Mazda turbocharged engines have a new technical service bulletin for oil consumption. Here are two things you should start doing immediately to help yourself through this possible problem.
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On social media and in Mazda’s own internal technical library, trouble reports related to vehicles equipped with the new 2.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engines have begun to emerge. The problem is that owners are being alerted to low oil levels by the vehicle’s monitoring system. Upon inspection using the dipstick, the problem is confirmed. This is not a leak. It’s worse.
Related Story: Advice To Mazda CX-5 Owners About To Deal With the Fuel Pump Recall
Like the defective 2.-5-liter Subaru engines from the past decade, Mazdas now seem to be subject to an oil consumption defect. Mazda does not know the exact cause of the problem, only that the oil does indeed seem to be being consumed.
Oil consumption is not a normal event in modern gasoline engines. Yes, it is commonly reported in some models, but certainly not a normal occurrence. Automakers often cover themselves with a guide to oil consumption in a “normal” range in owners manuals. However, requiring oil to be added between oil change intervals in a new car is always a sign that something has gone wrong.
If you own a modern-era Mazda vehicle equipped with the 2.5-liter turbocharged engine, perhaps in a Mazda3, Mazda6, Mazda CX-9, Mazda CX-5, or Mazda CX-30 here are two things you should do right away.
Begin by getting a logbook, pen, and roll of paper towels. Periodically check your oil level and document the date, mileage, and oil level on the dipstick. Be consistent in how you check. Oil levels vary when cars have just been driven, been driven cold a short distance, or are checked in the morning after having been driven past the warm-up point of the engine the prior day.
Here is the correct way to check your motor oil according to Mazda’s owner’s manual:
-Be sure the vehicle is on a level surface.
-Warm up the engine to normal operating temperature. (If you have already driven the vehicle it will already be warm. You need not start it specifically to do this check)
-Turn it off and wait at least 5 minutes for the oil to return to the oil pan.
-Pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, and reinsert it fully.
-Pull it out again and examine the level. The level is normal if it is between the MIN and MAX marks.
-If it is near or below MIN, add enough oil to bring the level to MAX.
-Make sure the O-ring on the dipstick is positioned properly before reinserting the dipstick.
-Reinsert the dipstick fully.
Your vehicle uses 5W-30 motor oil. You can purchase it from Mazda, from a local retailer, or online. Put the oil containers into a large ziplock bag and place it in the vehicle. If your low oil light comes on you can add it to the vehicle. Start with adding half a quart and then allow time for the oil to be warmed and circulated. Check again after driving. Repeat until the oil level is returned to the “Full” marker.
The information below is taken from Mazda’s Technical Service Bulleting Library. You can check to see if your vehicle has any open recalls by going to the Mazda recall lookup page and inputting your vehicle information.
If you have a turbocharged Mazda, please let us know in the comments if you have found the oil level to be lower than full.
Mazda Oil Consumption TSB Turbo Engines
Components: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, TIRES, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
NHTSA ID Number: 10202685
Manufacturer Communication Number: 01-012-21-3832
5 Affected Products
Vehicles
MAKE MODEL YEAR
MAZDA CX-30 2021
MAZDA CX-5 2021
MAZDA CX-9 2021
MAZDA MAZDA3 2021
MAZDA MAZDA6 2021
Summary
Some vehicles may have a LOW ENGINE OIL LEVEL warning message and a CHECK ENGINE light illuminated in the instrument cluster, along with DTC P250F:00 stored in memory. DTC P250F:00 - Engine oil level signal: engine oil level low. Upon inspecting the engine oil level, the level is found to be low and there doesn't appear to be any trace of oil leakage in the engine compartment. This concern usually occurs when the mileage reaches approximately 3,100 - 4,700 miles (5,000 - 7,500km) and may also occur again after replacing or topping off the engine oil. The root cause of this concern has not been identified yet, therefore a repair procedure will be announced at a later date. Since this issue has been reported after a valve stem seal modification, it is very likely that valve stem seal damage is causing oil to leak into the combustion chamber.
John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. John's interest in EVs goes back to 1990 when he designed the thermal control system for an EV battery as part of an academic team. After earning his mechanical engineering degree, John completed a marketing program at Northeastern University and worked with automotive component manufacturers, in the semiconductor industry, and in biotech. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American news outlets and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on TikTok @ToknCars, on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin
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Image Notes:
Mazda service area image courtesy of Mazda.
Mazda oil image courtesy of Amazon.
Mazda oil level image courtesy of Mazda
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I have a Mazda 6 CE with 6200
I have a Mazda 6 CE with 6200 miles and I am dealing with this oil consumption issue. The dealer wants me to bring ithe car in every 1200 miles to top it off. This would have me bringing the vehicle ever month or so which is really inconvienent. Here is to hoping they figure out a fix to this sooner than later.
Thanks for this comment,
Thanks for this comment, Michael. Please update us as the situation develops. It sounds like you are ahead of the curve on this and can help others know what to expect. Good luck.
I have a 2021 Mazda 3 turbo (
I have a 2021 Mazda 3 turbo ( 100 ani ) - I have done my own oil changes - now has 29000 kms on it and zero oil being used between oil changes. I monitor the dipstick every now and then and I'm also not afraid to open up when passing people who do 20kph ( Vancouver has the worst drivers ) . I'm mechanically minded and visualize oil being consumed when the engine goes through a high work load. So far no issues at all. Great article though, good to know.
Sounds like you got lucky and
Sounds like you got lucky and got the functioning valve guide seals.
Yep, 2021 Mazda 3 turbo,
Yep, 2021 Mazda 3 turbo, chewing through oil. I live 40 mins from dealership, so going for an oil change every 1000 Kim’s is not doable. Sucks. I should have known better than trust Mazda with a new engine
I have a 2021 Mazda3
I have a 2021 Mazda3 hatchback. Same thing it’s happened twice oil low light comes on. Both times have been when out of town on trips. Extremely inconvenient when working out of town to deal with this. No one offers a solution except to top off with oil.
Along with burning oil and
Along with burning oil and topping off is the very real possibility of damage to the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. Who's going to pay for that collateral damage?
Exactly! Our '21 CE turbo
Exactly! Our '21 CE turbo has been light on oil usage so far. I am using Amsoil Signature series with a 5k OCI. Bit ridiculous, but I'm trying to prevent carbon build up from 'sticking' the rings. I'm hoping that Amsoil's performance in the TEOST test (ASTM D6335) will help.
Mazda needs to quit telling the dealers to overfill the crankcase. Our free oil change was 12 ounces overfilled. When asked the front desk clerk said: "won't hurt it". It may not, but I drained out 12 ounces of oil.
I no longer trust or care for Mazda cars, dealerships, or the company. Dirty.
My guess would be that rather
My guess would be that rather than measure out 5.1 quarts of oil, which is the recommended oil and filter quantity, they just dumped in 6 quarts and called it good. Laziness.
In addition to the
In addition to the inconvenience of topping off your oil, there is the possibility of damage to the catalytic converter and oxygen sensor. Who will pay for those items?
Sorry about making my comment
Sorry about making my comment twice. Here's my story: I have a 2021 Mazda 6 Grand Touring Turbo with 9,300 miles; and I had my first oil change at 5,000 miles. Just the other day my yellow "low oil" indicator came on. I stopped and looked up what to do next so I decided to check the level. The dipstick showed one full quart low at the minimum oil level indicator. So I decided to go to the nearest auto parts store to get a quart of synthetic oil (0.8 of a mile). The light did not come back on during my drive to the auto parts store. So I figured the light came on after 4,300 miles which burned that one quart. That seemed a little excessive for a car with less that 10,000 miles. So I started doing some research (found your article) and found the TSB on the faulty valve stem seals. I'm going into the dealer on Monday to show them the TSB to see what their response will be.
I have 2021 turbo. Same
I have 2021 turbo. Same problem as above dealer told me to expect recall in near future to fix problem. I absolutely love this car so very discouraging to see this problem. Also replaced the junk toyo tires at 6000 miles with michelin cross climate 2. Huge improvement. Mazda should be ashamed to put on such trash tires on a great driving machine. If you really want to appreciate your cx5, change to michelin cc2. Expensive, but you get what you pay for here.
Thanks for the comment, Mr.
Thanks for the comment, Mr. Britton. Folks interested in the Michelin CrossClimate2 tires may wish to note we have a 5-part review of them here at Torque News - AND we used the CX-5 as our test vehicle! You can keyword search it or use the Mazda tab in our bottom right section of the page. Good luck with the oil consumption fix. Please circle back and let us know how it goes after it is dealt with.
I have a 2021 Mazda CX-5
I have a 2021 Mazda CX-5 Carbon Edition Turbo. Bought new in June 2021. At around 4k miles, my oil light came on. Pulled off the highway and stopped in a gas station to check. Dip stick showed that oil levels looked good. About 500 miles later, light comes on again. Turned car off, went into Costco and when I started my car, no light. Right around 5k miles light came on again and this time oil was a little low. Afterwards, I set up an appointment with the dealer for oil change and tire rotation. Told them about the oil light so they said they would look into it.
After oil change, about ten minutes on the road, I switched lanes and hit the throttle and a puff of black smoke came out. Several people told me that’s normal after an oil change. Hmmmm… this is the first time I’ve encountered this.
Now I’m about 6k miles and no issues. Not sure if the techs did anything but this has me concerned on a new car so now I check the oil every time I fill up for gas.
2021 CX-9 with 5900 miles.
2021 CX-9 with 5900 miles. Just had low oil light come on, dipstick indicated low oil, so I added about a quart. Will continue to monitor.
Bought my 2021 Mazda6 Grand
Bought my 2021 Mazda6 Grand Touring at the end of August 2021. About 6400 miles in mid-February 2022 got the oil light on the dash. Checked dipstick and it was at minimum. Added 3/5 of a quart to get it just below max. Will bring up the issue with the dealership when I take it in at 7500 for first service.
I have a 2021 CX30 turbo 2
I have a 2021 CX30 turbo 2.5L, I have had it 3mts at 3500miles it was a quart low.
No issues first 5k and 1st
No issues first 5k and 1st oil change. At 9.3k, down a quart and warning light.
I have a 2021 CX30 turbo 2.5.
I have a 2021 CX30 turbo 2.5. The first 5k and oil change no issues. At 9.3k down a quart and low oil level warning.
That's really weird because
That's really weird because that is exactly when my light came on at 9,300 miles. No issues during the first 5,000 miles. I have recently had my third oil changed after I noticed my light coming on and they used a synthetic blend. I have been watching my oil level very carefully since then and have not noticed a dramatic loss on the oil stick. I have topped it off with just a little oil and have driven 1,100 miles last week without much oil loss. I'm thinking perhaps the synthetic blend is mitigating the oil loss (?). Still waiting on Mazda to address the TSB on this issue.
This happened to us when our
This happened to us when our new car hit 1700 miles! We love the car. It is our 4th Mazda and it really is frustrating. How long before they fix it?
Not sure when anything will
Not sure when anything will be done as this problem affects 5 cars in their lineup. I can only imagine if they had to install the correct valve guide seals that would be an extremely expensive recall. I would get an extended warranty to cover any damage to the engine, catalytic converter, or or oxygen sensor beyond the 60,000 mile power train warranty. I have a mechanical breakdown rider on my geico policy that goes to 100,000 miles.
I have a 2021 CX-5 GTR. Oil
I have a 2021 CX-5 GTR. Oil light came on around 4200 miles. I added a quart and had an oil change at Mazda at 5000 miles and documented with them of the oil loss. I don’t believe the TSB had been issued yet. Approximately 4800 miles after the oil change light came on again. I researched on line and found the TSB. When I brought it to Mazda they confirmed that it is an issue but a remedy is not known as yet. They requested I return after putting on 1000 miles so they can check.
Our dealer “addressed” the
Our dealer “addressed” the issue by (secretly) overfilling the crankcase. The dipstick reads at least a quart above the top level. Obviously that creates issues of its own. Thankfully ours is a lease—we won’t be keeping it despite liking the car (2021 cx-9).
2021 cx-30 2.5T 7500 miles ,
2021 cx-30 2.5T 7500 miles , low oil level warning light came on twice while coming back home from a two hours trip, we had the first oil change done at 5000 miles mark, engine light came on for the first time just after few miles , took the car to the dealership and they fix it, they didn't tell my wife what happened though, this is ridiculous and hope Mazda finds a solution soon
I have 2021 carbon edition
I have 2021 carbon edition CX9 had the warning light came on before it was due for 1st oil change checked oil near minimum mark Now at 13k it has come on again, same result near minimum mark on dipstick. Mentioned the issue to the dealership and of course they claim they have never heard of this issue. I was told to come back at 1200 miles. Very frustrating when spending so much money on a vehicle.
Yeah, totally wack that my
Yeah, totally wack that my brand new signature cx5 is drinking oil likes it happy hour. Mazda really pulled one over on us
I habe a 2021 Cx30 GT Turbo
I habe a 2021 Cx30 GT Turbo AWD... I've had so many issues with the vehicle from the windshield wiper deicer not working (currently waiting on a THIRD replacement windshield)... the keyless entry sensors being replaced cause they stopped working.... squeaky brakes... a rattle in the pillar where the drivers side seat belt retracts...
Now as of last night... the low oil warning light. The dipstick was also horribly difficult to read.
I've now involved Mazda Canada and I'm going to be taking this lemon much further. This is my 5th mazda... and the most problematic.