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A qt every 4K miles is probably higher than average but certainly well with the “normal” range so I doubt you’re going to get any warranty support from Mazda. (And assuming it’s burning the oil rather than leaking, the “cure” of tearing into the engine to renew rings or valve seals is worse...

No, you definitely don’t need to “carefully drive the car at low revs”. Normal driving is fine, but avoid sustained high speeds, excessive idling, towing, or racing the engine from idle. Avoid using the cruise control for long periods too. The ideal break in is country road driving in hilly...

The biggest advantage of native nav is that it’s always there, regardless of whether your phone is available or connected. And since the CX5 doesn’t have wireless AA or CP, connecting must be done by cable which can be inconvenient. It probably isn’t worth the $300+ list price for the card...

Some Mazda dealer websites have a "Show window sticker" button. If it hasn't been too long since you purchased, your car might be still there. They may be a way for the dealer to regenerate it through their computer systems. Some web sites will do VIN decoding, but this is much less...

If you have written documentation (e.g., on a dealer work order) of a complaint within the warranty period that is addressed by the TSB, they'll usually cover it outside of warranty. For example, the if work order says "customer complains of whistling noise from sunroof - could not find...

All these accolades are great and will keep the CX-5 selling fairly well, but if you monitor the mainstream online press, you still see a lot of complaints about the car's small interior, non-touchscreen infotainment, obsolete six-speed transmission, mediocre gas mileage, and lack of cool "must...

I wouldn't worry very much about the oil appearing "dirty" or what the dealer said. It sounds like the oil had at least 7K km on it (and perhaps more as it doesn't sound like you have a precise mileage when the last oil change was done) . And perhaps a lot of calender time. Most oils will...

The OMAC rails are cheap ($115) and I've found a couple of generally "okay" reviews, but nothing comprehensive. It would be nice to see the install instructions which I can't find on the OMAC site or elsewhere. - Mark

Hi, whenever I get a new car I usually save the printed brochure the dealers give out - if/when I sell a car later, it is a little extra gloss for the buyer and often the printed brochure has the best table showing the breakdown of trim features. When I bought mine, the dealer didn't have any...

I’d like more specifics about the Mazda OM “confirming” that conventional oil is recommended (vs synthetic). for the 2.5T. Sounds bogus to me. I haven’t heard of any modern car that makes such a recommendation and Mazda’s oil specs can be satisfied with either conventional or synthetic. A few...

I have the CE also and this feature is buried in the setup menus of the car.... forget exactly where. I tried it for a few days and then turned it off; just found it more convenient to control the locking/unlocking manually, especially in my own garage. - Mark

Most torque wrenches have dual scales to read in either metric or english units, but if yours doesn’t, simply get out a calculator and convert the spec to whatever units your wrench uses. As to whether you need an inch-lb wrench or a ft-lb wrench, it depends on whether the wrench covers the...

The available data on whether higher octane, by itself, improves fuel mileage is extremely murky and highly engine-tune dependent, but from a “pure physics” standpoint, this is completely wrong as higher octane fuels do NOT have “more energy”. Any ethanol-laced fuel does have less energy than...

Notwithstanding rust problems, if you’ve got a good independent mechanic (or you’re DIY), I like high-mileage, well-maintained cars as they can be good values. (You do want a very good review of service records and a thorough mechanical inspection on a lift.). But only if they’re appropriately...

Discussed in other threads. Since running an engine right at the edge of knock all the time is tricky and potentially has long-term durability concerns, it’s not typically done. Instead the engine is run in a fixed state of tune that produces full power except when knock is detected in...

As said, don't put much credence into what the dealer says - their main motivation is to keep their service bays full. In general, follow Mazda's service schedule and Schedule 1 is probably adequate for your usage. I would do a calendar-based annual oil change if you don't get to the mileage...

I agree with your assessment....In this situation, I'd buy the correct Mazda filter and bring it to the shop. And remind them about using 5w-30, not 0w-20. - Mark

First thing to do when you get a warning like this is to check engine oil level. If you safely can, pull over and shut down immediately after you get the warning and don’t restart the engine if the oil level is showing low on the dipstick. If you simply ran the car so low on oil that is...

It does sound like injector swapping/replacement is not an easy fix. I’d check compression next and monitor fuel mileage. Vacuum leaks are another strong possibility. I bet #1 is running just on the ragged edge of being too lean. Does the plug look different than other 3? If the car is...

There are things other than ignition which can cause a misfire code trip... clogged fuel injector, mass airflow sensor issues, even low compression. If you want to throw parts at it, I’d do injector next, perhaps just a troubleshooting swap with another cylinder. - Mark