[jimgrafix]

I recently brought my 2004 6s in for an oil change as well as some minor warranty work. The dealership calls to tell me what was going on as far as the warranty stuff and then mentions the oil change, the mechanics found that there was only 2 quarts of oil in the car when I brought it in! I have to admit that I am not fanatical about changing my oil every 3000 miles, I generally go to 6000 - 7000 miles as that used to be the norm. I have had Mustangs, Acuras, Hondas and now a Mazda, this is they only car I have had/heard of that will eat 4 quarts of oil (without a leak) in less than 8000 miles (I went 7600 miles this time). I have no oil on my garage floor so there is no leak as far as I know, my mechanic has been doing my work for 20+ years so I don't think he is the problem. Is this engine that hard on the oil? I don't think the even rotary engine in the RX-8 would be that hard on oil, but I am probably wrong as I am not in the know on the tech stuff. Thanks in advance for any replys I may receive. JimC

 

[felix6628]

Im not much of an expert on car engines either, but thats odd, ive never heard of a car eating up oil like that. I dont know im just saying, this is the first time ive heard or read sumthing like this. Sorry i cant help much, good luck with it though and welcome to the 6club.

 

[HedsIc]

I change mine every 7k miles on synthetic

 

[Jax6S]

I changed mine every 7500 miles. No make up oil added. There must be something wrong with your car if you're losing that much oil. Bad PCV valve, leaking form the filter or drain plug maybe?

 

[Modcon]

Maybe a quart over that time - I use about 1/3 qt in 5000 miles. I assume you aren't blowing white smoke, so, yeah - I agree that 4 qts over 7000 miles seems very odd.

This time, check the oil at least once a month and see what you see.

 

[sl1200]

sounds like a bad pcv valve. The oil in these cars should be checked at least once per week, if not twice.

More Info Here


As a point of reference I change my oil every 5000 miles and run synthetic (GC)

 

[MZBuckeye]

No synthetic here, but I do change it every 5000 miles. And I've never seen that much oil used.

 

[jeffyscott]

Whatever the frequency of oil changes, you need to periodically check your oil. I don't check it as much as I should, but do it at least once a month and we do not put a lot of miles on our cars.

I wonder if you did some serious damage to the engine by driving with only 2 quarts of oil. If you did, the warranty may not cover it as they can probably say that you are at fault for not periodically checking the oil.

 

[LapisLazuli6]

I have 9100 miles on my 06 6i, and I've had 2 oil changes already. The first one was at 3500 miles, and the 2nd one 5000 miles later, at 8500. I don't check my oil between changes ever, I never have. Since I've heard of some oil consumption issues, I might have to start doing so.

 

[ineedboost]

I a

"I a", That was weird, what I started to say is that am taking our '05 6i mtx in on monday for the 15,000 mile service which includes an oil and filter change. When we bought the car back in June with 13,000 miles the dealer did a comp oil and filter change but, normally I try to change
pretty close to 3000 mile intervals. I am actually thinking of switching to synthetic and going to 5000 mile intervals on the 6.

 

[calgary2800]

Every 9k, 10k with Royal Purple.

 

[lncomp]

Hitting the 3 k mark pretty soon on my car, so going to change my oil early, then I expect to change every 6 k just to be safe, I get free oil from my parents since they own a store, so I don't really mind.

 

[cwa107]

That is excessive oil consumption - period. It is normal for a car to go through a quart between extended changes (5000 miles is what I consider an extended interval). But you should be able to, even under a severe maintenance schedule, go 3500-4000 miles without consuming more than a quart.

Personally, I think you're losing oil (odd that you haven't noticed a leak) or as another poster mentioned, you've got a PCV issue. Check with the dealer and if no joy, take it to another for a second opinion.

 

[jimgrafix]

That is excessive oil consumption - period. It is normal for a car to go through a quart between extended changes (5000 miles is what I consider an extended interval). But you should be able to, even under a severe maintenance schedule, go 3500-4000 miles without consuming more than a quart.

Personally, I think you're losing oil (odd that you haven't noticed a leak) or as another poster mentioned, you've got a PCV issue. Check with the dealer and if no joy, take it to another for a second opinion.
[/b]

It is going back in next Tuesday for the completion of the warrenty work, they had to order an engine mount as well as some other parts. If I ask them to look at the PCV will it be noticable if it is stuck open? I can't imagine they could tell be looking at it, what would they have to do to determine that the PCV is faulty? I plan on checking the oil twice before next Tuesday!

 

[cwa107]

It is going back in next Tuesday for the completion of the warrenty work, they had to order an engine mount as well as some other parts. If I ask them to look at the PCV will it be noticable if it is stuck open? I can't imagine they could tell be looking at it, what would they have to do to determine that the PCV is faulty? I plan on checking the oil twice before next Tuesday!
[/b]

Not sure about the 6, but the rule of thumb with PCV valves is that once you remove it, shake it to see if it rattles freely. If it does, it's usually OK. I'd probably just tell them that I didn't feel 4 quarts of oil consumption is appropriate for a new car and to please troubleshoot and correct the problem.

 

[fullmetal6]

Ya I dont get half the peps on this thread, they act like it is normal to have oil just go away...

The only car we own that we put oil in on a regular bases is my moms old car and that is because it has a pretty good oil leak, it takes about a quart a month. And to me thats bad, if my mazda used or lost a quart in a month I would be down at the dealership yelling...

 

[jimgrafix]

Ya I dont get half the peps on this thread, they act like it is normal to have oil just go away...

The only car we own that we put oil in on a regular bases is my moms old car and that is because it has a pretty good oil leak, it takes about a quart a month. And to me thats bad, if my mazda used or lost a quart in a month I would be down at the dealership yelling...
[/b]

I am going to have the dealer check it out. The problem started in the last 7000 miles or so, I thought that the PCV issue happened from day one I did not think that it could start 36,000 miles down the road. I used to check my oil weekly when I first got the car but I saw no problems in the first 12,000 miles so I figured I was in the clear, now I know better!

 

[zoomnbyu]

Motorcraft 5W20 syn-blend and BG MOA - every 5K miles.

No unusual consumption, no PCV issues (I check the valve monthly).

 

[6 Pack]

Whatever the frequency of oil changes, you need to periodically check your oil. I don't check it as much as I should, but do it at least once a month and we do not put a lot of miles on our cars.

I wonder if you did some serious damage to the engine by driving with only 2 quarts of oil. If you did, the warranty may not cover it as they can probably say that you are at fault for not periodically checking the oil.
[/b]

The owner's manual stipulates to check the oil at every gas fill-up , hmm are they sending us a message (pcv) .... it's just common sense for preventive maintenance , but even I don't check more than twice or so between oil changes ... well I don't drive it much either ; coming Oct. 28th will be it's first ownership birthday (I'm original owner) and I've just passed the 9,000 kms (ya, not miles !)

I too dealer-changed the oil the first time at 3,500 kms and already the second time at 8534 kms (same #s as LapisLazuli6' below !) I've got one more free dealer oil change left .... makes me wonder how long these pcv 12$ valves are good for before having to change 'em ? What is the lifespan of these so I do change'em before I hit the red-zone period ?? I don't want to start checking it ; worried that taking it apart everytime might eventually break the plastic or weaken it without noticing and have it fail quicker .

I have 9100 miles on my 06 6i, and I've had 2 oil changes already. The first one was at 3500 miles, and the 2nd one 5000 miles later, at 8500. I don't check my oil between changes ever, I never have. Since I've heard of some oil consumption issues, I might have to start doing so.
[/b]

 

[frkideaky]

I change my oil about every 6k at the dealership. Never had a problem with eating up too much oil, cept the time I had a leak