Had first oil change and got a shock. Dealer said I could NOT use synthetic and had to use regular oil with 3k intervals!!. They claim its because of the turbo. Car came with 7500 mile oil change intervals coded in the display. I bought it with this comforatble interval in mind (if not in contract). 3K intervals are really going to be a pita. Is this right?

 

I'm calling B.S.!

Ask your dealer to A) put that statement in writing, and B) show you in Mazda documentation where they recommend against synthetic oil.

Check your Owner's Manual; the betting is it calls for 0W-20 oil, an oil which can ONLY be had in Synthetic.

 

What does your owners manual say?

I would contact Mazda USA for confirmation on service schedule & oil type.

In my market its every 12 months or 10,000kms ( 6,000 miles)

We use Castrol Magnatec Professional 10w30 semi- synthetic.

Our trade based Castrol lube website says 5w30 or 10w30, either synthetic or semi.

 

I'll bet it wasn't the "dealer" (owner of the dealership) who told you that. I'll bet it was the service writer who gets paid on commission. If he doesn't sell much, he doesn't get much of a paycheck--until he's fired. And, who isn't trained in lubricants nor lubrication. 3000 miles or 3 months oil drain interval dates back to the '60s, or maybe the '50s, when the engines weren't machined as well, the oils were much lower quality, and the gasoline wasn't as clean (low sulfur, etc.). It made sense then. Not now.

Use your owner's manual for the specifications. It is 7500 miles, more or less depending on the driving conditions, and 3750 miles under extremely bad conditions. And, synthetic oil is no problem and might add to the life of the turbocharger. Saying no syn because of the turbo is simply stupid.

I had a *discussion* with a service writer about the oil for the 2017 CX-9. He told me that all Mazdas needed 0W-20 oil (which, by the way, is full synthetic). I told him that he was wrong--these cars need 5W-30. I think I finally convinced him. That was the same service writer at the same dealership where my wife took the car for the first, free, oil change. She made the appointment, dropped it off and explained that it was in for the oil change, waited an hour. They called to her and told her the car was ready. She drove home, and I checked the dipstick. The oil was a half quart low and dirty. The car hadn't been washed. She received no paperwork. I phoned the guy. He looked up the records and saw that no oil nor filter had been charged to this job. They didn't touch the car. (West Hills in Bremerton, Washington.) Never again. I do my own oil changes in less time that it takes to drive to the stealership.

 

Absolutely makes my skin crawl when I hear these stories. A 2017 CX-9 was SPECIFICALLY designed to run a full synthetic oil. If you are doing so, the maintenance minder can be set on a variable oil change. Sever driving? Light will come on a little earlier than 7500. Sweet, nothing but highway, vacation driving? Might take 8000 for the light to come on. DEFINETLY contact Mazda USA with this info. That Richard Cranium should be flogged. (angry typing, sorry)

 

But that's not the case. Synthetic oil was not specified, and you will need to pay extra to get it from a dealer. Syn is certainly OK and likely good for longer turbo life, but not required by the book. The maintenance minder can be set for variable oil drain interval no matter what oil is used.

 

In my humble opinion, anybody who drives a turbocharged engine and lubricates it with conventional oil deserves the "when", not "if", turbocharger failure they'll get to pay for. A bit harsh I know, but I don't think I've ever seen a turbocharged gasoline engine go even 100,000 miles on conventional oil before the turbo fails, in fact, it is the rare turbo which will make it to even the 60,000 mile mark without failing.

 

Shipo and I disagree. The concern is all about the heat. Synthetic oil can handle higher temperatures before the oil breaks down. We agree so far.

The engine designer and turbocharger designer can use ways to handle the heat. Because the gas turbine is a heat engine, the hotter it runs, the more efficient it is.* But, the shorter its life will be. By water cooling the turbine casing and bearing area, and providing more oil flow and an oil reservoir within the casing, the heat can be handled. Also, the timing of when the firing ends and the hot gases allowed to expand, push down the piston, and cool as they expand relate to turbine temperature. We must assume that Mazda and other makers do this to ensure the reliability of their cars. Mazda will sell you a 100,000 mile Extended Confidence Plan (extended so-called warranty) and let you run conventional oil for those 100,000 miles. Truck turbochargers are commonly run for a million miles on conventional oil, and industrial diesels for a similar life. It is all about how the heat is handled.


*The most efficient piston engine (also a heat engine) would have no cooling. Cooling takes heat away that would otherwise cause the combustion gases to expand and push the piston down for more efficiency. Of course, that won't work for long--the oil will fail causing metal to metal contact and engine destruction. There have been experiments with ceramic engine parts, but no successes. Thus, we accept the loss of efficiency from part of the heat going into the cooling system.

 

Ok now head is spinning. Book says 5-30w. Does not mention synthetic at all. Book says Oil Change Interval is 6500 F---g KMs not miles. Car was coded from factory with 7500 MILES oil change reminder. Thinking whole thing is a scam as I would have thought twice before buying a car requiring such frequent service. AFter the vw tdi scandal I am full on skeptical of all car makers. I did speak to 2 good garages. Both agree semi-synthetic at 5000 MILES is a fair compromise.

 

2016 CX-9 Owner's Manual page 6-5..."Max interval 12 months or 12,000 km (7,500 miles)"

Page 6-26..."Use 5W-30 engine oil." "Only use SAE 5W-30 oil 'Certified for Gasoline Engines' by the American Petroleum Institute (API)" Note...all the usual engine oils, conventional, synthetic blend, and full synthetic, meet all the standards of API and ILSAC. BP and Mazda have some marketing link with BP's Castrol oils suggested. Castrol is fine as are all the other equally excellent top brands. The current API Service Category for gasoline engine oils is SN, and the current ILSAC standard is GF-5. That's what you'll see on every bottle of Chevron 5W-30, and Pennzoil 5W-30, and Mobil, and Shell, and Valvoline, and Castrol, and all the rest of the top brands, conventional and synthetic. As the API Service Categories and ILSAC standards are upgraded every few years, the new versions are always backward compatible, so use the newest.

The VW engine oil scandal was with their turbocharged gasoline 4 cylinder engines where the oil was allowed to get too hot and baked to carbon. That was just certain VWs, not all turbocharged engines. The VW diesel scandal was completely different and nothing to do with oil.

5000 mile oil drain intervals and synthetic blend oils are no problem, just a bit of money you don't need to spend. Some syn blend oils are very good. Some are just about marketing where they use low grade conventional oil, low grade synthetics (yes, there are quality differences in some synthetics), mix them together and market them as something special when they just meet quality minimums. Stick with any top brand, and you'll be OK. That said, I use a premium syn blend oil that, after the warranty expires, I run on 10,000 mile drain schedule. http://www.schaefferoil.com/701-synthetic-plus.html

Your head can stop spinning now.