Oil Change @ 8000km?! NO!!!

[Smiley2010]

Hey Guys,

I'm starting to really hate the sales rep that sold me my car. I've asked him on several occasions when the first oil change should be. He's assured me that the new mazda's come with synthetics and do not need a change until 8000kms!

Last week I went on a road trip from Vancouver, BC to San Fransisco, CA. A 3200km trip. At that point my car had roughly 4200kms on it. I figured it'll be ok until i get back and get it serviced. BIG MISTAKE!

I checked the oil to be on the safe side before leaving and the dipstick came back completely BLACK! And the oil level was barely registering on it to boot! We were leaving early morning on a Sunday so I couldn't find a place to get the oil change done. I ended up just adding in a quart of oil and getting it changed on Monday somewhere in Oregon.

I just thought I'd put that out there for anyone else that hasn't checked the oil level.

 

[dmention7]

Well, at risk of stating the obvious, oil level should be checked regularly, regardless of oil change interval. 8000 km ~ 5000 miles, which is a pretty standard interval for modern cars running synthetic oil. Also, synthetic oils tend to darken more quickly then conventional oils, and even then oil color is no indicator at all of the condition of the oil.

I would suggest informing your dealer of the low oil level immediately though, as it indicates your car was either low on oil when it came off the lot or it's consuming oil abnormally fast for a new car.

 

[rodslinger]

+1....

I go 6,000 to 8,000 miles between changes on my truck. It might be dark but has always come back good when I did Blackstone lab tests. Check the level frequently until you get a feel for how much oil you use (if any) between changes.

 

[TheMAN]

so who told you it was alright to listen to a car salesman?
you need to read the owners manual instead!
mazdas NEVER came with synthetics and mazda doesn't say anything about using them!

also, all of these new mazdas running 5W20 burns oil because work past the piston rings too easily... I have seen this on every single MZR engine, even brand new... by the time it is time for an oil change, it is half a quart low... running 5W30 stops this from happening since the engine is better suited for this oil (stock in all overseas versions)

 

[tiagotiago]

so who told you it was alright to listen to a car salesman?
you need to read the owners manual instead!

+1

Over here, the dealership recommends "preventive" services at 5,000 Kms, which is BS since when they sell you the car, they'll show you "low cost maintanance" as a selling point, reffering to only the waranty obligatory 10,000 km services. The owners manual does indicate that if the car has seen "hard" use, it should be changed every 5,000Kms (and it says on the manual what constitutes "hard use"), otherwise you should go with 10,000 kms intervals. So far I have about 21,000 Kms and have only changed oil at the 10 grand intervals. The only difference I noticed was that the fuel economy improved a bit after the first oil change, but my car never had a sharp drop in oil level.