2006+ Mazda5 Maintenance Tasks: Do It Yourself

[dfskinner]

sounds like the cost of leasing has gone up....... I leased a car way back in 1992, I'll never do that again....... you should check your lease to see what you're suppose to be paying for?....... it looks like Mazda may be taking you for a ride..... if it's a lease vehicle, Mazada is responsible for all the maint or they should be..... you don't own the vehicle, they do....... check your paperwork......

Thanks for starting this thread...... did my oil change in the driveway in about 20 mins, cost $15.00.... and a little of my time..... advance auto oil change special......

 

[Heat]

Well, just did my first oil change at just under 5,000 miles. Went with Mobil 1 synthetic.

Removing and reinstalling the splash guard isn't too bad, adds maybe five or ten minutes to the job.

Anyway, the picture with the tire on the ramp - my ramps are a little too high for the Mazda5, the ramps were hitting the bumper before the tire could ride up on them. So I cut the 2x4's as shown, the Mazda5 now rides onto that first, then onto the ramp without the bumper hitting the ramp.

The picture with the funnel - that's a cut off plastic soda bottle, rinsed and dried. Works great as a disposable funnel.

The picture of the gasket on the ruler (in inches) - what is that gasket for? This gasket, and the large one for the filter, came with the filter. Is this gasket for the screw that needs the 6mm allen wrench when removing the filter housing?

Total cost = roughly $30, the same as what my local Mazda dealer charges for normal oil, but I used Mobil 1 synthetic, I know it was done right, and nothing was overtightened.

Cost breakdown: $22 plus tax for a 5-quart jug of Mobil 1 from Wal-Mart (so around $23.75). About $5.50 for the filter from this place:
http://www.mazdaparts.org/genuine-mazda-oilfilter.html

and as a bonus, if you order the filter package from the link above, they toss in a "free" oil filter wrench.

It took about 35 minutes though I can cut it down to about 20 or 25 minutes next itme, including time for the oil to drain.

 

[07MZ5SA]

I love your oil additive!!!

 

[coolmazda5]

I love your oil additive!!!

, beat me to it. That is the only part I feel encouraged to How-To do myself...

 

[babelbox]

When I did my 40K oil change few months ago, one of the plastic piece that holds one of the screws broke off. So I decided to extend the hole in the cover so that I don't have to remove the cover the next time I change the oil. So when I did my 45K Oil change a few days ago, I removed the cover for the last time (hopefully). Got my dremel and just extended the hole.

 

[TheMAN]

Hey there. I have a question. I'm leasing a mazda 5 07 with the intention of buying it at the end. Now every time I bring the car to do the service appointment I receive bills of $200 and $300 for a simple 6 months inspectio or whatever.
Last week I went to midas and asked for prices and I was realy surpriised to notice that for example,to change the tires at Mazda it costed me $120 while at mazda is $60. The oil change (5W20) at mazda is costing me $80 while at midas is only 49 with the courtesy package included.
Now my question is ,since the car is under leasing, am I obliged to do the service appointments every 6 months at the dealership or can I just do them at midas and keep the bills just in case. Will this void the warranty???(I have also the extended warranty!!! this suckers got me good!!).
I use the car mostly to go to to work and an occasional trip down to the states to surf (I live in Montreal)
Thanks in advance for your help

it is illegal for any auto maker to require you to perform service work at your local dealer... read your warranty book, it says so!

they CAN, however deny warranty coverage if whatever that was done at an independent shop breaks something in your car, so in such an event, you'll have to take up the problem with them


not all dealers charge the same prices, so you might want to go to a different dealer that doesn't rip your head off... beware of the quick lube places because they have kids that don't know what they're doing and forget things like tightening the drain plug... and then when the engine blows up because of those places, you'll have to fight them and make them pay

what does matter though is keeping receipts of all the service work you do so that if anything happens you have a foot to stand on

 

[Robotazky]

The reason I prefer to do it myself is to make sure that the plastic cover on the bottom is not abused or left off. I've had that happen on too many cars to keep doing it to myself. My MX3, the idiots left a few screws out of it because of the usual bullcrap excuse "it's not necessary" and I drove off and ripped the whole thing off of the bottom. Then when I say to order me another one they look at me like "idiot, you don't even need that". I hate dealers. Just do this stuff yourself and your car will last a very long time. Take it to dealers and you'll have nuts, bolts, entire parts of your car missing.

 

[Diehonda]

Oil filters:
WIX Part # 57203
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 0410817
FRAM Part # CH9641 {Full-Flow Cartridge}
ACDELCO Part # PF1703 {#89058383}

 

[KBrian]

if it's a lease vehicle, Mazada is responsible for all the maint or they should be..... you don't own the vehicle, they do....... check your paperwork......

When I was in car sales, I had other dealers talk about their short-term lease customers who would never do any maintenance on the car and turn it in after three years (warranty up) with the factory fill still in the crankcase, no rotation, original air filter etc. They said they saw this all the time with company short term leases.

 

[SGT_OKINAWA]

AGREE !!!

Changed the oil on my 06 MP (Mazda Premacy) and it was so easy, saved $30.00 compared to the base gas station/service shop.

The base service shop charges me $30.00 to remove the plastic underbody shield. (loser)

Plus I know nothing was f'ed up when I do it

peace!(rei)

 

[professorhank]

Bought my 07 used about 5 months ago and have performed 2 DIY oil changes so far. Previous owner cut a 5" circle through the undercover so I don't have to deal with removing the undercover. First car I've ever owned with an oil filter cartridge. My observations:

Removing the cartridge housing tends to drip lots of oil down your hand and forearm. Even after unplugging the small drain plug first, it still tends to drip down your hand when removing the main housing.

Threading the housing back on, screwed it crooked onto the metal block and destroyed the housing threads. Luckily, I had already bought a spare.

5-20 oil is like water and easily drips and splatters if you're not handling it carefully.

Someone from another thread has already mentioned this but the drain plug is positioned horizontally and the oil SHOOTS out when you pull the plug. Position the pan properly or it can get messy.

Despite the above, I'd still rather do it myself. But I must say that in my opinion, this is one of the more difficult cars I've had to deal with for a DIY oil change. My wife's 4 cyl Highlander, old 4 cyl MX-3, and Infiniti I30 was so much easier doing an oil change.

 

[m5pa]

The undertray is an annoyance to be sure and I know mine didn't go back on right when I was done. I'd still rather do an oil change on the 5 then on my 96 Cougar V8 (worst one so far, inaccessible at best). Not as easy as our Subaru was. Still enjoy doing it though.

I also did the horn replacement today! What a difference and I was able to take the bumper off and get it back on without much cursing!

 

[m5pa]

Doing the oil change on any car the first time is interesting and a challenge. This was my first time with a cartridge style filter, so I made a fairly large mess because I didn't let enough oil drain out of the housing.

Other than that, the only pain is removing the plastic shield and re-installing it, but as stated before, electric drill or screwdriver makes the work go faster. Worth the hour (next time 30 minutes) of my time.

 

[cutman1968]

first oil change

hello all
will i have a 2010 mazda 5
i pick it up with only 4 mile on it
when i pick it up the car place told me the first oil change was do at 3750 can anyone till me if this is right i just hit 2025 mile this is my first mazda i want to keep it like new (wrc)(redp5)(anyone)
thank you for any help

 

[CaptainSpalding]

hello all
will i have a 2010 mazda 5
i pick it up with only 4 mile on it
when i pick it up the car place told me the first oil change was do at 3750 can anyone till me if this is right i just hit 2025 mile this is my first mazda i want to keep it like new (wrc)(redp5)(anyone)
thank you for any help

I've always found it annoying that someone at the dealership would recommend something other than the oil change interval specified in the owner's manual, but it happens a lot.

The owner's manual recommendation specifies that the oil and filter should be changed every 6 months or 7500 miles.

 

[crocket147]

Please Help

My wife recently took our '08 Mazda6 to our local dealership because it was leaking oil. I didnt bother to check what was wrong because it is still under the limited powertrain warranty. Normally, I would take it or at least go with her because I know how many auto mechanics take advantage of women because many women lack automobile knowledge. However, I was unable to go yet confident because it was warranted and I told her to call me if it was something that wasnt covered. This was my first time taking a vehicle for warranty service, and I read in my warranty guide that seals and gaskets are covered under the 5/60 limited powertrain warranty. She called me shortly after for approval and to tell me what the mechanic said. He told her that the oil filter housing was completely gone, and since it was missing and not just broken, it was not covered and would cost $60 to repair. I didnt understand how a filter housing/cap could cause a leak as I was (until now) only familiar with screw-on filters. I told her to decline the service and bring the car home for me to look at because I knew that was something I could fix and for cheaper. The dealership then told her she would still have to pay $30 for the diagnostic so I decided an extra $30 was worth it to not have to get under the car, get dirty, and make a trip to the parts store. By the time she returned I had done a little research on oil housings/caps and the thing I don't understand is, if there were no housing whatsoever, how was there oil left in it? I mean we drove at least 100 miles and it would only drip maybe 1/2 oz. onto our garage floor overnight. I know if you remove a screw-on filter completly, youll be out of oil before you get out of your driveway. My Q is is this possible, or did we get taken? Was the housing probably cracked and the dealership didnt want to cover it so they lied? It's not the small amount of $60 I'm concerened about, I just hate being taken advantage of, and I hate people who take advantage of others. Please help.

 

[v_tofu]

My wife recently took our '08 Mazda6 to our local dealership because it was leaking oil. I didnt bother to check what was wrong because it is still under the limited powertrain warranty. Normally, I would take it or at least go with her because I know how many auto mechanics take advantage of women because many women lack automobile knowledge. However, I was unable to go yet confident because it was warranted and I told her to call me if it was something that wasnt covered. This was my first time taking a vehicle for warranty service, and I read in my warranty guide that seals and gaskets are covered under the 5/60 limited powertrain warranty. She called me shortly after for approval and to tell me what the mechanic said. He told her that the oil filter housing was completely gone, and since it was missing and not just broken, it was not covered and would cost $60 to repair. I didnt understand how a filter housing/cap could cause a leak as I was (until now) only familiar with screw-on filters. I told her to decline the service and bring the car home for me to look at because I knew that was something I could fix and for cheaper. The dealership then told her she would still have to pay $30 for the diagnostic so I decided an extra $30 was worth it to not have to get under the car, get dirty, and make a trip to the parts store. By the time she returned I had done a little research on oil housings/caps and the thing I don't understand is, if there were no housing whatsoever, how was there oil left in it? I mean we drove at least 100 miles and it would only drip maybe 1/2 oz. onto our garage floor overnight. I know if you remove a screw-on filter completly, youll be out of oil before you get out of your driveway. My Q is is this possible, or did we get taken? Was the housing probably cracked and the dealership didnt want to cover it so they lied? It's not the small amount of $60 I'm concerened about, I just hate being taken advantage of, and I hate people who take advantage of others. Please help.

Yikes, sounds like the same problem I have. I believe my housing is cracked or something, b/c it leaks about 2-3 drops per night (i.e go home after work, next morning when I leave)

Can someone just confirm that the oil filter housing is this one? http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2876

It says its for the Mazda 6.. but someone linked it earlier...

 

[headache56]

Dommo,

I know your post was a while back but it is really useful, thanks. Here in the UK I cannot buy a Haynes manual or similar for my 2008 MX5 and the official Mazda workshop manual seems to be like USD250+.

I appreciate that the USD29.95 price is now historic but it sounds so cheap - would this maybe relate to the dealers who use the simple "suction tube down the dipstick pipe" method for an oil change. If so, would this result in a whole load of sludge remaining in the oil sump (pan) ?

 

[mars1100]

Well, I have done my first oil change on the 2009' 5 today. I had the previous 3 oil changes done at the dealer. I wanted to get the mobil 1 in there as in my other cars and did not want to pay 60 bucks for it, so did it myself.
The steps up top help a bunch, Thanks for the tutorial.

Only problem is I did not read the tutorial carefully enough and did not know the little allen screw on the filter housing was a drip hole and removed the whole housing at once, therefore the nasty oil spill(luckily I always place cardboard down). Also did not replace the o ring behind the allen screw since I did not know it came off, and did not replace the washer behind the oil pan bolt.(washer fell on the floor out of the box after new oil was in, I swear I did not see it before hand.)
I guess I'll get those next time around, hopefully they won't leak.

Not too bad, took me about 45 minutes to 1 hour including checking the rest of the fluids and the under carriage of the entire car.

Once again thanks for the tutorial!!!

 

[Heat]

...Can someone just confirm that the oil filter housing is this one? http://www.mazdastuff.com/product.cfm?ProductID=2876

It says its for the Mazda 6.. but someone linked it earlier...

That's it, it's a standard one for Mazda's 2.3 liter engines. Here is another source; the first one is just the housing, the second one includes an oil filter:

http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda-oilfilter-housing.html
http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda-oil-filter-housing.html
plus they have free shipping on orders over $100.

If still in doubt, just call before ordering. It would be good to have a spare one laying around "just in case". I picked one up when I first bought my oil filters.

...Not too bad, took me about 45 minutes to 1 hour including checking the rest of the fluids and the under carriage of the entire car...

45 to 60 minutes sounds like a long time, but I know for me to drive to the dealer would be 15 minutes each way, then the wait at the dealer would be at least 30 minutes. Besides, you can cut the time by half within the next oil change or two now that you know what you are doing.

When you buy your filters always pick up enough crush washers to have a new crush washer per filter. They cost about $1.37 each but it's cheap insurance against oil leaks.

http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda-oil-pan-drain-plug-washer.html