Our 2019 CX-3 started throwing P0524 last Thursday evening, and it won’t go above 2000 rpm (which gets you about 20 mph on the road). Here’s the scenario:Start the car

Rev it up to between 2k and 3k rpm

At first it’s fine, but then the oil light and the engine light come on, and revs start to go down towards 2k, but then it will rev up and down a few times (sometimes). If I let off the pedal, it goes back down to idle (around 750rpm) and the oil light goes off. If I rev it back up, at first it’s fine (again), but after a few seconds the oil light comes back on and the revs fall back down, sometimes doing the up-and-down but sometimes just falling. The first three or four times of this, if I let it go back to idle, the oil light will go off.

As stated, the code is 0524 (low oil pressure).

I checked the vvt solenoid on top (the exhaust cam, I think) by hooking wires between the contacts and the battery, and connecting the circuit does make it click, so I think it is okay. I haven’t been able to find the intake vvt solenoid, and there’s almost no documentation out there, so if anyone has some info on that, I’ll check it, too.

I also took off the oil pressure valve, and did the same thing, and it seems to work. (I really thought it was the oil pressure valve, but it seems not).

I changed the oil about three weeks ago, a few days before we drove from Ohio to Florida and back, and it was fine the whole time, and for the five days since we got home, until Thursday. The oil level is okay (between the two holes).

Anybody out there with any suggestions?

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=dtc+...-8&bshm=rime/1

 

I replaced the oil filter (which I had replaced three weeks ago), and now it's fine. So, either clogged or just a "bad" filter.

 

So, replacing the oil filter didn't quite fix it. A few weeks later, the behavior started happening again (although the low rev limitation only happened occasionally). So, I did a full oil change (not just the filter), and that "fixed it" for a few more weeks, and now it has started happening yet again. This time I'm going to add some oil treatment to the oil change, to see if that makes any difference, but changing the oil every month is just silly. Does anyone have any idea what is happening?

 

FWIW, I have now replaced the engine oil pressure switch (PY8V-18-541B) and that has not fixed the problem.

From what I am reading in the factory repair manual, the code I'm getting (P0524) happens when the pressure switch is on for 5 seconds AND the revs are in a given range while the coolant temperature is in a given range. But the manual does not say when/why the pressure switch comes "on". This code by itself really wouldn't bother me, except that the computer then moves into limp mode.

Interestingly, if you unplug the engine oil pressure switch, you get a P0198, which indicates a problem with the engine oil temperature monitoring circuit, not the oil pressure.

But, I still don't have a fix for this issue. Does anyone have any idea why high revs are causing a "low oil pressure" code?

 

Get a mechanical oil pressure gauge and test the oil pressure.

 

I saw in the manual that you should use a mechanical pressure gauge, and it specifies Mazda part numbers for the gauge, hose, and I think an adapter to screw into the hole for the pressure switch. Do you know if any ol’ generic gauge can be used, or does it have to be a Mazda one?

 

Any quality oil Pressure gauge will do as long as you know it is at least a brand name for quality purposes of accuracy. I use a virtually still looking new as the day I bought it around mid 90's NAPA ECHLIN fuel service system . The gauge is very generic analog with multiple connecting ports.

 

So what will knowing the pressure tell me?

I can’t find what the “normal” range of pressure is, so I don’t know what high or low is.

Assuming I can determine if the oil pressure is actually low, what does that mean? How do I tell what is causing it to be low?

 

I'm having the exact same problem with our 2020 CX-3. We are now on to the oil pump after checking everything else, replacing the sensor, and now finally mechanically tested the pressure. One cylinder came back with a pressure of 7psi which is really low. Mazda was saying it should be around 25.

Hoping the pump puts an end to this saga. We've been dealing with it off and on for the last 6 months.