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- Plano, Texas, USA
Several have tested the oil level measurement in hot (follow Mazda owner’s manual “Turn it off and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.“, so technically I can wait 8 hours and check the oil level which still meets Mazda’s recommendation) and cold (first thing in the morning before the engine start) and the difference is minimum. And for those who want to follow owner’s manual exactly, Mazda says:As mentioned countless times before, keeping your oil level at the full mark is personal preference. Do it if you want to. As long as you take your oil readings correctly and perform maintenance/inspections within the recommended intervals, you'll be fine.
“If it is near or below MIN/ADD, add enough oil to bring the level to MAX/FULL.”, not in between.
In my incident keeping a bottle of oil in the truck is useless. I lost almost 3 quarts of oil while driving on the highway for 400-mile trip. I did check the oil level before the trip which was over-filled about a half quart as usual. And there was no low oil pressure warning light lit whatsoever and I had no incentive to stop the car only for checking the oil level right after a oil change by the dealer and checked before the trip. I only found out the very low oil level the next day in the morning when I was shocked to see there was nothing on dipstick!And for those truly worried about falling oil levels and just-in-case scenarios, keep a quart of oil in the trunk.