The Runaround
 

I took my 8 in to get the oil pan TSB taken care of. on the service record it said replaced oil pan, etc added 6 qts of 5w30 oil. i asked about the amount of oil when i picked up the car yesterday and they said since the pan was replaced it took more oil than a regular oil change would. i had no way of knowing so i left and checked the level and it's right on the full mark. today i decided to call about the difference in the oil since the manual asks for 5w20 and it listed 5w30 on the service record. the first guy i spoke with said mazda changed the spec for the winter and its 5w30 now. i said but its winter wouldnt a thinner oil be used. he said he wasnt sure but thats what mazda said. i asked to talk to the manager and he said all mazda cars now go by the 5w30 spec. i said ther manual states 5w20. he said it hasnt been changed in the manual yet. i said so if i call MNAO they'll say the same thing and he said yes. so i said well now half the oil is 5w20 and about half is 5w30. he said that wont hurt anything. so si said ok and hung up and called mazda. while i was on hold the manger calls me back and says i'm sorry i didnt realize it but the rx-8 still uses 5w20 and all other mazdas use 5w30. the oil is charged to 5w30 but it should have been changed to 5w20 on the service record. 5w20 was put in your car. not sure what to believe now. i did a search and other peopel have mentioned it saying 10w30 on the printout but they really got 5w20.is he BSing me? what do you think?

My service record stated 10W-30 on my first oil change. I questioned the service manager and was assured that 5W-20 WAS placed in my car. At second oil change it still read 10W-30. Maybe due to 5W-20 being a relatively new weight, there isn't any code for it in the service record software. ???

Ask to walk out into the oil change area and look for any signs of 5w20 in cans or bulk. That may answer your question.

I would ask them to give me a quick free oil change and filter. Then I would tell them that they could avoid this in the future if they would put the correct info on the service order and if the person answering the phone would know what he/she were talking about.

rotary it up,

5w20 oil is what Mazda has been using on their rotary cars for quite some time. This is not a new weight of oil and it isn't specific to the RX-8. They should be able to prove to you what they are putting in your car and any dealer that has it wrong on the invoice should give you a free oil change and filter right away. They can enter it right in their computer and they can prove to you that they have put in the correct oil. After an experience like that I would ask to see the empty quarts to make sure.

good point. the manager said they had 5w30 in bulk(makes sense since most of their cars use 5w30) and 5w20 in quart bottles.

Did they change your oil filter also? I just had my oil pan replaced and saw no mention of the oil filter being replaced. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced this?

as far as i know know they didn't replace it. i timed the oil pan replacement to be before my first official oil change.

Thanks for the correction. This is the first car I have owned that specified 5W-20. Taking my car in tomorrow for the third oil change. I'll make another mention of the service record discrepency and demand proof after service is complete.
Later

When did they specify 5w20 for rotaries? I have a '95 rx7 and the specification is 10w30 unless you're consistenly sub 0F temps in which case they recommend 5w30

Simon.

I have had a five first gen Rx-7s and all have taken 10w30 and 5w30 in the winter. Never 5w20

5w20 is specified in the RX-8 owner's manual for the Renesis only. You are right, It isn't listed for my 2nd gen RX-7.

So whats the final word here?

1) 5W-20 year round (as specified in owners manual)?
or
2) 5W-20 in winter ..... and ..... 5W-30 in summers?

Thanks.

i'd go by the manual 5w20 year round. for the record when i took it in for the 5k service the invoice said 5 quarts of oil but didnt mention the viscosity.

There's reason to believe that the 5w20 spec has more to do trying to meet federal CAFE standards than with benefits to the engine. Not saying that it's a bad oil, but I wouldn't get my shorts in a bunch if someone put 5w30 in it. In fact I remember reading that the car is spec'd for 5w30 (or was it 10w30) in other markets.

This situation with dealer oil changes has been reported more than once, with the same "runaround" about what really was done vs. the invoice system which apparently can't be made to output the correct oil information. Weird.

well like i said my dealership's solution was to put no mention of viscosity of the oil on the invoice.

I had my oil changed today and it also says 10W- 30 on the service record. I'll call Monday for an explanation.

I'm getting really fed up with this...
 

At the risk of becoming as much a zealot for oil as Gord96BRG is for snow tires, I can't believe these idiot dealers continue to screw up something as simple as using the specified oil!!

As I mentioned in this thread, I had called MNAO myself after the second time a dealer tried to put something other than 5W-20 in my car. The guy I spoke to there acted almost indignant that I would bother him with such trivia, but did manage to confirm that Mazda recommends that dealers use only the manual-specified oil. He promised to check with his technical department and get back to me "in a few days". Needless to say, he never called back. :mad:

Would all of you who've had this problem please call Mazda and complain about this? The dolt who "helped" me acted like I was the only 8 owner on the planet that this had happened to. If enough of us call, maybe, just maybe, they'll do something about it.

You can bet that if we owners so blatantly disregarded a maintenance requirement specified in the owner's manual, they'd flat refuse to cover any resulting malfunction under warranty. Sure sounds like a case of "do as we say, not as we do".

Re: I'm getting really fed up with this...
 

well said. i'll be calling mazda.

I was told that the dealership gets 5W-30 in bulk and that its an alternative weight for all mazda cars. They said they'll happily put 5W-20 if i bring my own.

After my 'search' on this forum i found some australian owners saying their manual says 5W-30. I guess there is not a huge difference in these weights or is it?

Which brand oil is better? Pennzoil or Vavoline? And finally I'll commit the sin of asking how many quarts of oil should be used for an oil change? :D

ok found some of my answers:

oil capacity: 3.7 U.S quarts (with oil filter replacement) :)

and oil brand here

I haven't gotten my 8 yet... prolly wont be for another month or so....

my question is... what does the oil cap look like (black, yellow?)... and I heard that the cap states the oil by engraving 5W-20 on it.

if this is true, I'm thinking I will just colour (sharpie) in the engraving with a colour that will stand out...

This way, I they give me any bull, i will point out the easily noticeable grade right on the cap.... and then the next time I'll tape a note on the cap... Just to make it "easier" for them.

P.S. I know I'm really jumping the gun thinking of my first oil changes when I dont even have the car yet. Its just that I'm really eager....

The cap's yellow and it does say 5W20 right on it...