I have an '08 Mazda 6 and I'm wondering how often you're supposed to change the oil. I thought I read in the owner's manual every 7500 miles, but that doesn't seem right.

Thanks,
Jess

 

Why doesit seem incorrect? Because the folks at Jiffy-Boob say 3,000 miles? Believe it or not, Mazda has spent many millions of dollars on engine design and proving out maintenance requirments, and they have a pretty good idea how long oil should last in their engines.

The fact is that engine oil has come a long-long way over the last thirty years (back when 3,000 mile oil changes was a good idea), and engines themselves produce a fraction of the contaminates that collect in the oil compared to engines from "back in the day". I have looked at a number of Used Oil Analysis (UOA) reports for Mazda3 and Mazda6 engines, and the 7,500 mile Oil Change Interval (OCI) looks to be pretty accurate.

 

The manual is correct. The 3,000 mile oil change is pretty much a myth these days.

 

Though that depends somewhat on how hard you are on your car. I run autocross, so my car will require oil changes more often than someone who simply uses the car for everyday driving, but still I go more than the 3K miles between changes.

-Cameron Keffer

 

Follow the recommendations in the manual. Improvements in engine materials, tolerancing of component parts, oil technology, etc. allow longer intervals between oil changes.

Make sure to monitor the oil level regularly between changes (more important than ever due to the long intervals between changes.)

 

Thank you for your replies. That's kind of what I figured but wanted to make sure. Especially since the dealer who sold me the car has called me multiple times to remind me that my car needs service. I just remember thinking when I read the manual how much money I am going to save with this car because it is so efficient.

 

racergirl,

I'm gonna dare to offer a different view. No one's engine ever died BECAUSE they changed the oil every 3K - 5K. But some people have had theirengine die BECAUSE they changed their oil a little tooinfrequently.Changing your oil even twice-as-often than OEM recommended is still way way way cheaper than buying a used engine due to the fact that you may have changed your oil less frequently than you should have. It's cheap insurance, is all I'm saying.

That said, I just changed the oil in our Mazda a couple of weeks ago, about 500 miles "past my scheduled preference", and didn't worry about it a bit. Just don't push your luck,because you've got an awfullynice car there, don't you do?!? Guys onthis boardlike Cameron and Scott know their stuff too, so don't discount their good advice either. Wanna start a GREAT debate....lets talk about automatic transmission fluid change intervals!!! Cheers,

David

 

Ugh, now you're just TRYING to pick a fight[sm=bangbang.gif]. But seriously, what David is saying is true an oil change WILL run you a helluva lot less than a new engine. I spend at least one day a month running my engine at high rpms in 60sec sustained runs all day long, so it's VERY important to be sure that the oil in the engine is good. Lets just say that not doing so could be VERY bad juju. As a result I typically change mine out every 4-5k miles though 5 is pushing it and I never let it go any higher than that.

-Cameron Keffer