turnerburner

My son is a new owner of an RX8, 2004 model, 20,000 miles. Had the car checked out completely before heading back to college after the holidays, since its still under full warranty. He noticed the milky oil substance on the way to Nashville from Knoxville yesterday and also I think the oil light came on. He says he's been checking it regularly, and added a bit but as the store didn't have the 20 , he put in the 30. He's afraid to drive it back to Knoxvlle, so he's rented a car and left it at the dealership there. He's not where he has internet access so I logged on and saw all the posts about the oil, so maybe he's alright on that. However, he added some anitfreeze also. I think maybe the light came on, or he checked it, but you would have thought since he just bought it and had it fully serviced, he wouldn't need any. Our concern is that he put the "green" kind in, and I think the car is supposed to have the "pink" kind. (You can tell I'm a woman that knows very little about this stuff) Not sure what he did, but obviously didn't read the owner's manual (at least I know to do that). Is this going to cause damage? He hasn't driven it much since then, as he had it towed to the dealership to investigate the milky oil residue. I think he should flush it all out and have them put the right kind in. I don't want his warranty voided for making a mistake, because the oil problem was occurring before he put the antifreeze in. He says the car runs fine, and drive normally. Also said there are no lights displaying, but to be safe, he left the car in Nashville.

Go48

Based on what you say I don't see any serious problems with the car. The milky substance, assuming he sees it in the oil filler cap or tube, or the very top of the dipstick, and the oil is not milky, is not a problem. It is condensation mixed with a bit of oil and it is a common occurance. In fact, there's a sticky on that in the forum, I think at the top of this section.

Adding a bit of 5w-30 wt. oil is not a problem. If this is a very early build '04 he may need to have the oil pan replaced under warranty. There was a problem with the oil light illuminating due to oil sloshing about in the oil pan. There's a service bulletin that addresses this "problem". I'll post a link to that bulletin at the bottom of this post.

The "green" (aka, Prestone-like) antifreeze is OK. The coolant level should be at the Full mark in the plastic bottle with the engine fully warmed up. He may have added the coolant with the engine cold when the level would be normally below the Full mark. He should just keep an eye on the level. If it continues to drop, there may be a leak or internal engine coolant seal failure. My guess would be that the former is the most likely. Have him look for spots of coolant under the car, particularly below the front of the engine.

The owners manual will tell him more about the oil and coolant recommendations. Make sure he reads the manual when he has a question about the car before freaking out. If the car didn't come with the manual, he can go to MazdaUSA.com, register as an owner, and then download the manual.

EDIT: Related service bulletins:
Low oil level warning light:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...13-04-1341.pdf
Check the VIN of the car with the VIN numbers in the service bulletin to see if this applies to his car.

Milky substance:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...50-06-1664.pdf
Keep in mind, this is primarily a cosmetic problem and he really doesn't NEED to have this done.

RX8Maine

Go48, you are to be commended for being so helpful before the "search" dogs had a chance to bite. That is how forums should work.

Go48

Thanks! I try to help, especially the newbees, when I can. It is, indeed, how the forums should work.