Low Oil?

[hood]

Hey guys,

I usually go to to the jiffy lube near my house to get my oil changed, Ive kinda get to know the guys so I trust them is what im say. I get my oil chagned every 5000-6000 km full synthetic. I find when i get near the date of an oil change around 1 week before when i check my oil is really low, sometimes just barley touching the dip stick, i dont drive my car to hard, is this a problem or is this normal for cars? I have asked them is it low and the said yes but not dangerously low and if i keep up with oil changes ill be fine. But Id rather have a more mechcanially experienced opioion on something that could potentially burn out my engine. They said when they drained it there was just over a litre of oil in there.

[aris]

Something is wrong cause i let mine go for the full 8,000km and it is always at the full mark where it's supposed to be...how many km do you have on your car?

[hood]

damm that doesnt sound good 77000 km, when i accelerate quickly i have gotten one of my friends to stand behind it and he says there isnt any black smoke, which he also said would be a sign of burning oil.

[Noisy Crow]

Are you checking when the oil is hot or when it is cold?

[hood]

Both after 5000km its low either way, i was talking to a guy at work at he said it COULD be the piston rings?? Im not a mechcanic in any way, things that im saying it could be are coming from other people or websites lol

[hood]

i just read thatr double gasketing the flange may fix it, or the valve stems maybe shot :s

[MajesticBlueNTO]

damm that doesnt sound good 77000 km, when i accelerate quickly i have gotten one of my friends to stand behind it and he says there isnt any black smoke, which he also said would be a sign of burning oil.

blue smoke is a sign of burning oil. black smoke is excessive fuel/running rich.

you're still within warranty, take it into the dealership and have it documented as a concern that they should investigate. if they can't find a solution, they may tell you to monitor how much oil you are putting in in between oil changes. if that is excessive, worst case, if it turns out you need a new engine, at least the concern was brought up within warranty and that should be covered. (this is what happened to a number of Nissan VQ30 and early VQ35 engines that were using something stupid like 2-3L/1000kms.)

might be a bad PCV...if you hook up a PCV oil catch can and notice an abundance of oil and blow-by collected, then you can replace the PCV valve (which calls for removing the intake manifold) or keep emptying the OCC.

also, pull your spark plugs and check to see if any of them are coated in oil by the electrode/threads.

[hood]

well that sure sucks too im off warrenty, now i guess i just bring it to a mechcanic and hope for the best...

but thanks for the help majesticblue ill be sure to get those things checked first

[Krisekca]

How do you check oil ? On level ground ?
When you sticking dipstick ring hole have to be pointed at fender ...

[hood]

im pretty sure its not the way im checking it cuz i checked it a few times and when i got my oil change done the person doing the oil change said too

[MajesticBlueNTO]

well that sure sucks too im off warrenty, now i guess i just bring it to a mechcanic and hope for the best...

but thanks for the help majesticblue ill be sure to get those things checked first

if you're out of the 3yr/80k bumper to bumper, you still have the 5yr/100k powertrain.

[wikdslo]

I didn't see it mentioned, but have you checked for oil leaks?
The 2.3L motors are notorious for having oil leaks at the filter housing (plastic filter housing) and jiffy lube type shops are notorious for NOT using a proper torque wrench/filter socket and overtightening, which causes cracks in the filter, then leaking oil, possibly a dumping of oil!

I would definitely check that out. You should be able to notice the oil dripping down on / coating the black oil filter housing by looking through the round hole in the splash guard underneath your motor.

[OILm.ca]

I didn't see it mentioned, but have you checked for oil leaks?
The 2.3L motors are notorious for having oil leaks at the filter housing (plastic filter housing) and jiffy lube type shops are notorious for NOT using a proper torque wrench/filter socket and overtightening, which causes cracks in the filter, then leaking oil, possibly a dumping of oil!

I would definitely check that out. You should be able to notice the oil dripping down on / coating the black oil filter housing by looking through the round hole in the splash guard underneath your motor.

+1

[mazda lover]

When I check my oil, the first check shows always shows I am low on oil, even after I changed the oil myself. I check it a second time it is up to the proper level. Happens every time first check oil is low second check shows ok, don't know why, I have a 2005 GT 2.3
so always do a second check...

[Krisekca]

Same .. But correct procedure is to wipe and check ... so all is good :)

[Malcolm991]

Did you try using a different type of oil! Maybe try to go a bit heavy. Is there any oil going to your air filter? Is there smoke coming out of the tailpipe?

[OILm.ca]

Check PCV valve ..!

[notoriousb]

You should now be checking every 1000km or something for your level of oil and top off. Don't just go get oil changes, check your oil level and top off...

If there are no leaks, then yes your piston rings are going, and the oil is ending up in the combustion chamber where it will burn away. If you just noticed it now, you probably have a while (like another 50 -100 000 clicks)... that is ... if you keep topping up. In fact, change your oil to a really thick oil like 5W 50 or something, that's what I did with my previous car, and it helped a bit. Healthy engines do not eat oil... I went on for about 60 000 miles after I noticed my oil was getting eaten.. and it was still running...

You might want to downgrade to partial synthetic or dino oil as it might get too expensive to try and protect a dieing engine.

[OILm.ca]

Well that's not true .. There is many engines that are eating oil just from production line ..

Check PCV valve it maybe something stupid like this ..

[solo.]

Do you check the oil right after you get the oil change done? What weight oil do you use?

[hood]

Im going to be going to Jimmy on monday to get all ma parts put in but when i told him about this oil issue he said come and get the suspension parts put and he'll take all the powertrain upgrades off (for free, dam jimmys a good guy) so i can see the dealership with no hassles, my oil level has stayed high without a top up but im still kinda worried becuase if he puts the clutch and flywheel in theres basically no turning back once there in. Is there any ways a mechcanic can do a check just to see if oil is showing up in places where its not supposed to/burning somewhere without going into the engine? If so, if there is no traces/very little amount of oil in these spots and my oil is still full should i even have to worry? This is just a big decision and if i make the wrong one it could be very costly in taking stuff in and out, and the fact that i have no confidence when it comes to mechcanics so i dont feel like i should be making the decision. Ma bad if i repeated myself a bunch of times...you guys catch ma drift

[OILm.ca]

Compression test can be done ...

[Halogen]

Oil issues can lead into all sorts of worries. I would base any actions on how severe the oil issue is. So, if lets say you fill the oil on Tue's, drive until Friday and it has dropped ALOT, then its a big issue. If only a little bit of drop, then it could still be an issue. If it is only dropping a little over the span of a month, then it is probably due to aggressive driving conditions. You said yourself, you hit high rev's sometimes.

A mechanic can do visual checks, around gaskets and engine connections. He can check the pressurized oil lines and connections, it would show evidence of oil leaking. I think bigger oil issues, like burnt/damaged piston head/seals would cause other symptoms as well. Blue smoke out exhaust can be a good sign. Not sure if it would smell different, maybe ?

I was losing oil in my 3 (2005 2.3 GT) also, and DID go to the dealership about it. Had an oil change there with high quality synthetic I brought. They told me to drive it and keep checking oil levels (without topping it up) and if it falls, not to top off the oil and bring it back into the dealership for inspection. Well, I was out of town when I checked after about 1.5 weeks and the oil was very very low. The only thing I could do was top it off to drive the damn thing safely.

Well, I went back and they told me I had to do the test all over again because I had topped it off, they wouldn't believe me. Well, I didn't bother, just maintained my oil levels...3 months later (after winter) I had an oil change done with your regular blend oil, and my oil levels haven't dropped at all since then (been driving, less aggressively for about 2 months now) I attributed the oil loss too my high rev driving habits and the fine synthetic grade oil being more sensitive. I may still have some oil burning happening and will eventually do their damn oil loss test, so they can open er up and see what is happening, under warranty.

Do not put in thicker oil, unless you don't mind losing a lot of acceleration. I'm sure it wouldn't destroy the engine, just reduce its performance.

[hood]

Well mazda sure did a great job this time. Ill start from the beginning. So I started to have oil issues and call up Mazda, they tell me bring it in. I bring it in and yup the oil is definitely low, nothing on the dip stick. They tell me its Jiffy Lubes fault, and they didnt know what they were doing, so they charged me for an oil change and oil clean up because they said it was dripping from the cap (which i dont think it was). But anyways fine i drive off, call them back a week later telling them its still burning oil they tell me bring it in. This time the guy is still trying to convince me that it happens in these mazdas, i didnt believe him so I kept drilling him because i knew there was a problem. We get down to me bringing my car in every 1000 kms for 5000kms so they can document the oil that is being burnt. After 5000kms they tell me its time to change the PCV valve and i HAD to get it done at mazda because they cant guarantee that a mechanic (cant get the right vacuum?) will do it right therefore going against warranty (kinda pissed a 20$ valve cost 280$ to put in). But if 300 and whatever dollars are going to fix my problems so be it. This was just the beginning.

So after monitoring it for a couple weeks the engine is still burning oil more and more until it got to about a L a week! So I brought it in again, they checked it and told me again bring it in every 1000 kms for 3000kms so we can continue to monitor. So I brought it there a couple of times and the guy at the service counter tells me I have to book an appointment for a "tear down". I bring it in for the tear down and a day later they call asking me for my oil change records, brought them in the guy looked at them and said great we'll call you when your car is done. Now im thinking great they've had my car for a week things must be going good havent heard anything yet. I get a phone call one week later saying we havent started your car because you dont have three of the oil change receipts. Now im getting a little aggravated because if there was a problem like this i would of like to be informed a little earlier, as like anyone im a busy person and need my car.

Previously when i went to the jiffy lube to retrieve my oil change records the guys at the counter could only print out the last three of the six (most recent) oil change receipts i got done there. The first three i got done there (in 2008) were over 400 days oil plus the jiffy lubes went from corporate to franchise (or the other way around), so the receipts were gone. Basically what i presented mazda was the last three oil change receipts and a service records showing all six oil changes, but the service chart he gave me had codes on them and did say "oil change" it only said: at 50,000 km i spent 82.80$, at 57,000 i spent 87.50$, and at 64,000 i spent 92.30$. The guy looks at me and says you cant prove those are oil changes so im not fixing your car until you find the receipts. At this point Im getting advice from people to get a lawyer if i cannot find the receipts and the Jiffy lube guy was behind me 100% if i was going to get a lawyer haha soooo I ripped my house apart and some how found two of the three receipts and a receipt to a previous oil change before Jiffy Lube.

After i present them with the receipts they said great your car will be ready in a week, what i forgot was how some of these service guys at burlington mazda get there ones and twos mixed up. So two weeks later finally. All in all after that they accepted it and rebuilt my motor. They also replaced a ball bearing that was shot for free i guess for the trouble they gave me which was nice supposedly 300$ repair? This problem started May of 2009...they hate fixing major issues by warrenty!! Bahh Burlington Mazda i dont know what to say.

[TheMAN]

should've went to another dealer

[Impressive]

At least hopefully everything is fixed and running well now.

Sucks about Burlington Mazda's service...Definitely make the short drive out to Oakville Mazda from now on.

[cwp_sedan]

Well at least you were able to get the motor fixed.

[m_bisson]

a whole year :( Well I hope it's finally ok!