2016~2023 Local dealer refuses to use full synthetic oil as part of 30K Service?

[TimGinNJ]

Just a quick story I thought I'd share....

I bought my '19 Sig back in Oct 2020 with 19k miles and only now am approaching the 30K Service. I just got off the phone with my (regrettably only) local Mazda dealer to discuss what's included in the 30K Service, which incidentally includes 4-wheel alignment, tire balance/rotate, some fuel injection service, air & cabin filter replacement, some kind of AWD output shaft & differential inspection/service, a few other things I'm forgetting, and of course and oil & filter (all to the tune of about $545...ouch).

I asked the service writer if I could "upgrade" the oil to full synthetic in lieu of whatever bulk stuff they typically use and she immediately told me they don't (and won't) use synthetic oil on the CX-9. I asked her why, and she vehemently insisted that they don't use or recommend synthetic oil because it will ruin the turbo. I told her that is misinformation that she's been given and in fact synthetic oil is generally regarded as preferable (even required in some cases) for most turbo vehicles on the roads today, and I've been using it in dozens of vehicles (including those with turbos) for 30+ years. After talking over me for a couple of minutes, she wouldn't budge. So, we "agreed to disagree" and I asked that they not change my oil at all.

10 mins later, I got a call back from her stating they had some Mobil 1 Full Synth they'd be willing to use, but it'll cost me an add'l $24. Well, how 'bout that!

So, the moral of the story, you ask?
It's ok if you're either inexperienced or don't know the answer to a question; no one will fault you if you want to confirm your understanding with someone else, but for the love of all that's holy, don't do that AFTER getting into a disagreement with a customer. Once in a while, they might actually be right, and you'll look like a jackass.

Thanks for reading....
Tim G.

 

[r1080]

if you do go in for service with them, just make sure they use the correct oil filter.

I went in to my local dealer to get a couple filters to do my own oil change and was provided the incorrect one. What's worse? when I asked them for the correct one and showed them that the one they provided is not for turbo CX-9, per MAZDA, they told me "We are Mazda and that is the one we use on all CX-9 Turbo when the get an oil change here"

I mentioned it before on another thread... but you can't trust anyone, not even the dealer!

 

[dunhillmc]

Never, ever do the XXk mile maintenance packages from a shop. Always itemize the services you want them to do. At 30k all you most likely need is an oil change, tire rotation, and maybe a filter change. An alignment check at 30k probably wouldn't hurt

 

[Bronco Boy]

if you do go in for service with them, just make sure they use the correct oil filter.

I went in to my local dealer to get a couple filters to do my own oil change and was provided the incorrect one. What's worse? when I asked them for the correct one and showed them that the one they provided is not for turbo CX-9, per MAZDA, they told me "We are Mazda and that is the one we use on all CX-9 Turbo when the get an oil change here"

I mentioned it before on another thread... but you can't trust anyone, not even the dealer!

My buddy just had an oil change done by Jiffy Lube; they used the wrong oil filter and now cylinder #8 is knocking from low oil pressure and a worn cam lobe. $12K for a new engine, all because a cross referenced part # was wrong.

 

[rowlands57]

To this day I'll never understand why people use the dealership for routine maintenance. I'm not saying go to any 'zippy lube' place either, but all but the most qualified techs at the dealership are not much better than the zippy lube guys. They save the talented techs for the harder jobs.

If you use the dealer for the routine stuff you're basically paying the commission of the ill-informed 'service consultant' you had to call out for not knowing her job. With that much obvious bad information you're still going to fork over hundreds of dollars for a glorified oil change and swapping of parts that are no where close to being called for by Mazda as part of the manufacturers legitimate maintenance schedule.

Get the actual Mazda maintenance schedule out of your glove compartment and find a good reputable local shop that will do exactly what you specify they should do per that schedule. You will save thousands over time.

 

[Buzzman12]

Never, ever do the XXk mile maintenance packages from a shop. Always itemize the services you want them to do. At 30k all you most likely need is an oil change, tire rotation, and maybe a filter change. An alignment check at 30k probably wouldn't hurt

Exactly. Those maintenance packages are a rip off and pure profit for the dealerships.

Regarding going to those quick oil changers: I've used them in the past, but with the Mazda I have now, I always bring my own Mazda oil filter with me. They are not expensive to buy at the dealership, and using it at the quickie lube will ensure your warranty stays intact. I would not trust any quick lube filter. They will throw just about any piece of junk on there. That's how they make money.

Lastly, as for the dealer that intentionally uses the wrong filter on the turbo engine because "we always do it that way": you should file a complaint with Mazda Corporate. What they are doing is blatantly wrong, and they should be held accountable.

 

[Tchman2016]

Exactly. Those maintenance packages are a rip off and pure profit for the dealerships.

Regarding going to those quick oil changers: I've used them in the past, but with the Mazda I have now, I always bring my own Mazda oil filter with me. They are not expensive to buy at the dealership, and using it at the quickie lube will ensure your warranty stays intact. I would not trust any quick lube filter. They will throw just about any piece of junk on there. That's how they make money.

Lastly, as for the dealer that intentionally uses the wrong filter on the turbo engine because "we always do it that way": you should file a complaint with Mazda Corporate. What they are doing is blatantly wrong, and they should be held accountable.

Yeah, just wait till that dealership tries to deny a warranty claim on your engine should you have a problem claiming the wrong oil filter was used and denying any responsibility. No way no how should they be causing premature damage by using the wrong filter that could lead to permanent damage after the factory warranty is gone. They'll say take a hike or pay up. No dealer service dept can be trusted to do anything right, even with you standing over their shoulder. Service advisors are simply salespeople who get a commission on the job they write up and sell you. Nothing more. Do it yourself and save a headache.

 

[r1080]

Exactly. Those maintenance packages are a rip off and pure profit for the dealerships.

Regarding going to those quick oil changers: I've used them in the past, but with the Mazda I have now, I always bring my own Mazda oil filter with me. They are not expensive to buy at the dealership, and using it at the quickie lube will ensure your warranty stays intact. I would not trust any quick lube filter. They will throw just about any piece of junk on there. That's how they make money.

Lastly, as for the dealer that intentionally uses the wrong filter on the turbo engine because "we always do it that way": you should file a complaint with Mazda Corporate. What they are doing is blatantly wrong, and they should be held accountable.

Well I never got/have any service done at this or any dealership so I cannot confirm they were using the wrong filter. So I don’t feel my complaint will hold any weight but might be worth bringing up to their supervisor if and when I go back there to get another filter.

 

[r1080]

Yeah, just wait till that dealership tries to deny a warranty claim on your engine should you have a problem claiming the wrong oil filter was used and denying any responsibility. No way no how should they be causing premature damage by using the wrong filter that could lead to permanent damage after the factory warranty is gone. They'll say take a hike or pay up. No dealer service dept can be trusted to do anything right, even with you standing over their shoulder. Service advisors are simply salespeople who get a commission on the job they write up and sell you. Nothing more. Do it yourself and save a headache.

And that was the exact same thing I think I posted in the other thread. Can you imagine what would happen if the claim is denied because of their own doing? I doubt they would “out” themselves by giving corporate a reason for failure was their own anyways so they would probably have the claim leave that part out.

 

[Buzzman12]

And that was the exact same thing I think I posted in the other thread. Can you imagine what would happen if the claim is denied because of their own doing? I doubt they would “out” themselves by giving corporate a reason for failure was their own anyways so they would probably have the claim leave that part out.

Dealers are profit centres, not service centres.
They will do what they can to avoid warranty work, as that does not pay the bills. They will also do what they can to deflect the blame back on you for warranty work requests, and will try and find every excuse under the sun to come up with a reason as to why your request does not qualify as a warranty repair. Lastly, they will do everything possible to make your service visit as expensive as possible by manufacturing problems that aren't there, and suggesting parts replacements that aren't necessary. I'm talking about the ever popular stuff like cabin filters, wipers, fresh air in the tires and blinker fluid. There was even a post from a guy that said his dealer recommended flushing the power steering fluid (hint: there isn't any).
Sleaze balls.

 

[Tchman2016]

^^ Absolute fact and said exactly the way it goes down. Couldn't have said it better. Stealerships need to go away. Unfortunately there are suckers born every day and those who whip out their wallet because they think these morons at dealerships know best. What a dumb society it has become. No brains anymore!

 

[TimGinNJ]

All-

Appreciate the enthusiastic responses I'm seeing from the community. A lot of good points here....and few, if any, I'd be inclined to disagree with categorically.

I'm certainly not looking for any vindication from having this or any dealer do my 30K Service, but don't mind sharing my reasoning; for starters, I can tell you I didn't make my decision blindly or out of ignorance. Having been a novice-to-intermediate shadetree mechanic for a lot of years (as a painful reminder, I've owned 8 older BMWs since the mid-90s), I probably could've tackled at least some of the items on the list myself, but definitely not all...and if I'm being honest, this is a hobby I just don't enjoy any more. This dealer had a favorable reputation online, but had they told me they planned on changing my power steering or blinker fluid, I'd have out of there like a shot. I have a local place I trust for the basic oil/filter/alignment/rotation maintenance, and since my car is still CPO, thought it made some sense to have my first significant service performed by the dealer...especially if (for example) I were to decide to sell this car down the road.

As someone who's bought and sold more than my fair share of used cars over the years, I ALWAYS went with the cars that had the most extensive service records, and can unequivocally say that regardless of whether or not you believe that all dealers are incompetent (I do not believe all are), service work that's been performed by a dealer resonates with a certain type of buyer. Is it always worth the extra money? Tough to say, but many people see it as peace of mind and a lot of those people are willing to pay top dollar--even outside of the crazy used car market currently going on.

Anyway, thanks for the engaging discussion and opinions. Good stuff!

Tim G.

 

[Buzzman12]

As someone who's bought and sold more than my fair share of used cars over the years, I ALWAYS went with the cars that had the most extensive service records, and can unequivocally say that regardless of whether or not you believe that all dealers are incompetent (I do not believe all are), service work that's been performed by a dealer resonates with a certain type of buyer. Is it always worth the extra money? Tough to say, but many people see it as peace of mind and a lot of those people are willing to pay top dollar--even outside of the crazy used car market currently going on.

Anyway, thanks for the engaging discussion and opinions. Good stuff!

Tim G.

Very true Tim. Good point.
For me, future resale is not a consideration when I purchase a car.
I keep my cars for a long time, for well over ten years. My last vehicle I had for 18 years.
When I'm ready to finally give up my vehicle and purchase a replacement, my old unit is pretty much worthless. (I keep all my service receipts anyway, but it usually doesn't enter into the picture when trading or selling.)
If I were the kind of person that trades out vehicles every five years or less, then your point would be very valid. Some used car buyers want that documented service history, and if it was dealer serviced, it can help the sale of said vehicle for sure.

 

[TimGinNJ]

Very true Tim. Good point.
For me, future resale is not a consideration when I purchase a car.
I keep my cars for a long time, for well over ten years. My last vehicle I had for 18 years.
When I'm ready to finally give up my vehicle and purchase a replacement, my old unit is pretty much worthless. (I keep all my service receipts anyway, but it usually doesn't enter into the picture when trading or selling.)
If I were the kind of person that trades out vehicles every five years or less, then your point would be very valid. Some used car buyers want that documented service history, and if it was dealer serviced, it can help the sale of said vehicle for sure.

Thanks for replying. In full disclosure, I **typically** do keep my cars for at least 10 years; however, I also like keeping my options open. In my mind anyway, if the maintenance needs to be done anyway (and assuming none of the individual services are way off the reservation cost-wise), I'm not saving a huge amount by going elsewhere...at least not when I'm driving about ~5K miles a year currently.

Thanks
Tim

 

[PTguy]

The full 30k service package is very important...for the dealership owner's yacht payment. Most of the things on that list are not needed unless indicated. Alignment--is it indicated? Tire balance, fuel injection service, cabin air filter--are they indicated? Alignment will show as uneven tire wear or the car pulls to one side. Tire balance gives you a shake. Injection service if the car runs rough. Cabin air filter--take a look at it.

Follow the owner's manual. If you don't have one, ask at the parts desk how to get one.

The ignorance and false information about synthetic oil is astounding in this day and age.

 

[erhayes]

Just make sure you get a 5w30 synthetic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[youri]

Funny, when i asked my dealer to put in synthetic oil in my CX-9, they said that’s the only thing they have for the CX-9 and was already included in the price.

Funny how the story change between dealers.

 

[tunglete]

Just make sure you get a 5w30 synthetic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The local shop used 0w20 on mine and charge extra. I have no clue. Any one experienced this can enlighten me plz.

 

[sm1ke]

The local shop used 0w20 on mine and charge extra. I have no clue. Any one experienced this can enlighten me plz.

Find a different shop! They should be using 5W30 for the turbo engine, either synthetic or conventional (highly recommend synthetic). I would not push the engine too hard until you can change the oil. You'll also want to double-check the oil filter and make sure it's the correct one. For the 2.5T, you should be using a 1WPY-14-302 (made in Thailand), 1WPY-14-302-MV (value filter), or PY8W-14-302 (original Japanese filter, superseded by the Thai filter).

 

[Boilermaker1]

Novice here: local Mazda dealer I've been having my car serviced every 4-5K miles uses 5W-30 synthetic blend when I asked. What's the difference?