I had a bit of a struggle to find the correct oil. I finally managed to find a 5w30 oil at Supercheap.

My oil level on the dipstick was half way between L & H so I decided to top this up. Unfortunately I ended up overfilling as I lost track of the amount that was going in. I ran the car for 1 week with excess oil and the oil went from clear to black. I then drained old oil and filled it with some new. I feel much better now. I hope I have not damaged the engine in any way. IT seems to run fine.

I was wondering if anyone had worked out the amount of oil was required during top up from L to H
SKC

 

I read somewhere someone said it was about 1.5 quarts . . . but don't hold me to that number. If it is, you could have gone over if you put in a full quart. I'll have to keep that in mind for the future when the 8 is needing a top off. I've only got 630 miles on her now and it's still at the top of the H range and the oil looks clean.

 

Welcome to the Forum, skc

In the manual it says 1.7L between L & H, but a really good idea is to top up with a measuring jug, about 250Ml at a time, starting the car, waiting and rechecking.

A better idea is to go to your dealer. Most seem to be pretty happy to top up, and for free. But my dealer overfilled me which I discovered after my 10K service. I drove it back to the dealer very calmly and asked them to empty and refill -- which they did. Now over 22K and no damage, but overfilling can be a problem - best to get any excess out ASAP

 

I calculate 1.7L = 2 quarts. Is that right? Sounds high to me, but hey, who am I to second guess Mazda? But if that was the case, skc wouldn't have overfilled if his level was half way betweein L and H.

I don't know if I would trust the dealer to do such a delicate task as topping up. At least if I do it wrong, I can only blame myself for being stupid! Maybe dealers are more competent Down Under . . .

 

Thanks for your feedback guys.
I reckon I put in 1 litre of oil from the half way mark and I would have been over by at least 750ml. Therefore you could deduce that you would need 500ml between L to H

 

No problem, mate! However, the math doesn't add up for me if the manual says 1.7L and you're figuring 500 mL from L to H. If you put a liter in and were over by 750 mL, there's either a) no way you could have been at half mark (in fact, you would have to be much higher, almost topped off), or b) the manual is wrong.

 

mmm. guess I have to be a lot more careful with my measuring next time and take Timbos advice and take it step by step at 250ml intervals

 

If the dealer does it, then at least you can pin liability on the dealer for any damage arising from overfilling. It's the same as the debate as to which type of oil to use. As my car has 3yr/unlimited K warranty, I am going to use whatever oil the dealer puts in, meaning the causation for any damage (hopefully none ) is theirs!

BTW, the manual says the difference between H & L is 1.8 US Qt. I haven't checked Mazda's maths

 

I wouldn't count on this. Someone once commented (I think it was Lock and Load) that the measurement is not linear. I have noticed that it seems to drop to 1/2 pretty quick and then slows down once it gets there. I top mine up when it gets to about half way. Each time I have put in 500ml and have never overfilled (have done this 3 times now).

I use one of the 1L oil containers (left over from my other car) which has markings down the side from 100ml to 900ml.