srm858

I have had a sudden increase in oil usage after the last flash about 3 months ago. I was using a quart about every 3000 miles, which appears to be about average. Now, for the last 3000 miles of driving, I have added 4 quarts. I changed the oil about 800 miles ago and have added a quart already.

Any ideas why this is happening? No leaks I can see. The tailpipes have virtually no soot on them now. I'm worried there is a problem, but the car runs better than ever. I'm going to mention it to the dealer as soon as I get the recall notice and bring it in. Also, after the last flash, the idle is much rougher. Did the last flash do all this? No one else has posted any problems with the lastest flashes.

zoom44

who is doing the oil changes. where do you park

srm858

The dealer has done one change and I have done 3. The dealer had some gorilla who tightened the oil filler cap so tight, I thought I would break it getting it off. The filter was the same way. I do it myself now, using Mazda filters and Castrol 5W-20.

I park in the garage at night and in the lot at work. Why?

Psylence

I have noticed some changes in idle after the "thermal damage" recall and reflash.. Seems that the cold start logic is a bit different than before.. No oil consumption issues noticed.. just wanted to vouch for the difference in idle

tiggerlee

srm858 and Psylence, are you both talking about the same flash?

zoom44

who cares about flash. sudden large increasesin oil consumption are not flash related.

srm- are you sure that a new crush washer has been used on the last oil change? noticed any new drips on the garage floor?

pull your airbox open and check for oil in the accordian hose and filter.

tiggerlee

I care about the flash!!! That's why I posted the question! Had nothing to do with the oil issue. Sheesh.

wedge357

Make zoom44 suckle your monkey... :D

zoom44

no i wont do it!!!

tiggerlee

You don't know what your missing. :D

srm858

zoom44 - I used a new washer (they give me one with each oil filter) and there are no drips I can detect. The oil usage started between changes and right after the flash (not the latest recall flash). I changed the oil and filter, but the usage is still high. I can't imagine the flash has anything to do with it, but it's strange it started right after.

How would oil get into the air filter and intake ducting? I'll check it, but I'm not sure I understand.

This is my first rotary engine, but if I saw this kind of problem with a piston engine, I would suspect some kind of engine damage. With the rotary, unless a seal has gone bad, or the oil injection system has gone wild, I don't know what else it could be.

The car runs great (except for idle roughness), the mileage still stinks (around 18 with mixed driving), no other engine related problems. If the oil usage keeps up and the dealer doesn't have an answer, this car is going to be sold.

Go48

Something doesn't compute here. If you're using a qt of oil every 800 miles, it would seem to me that your plugs would have fouled long ago. Pull a plug and check for shiney black deposits..

The oil is going somewhere. (Brilliant deduction, eh?) If it's burning up as part of the combustion process you should notice blacked up exhaust tips and fouled plugs. If it is leaking, you should see evidence of that where the care is parked or at least on some part of the engine.

Let us know what the dealer finds.

srm858

Go48 - I agree, it doesn't add up. The tailpipes are much cleaner than when the car was new. Then, there was always lots of soot. I guess the leaning out of the fuel mixture on the latest flashes has taken care of this.

The car must be burning oil, since it's not leaking. Not a good sign.

zoom44

if it was burning the pipes would be blacker

srm858

I guess I'll talk to the dealer. I've been waiting for the recall notice to have it all taken care of at once. I thought it would be here by now. I may have to have them look at the current problems and go back for the recall. Just the usual bi-monthly visit to the dealer to have them fix things. My nearly 25 year old Fiat with 108,000 miles on it requires less maintenance.

pcimino

Are you certain? I think when I got the 'N' or 'P' my oil usage dropped dramatically. Someone stated that they decreased the amount of oil the metering pump used.

Could part of the latest flash fix increase the oil to combat all the engine failures?

zoom44

yes i am quite certain. not from 1 qt to 4 qts in the same distance. the decrease was like 10%- 20%.

and no they already attempted using more oil to combat engine failures(by replacing the stock MOP with a higher volume one on some test cars) and they found it wasnt lack of oil at the seals that was the issue.

Nubo

I've seen before where Mazda considers the normal oil consumption to be anything less than 1 quart per 600 miles.

I'm not sure 3000 is typical. I get about 1200 miles per quart.

But since you noticed a big change in your consumption hopefullyl they'll be willing to dig into it. The fact you have rough idle now should be cause enough for them to investigate. Hopefully whatever fixes the problem will fix both.

srm858

I've been really keeping track of oil consumption and it has used about 1/3 quart in 300 miles. It's a bit hard to determine exactly how much has been used, because the dipstick only has the 2 widely spaced marks.

I thought oil consumption would go down after the new flashes, but it never was an issue for me. Throwing in a quart between changes was no big deal. I did quite a bit of highway driving this weekend and gas consumption was worse than normal - around 18mpg. Something is just not right, but the car runs great.

I'm going to continue to monitor the oil closely and have them investigate when I bring it in for the recall. I wish they would hurry up and send the letter. It's been a month since they announced it.

Go48

Just to clarify one thing, the distance between the two marks on the dipstick are not a linear indication of the amount of oil required to raise the level to the full mark. (See Service Bulletin 01-047/04, dated 12/21/2004.) So are you basing your statement on the dipstick readings or on the number of ounces you added? The latter is the only accurate way to determine how much oil you are adding.

RexApex

srm858,
1000miles/quart is the rate mine's always used oil. I've always had to add one quart to stay between the lines during the 3000mile oil change interval. Are you really sure you were getting 3000miles/quart before. If so then I'd be worried about the low oil consumption earlier, and not so much about the 1000mile/quart rate you've got now.
--R

srm858

Go48 - Well, I am basing my usage on the amount of oil I am actually adding. I went back to look at the bulletin and you are right, it's not a linear progression. I don't have this dipstick, so I don't have the 3 holes between the lines. I usually add a quart when I drop a bit below 1/2. Since I have been keeping a close eye on usage, I have been trying to determine how much is being used and whether the type of driving I do affects usage. So far, no correlation between usage and type of driving.

I keep hoping the problem will go away, that it's some sort of abberation, but it doesn't seem to want to go away. Personally, I don't think the dealer will be able to do much. I'm wondering if something went wrong when they flashed it the last time. That's when the idle became rough and the car started using oil. Maybe the lastest flash will correct the error. I'm going to call and see if they will do the recall without the letter.

RX8world

Sorry guys but because here we use litres and ml......when you say a quart you mean litre?
mine consumes about 1 litre and 150ml every 3000km

srm858

Well, a quart is a bit less than a liter. You are adding 1.15 liters every 3000 KM, so that's about 1.2 quarts every 1900 miles. So, you are getting roughly about twice as far as I am for every quart.

My concern has more to do with the car suddenly using more oil, especially since I now have 21k miles on it. Things should have settled down.

srm858

Well, brought the car in for the thermal recall and to check the oil consumption, rough idle, and weak A/C. I had it all arranged with the service department and they were going to have a car for me to use for the day.

The dealer is a 1/2 hour away and when I arrived they told me they had no appt., no parts for the recall, and no loaner car. This is typical of the treatment I have received from the 2 Mazda dealers I have tried. This one is Vachon Mazda in Attleboro, MA and they were recommended by a guy from Mazda NA.

So, I left and drove to work and will have to go there again at least 2 more times for recalls. This car is about 1 inch away from being sold. Nothing like an under-engineered car coupled with a poor dealer network. This is my last Mazda.