2017~2024 CX-5 Abnormal Oil Use

The basic concept is pretty simple: a warm engine has more oil in the engine itself and less in the pan than a cold engine.

For the 2020's, the North American manual says this on page 6-27:

"Inspecting Engine Oil Level

1. Be sure the vehicle is on a level surface.
2. Warm up the engine to normal operating temperature.
3. Turn it off and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.
4. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, and reinsert it fully."

Normal operating temperature can be gauged off the coolant temperature--run the car until the water temp gauge stops going up.

This is middle of the road between warm and cold. More oil will drain into the pan overnight than after 5 minutes.

This begs a question. Does the service tech follow this procedure when checking the oil on a refill? Probably not since spewing carbon monoxide dioxide in a closed garage and spending another 20 minutes on the job is not something he's inclined to do.

More likely the tech will underfill it a bit. Oil expands when hot. After 5 minutes of cool down the oil is still pretty hot. The tech is putting cold oil in. He might recon it will average out.

Keep in mind there is a tolerance. A half quart low or high is not a big deal and could be the amount of variation under the different conditions. The thing to do is check the oil right after an oil change after the prescribed 5 minute cool down. If it's reads a bit low no biggie though you could top it off. If it reads a bit high no biggie; it won't be enough to blow a seal or gasket. Frankly, I think you'd have to be driving the thing with no oil on the stick or the whole stick covered in oil to do any damage.

So, check it right after an oil change under the specific 5 minute cool down (on level ground) to see if it is within tolerance. If it's OK, somewhat high or low, then you have a benchmark against which to check later to see if you're losing oil or not.

Alternatively, if it's within tolerance as above, you could then check it again overnight and reset your benchmark to cold conditions. This is my preferred approach since I check the oil at least a couple hours after driving since I also check tire pressure at the same time. It takes quite a while for tires to get cold.

This may seem overly fastidious because it is. But if you're concerned about oil loss for some reason, this is a way to monitor it.
Um, doesn't waiting until the next morning to check, meet their requirement?
3. Turn it off and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.

In what window of time does "at least" end?
 
Um, doesn't waiting until the next morning to check, meet their requirement?
3. Turn it off and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.

In what window of time does "at least" end?
I agree. In theory, checking oil level the first thing in the morning before the engine start meets “wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan” criteria. And we can check the tire pressure at the same time too.

I’d already compared oil levels on my 2.5L 5-minute hot engine and the first thing in the morning cold, there’s almost no difference between the 2. But checking the oil level cold is much easier.

Hot:
6BB9E7B4-B5E3-4D73-812B-CE05684A0404.jpeg


Cold:
906A96AD-FC00-4064-B8C3-BC49A3814CB1.jpeg


I did an oil level check after driving my CX-5 around for about an hour and make sure the engine is fully warmed up. Then I turned it off and waited at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan. To be exact, the picture was taken 10 minutes after as I had to take the measurement multiple times due to the difficulty of reading the hot and watery 0W-20 oil on the dipstick.

View attachment 226654

And here’s the oil level taken at the first thing in the morning on a cold engine before the engine start. No wiping, one pull, and easy to read the oil level on the dipstick:

View attachment 226655

As we can see, there’s almost no difference between the oil level measured in hot engine and in cold engine, just like dunhillmc’s pictures showed.

The case is closed!
 
I had similar issues in a previous vehicle, I just bought a Mazda 6 2019 and put this in:
https://www.searchforparts.com/oil-change/mazda-2019-mazda6-2.5l-m
maybe you can search for your vehicle on there, although my 2019 does not consume oil I have had a mustang that was burning oil fast and a Camry that also was burning up a quart a month driving 1200 miles per month and it was solved by using Amsoil.
The toyota dealership and a mechanic who owns an auto repair shop both could not find leaks in the Camry. The Mustang the dealership said the same. The Camry reduced oil consumption from a quart a month to a quart ever 3 months, it cannot hurt to try different brand oils maybe? Just my experience.
 
I had similar issues in a previous vehicle, I just bought a Mazda 6 2019 and put this in:
https://www.searchforparts.com/oil-change/mazda-2019-mazda6-2.5l-m
maybe you can search for your vehicle on there, although my 2019 does not consume oil I have had a mustang that was burning oil fast and a Camry that also was burning up a quart a month driving 1200 miles per month and it was solved by using Amsoil.
The toyota dealership and a mechanic who owns an auto repair shop both could not find leaks in the Camry. The Mustang the dealership said the same. The Camry reduced oil consumption from a quart a month to a quart ever 3 months, it cannot hurt to try different brand oils maybe? Just my experience.
Curious what oil you were using.
 
Um, doesn't waiting until the next morning to check, meet their requirement?
3. Turn it off and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.

In what window of time does "at least" end?
Sure, but that wasn't my point. You should get a bit more more oil in the pan the next morning than after 5 minutes of cool down. In fact, as I said, that complete cool down more closely approximates where it was at when the service tech filled it which is then your benchmark to see if you're losing oil.

The main takeaway is that if you're concerned about losing oil, check it after an oil change or after topping off, whether hot or dead cold, then check it next time under the same conditions. As I said, I do it cold because I'm also checking the tires.
 
I don't know if this has been posted before, but here's an answer to the question of how much oil consumption Mazda considers acceptable in 2020 CX-5's:


In short, if the oil level drops from the full mark on the stick to anywhere above the low mark after 1,200 miles, that's acceptable.

Interestingly, they are comparing apples to apples, operating temp to operating temp, in this procedure which is contrary to the manual which says wait 5 minutes. It goes to show that the apples-to-apples is more important in gauging oil loss than whether you check a cold engine or a warm one.
 
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⋯ It goes to show that the apples-to-apples is more important in gauging oil loss than whether you check a cold engine or a warm one.
And it’s been proven by several including me that checking the oil level hot or overnight cold doesn’t make too much difference, at least on the 2.5L.
 
I had similar issues in a previous vehicle, I just bought a Mazda 6 2019 and put this in:
https://www.searchforparts.com/oil-change/mazda-2019-mazda6-2.5l-m
maybe you can search for your vehicle on there, although my 2019 does not consume oil I have had a mustang that was burning oil fast and a Camry that also was burning up a quart a month driving 1200 miles per month and it was solved by using Amsoil.
The toyota dealership and a mechanic who owns an auto repair shop both could not find leaks in the Camry. The Mustang the dealership said the same. The Camry reduced oil consumption from a quart a month to a quart ever 3 months, it cannot hurt to try different brand oils maybe? Just my experience.
Absolutely. Not all 0w-20s or whatever weight your using are the same. Brands are different in the way of flash points, kinematic viscosity, cold pouring temperatures, etc. You have to do some research, product data sheets are available on the manufacturer website. Trying different brands might get you better oil mileage with something different.
 
Always check the oil level according to the manufacturer’s recommendation. Period.
 

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Always check the oil level according to the manufacturer’s recommendation. Period.
Inspecting Engine Oil Level
1. Be sure the vehicle is on a level surface.
2. Warm up the engine to normal operating temperature.
3. Turn it off and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.
4. Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, and reinsert it fully.
5. Pull it out again and examine the level. The level is normal if it is between the MIN and MAX marks. If it is near or below MIN, add enough oil to bring the level to MAX.


So I need to turn off the engine and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan. Instead I actually waited overnight (at least 5 minutes) making sure most oil returned to the oil pan then checked the oil level. I believe I followed manufacture’s recommendation checking the oil level! ;)

No matter, it’s been verified you can check oil level warm or cold, and the difference is minimum. Engine oil on thermal expansion is not as sensitive as ATF which has to be measured at 122°F / 50°C for ATF level. You just have to wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.
 
With regards to the temperature of the oil affecting level, it's probably not significant enough to worry about in most situations, but it is definitely measurable.

Oil thermal expansion from room temperature to "normal operating" temperature is about 6%. This percentage of a 5-qt engine oil supply is 0.3 qt. So if you measured the oil cold and it was at the add line and you added a qt, you'd probably be a little overfull.

I think Mazda says to warm up the engine during the oil change procedure to provide a consistent basis - the basis on which presumably the dipstick is calibrated. I don't think they intended that you warm up the engine, let it cool back down to ambient, then do the check.

Bottom line is that it is fine to check engine oil cold, but it is going to measure a little low, probably by 1/4 to a 1/3 qt. For most people whose engine doesn't use much oil and generally stay in the top half of the dipstick between oil changes, who cares? But If you want the lines in the dipstick to be the best estimates they can be, it is better to do it as they suggest: wait 5-min after engine shutdown from normal operating temp.

- Mark
 
With regards to the temperature of the oil affecting level, it's probably not significant enough to worry about in most situations, but it is definitely measurable.

Oil thermal expansion from room temperature to "normal operating" temperature is about 6%. This percentage of a 5-qt engine oil supply is 0.3 qt. So if you measured the oil cold and it was at the add line and you added a qt, you'd probably be a little overfull.
But you forgot to consider this: with longer wait time, more oil will drain back to the oil pan which makes the oil level a bit higher, and it cancels out the thermal expansion effect when cold.

I think Mazda says to warm up the engine during the oil change procedure to provide a consistent basis - the basis on which presumably the dipstick is calibrated. I don't think they intended that you warm up the engine, let it cool back down to ambient, then do the check.
Whether Mazda’s dipstick is calibrated or not, the oil level check instruction says only “wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan”. It doesn’t say anything about taking the oil level measurement in 30 minutes or anything else to emphasize the oil has to be warm while checking the oil level.

Bottom line is that it is fine to check engine oil cold, but it is going to measure a little low, probably by 1/4 to a 1/3 qt. For most people whose engine doesn't use much oil and generally stay in the top half of the dipstick between oil changes, who cares? But If you want the lines in the dipstick to be the best estimates they can be, it is better to do it as they suggest: wait 5-min after engine shutdown from normal operating temp.

- Mark
This’s simply not true in reality. See comparison pictures in post #22 above.

And the instruction says “wait at least 5 minutes”, not wait 5 minutes.
 
It should definitely be added in the user agreement that it is ban-able offense to discuss the topic of hot/cold oil measurement via dipstick.

Lol! I don't think there's a need for that as long as everyone understands that its possible to disagree without being disrespectful.
 
My 2021 cx 5 skyactiv 2.5L has issues with oil consumption . Burns a half quart between oil changes and only has about 13K miles on engine. I can't beleive there are not more posts as the dealer see's this issue regularly and said it was normal. I thinks It's normal for a car with 150,000 miles on it
 
My 2021 cx 5 skyactiv 2.5L has issues with oil consumption . Burns a half quart between oil changes and only has about 13K miles on engine. I can't beleive there are not more posts as the dealer see's this issue regularly and said it was normal. I thinks It's normal for a car with 150,000 miles on it
Yes, I can see it . What grade of oil ( I presume 0W-20) but more importantly, what is the oil change interval in miles. Do you do a lot of high speed (interstate) driving? These factors affect consumption.
 
My 2021 cx 5 skyactiv 2.5L has issues with oil consumption . Burns a half quart between oil changes and only has about 13K miles on engine. I can't beleive there are not more posts as the dealer see's this issue regularly and said it was normal. I thinks It's normal for a car with 150,000 miles on it
Turbo?
 
Regular Highway and in town mile and the dealer changes oil every 7K miles. It's the base model engine , no Turbo. Runs good, I like the car ( wifes car). thanks :)
 
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