A follow up to my original post.....
Vehicle now has 10K miles and the Mazda dealer just performed the 10K oil change, which Mazda corporate paid for. Last oil change was 5400 miles ago.

My CC5 consumed almost a quart of oil in this time frame. The oil light did not come on, but I monitored it often. Checked it cold and in the same place in the garage.

I was shocked that the light never came on. Over half of the mileage was at highway speeds 65+ and the fact it went over 5K miles.

That's it, I still consume oil, and Mazda still doesn't have a fix.

Lets see what the next 5,000 miles bring.

 

For many automakers, 1 qt in 5k is well within spec. I agree with you though, to me it's too much. I have yet to own a car that burned oil at all. Even my 8000 rpm redline s54 BMW uses no oil between changes and its a 2006....

 

I am not sure if they actually say it within specification (I have read technical information that is not directly from any specific auto manufacture) considering the rigid emissions standard set by the EPA for American based sold vehicles? Here is why.....gasoline engines, emission WILL raise and at some point, cars in states that require a bi-annual emission test (new cars after a year age) like California they will fail, engine power will diminish, spark plugs will eventually foul, and the worst and most expensive will be CATOLYTIC Converter failure. These are undisputed facts. So, I would really recommend anyone that is using oil in such large amounts as posted in this thread to get service documentation early and keep those records.

 

Although I (thankfully) don't have any first-hand experience with the light coming on, my understanding is that the sensor is positioned so that level has to be at or below the low mark on the dipstick before it comes on (i.e. one quart low). I don't know how exact this actually is on our vehicles, but the low-level light coming on when it's one quart low does make sense to me.

I suspect that Mazda knows a lot more than they're saying publicly at this point. Although they perhaps didn't actually intend to release that information, valve stem seals did appear in their TSB. So IMO whatever the issue is with those seals is most likely the cause of this excessive oil consumption. If that's correct, then the only two choices that Mazda has to correct the problem are: 1) The expensive partial tear-down required to replace the seals or 2) The even more expensive complete engine replacement. And what always compounds the less expensive choice for (all) aiutomakers is their lack of confdence in the ability of their stealership service departments to do non-trivial engine repair work.

And it's possible that they may be considering a third option, which would be to simply do nothing for some of these oil consuming vehicles. Although I'm sure that would seem to be unacceptable to you and other owners, I don't think there's anything you could do about it. The reason for that is a number of automakers have created the illusion of an acceptable oil usage 'standard' of 1 quart per 1K miles. Although most of us consider 1QT/1K of usage to be ludicrous, the fact is that a number of automakers have bailed out of their engine issues by hanging their hats on this 'standard' (Hyundai/Kia is the one I'm personally most familiar with).

So it wouldn't surprise me at all if Mazda ultimately issues a royal proclamation that your vehicle's oil consumption of 1QT/5K is just fine and dandy, particularly if they believe it's not going to get worse than that over time. And frankly, if I was faced with the choice of having significant engine work done by a typical service department, versus living with that level of oil consumption, I'm honestly not sure what I'd do. Certainly glad I'm not an owner of one of these vehicles, and offer condolences to all who do.

 

Should there be no wonder cure from Mazda, you could try using 'High Mileage' oil .
Valvoline has one that's full synthetic. It helped on one of those famous GM V-6s with
crappy valve seals. Not familiar with other brands.

My 2¢

 

I've never had a car that had an oil level indicator. Considering that the levels in the sump change immediately when the engine is turned on, I am not sure you could make a reliable one.
The lights are substitutions for the gauges that confuse everyone so they ignore them or complain that the needles are moving around too much. They measure pressure. Don't know about the Mazdas, but most of the ones I'm familiar with will light when the oil pressure drops below 6 or 7 psi. You really don't want to do intensive driving at those pressures, though it might be ok for idling. That's why the manual says to stop immediately if the oil light turns on. Actually, the damage may already be done.

 

This is a pretty good response grouping what most that drive see and think! They ignore the engine check light if the car still runs fine and seldom pay attention to a degree temperature gauges, and an oil light to turn off the engine immediately ...heck no, to most that means drive faster and get home. LOL

 

I don't mind the idiot lights, but I really prefer that they be associated with real gauges. The one that really gets me is my MX5. The temp gauge is so dampened that by the time it shows an increase in temperature, it's too late. The oil pressure gauge is a fake which dances around based on the engine RPM. It is supposed to go to 0 if the pressure drops too far, but, again, that might be too late. My Ultragauge II solves the temperature gauge limitations, but there is no ECU readings for the oil pressure.

The original MX5's had a real oil pressure gauge, but 1994 was the last year for that and Ford's influence made Mazda put a gauge in that either showed 0 or about 60 psi with no other movements. In other words, it was an idiot light without the red glare to get your attention. I put a 1994 gauge and sending unit into my 1997 MX5 to solve that, but I don't have that alternative with the 2013.

 

I take nothing to chance. I have a superbright LED that is connected to a sender near the oil filter. Should the oil pressure drop at or below 10.5 psi the light is activated, and piezo warning horn sounds off. As for other temperature I use the Ultra Gauge that reads from the ECU but also have a gauge that is switched between 2 separately installed senders for transmission and engine oil temperatures.

 

Nice setup. I used to do that kind of stuff on my vehicles, but, now, with my bad back and hip and, at my age, no expectation of improvement, I can't get into the places I need to reach to do it and, if I make the attempt, I spend two to three days recovering in the Lazy Boy. Getting old is the pits, but it beats the alternative.