Gas in oil? 2013 CX-5

On direct injected turbo diesel engines, injectors fail open. On a diesel, this is catastrophic if not address quickly. The fuel will melt the piston. This the number on cause of engine failures on 5.9 Cummins engines.

There are some early waring signs, we call it, the "engine makes oil". The oil level rises from fuel washing past the rings into the crank case from the injector stuck open.

If you engine is "making oil" stop driving it and get it fixed.
 
Keanman said:
After reading this post I smelled my oil and it had the same gas smell. I wonder if it has anything to do with the 0W20 oil? This is my first experience with such an oil.
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Today I pulled the stick on our 2013 3 Sport and was surprised to find the oil level was nearly an inch past the full mark and had a strong gas smell. Last change was in August with just under 2,000 km in six months. In the past this was never an issue for this car but in the past it rarely had short trips and averaged 1,000 km a month. Obviously the lady has to drive it long enough to extinguish the blue light and more combined with a shorter OCI. Here again is the file OB1 posted back in 2020.
 

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RZRider said:
Today I pulled the stick on our 2013 3 Sport and was surprised to find the oil level was nearly an inch past the full mark and had a strong gas smell. Last change was in August with just under 2,000 km in six months. In the past this was never an issue for this car but in the past it rarely had short trips and averaged 1,000 km a month. Obviously the lady has to drive it long enough to extinguish the blue light hand more combined with a shorter OCI. Here again is the file OB1 posted back in 2020.
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This "smells" like leaking injectors. How many miles on these injectors? And is this used for very short trips? Have the injectors ever been services? And lastly, have you added injector cleaner to the fuel?

I wouldn't drive the car until you have the injectors tested and/or replaced. Change the oil and filter.

At this point, sending the oil to analyzed would tell you if the engine was damaged from diluted oil or fuel washing the cylinders. Today, I changed the oil in our 2024 CX 5 T. I grabbed an oil sample and will mail it tomorrow. I'm curious if the oil is contaminated with fuel and want a base line test. Car has 11,000 mi on it. I'm using an Amsoil test kit. $37.50 US.

And by chance my direct port injectors on a diesel gave it up after 275,000 miles two weeks ago. I followed my advice. I didn't drive the vehicle, had it towed to the shop and changed out the injectors. I bought the brand and type injector to be sure I got the right parts the first time. Then changed the oil and filter. It's back on the road again. We caught it before they damaged the engine.
 
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I think the CX 5 has direct injection, so the STB addresses the problem that occurs with extreme short trip driving.
*Extra Ordinary Short Trips: This is a repeat of short trip with the engine being turned off
while the low engine coolant temperature indicator light (Blue) is ON or within 5 minutes even
after the blue engine coolant temperature light is turned OFF.
 
Mazdiod2 said:
I think the CX 5 has direct injection, so the STB addresses the problem that occurs with extreme short trip driving.
*Extra Ordinary Short Trips: This is a repeat of short trip with the engine being turned off
while the low engine coolant temperature indicator light (Blue) is ON or within 5 minutes even
after the blue engine coolant temperature light is turned OFF.
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I see you are 100% correct.

I'll correct my post...

Do you and others add a high PEA injector cleaner to you gas? I read to do this every oil change.

I just ordered Red Line 60103 SI-1 today. It is suppose to have a high concentration of PEA. I've read PEA is the ingredient that cleans the injector tips and the top of pistons.

Our CX 5 sees a lot of short trips. It gets above the Blue on the temp gauge but still not nice long run times. Injector cleaner will be part of my oil change routine...

​

 
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Does Techron have PEA? I've used it a couple of times over the last 8 years but I always try to get TopTier gas.

I had to make a little trip yesterday and I decided to 'take the long way home" :)
 
The turbo CX5 is running too rich by design and dillutes oil a lot if short trips. Frequent oil changes and top tier (shell,chevron) 91/93 gas helps a bit. Also the quality of the oil.

I havent heard of any issues with the injectors so fuel additive likely not needed.
Frequent highway miles help the most. Non turbo is ok in comparison to the turbo.

Same driving style and fuel (91)- my Turbo always has fuel in the used oil analysis while my Non turbo doesnt.
 
I read where Mazda recommends their fuel additive injector cleaner. It can only help. Other manufactures of direct port injection recommend fuel additive and/or sell their own product.

I have been resistant to ANY fuel additives until I got a common rail, direct port diesel. Guys were only getting 100 to 150K miles out of their injects. Folks that ran an injector cleaner go 200 to 400K. Mine went 272K miles.

AI says:
Yes, Techron contains PEA (Polyether Amine), which is a key cleaning agent in its formula; essentially, Techron is designed with PEA as its primary active ingredient for cleaning fuel system deposits.

Key points about Techron and PEA:
  • PEA stands for Polyether Amine: This is the chemical compound that gives Techron its cleaning power.
 
I have heard once of an issue with the fuel pump which caused extreme dilution of the oil supply.

Yes, the use of 0w20 can exacerbate the problem on NA models.

Minimize short distance trips as possible. A good rule of thumb would be approx 10-15min after blue coolant light turns off, depending on ambient temperature.
 
I use 0w20 Mazda Moly on my NA. Since new.
50k miles already. Lets not spread rumors
about 0w20 oil.

Oil needs to reach at least 200F. 10min is not nearly enough to get oil to temp in city driving.
If driving short distance in cold weather , this is when the problem happens.
 
AL Cx5 said:
This "smells" like leaking injectors. How many miles on these injectors? And is this used for very short trips? Have the injectors ever been services? And lastly, have you added injector cleaner to the fuel?

I wouldn't drive the car until you have the injectors tested and/or replaced. Change the oil and filter.

At this point, sending the oil to analyzed would tell you if the engine was damaged from diluted oil or fuel washing the cylinders. Today, I changed the oil in our 2024 CX 5 T. I grabbed an oil sample and will mail it tomorrow. I'm curious if the oil is contaminated with fuel and want a base line test. Car has 11,000 mi on it. I'm using an Amsoil test kit. $37.50 US.

And by chance my direct port injectors on a diesel gave it up after 275,000 miles two weeks ago. I followed my advice. I didn't drive the vehicle, had it towed to the shop and changed out the injectors. I bought the brand and type injector to be sure I got the right parts the first time. Then changed the oil and filter. It's back on the road again. We caught it before they damaged the engine.
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When I changed the oil and filter today there was easily a litre over full. There is no doubt the issue is caused by my wife doing a couple short trips each week combined with the cold we have experienced the past month. For now the plan is to keep an eye on the oil and longer trips. On a positive note I guess the internals are super clean. In addition GUMOUT cleaner is regularly added to fuel and the engine is quiet and hauls ass so hopefully no damage done.
 
RZRider said:
When I changed the oil and filter today there was easily a litre over full. There is no doubt the issue is caused by my wife doing a couple short trips each week combined with the cold we have experienced the past month. For now the plan is to keep an eye on the oil and longer trips. On a positive note I guess the internals are super clean. In addition GUMOUT cleaner is regularly added to fuel and the engine is quiet and hauls ass so hopefully no damage done.
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Just think of all the Mazda owner who don't change their oil and would never know they have an issue.

I would be alarmed if my oil had increased a litre.

Today I mailed the oil sample. We will see what comes back.

I have a block heater ready to install. The results might motivate me to install the block heater and maybe an oil pan heater as well for winter driving.
 
RZRider said:
When I changed the oil and filter today there was easily a litre over full. There is no doubt the issue is caused by my wife doing a couple short trips each week combined with the cold we have experienced the past month. For now the plan is to keep an eye on the oil and longer trips. On a positive note I guess the internals are super clean. In addition GUMOUT cleaner is regularly added to fuel and the engine is quiet and hauls ass so hopefully no damage done.
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I would skip the Gumout and just do a weekly run on the highway in 5th gear at temp for a bit. Go to a store on the other end of town maybe.
 
N7turbo said:
I would skip the Gumout and just do a weekly run on the highway in 5th gear at temp for a bit. Go to a store on the other end of town maybe.
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Thats the best idea by far!!! Spot on!!

A good run at 80-100km/hr (50-60mph) for half an hour once every week or two and I will bet this solves the problem, never to be seen again.

As noted in the Mazda TSB, when the engine is run for longer times at higher speeds, the engine reaches its normal operating temperature and, I quote:

“fuel content mixed in engine oil (then) evaporates by normal engine operating temperatures. Then the evaporated fuel gas passes through PCV system together with blow-by gas, enters in the combustion chamber and is burnt off. Thereby, the engine oil level is maintained constant.”

We have faced the same “making oil” issue with 4 stoke outboard motors for many years.

It most commonly happens when we do long days slow trolling (basically at idle speed or slightly higher), where we can maintain those low rpm’s for 6-8 hours at times. Add to that - outboards typically run cooler than car engines - mine sits on about 60C (140F) at cruise speed- and this increases the potential for fuel in oil.

My outboard mechanic advised us way back when to do 15-20 minutes on the way back to the boat ramp at over 5000rpm to ensure any fuel in the oil evaporates off due to the higher operating temps reached by the outboards at high revs. The longer the better.

Before anyone blows a head gasket about those rpm’s, bear in mind that these outboards are designed to run at constant high rpms or even WOT and have max rpm ranges of 6000-6200rpm, so they really dont mind a good run at 5-6000rpm. At cruise speed my Suzuki DF115B sits on 4500rpm and will happily sing along at those revs all day. It will pull just over 6000 at WOT.
 
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AL Cx5 said:
I have a block heater ready to install. The results might motivate me to install the block heater and maybe an oil pan heater as well for winter driving.
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I have a magnetic heater that I can stick onto the bottom of the oil pan, which I have done a couple of times lately with these low temperatures, although in my garage it's usually over 40F.
 
If you live in cold temps, when your motor is cold solid, gas will slip past the rings in the cylinder if you're not running the motor for long enough.

So long as it doesn't stink like raw gas, you're fine. Run the vehicle for longer to help burn off the gas in the oil so to speak. Also, always change your oil before and after the winter, regardless of mileage.
 
I bought an oil plug with a HIGH-TEMPERATURE NEODYMIUM magnet. I want to see how much ferrous metal it catches. If indeed the cylinders are washing down from a rich fuel mixture, this has a chance of catching some of the metal. AND if the oil is diluted and the engine is wearing, again this should catch some of the metal. I'll post pics of the magnet after 5,000 miles.

I'm staying with the Purolator BOSS oil filter. I like the synthetic filter media, filter construction and size. It just barely fits between the belly pan and engine. I was shocked at the quicky oil change filter I found on a friends CX 5. It was about half as tall as the Purolator. I can only imagine the quality of the tiny element. And imagine the bypass/pressure relief valve in the tiny filter is open bypassing oil instead of filtering it!

COLD oil is thicker, we all know this. The oil filter bypass/pressure relief valve opens to allow the thicker, cold oil to circulate to protect the engine. But it's not filtered.

Also, this valve opens and bypasses the filter media if the filter becomes clogged. Thus, better and more filter media protects the engine better. Oil pan heater reduces the time the oil filter bypass valve is open on start up.

Now I wish I had cut the oil change filter to see the quality.

Insult to injury, sometime in this cars life the oil change place left off the oil plug/filter access panel from the car! Takes me 30 min from start to clean up oil change and I'm 72 years old.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
 
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AL Cx5 said:
I bought an oil plug with a HIGH-TEMPERATURE NEODYMIUM magnet. I want to see how much ferrous metal it catches. If indeed the cylinders are washing down from a rich fuel mixture, this has a chance of catching some of the metal. AND if the oil is diluted and the engine is wearing, again this should catch some of the metal. I'll post pics of the magnet after 5,000 miles.

I'm staying with the Purolator BOSS oil filter. I like the synthetic filter media, filter construction and size. It just barely fits between the belly pan and engine. I was shocked at the quicky oil change filter I found on a friends CX 5. It was about half as tall as the Purolator. I can only imagine the quality of the tiny element. And imagine the bypass/pressure relief valve in the tiny filter is open bypassing oil instead of filtering it!

COLD oil is thicker, we all know this. The oil filter bypass/pressure relief valve opens to allow the thicker, cold oil to circulate to protect the engine. But it's not filtered.

Also, this valve opens and bypasses the filter media if the filter becomes clogged. Thus, better and more filter media protects the engine better. Oil pan heater reduces the time the oil filter bypass valve is open on start up.

Now I wish I had cut the oil change filter to see the quality.

Insult to injury, sometime in this cars life the oil change place left off the oil plug/filter access panel from the car! Takes me 30 min from start to clean up oil change and I'm 72 years old.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)
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Be interesting to see the results of your oil analysis when it comes back, both in terms of fuel dilution and metals.
 
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