CX-5 Premium Plus Engine leaking oil

[KukiMazda20]

"Mazda CX-5 2022 Owners, Do You Face Oil Leaks? Is it Normal, as the Dealership Claims?"
I am a proud owner of the Mazda CX-5 2022, but lately finding myself concerned about mysterious oil leaks. Did anyone experience the same issue? The dealership says it is a normal leak. But is it really normal for a brand-new vehicle to experience oil leaks?

 

[edmaz]

Calling ANY fluid leak on a 1 or 2 year-old vehicle 'normal' is an abysmal response. While it might be considered normal to live with some minor leaks on a much older vehicle, no fluid leak of any kind on a relatively new vehicle is acceptable.

But much more importantly than their 'normal' response, what did they say about fixing the leak? I hope you're not going to reply that they don't plan to do anything, because that would be ludicrous. The leak appears to be coming from the valve cover, right about where the VVT oil control valve is installed on the head, inside the valve cover. And that's well-known to be an oil leaker, but in no way makes an oil leak there 'normal'

 

[KukiMazda20]

Just pick up the car - they said it is minor and no repair is needed. I am not sure what to do. Change dealership?

 

[edmaz]

Just pick up the car - they said it is minor and no repair is needed. I am not sure what to do. Change dealership?

You could either do that or go back to the same one and ask to speak to the owner/manager and tell them in whatever words you want to use, that's it's not reasonable for your nearly new vehicle to have an active oil leak go unrepaired.

And if no one wants to cooperate with what you're asking, then open a case with Mazda Corporate and present your complaint to them. It's frankly unbelievable to me that they wouldn't have just gone ahead and done that 1 hour repair, without any hesitation at all.

 

[kaehlin]

Agree 100%. Any leak is unacceptable on a car under warranty.

 

[Conrad 16.5]

Total BS!!!

Care to name this dealer?

If it's an option for you, find another dealership and have them take a look. Then never return to the first dealer, tell them why.

 

[edmaz]

Total BS!!!

Care to name this dealer?

If it's an option for you, find another dealership and have them take a look. Then never return to the first dealer, tell them why.

Yes, after this mess is sorted out and provided it's not overly inconvenient for you, don't ever go back to that incompetent and unprofessional outfit.

 

[erhayes]

Appears to be weeping and not leaking. If within the 3/36 get it fixed by the dealer.

 

[AL Cx5]

It's not uncommon for the gaskets on a valve cover gasket to become relaxed after many heat cycles.

In the time it takes to go to the Stealership, I'll put a wrench on all the valve cover bolts and snug them up. Then spray off the oil residue with brake cleaner.

I'm disappointed to see Mazda didn't put a better quality gasket on their valve covers. My 09 Accord valve cover started having a small leak at a 100K,, 10 years old. It was time to adjust the valves, so the valve cover needed to come off. Installed a new set of valve cover gasket kit. Cost less than $20.

My 06 Ram, Cummins diesel, has 265K on the clock and original valve cover gasket. NO oil seeping or leaking. Valve cover has been off 4 times. I will replace the gasket around the 350K mark when we change out the original fuel injectors. Just because.

Thanks for posting, I'll put a wrench on our '24 valve cover in a couple of years or oil seeping, what ever comes first.

 

[cz5gt]

Unfortunately it is common for recent Mazda models, for whatever reason randomly some will get seepage at different spots. I question the QA at the factory but not much we can do.
Sadly Mazda used to fix it no questions but lately (after covid) they call it normal unless it makes puddles on the ground and some dealers dont want to fix it. The problem is sometimes the dealer mechanic make it worse after fixing it. So its a risk to take.
Its terrible on such new car - I know. been there
multiple times on both my CX5s.
If you want- Keep pushing the dealer or try another one.

 

[AL Cx5]

It sounds like most CX 5 owners don't do much or any of their own maintenance. Relying on the dealership or others.

AND one would think this well engineered engine and car wouldn't have oil leaks.

I never turned a wrench on my cars until I started paying folks to modify my car. I learned by fire how to fix what they broke or didn't finish. I started out doing oil changes and move on from there. I like to push my edge and do more complex tasks. At the suggestion of a friend, I rebuilt a transmission from my race car. The worst thing that could happen, I wasted some time and a few hundred dollars in parts. To my surprise, it worked and still working.

On my Cummins, I damaged the oil pan. Had a good mechanic change the oil pan. After a couple of weeks, it started to seep oil. He said, bring it back. He is 45 minuets away. Instead, I torqued the oil pan bolts. Wiped down the flange. About 30K later I noticed it seeping when changing the oil. I gently tightened the bolts again. This time, no oil seeping out of the flange.

No car is perfect, even our CX 5s. They all have unique issues. Valve cover gasket leak is not a deal killer for me. Announce, YES. I'm going to keep looking for oil leak threads and make a list where to look and see if retorque the bolts will do the trick. Then try a new gasket or RTV the joint.

In 6 months or so, I'm going to look up the torque specs and cross torque the valve cover and other areas that might leak oil. It might be some seals loose elasticity and need to be retorqued.

 

[jadmt]

seeps and weeps and leaks...leaks get fixed weeps and seeps not always. I have said Japanese workmanship has fallen way off over the last couple of years....my Ram truck has been flawless since I bought it new in 2020...mexican workmanship has surpassed Japanese workmanship....

 

[AL Cx5]

seeps and weeps and leaks...leaks get fixed weeps and seeps not always. I have said Japanese workmanship has fallen way off over the last couple of years....my Ram truck has been flawless since I bought it new in 2020...mexican workmanship has surpassed Japanese workmanship....

I've just about replaced, repaired or fixed every system on my 06 RAM except the engine. It was steeler up to 230K. The past 35K has been renewal time. I think I'm through for another 250k.

I just replace the power steering pump, hydroboost and 5 hoses. It worked but LEAKED. Most folks would have ignored these small leaks. Turns out it had 3, P pump seal, hydroboost and 2 hoses. For today, the 18 year old 365k has no leaks, seeps or weeps.

I hope I'm so lucky on the Mazda. Time will tell. A seep, weep is an annoyance. But a puddle of oil on the floor will not be tolerated.

I'm impressed with the Mazda paint finish, the body panels fit up and general engineering.

 

[jadmt]

I've just about replaced, repaired or fixed every system on my 06 RAM except the engine. It was steeler up to 230K. The past 35K has been renewal time. I think I'm through for another 250k.

I just replace the power steering pump, hydroboost and 5 hoses. It worked but LEAKED. Most folks would have ignored these small leaks. Turns out it had 3, P pump seal, hydroboost and 2 hoses. For today, the 18 year old 365k has no leaks, seeps or weeps.

I hope I'm so lucky on the Mazda. Time will tell. A seep, weep is an annoyance. But a puddle of oil on the floor will not be tolerated.

I'm impressed with the Mazda paint finish, the body panels fit up and general engineering.

I have a 2023 rhodium white and the paint is terrible and body panel fit are just so so, at least it is fun to drive an gets good mpg. . If I went out tomorrow and it was missing from its parking spot I wouldn't get another. don't get me wrong I don't hate it but it has not impressed me all that much either.

 

[acidbug]

Any leaking from a new car is BS. If possible, try another dealership in your area. If neither help time to reach out to Mazda North America with pictures to document the issue also when you went to visit the original dealership, make sure the paperwork notate that oil was present when they check, this way, God forbid something goes. At least you’ll have the proof.

 

[AL Cx5]

I was curious how difficult it is to replace a valve cover gasket on a 2.5l.
It's straightforward. Maybe an hour job.

The Mazda valve cover has more bolts than a Honda 2.4l and uses more RTV on the corners than Honda. I'm surprised it leaks. Honda torques their VC bolts to 7 ft pound and Mazda to 6.

Like the OP, I don't want to need to fix a seep/weep/leak while on warranty. After our 2024 gets a few thousand miles, I'm going to torque the OVC and valve cover gaskets to spec just to see if the gaskets have settled a bit.

Back in the day with cork gaskets, it was common to retighten valve covers after replacing the gaskets. Even then, the tended to leak!

https://mazdas247.com/forum/t/mazda...l-control-valve-gasket-replacement.123873415/

 

[cz5gt]

seeps and weeps and leaks...leaks get fixed weeps and seeps not always. I have said Japanese workmanship has fallen way off over the last couple of years....my Ram truck has been flawless since I bought it new in 2020...mexican workmanship has surpassed Japanese workmanship....

Spot on. Thats my observation too.
plus the prices for japanese cars (most are also now made in NA with few exceptions) are reaching new luxury cars heights and its not justified to me.
If you think yes CX5 interior looks good but most is rubber faking leather. Not to mention they use the cheapest parts everywhere possible.

The chain cover leak TSB is now extended up to 2023 models. Starting at 2017. Wont be surprised if they extend it to 2024 soon.

Mazda qualifies a leak as having wet spots, oil
drips and wet oil spots on the bottom plastic cover. Othwrwise it rejects warranty lately.

 

[AL Cx5]

NOW I read about the annoying 2.5 stuff. So glad you folks post this up so I'll be watching for it.

Sounds like the timing cover was a workmanship deal. Like Mazda is pushing as many units out the door as possible. RTV for sealant is SO old school! Even my 06 Dodge Hemi had a rubber gasket for the timing cover that fit snuggly on the timing cover. They never leaked a drop.

Doing a timing cover leak search and many other models show up, Lexus, Toyota and GM. Then I stopped looking.

Looks like a 3 to 4 hour job on a 2.5l. Not something I want to pay for or do down the road.

I think of our CX-5 Prem, T, an ALMOST luxury car. Just what I want. I could live with half of the bells and whistles. Reliability ratings for CX-5s is way better than the luxury brands. I can only imagine the outrage of the Benz, BMW and such folks!

 

[N7turbo]

I can only imagine the outrage of the Benz, BMW and such folks!

Eh, I think they know what they signed up for.

 

[AL Cx5]

Eh, I think they know what they signed up for.

Maybe we should all drive Dodge 392 ci HEMI Chargers.

The Hemi community has found and reengineered the lifter failure issue. I coached a friend how to make this modification before his lifters failed while he was fixing the exhaust manifold bolt issue. THEN he had a solid truck.

Moral of the story, none of these cars are perfect. The Dodge and Ram community reengineer and tune their car and trucks to fix the imperfections. Aftermarket companies make the parts.

I won't be surprised if the 2.5l have lifter issues around the 100K mark. The lifters the ECU turns off are heavier than the others and prone to fail in GM and Chrysler. We remove these lifters and remove the cylinder deactivation feature in the ECU on other platforms.

When we get tuning for 2024, deactivating cylinder feature is on my list of items to remove around the 100K mark. I'll see if I can drop in two regular lifters in their place. Others will have blazed the trail ahead of me and we will know if and about when they fail....

It's a little Pollyanna to thing because Mazda is a Japanese company, made in Japan, it will not any flaws. Japan has done a good job selling the world they make the best cars.