Just found out this morning that car is burning oil. 53K miles and has had regularly scheduled maintenance at dealership. Oil changed there 3K miles ago. Oil on exhaust pipes and barely registered 1/4 " on dipstick. No light came on inside on dashboard. Any ideas?
If you have oil on the exhaust, then you have an oil leak and not oil consumption.
You should have a reputable mechanic fix it or bring it to the dealer. and obviously do not drive it until you add oil.
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The first step is to determine how much oil per thousand miles the engine is using. If an oil level of 1/4 inch on the dipstick means the oil level is 3/4 quart down (seems a reasonable guess), that means your Mazda if using 3/4 quart per 3,000 miles, or 1/4 quart per 1,000 miles. If so, that’s not enough to worry about, engine is not burning excessive amounts of oil. If it uses 2 quarts in 1,000 miles, that’s when to start thinking there’s some sort of problem which needs to be addressed.
In the meantime, be sure to check and top off (if necessary) the engine oil every 1,000 miles. Checking the oil level every re-fueling is even better. The oily/black gunk on the exhaust pipes might be normal for an 8 year old car, or might indicate the fuel mixture is a little too rich, or there’s a small exhaust leak.
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Unless I misunderstood what OP was trying to say. I read it as 1/4 inch from the bottom of the dip stick, not the safe area. either way oil on the exhaust is a leak.
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Just to confirm, was the oil full when you first checked it after the oil change?
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Buy several quarts of the correct oil
Add enough oil to get to ‘full’ line
Record miles
Check oil each fillup, record miles when one quart is needed, add it
Tell us how many miles that is
If oil is dripping on the exhaust manifold or pipe in the engine compartment, find out where the leak is. Repair costs will depend on the location. You’ll need to decide if it’s worth the cost, or to just keep adding oil.
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Sounds like the valve cover gasket(s) may be leaking . . .
don’t let it get to the point where smoke is billowing out from under the hood and people call the fire department
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Tester
If you have oil on the exhaust pipes that lead to the back of the car you probably have an oil leak. Timing chain covers are a common oil leak on these cars, but depending if yours is a turbo or not there are some other likely places oil could be leaking.
As others have noted, have the oil leaks inspected and repaired.
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