Oil change on a leased car - flexible

J

Jo060

Member
:
2015
I leased a cx-5 last February (1st time leasing) so having dealerships do maint on my vehicle is something completely new to me as I typically do my own.

I set the oil change setting to flexible as I normally do and I'm off. I don't beat on the car at all, just mostly an errand runner.

Last week the oil change reminder light came on but the car barely has 3,000 miles on it. I checked the oil and it's not dirty at all and is actually still golden colored and transparent. I get that it goes by temp, driving style.. Etc..

I moved the setting to fixed at 6,000 miles for it's 1st oil change.

What do you all think? Change it or wait? If I wait till 6k it'll more than likely be another year till I hit that mark making the original oil over 2 years old.
 
Jo060 said:
I leased a cx-5 last February (1st time leasing) so having dealerships do maint on my vehicle is something completely new to me as I typically do my own.

I set the oil change setting to flexible as I normally do and I'm off. I don't beat on the car at all, just mostly an errand runner.

Last week the oil change reminder light came on but the car barely has 3,000 miles on it. I checked the oil and it's not dirty at all and is actually still golden colored and transparent. I get that it goes by temp, driving style.. Etc..

I moved the setting to fixed at 6,000 miles for it's 1st oil change.

What do you all think? Change it or wait? If I wait till 6k it'll more than likely be another year till I hit that mark making the original oil over 2 years old.
Click to expand...

Probably came on because you hit 6 months. (naughty)
 
Youll get different answers, but I change mine every 7500 Miles (6k is fine too), and I dont care how long it takes me to get there, 1 year, 2 years, all the same to me. Never had a problem, and dont anticipate one either.

However, with it being a lease, and if something happens, Im sure theyll play all the cards they can to get out of it.
 
Jo060 said:
I leased a cx-5 last February so having dealerships do maint on my vehicle is something completely new to me as I typically do my own.

Last week the oil change reminder light came on but the car barely has 3,000 miles on it. I checked the oil and it's not dirty at all and is actually still golden colored and transparent. I get that it goes by temp, driving style.. Etc..

What do you all think? Change it or wait? If I wait till 6k it'll more than likely be another year till I hit that mark making the original oil over 2 years old.
Click to expand...

I'm confused.
Why must you take it to the dealer for service? You can't do your own maintenance on a leased vehicle?

Since it is a leased vehicle that you will be turning in soon, why do you even care about oil clarity/maintenance intervals/ect?

I wouldn't do any maintenance on the thing until a week before your lease is up.
Then simply change the oil and air filters yourself and turn the car in.
 
Jo060 said:
I leased a cx-5 last February (1st time leasing) so having dealerships do maint on my vehicle is something completely new to me as I typically do my own.

I set the oil change setting to flexible as I normally do and I'm off. I don't beat on the car at all, just mostly an errand runner.

Last week the oil change reminder light came on but the car barely has 3,000 miles on it. I checked the oil and it's not dirty at all and is actually still golden colored and transparent. I get that it goes by temp, driving style.. Etc..

I moved the setting to fixed at 6,000 miles for it's 1st oil change.

What do you all think? Change it or wait? If I wait till 6k it'll more than likely be another year till I hit that mark making the original oil over 2 years old.
Click to expand...

If you've only put 3k on in 8 months, you should probably follow the severe maintenance schedule: oil every 5K or 6 mo per the manual.

I drive low miles, too, so I change it every 5K or one year, whichever comes first. I personally think the time elapsed has little to do with the integrity of the oil, but I do it every year at least to keep the warranty-deniers happy.
 
bluegrass said:
I'm confused.
Why must you take it to the dealer for service? You can't do your own maintenance on a leased vehicle?

Since it is a leased vehicle that you will be turning in soon, why do you even care about oil clarity/maintenance intervals/ect?

I wouldn't do any maintenance on the thing until a week before your lease is up.
Then simply change the oil and air filters yourself and turn the car in.
Click to expand...

I'm not turning it in soon. It's a 3-year lease... That's all Mazda offers. NO I can't do my own maint on it or else I would (1st line in the post), per the contract it must be done by a certified shop or dealer with documentation.

Anyway, I was finally able to get a straight answer from Mazda. They said wait until 5k despite the length of time and the warranty will hold
 
Last edited:
Jo060 said:
per the contract it must be done by a certified shop or dealer with documentation.
Click to expand...

Your lease contract from Mazda explicitly states this??? That's insanity.

How do they define "certified shop"? Are you allowed to simply take it to a Jiffy Lube?

I've never leased a vehicle before. I wonder if this is how all leases are set up.
 
bluegrass said:
Your lease contract from Mazda explicitly states this??? That's insanity.

How do they define "certified shop"? Are you allowed to simply take it to a Jiffy Lube?

I've never leased a vehicle before. I wonder if this is how all leases are set up.
Click to expand...

This car is my 7th lease, and I've never heard of that. I just read my lease contract [Mazda/Chase] and it doesn't say that. It says you must maintain it per the manual.

I wonder if the dealer stated that to the OP in hopes of generating a little more service business!

Jo, can you find that verbiage in your contract?
 
I'll check it out in a little bit. I misspoke earlier, the dealer only verbally told me that I have to get it done by somebody certified. I'm assuming an ase-certified mechanic. He may have told me that to try to gain more money like you had mentioned, however, they did give me three or four free oil changes. I'll find out.
 
shadonoz said:
This car is my 7th lease, and I've never heard of that. I just read my lease contract [Mazda/Chase] and it doesn't say that. It says you must maintain it per the manual.
I wonder if the dealer stated that to the OP in hopes of generating a little more service business!
Click to expand...

That's what I thought. So Jo060, my advice stands...
Do the absolute minimum maintenance on this vehicle, and do it yourself.

A leased vehicle should be treated like a rental car. You are paying a premium for the ability to dump it after 3 years.
So there is ZERO incentive to maintain it like you would if you were going to keep it for the next 10+ years.
 
That's crazy town. You surely should at a minimum change the oil on your lease. That's all most cars should need in 3 years anyway...
 
Indeed. I don't plan on doing more than an OC anyway unless something comes up. They did hook me up with free dent/ding damage repair.. At least there's that. 😂
 
shadonoz said:
This car is my 7th lease, and I've never heard of that. I just read my lease contract [Mazda/Chase] and it doesn't say that. It says you must maintain it per the manual.

I wonder if the dealer stated that to the OP in hopes of generating a little more service business!

Jo, can you find that verbiage in your contract?
Click to expand...

He won't be able to find it, because it would be illegal. Now if he wants to take advantage of their free oil changes that's another story...
 
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