2017 CX-9 Oil overfilled and interval

[Staphwildman]

Hey all, looking for an opinion on a couple of things. I have a 2017 CX-9 with 20,000km (~12,000 miles) in Canada.

1. The photo attached is the dipstick after an oil change. This was the day after the oil change and the car was sitting on flat ground. I've spoken to the service manager several times, and he states the oil capacity is 5.9 litres (vs 4.8 in the manual) and that this amount "should be fine". Any thoughts on if this amount is too much?


2. I'll hold my hand up here and say I am partially responsible, but I trust that the dealer is being level with me and when the wrench comes on for the oil change etc I make an appointment and bring it in. On the latest oil change, when I put the paperwork in my binder (I'm that guy) I noticed the last oil change was 4 months previous. Before that is was 5, then 6 and then 6 (and then new). I asked the service manager and he told me they are changing it to 4months to promote longevity in the engine. The manual states 6 months and 12,000 km (7,500 miles) in Canada (I am in Vancouver area) and much longer in the US. The question is, does this dealer have a legit reason, or is this clearly the case of the dealer playing a shyster move?

Overall I quite like(d) the dealer here - but these two things are driving me a little crazy. They did stand up and replace the nav screen that they scratched during a service with is a plus, but hard to still trust them with the other behaviour?

It is also worth noting that they offered me several free oil changes to make up for this, but if they are overfilling it and doing this other stuff - is free really worth it?

 

[sm1ke]

If you choose to continue getting your oil changed at the dealer, I would simply get it in writing (preferably right on the invoice), that the service manager verified that filling oil to 5.9 litres is "normal", and get his signature. Personally I wouldn't trust it and I would follow the manual and the dip stick reading instead. At the very least, if you ask the service manager to put his name behind what he says, he will likely double check his information and may end up redoing the oil change and filling to the upper dot.

I also change my own oil whenever the on-board indicator shows that it is time. My first oil change was done a little early at 7,000 km. Next one I did at 15,000 km, and I have almost 18,000 kms on the car now. I live in a low-humidity climate, so maybe that might have something to do with the frequency of your oil changes? (shrug)

 

[Staphwildman]

If you choose to continue getting your oil changed at the dealer, I would simply get it in writing (preferably right on the invoice), that the service manager verified that filling oil to 5.9 litres is "normal", and get his signature. Personally I wouldn't trust it and I would follow the manual and the dip stick reading instead. At the very least, if you ask the service manager to put his name behind what he says, he will likely double check his information and may end up redoing the oil change and filling to the upper dot.

They actually put right on the invoice 5.5 litres (vs 4.8), which essentially puts it in writing on every invoice.

I also change my own oil whenever the on-board indicator shows that it is time. My first oil change was done a little early at 7,000 km. Next one I did at 15,000 km, and I have almost 18,000 kms on the car now. I live in a low-humidity climate, so maybe that might have something to do with the frequency of your oil changes? (shrug)

I also change my own oil whenever the on-board indicator shows that it is time. My first oil change was done a little early at 7,000 km. Next one I did at 15,000 km, and I have almost 18,000 kms on the car now. I live in a low-humidity climate, so maybe that might have something to do with the frequency of your oil changes? (shrug)

I am going to go out on a limb that you have flexible oil change enabled? Mine has a fixed interval set by the dealer to 4 months / 6,000 KM, so no matter the environment it will always go off at whatever is first.
Would love to change my own oil but we live in a Strata and one of the bylaws is no changing oil!

 

[sm1ke]

I believe all Canadian vehicles have to follow the fixed interval schedule due to the "extreme" climate changes we experience. I'm pretty sure my intervals are set to 6 months / 8,000 km but I'll double check. Either way, I believe you can change it to one or the other in the system settings.

I'm going to stick with my current schedule, but if you want to know exactly why the dealer insists on your current interval, maybe you can ask them to provide some literature or direction from Mazda that shows that your interval promotes longevity and why. This would be helpful information to all of us here if there is an actual reason for it.

Ah, that makes sense regarding your bylaws. I used to live in a city where you aren't allowed to do driveway car washes.

 

[Staphwildman]

I believe all Canadian vehicles have to follow the fixed interval schedule due to the "extreme" climate changes we experience. I'm pretty sure my intervals are set to 6 months / 8,000 km but I'll double check. Either way, I believe you can change it to one or the other in the system settings.

I live in the Lower Mainland of BC, not sure that would be classified as extreme (well maybe this week). but I get that. All cars seem to put Canada under the extreme schedule.

I'm going to stick with my current schedule, but if you want to know exactly why the dealer insists on your current interval, maybe you can ask them to provide some literature or direction from Mazda that shows that your interval promotes longevity and why. This would be helpful information to all of us here if there is an actual reason for it.

So far the only thing he has told me is "to prolong the life of the engine", with no other information. Will be interested to know where they finally land. What I do know is they are changing all intervals to 4 months, so may customers are most likely facing the same issue.

Ah, that makes sense regarding your bylaws. I used to live in a city where you aren't allowed to do driveway car washes.

Some things I can get away with, but oil changes someone might notice for sure. At one point, the cost was so reasonable it just made sense. And then for a while I had oil for life, which really made sense to go to the dealer.

 

[roadrutz]

Every four months is more than Mazda recommends. For Canadian vehicles, they say every six months or 8,000 km, whichever occurs first (Owner's Manual, p.6-7). On my CX9 I have changed it to every 8 months or 8,000 km, on the grounds that, like you, I live in a relatively mild environment and do very few short drives. (You can change it from 6 months to 8 in Settings.)

My dealer did the last change and put in 5.1 liters. (Well, more accurately, he charged me for 5.1 liters!) 5W30 synthetic.

Interestingly, the change before that was done by a franchise oil change place, and they charged $6 MORE than the dealer: $92 vs $86, including taxes.

 

[PTguy]

The stealership wants shorter oil change intervals to get you in more often so they can sell you unneeded repairs. The CBC has a great YouTube video of crooked dealer service writers, I think in Ontario. The service writers are paid on commission. The more they sell you, the more they make. If they don*t sell enough services, they get fired.

There is no good reason Surrey has a different service schedule than, say, Bellingham. If the manual requires 6 months, you gott*a do it to maintain your warranty. If increasing the life of your engine is a priority for you, use better oil. Any major brand full synthetic 5W-30 would be a great choice. Ignore the service writer trying to sell you more than Mazda corporate requires. I stick with Mazda brand oil filters just in case there is a warranty claim that might involve the filter. Oil specs are industry standard. The engine makers do not publish the oil filter specs; the filter makers reverse engineer them. I trust WIX, Baldwin, etc, but I don*t need a headache in case I have a claim.

The extra oil is no problem, but you should not pay for more than the manual specifies.