Magically fluctuating oil levels in the new Turbo engine???

molson

Member
Hi Everyone, first post here but a bit of a confusing situation. It's s a long story but would really appreciate the experience of the group on what to do here.

Act 1

I bought a 2018 Mazda6 GT with the new turbo engine earlier this year. At around 12k miles, I took it in to the dealer (I know, I know...) for its second oil change. Everything seemed fine and I made the mistake of not verifying how much oil they had put in. About 2,000 miles later, driving with the wife and kid through the middle-of-nowhere Utah, the low oil light came on. I pulled over to check, and sure enough the dipstick was dry. I had to drive another 10 miles or so to civilization and cell phone coverage, and found myself at a little mechanic's shop where they topped up the oil and confirmed there were no leaks or damage to the system. It was about 1.25 quarts low at that point.

Act 2

The wife took it back to the same dealer that did the oil change to rectify the situation. They "inspected it carefully", determined (somehow) that nothing was damaged, changed the oil, and gave us a few free oil changes (thanks a lot). They apologized profusely and said that they accidentally put in the amount of oil for the non-turbo 2.5. I again stupidly didn't check the oil level, assuming that they'd be paying extra-close attention after the last mishap. Another 2,500 miles or so later, we're driving up a long grade in the Colorado Rockies and pull off at the top to enjoy the view. When we got out of the car, we immediately noticed a strong smell of oil and there were puffs of oil smoke coming from the exhaust upon revving the engine. I checked the level and this time, to my surprise, it was way overfilled--all the way up to the twisted part of the dipstick. So, we let it cool off and coasted our way back into Denver and to the dealer.

Act 3

I took it to the dealer the next day. They flat out refused to drain the oil to see how much they had overfilled it, offering only to vacuum it back to the correct level and send me on my way. The service adviser wouldn't budge an inch, claiming it's against policy for them to remove a drain plug for fear of damaging it. Fortunately, there was another dealer 10 minutes down the road, so I left and went there. They happily drained the oil and found it to be 1 QT overfilled. I finally got the message and checked the oil this time, confirming it at the correct level. They shared this news with the Mazda service rep who happened to be in town that day, and I quickly got a phone call from the original dealer apologizing profusely and begging me to bring the car back for them to "make it right". With the involvement of Mazda corporate, I took it back to them.

Act 4

I put about 40 miles on the car before getting back to the original dealer. By the time they got around to inspecting it the next day, they discovered that somehow the oil level had RISEN back to the twisty part of the dipstick. They claim there is no evidence of contaminants in the oil, and it looks brand new.

At the moment, this is where it sits. I have no idea what could be going on. The only theory I can come up with is that somehow, when running low on oil, I damaged something that's causing contamination in the oil and the dealer is simply not admitting it yet. Has anyone experienced anything like this before?

I have a couple of options and am really pretty stuck on what to do:

1. Perform the recommended oil consumption test and see what happens next. This will be challenging since we won't be driving the car much for the next month (just a few hundred miles, most liekly), but will then be departing on a long road trip that will put way more than the prescribed 1,500 miles on the car. So if there is a problem, we risk having issues in the middle-of-nowhere again because they won't fix anything before seeing the results of the test. But by the time we get back to civilization, we'll have put way more than 1,500 miles on the car. If the car passes the test and they close the case, what are the odds that damage was inflicted during the above drama and wont' show up until later down the road?
2. Entertain a what they claim will be a competitive trade-in offer. I'll find out tomorrow how much they'd offer to buy the car off of me and trade it for an equivalent new 6 GT. If there's a risk of damage having occurred, should I just bail on the car and replace it with a similar one?
3. Keep it until the warranty runs out. Just drive it until 60k and trade it in in a couple of years.
4. Quit worrying and just drive it. Just stick my head in the sand and hope nothing was damaged? What are the odds of that working out?


Thanks for everyone's wisdom!
 
You could try taking an oil sample and sending it off to a testing lab to make sure the oil is good (no dilution). Send it yourself to make sure the dealership isn't messing with you. While you wait for the results, I'd try to find out what kind of trade-in offer they have lined up - if it's worth it, that's what I would do.

If the trade offer doesn't work out, and the results from the testing lab come back and the oil is good, I would do the oil consumption test. If it passes the test and they close the case, I'd drive it worry free to the end of warranty, while checking the oil level at every fill up at the gas station. If there are no issues with oil level by the time the warranty runs out, I'd trade it in for something else I wanted, or I'd just keep driving it.


This is the cynic in me speaking, but I think it's possible that in Act 4, the original dealer could have added new oil to shift the blame from their shop's screw-up to a non-existent fault in the car, or maybe even to the other dealership. This is unlikely since they already admitted that they mistakenly underfilled the oil previously, but again, this is just the cynic in me.
 
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