engine oil rise GAS engine

[lcann25]

Hello everyone, I'm seeing lots of posts covering oil rise with the diesel engine however I just checked my 2.5 gas today and its showing way over the full mark. Its basically up to where the twist in the dipstick is, or what I would guess is a litre over full. It has 11,000 kms on it and I did the first oil change myself at 8000 with castrol 0w20 synthetic. I'm going to call Mazda in the morning and see what they say but this is quite alarming to me. The weather has gotten cold here in Canada but I don't think that should be a cause. The factory oil didn't raise at all and was actually a smidge low when I changed it. Anyone having the same issues? I will post back with what I find out from Mazda.

 

[robertmazda]

Are you checking with the car on level ground and with the engine cold?
Did you check the level immediately after your change at 8000 and/or anytime since then (but before today)?
Had you changed the oil on other cars before you did it on the CX-5 at 8000, or was that your first time?

 

[V8toilet]

Check it first thing in the morning to get a more accurate reading. If you put more than 5qts in it than you over filled it.

 

[lcann25]

I'm an automotive shop manager, so I've changed oil a few times. The jug of castrol I put in was 4.4 liters and it left the level a bit low but well within the safe zone. When I checked it today the vehicle had been sitting 4 hours. I'll check it again in the morning before work.

 

[phoned]

The dipstick is very hard to properly read. Because of the twist, one half of it always seems to be completely covered in oil where the other side is more clear where the actual level is.

Edit: I also feel mine was overfilled from the factory or PDI. Dealer insists its "perfect" though.

 

[lcann25]

Upon reading the specs in the owners manual it states 4.2 liters with filter, the jug I used was 4.4.. This plus allowing for any residual old oil left may put it at 4.5-4.6. So I guess it is possible I overfilled it, however I checked very carefully to make sure the level was correct at the time of change... Very puzzling. I may remove the filter and pour it out and reinstall it and monitor the level more closely in the next few days.

 

[phoned]

That's for the 2L engine though. If you have a 2014 you only have the 2L if you got a GX model. The rest are the 2.5L.

 

[lcann25]

Yes it's a 2.5, but it doesn't specify an engine size.. Section 9-2 of the owners manual states 4.2 with filter, 4.0 without. I assume the oil quantities are the same for both engines.

 

[phoned]

Not sure what version of the manual you are looking at, but the online one does have a difference.


Engine oil

SKYACTIV-G 2.0
With oil filter replacement
4.2 L (4.4 US qt, 3.7 Imp qt)
Without oil filter replacement
4.0 L (4.2 US qt, 3.5 Imp qt)

SKYACTIV-G 2.5
With oil filter replacement
4.5 L (4.8 US qt, 4.0 Imp qt)
Without oil filter replacement
4.3 L (4.5 US qt, 3.8 Imp qt)

 

[lcann25]

Interesting.. I am using the online one and it makes no reference to the different engines... however, this is even more cause for concern because following that, I know for a fact I didn't overfill the crankcase and it's definitely overfull, even after sitting all night it's still up to the twist in the dipstick. (dunno)


(Ahh, I just realized why the discrepancy. The 2014 manual is not available online at Mazda.ca, so I downloaded the 13 one, totally forgetting the 2.5 was not available for 2013)

 

[brandini]

Over filled. As the car sits the head drains still have to have gravity work, so expect it to read higher after sitting a bit.

Generally it's:
Warm car up
Park it
Remove dipstick & wipe thoroughly
Wait 10 minutes
pop it back in and inspect
top off and repeat

If you don't wait the 10 minutes, there is still oil draining down from the head and dripping off internal parts so it'll read low.

The dipstick-out wait helps let the dipstick tube drain so it's easier to read when you want to.

 

[lcann25]

Over filled. As the car sits the head drains still have to have gravity work, so expect it to read higher after sitting a bit.

We purposely leave vehicles that come in for an oil change slightly low in my shop to allow for this drainback, which is what I did on my cx-5. If the manual states 4.5 is a fill, there is no way I could have overfilled it because I put in a 4.4 Liter jug of oil, and when I checked it, it was slightly below full which is where they should be. It's now reading a half inch ABOVE full. I'd have had to put in 5 Liters at least to get it to this point.

 

[brandini]

How long did you let the pan drain for? A LONG time or 'enough'?

 

[lcann25]

Until it was dripping instead of running constantly. At least 5 minutes

 

[phoned]

Hot or cold when draining? Some Mazda DI engines have shown fairly high fuel dilution numbers, so it's possible that pushed it up a bit. I'm not sure how much oil is between the low and full marks so it's hard to say how much half an inch really is.

 

[brandini]

Could also be a failed anti-drainback valve in the oil filter allowing oil to return from the feed TO the head when usually it doesn't.

 

[lcann25]

I just called Mazda and talked to a service advisor, he says that it is possible with the cold weather that we have experienced that it may have had some fuel dilution… He says as long as the oil level isn't past that curl in the dipstick it should be okay but he did say that a "wet" engine probably only needs about 4 L for a change and that it is possible it is overfilled slightly. I'm going to put a new filter in it and watch it for the next few days

 

[fredbuteau]

Isn't Castrol synthetic oil (like the EDGE sold at CT) sold in 5.0L containers? Most other oils come in 4.4L, but IIRC not Castrol...

 

[lcann25]

Regular edge comes in 5L containers, I used the edge titanium in the gold container which is a 4.4

 

[fredbuteau]

Regular edge comes in 5L containers, I used the edge titanium in the gold container which is a 4.4

Ok great sorry! Just trying to rule things out...