2021 CX-9: Normal or unusual oil consumption?

[dmwtulsa]

2021 CX-9 purchased 8/2022 with 12k miles, currently at 19k. I am familiar with the TSB and my VIN is within the range for the oil consumption issue.

The car is maybe driven 500 miles a month at best, typically within city with short highway rides. Checked the dipstick before an oil change in June. No signs of consumption. The day after the oil change we took a 2k mile round trip to Flagstaff. Elevation changes, heat, and other variables during this trip. Dipstick is now showing a little more than half above the first hole, so to me maybe a tad less than 1/2 a qt has been burned.

Is this under normal consumption or could it be abnormal? Already have an appt with the dealer next week. I've heard they are more savvy with this scenario now, but I also now the fix is very involved and the wrong Tech can grenade the engine. I'm concerned that 2021 simply wasn't a good year for any Mazda turbo. Other than this, we love the car.

Also, we're about to set out on another trip tomorrow and I'll have a qt of oil handy just in case.

 

[gphin]

You say you checked your dipstick before the oil change. Did you check it after the change and before your trip to verify it was at the correct full level? I found my dealer put in the incorrect amount twice during recent oil changes.... one time underfill and one time overfill. Suggest you add oil to the proper level before your upcoming trip and then check again after to determine usage. Mine is a 2020 with 30k miles and uses zero oil between 5k oil changes but yours using a 1/2 qt over a 2k mile trip shouldn't be a concern.....unless it progressively gets worse. You should start keeping a detailed record when you add oil to confirm usage as your mileage increases. We traded in a VW to get our CX9 that had 85k and was burning a quart of oil every 800 miles which VW claimed was "normal" and refused to fix. I believe Mazda's official position regarding oil usage is similar......a quart every 1000 miles is not abnormal.

 

[yrwei52]

You say you checked your dipstick before the oil change. Did you check it after the change and before your trip to verify it was at the correct full level? I found my dealer put in the incorrect amount twice during recent oil changes.... one time underfill and one time overfill. Suggest you add oil to the proper level before your upcoming trip and then check again after to determine usage.

Yes. My experience in a very few times doing the oil change at the dealership was they seem always overfilling the oil. The OP’s CX-9 could consume more oil than he thought if he didn’t check the oil level after the oil change.

Mine is a 2020 with 30k miles and uses zero oil between 5k oil changes but yours using a 1/2 qt over a 2k mile trip shouldn't be a concern.....unless it progressively gets worse. You should start keeping a detailed record when you add oil to confirm usage as your mileage increases.

Yes or no. There’s a TSB by Mazda for this oil consumption problem due to the modified valve stem seals been used and they’ve been proven inferior. You really want to get the newly revised seals before the powertrain warranty expires to get rid of those inferior seals.

We traded in a VW to get our CX9 that had 85k and was burning a quart of oil every 800 miles which VW claimed was "normal" and refused to fix. I believe Mazda's official position regarding oil usage is similar......a quart every 1000 miles is not abnormal.

Same here. My previous 2001.5 VW Passat GLX with Audi’s 2.8L V6 was also burning a quart of oil for every 800 ~ 1,000 miles since new. VWoA also refused to fix it under warranty, and claimed that’s normal. Needless to say that VW Passat is one of my very few vehicles didn’t keep it too long even though I really like to drive it as it has a 5-speed manual paired with the V6.

 

[dmwtulsa]

Thanks for the replies all! I actually did check the oil level after the change before our trip. It was at the max dot. Now it’s almost halfway down, from the top.

Considering the multi state elevation change and how hot it was during the trip, could be normal. Thankfully it’s still under its original power train warranty and it’s certified, so thankful for that.

 

[roundle1979]

My 2018 CX9 AWD GT has 52K miles. I've had the oil changed every 5K miles. I check the oil quite a bit, every other fill up, so about once a month (mostly to monitor the color of the oil). I've seen the level drop a little bit between changes, never more than 1/6 quart, so I've never added oil between changes.

I like to check the oil when the engine is hot. I usually go to the same Shell station (which is flat). I usually check the oil after I fill up the car to allow for the oil to settle back down to the pan.

Oh, also, I have noticed that the dealer likes to slightly over-fill.

 

[PTguy]

These engines are tolerant of a minor overfill. A 6 quart fill, about a 1/2 quart overfill, causes no problems.

Color is not a good indicator of oil quality or remaining oil life. The oil can be dark and still good for service. 5K is reasonable especially if one makes many short cool trips where the oil seldom gets fully warmed (fully normally "warmed" oil is hot enough to raise blisters on skin), including frigid winter trips where parts of the engine are much cooler than normal. If the usual trips are longer and the oil is fully warmed then the oil drain mileage can be extended.

An engine that consumes more oil than usual also can allow longer oil drain intervals...fresh oil is regularly added which provides new additives to replenish those partly depleted. Cummins used to have a system for their diesel engines that continually bled off a very small amount of used engine oil into the fuel and equallly replenished it with new oil from a tank. That kept the engine's oil in good condition but not great for emissions.

 

[GLT]

I've had my oil changed twice on my '23 CX-9. The first time the shop put in 5.3 quarts. I checked it the next morning and it was about 1/2 quart below the full mark, I topped it off. The second change was at the dealer, they added 6 quarts of oil. When I checked it the next morning it was about 1/8 inch above the full mark. Past experience told me this was not overfilled to the point it would cause problems and it's been fine.
I recommend that whenever you have an oil change the oil level should be checked after the vehicle sits 15 minutes or overnight. My first oil change was by the 'book' but if I had driven the car 500 miles before checking it my first thought would have been an engine problem, leaking or burning oil.

 

[yrwei52]

I've had my oil changed twice on my '23 CX-9. The first time the shop put in 5.3 quarts. I checked it the next morning and it was about 1/2 quart below the full mark, I topped it off.

Based on reports by most 2.5T owners you need 5.5 quarts of the fresh oil to reach the Max mark of the dipstick for the oil change.

The second change was at the dealer, they added 6 quarts of oil. When I checked it the next morning it was about 1/8 inch above the full mark. Past experience told me this was not overfilled to the point it would cause problems and it's been fine.

How did you know the dealer had put 6 quarts of fresh oil? From the invoice?

Yes for ⅛“ above the Max mark it shouldn’t cause any concerns. Besides, dealers seem to always be overfilling for oil change.

I recommend that whenever you have an oil change the oil level should be checked after the vehicle sits 15 minutes or overnight.

Yes, people should check the oil level as soon as someone else did the oil change for you unless you can actually see how much oil the tech puts in.

I personally would check the oil level in the morning before the engine starts. It’d be easier to see with one pull and no wipes. The oil level will be about the same between cold and warm (at least 5 minutes after engine stops) oil level measurements.

My first oil change was by the 'book'

The specs in owner’s manual say 5.1 quarts for the oil change though, not 5.3 quarts.

but if I had driven the car 500 miles before checking it my first thought would have been an engine problem, leaking or burning oil.

Yes, indeed!

 

[GLT]

Looked over my notes, the first oil change I told the independent shop to put in 5 quarts, which they did. When I checked it the following morning (cold) it was about 1/2 quart below the full mark. I added 12 oz which brought it to the full mark. Your 5.5 quarts to the full mark is pretty much in line with what happened to me. The second change was by the dealer and filled about 1/8 above the full mark, the dealer 'sold' me 6 quarts of oil per the invoice but based on my first change they likely only used about 5.5.
The thing I would stress is everyone should do an oil level check after servicing to verify the oil level is correct, I prefer to start with my oil level at the full mark. I only have 8500 miles on the car and to date the oil level has not dropped between changes.

 

[yrwei52]

⋯
The thing I would stress is everyone should do an oil level check after servicing to verify the oil level is correct, I prefer to start with my oil level at the full mark.

Yes. Another thing is Mazda’s fluid capacities listed in the manual are “approximate” quantities. The engine oil for the 2.5T it states 5.1 quarts but actually needs 5.5 quarts to the Max mark. For the 2.5L NA it states 4.8 quarts but needs 5.25 quarts. The worst is for rear differential it states 0.37 quart but we need 0.75 quart to reach the brim of the fill hole as instructed by Mazda Workshop Manual.

 

[GLT]

Mazda really needs to update the owners manual, fluid capacities should be reasonable accurate.
When Mazda lists quantities down to 1/100 of a quart (.37) I don't think they can hide behind saying "approximate". Same for oil, listing capacity to 1/10 quart (3.2 oz), seems quite precise.
Thanks for the information on the differential, the transfer case shows .48 quart and I was hoping to do both with 1 quart of oil, but if the differential is that far off I'll need 2.

 

[yrwei52]

Mazda really needs to update the owners manual, fluid capacities should be reasonable accurate.
When Mazda lists quantities down to 1/100 of a quart (.37) I don't think they can hide behind saying "approximate". Same for oil, listing capacity to 1/10 quart (3.2 oz), seems quite precise.

Yes, agreed. This’s something caught my by surprise with these “approximate” fluid capacities as my 2016 CX-5 is my first Mazda. They aren’t consistent either as the rear differential is off ~100%, but the capacity listed on front transfer case is accurate, 0.48 quart!

The other thing from Mazda which caught me by surprise is the torque values listed in the Workshop Manual. They all are given in a range, not a single value like everybody else. This also gives me the impression that the precision isn’t the high priority by Mazda.

Thanks for the information on the differential, the transfer case shows .48 quart and I was hoping to do both with 1 quart of oil, but if the differential is that far off I'll need 2.

Yes you need about 0.48 + 0.75 = ~1.23 quarts of very expensive SG1 to do both. Some thought they only needed a quart doing both based on the specs got burned and had to get another bottle:

 

[PTguy]

The thing I would stress is everyone should do an oil level check after servicing

YES! To see if they actually drained the old oil, that they put in oil, and that the level is somewhere close to the mark. (My first, and only, oil change at the dealer they failed to do anything to the car, just called my wife after she'd been waiting for the compulsary hour and sent her home. This was the free oil change, so no charge. I was suspicious, because they gave her no paperwork and didn't wash the car. I called and happened to speak with the same service writer who remembered her. He assured me that all the work had been done, and the oil got very dirty and a half quart low just on the hour drive home. (I'm sure it didn't.) I asked him to check the charges for the oil and the filter (it all has to be charged to the car and the filter charged out of the parts dept). He got real quiet. Said that I could drop by for "another" oil change at no charge. I haven't been back.)