I drove 3.5k on freeway (99%) since the last change with regular oil - approx Jan 2018.
Fluid color looks very good on inspection.
Manual says 7.5k for my kind of drive - or 5k otherwise.
Oil is also 1cm higher from the upper hole on the dipstick.
When should I change the engine oil?
Update 1:
Currently 89k
2013 model
Update 2:
- With regular oil in there with under 4k mileage, should I change at 6/7 months or can I go longer upto 12months (as long as I do not go over 7k)?
I have one vehicle with a similar situation. I settled on 5K miles or one year for its oil change interval. So far, so good for this vehicle.
5k on regular oil or Full synthetic?
I go 5000 or six months. Makes no difference if its syn or dino. That was a marketing hype.
I am a little more concerned the the overfill situation. Are you sure you meant one cm? Just guessing here but that would seem like there is 500 ml too much oil. Could be the dipstick is incorrect.
1 cm is correct.
Dipstick is correct
Should I drain some?
Are you saying that this is the first time you have checked the oil level since January ? As for draining the very little oil that is up to you , I would not even worry about it.
You didn’t mention the year of your Mazda or how many miles on it. You also did not tell us the time interval given in your manual for oil changes. If it is 6 months and you are still under warranty, you have already voided your warranty. If your manual calls for synthetic oil ,you have voided your warranty.
If you are out of warranty, Mazda doesn’t care if you ever change your oil because they are no longer responsible for your engine. You are.
Currently 89k
2013 model
Still waiting for the time interval in months listed in your user’s manual. Typically, it would be 7 months, which you are close to.
@BillRussell - how critical is it to meet the “time interval” - the oil looks clean with 3.5k miles and prob 7months.
Should I change the oil based on “time interval” even if the color is good? Otherwise i want to use the 12months time interval.
As mentioned before though, color really isn’t a determining factor. You can get an oil analysis done for about $30 just to see what they say after 7 months but the only car I let go a full year was one that got maybe 10 miles a year on. Even if you have someone do it for you, an oil change is only $50 or $30 if you just do it yourself.
I’ve always changed my 27 year old/200 k mile Corolla’s oil & filter at around 5K miles, and that interval has worked for me. If after a oil & filter job I find the oil level above the top mark on the dipstick I drain some out until it is just at the top. I like to be able to monitor the oil level over time to see if the level is going up or down, and I use the top mark as a reference for that. One cm over the top mark likely wouldn’t cause any engine problems, oil frothing etc, however.
I own a Mazda as well (2014 Mazda 6) and it has the same specified intervals (7.5K normal, 5K severe service). I drive a ton of easy highway miles and the fill is always full synthetic. I have been changing my oil at 6K to 7K for over 4 years and 135,000 miles. The engine is very high compression (Skyactiv) and I burn no oil and have no compression issues. Stick with what your manual says.
I used mineral oil in my 2005 Accord V6 and changed it every 7000 to 7500 miles. When I traded it at 187,000 miles, the used car manager remarked how well the engine ran. As long as Mazda doesn’t require synthetic oil, you can use mineral oil at 7500 mile intervals with good results.
@bloody_knuckles:
With regular oil in there with under 4k mileage, should I change at 6/7 months or can I go longer upto 12months (as long as I do not go over 7k)?
@jtsanders - I was at a shop and saw Accords with open hood - these outdated body design has this vtec engine inside - as an Integra owner, I die for this vtec - vtec was only available on manual tranny and very limited quantities. Older Accord seems well equipped better than Integras. You could have easily gone to 350-550k on that engine. When you change every 7k, how much time had passed since the last change?
That depended on where I worked. At one location, it was about 6 months. At the other, it was about 3.5 months.
bloody_knuckles stated they have a Mazda 6 with Skyactiv