mazda specifies 0W-20 for naturally aspirated SA-G 2.5L, but 5W-30 for SA-G 2.5L Turbo. Mazda OEM 5W-30 oil sold in US Mazda dealers actually is Castrol GTX conventional oil. So Mazda itself specs inferior OEM oil for its SA-G turbo engine, but the much better Mazda 0W-20 moly oil for a SA-G naturally aspirated engine?

Mobil 1 claims its oil uses true fully synthetic base stock and it's Group IV oil, although I don't use it and many people believe Mobil 1 is not a good oil.

Yeah dealers will use the cheapest bulk oil for "standard" oil change, even the oil sometimes doesn't meet manufacture's minimum requirement.
Click to expand...

The reason for 5W-30 recommendation may have to do with stability in high heat. Hot climates and turbochargers are punishing on oil so 5W-30 will be more resistant to thermal breakdown than 0W-20, although one can expect slightly worse MPG
 
yrwei52 said:
The questions still remain. If a modern engine has very fine tolerances, why Mazda and many other car manufactures are recommending different viscosity in different countries? I.e. Mazda recommends 0W-20 only for Canada and US, but 5W-30 in Mexico for CX-5? In Europe the owner's manual still lists wide range of viscosities for different temperature range. Secondly, Mazda specifies 0W-20 for naturally aspirated SA-G 2.5L, but 5W-30 for SA-G 2.5L Turbo. Mazda OEM 5W-30 oil sold in US Mazda dealers actually is Castrol GTX conventional oil. So Mazda itself specs inferior OEM oil for its SA-G turbo engine, but the much better Mazda 0W-20 moly oil for a SA-G naturally aspirated engine?

Mobil 1 claims its oil uses true fully synthetic base stock and it's Group IV oil, although I don't use it and many people believe Mobil 1 is not a good oil.

Yeah dealers will use the cheapest bulk oil for "standard" oil change, even the oil sometimes doesn't meet manufacture's minimum requirement.
Click to expand...

I'm located in Mexico and have a GT AWD 2016.5

My CX9 is 1 year old (purchased on june 2016) and I had the old model as well (Sport 2011) for 5 years. With my previous CX9, I was forced to make maintenance in the dealer if I want to keep the original warranty. If you make the maintenance in other centers than Mazda or by your own, your lost your warranty. During 2011 - 2015 in Mexico you need to perform maintenance every 10,000km or 6 months so you can be sure you need to return to the dealer twice a year.

With the new cx9 things are little different. Time is not mandatory... you only need to return every 10,000 km if you want to keep the original and extended warranty (it's a pre requisite). Maintenance is cheap (i.e: 50 - 60USD at 10k & 130USD at 20k). And I investigate and this apply to ALL Mazda vehicles (mazda 3, mazda 2, mazda 6, cx5 and cx9).

I left my cx9 into the dealer today in the morning and will pick up the suv today afternoon if everything goes well. This is basic maintenance (cleaning, brake and suspension check, oil filter change, air filter change, oil change). And there is something coming to my attention: The oil change was available ONLY in semi-synthetic. They don't longer have full synthetic. This is very weird because this is a turbo charged engine. I spoke with some guys at the Mazda shop and they just say: "we just use the oil recommended by Mazda as manufacturer"... This is crazy because I want full synthetic for my turbo engine.
 
craigo said:
The reason for 5W-30 recommendation may have to do with stability in high heat. Hot climates and turbochargers are punishing on oil so 5W-30 will be more resistant to thermal breakdown than 0W-20, although one can expect slightly worse MPG
Click to expand...
If I had a turbo engine, I'd rather to have a full synthetic oil than "synthetic blend", or worse a conventional oil like Mazda dealers would use including Mazda OEM 5W-30 oil re-branded from Castrol GTX! This should have nothing to do with viscosity, and people living in Arizona will tell you their weather is hotter than most areas in Mexico year round. I can see the oil sludge issue waiting to happen again like VW as at beginning VW dealers were using conventional 5W-30 oil when thier first 1.8T turbo engine was introduced. The result was the class action lawsuit for oil sludge against VW.
 
cubanomx said:
⋯ And there is something coming to my attention: The oil change was available ONLY in semi-synthetic. They don't longer have full synthetic. This is very weird because this is a turbo charged engine. I spoke with some guys at the Mazda shop and they just say: "we just use the oil recommended by Mazda as manufacturer"... This is crazy because I want full synthetic for my turbo engine.
Click to expand...
Have you asked the Mazda dealer that if you can bring your own full synthetic 5W-30 oil、let them do the change、leave the empty bottles in your CX-9 and still honor the warranty?
 
yrwei52 said:
Have you asked the Mazda dealer that if you can bring your own full synthetic 5W-30 oil、let them do the change、leave the empty bottles in your CX-9 and still honor the warranty?
Click to expand...

I believe they will be unable to know if I changed the oil myself.... I think.

But I will check with another Mazda dealer... I remember full synthetic was available one year ago!
 
yrwei52 said:
Yeah dealers will use the cheapest bulk oil for "standard" oil change, even the oil sometimes doesn't meet manufacture's minimum requirement.
Click to expand...

Fortunately (or unfortunately for some) all dealers are not created equal. My dealer uses Valvoline as their "house" or bulk supplier. If you don't specify you'll get the correct type of Valvoline at an oil change. If you want something different, they are happy to comply if possible. The service manager said they will do a oil change with the customer providing the oil (he has a regular customer that always brings his own Amsoil in) or they will use Mazda moly if requested. They have done all my oil changes (5, 12.5 and 20K) and all were done with Mazda moly. At the 20K change I had a coupon similar to what the OP had, $59.99 for the synthetic change and they didn't even charge extra for the Mazda moly.
 
yrwei52 said:
If I had a turbo engine, I'd rather to have a full synthetic oil than "synthetic blend", or worse a conventional oil like Mazda dealers would use including Mazda OEM 5W-30 oil re-branded from Castrol GTX! This should have nothing to do with viscosity, and people living in Arizona will tell you their weather is hotter than most areas in Mexico year round. I can see the oil sludge issue waiting to happen again like VW as at beginning VW dealers were using conventional 5W-30 oil when thier first 1.8T turbo engine was introduced. The result was the class action lawsuit for oil sludge against VW.
Click to expand...

You can get 5W-30 in synthetic... this was my oil in my last car.

EDIT: I'll elaborate. Viscosity (among other things) actually has everything to do with it. 5W-30 handles high temps better than 0W-20, whether it's synthetic or not. That's why its recommended in the turbo engine because that turbo bearing is hot hot hot. If it's not synthetic you'll want to change it sooner than if it were. But both will work.

As for Arizona - yeah, actually, they probably are hotter than much of Mexico and would possibly benefit from 5W-30. Or, for some reason, Mexico is hard to source synthetic oil and so they recommend 5W-30 as a result because 0W-20 is harder to find as the above poster seems to confirm. Ultimately I doubt anyone in Arizona or Mexico will suffer much if they're using 0W-20 or 5W-30. Clearly the engine can run fine on either. MPG changes are about the only thing to expect.
 
Last edited:
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
    • Wow
2016.5 CX-5 FWD: 60K mile service, all of these needed?
Replies
12
Views
989
ColtX-5
C
M
PSA Gunther Mazda of Fort Lauderdale Put in the WRONG oil
2
Replies
30
Views
3K
erhayes
E
O
Dealership Disappointment
2
Replies
21
Views
3K
Buzzman12
B

Latest posts

Back