The metal molybdenum is not added. Molybdenum disulfide is the additive. I’m used to seeing it as a dry lubricant on bearing surfaces. My guess is that the MoS2 particles are finely ground and added to the oil. I don’t know whether moly dissolves in motor oil or not.
I understand that. What is puzzling is that they talk about Mazda Oil with Moly and show Castrol Edge, all in the couple of pages in the Owner’s Manual dealing with lubricants and motor oil
Which is it? Does the car need so many parts per million of Molybdenum disulfide, or doesn’t it?
What happens if it gets it? What happens if it doesn’t?
Is it all just marketing hype?
CSA
Good Grief CSA, just have her go to the dealer and have it documented until the warranty is over and find something else to obsess over.
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Believe me. I’m not losing any sleep over it. Fresh oil of the proper spec is the most important thing and my daughter has learned that. We’ve spent many hours together changing oil. She knows more about cars than a lot of guys. She was asking me about the oil and changes for the new Mazda CX-5, her first new car.
I thought it was an interesting discussion topic for a crowd that can contemplate practically anything (or possibly nothing) for days. 
Oil is evolving/improving, rapidly. The oil in use now isn’t my father’s Quaker State non-detergent SAE 30 used in my father’s Oldsmobile.
What I can’t figure out is if some/many/all ILSAC GF-5 0w-20 Full Synthetic (that’s what’s specified) contains some molybdenum disulfide. I know the oil marketers aren’t going to list all ingredients on their packaging. I read online (so it must be true) that the Castrol Edge has it. [?]
CSA
@common_sense_answer - When I bought the car I actually bought a case of the Mazda motor oil (with the moly) and a few filters. It is all sitting in my garage waiting for the day that the dealer no longer wants to do my oil changes for free. For now, all of my oil changes have been at the dealer where they use the Castrol full synthetic and my service guys have assured me that Castrol is what Mazda is now calling for.
My guess is they thought they would make something special that would force you to come into the dealer for oil changes but quickly discovered that 0w-20 Synthetic with a proprietary formula was so crazy expensive to make that the dealers (especially the ones doing free oil changes like mine) cried foul and demanded a cheaper option. Then the marketing ploy was scrapped and Castrol Full Synthetic was spec’d. I’m sure that any full synthetic motor oil from a name brand would work just as well.
Thanks. That’s info I can use! I read some different Mazda fan blogs and others have indicated something similar. I’ll call the dealer near where the car will be living and see what they’re using. It feels better to have a plan and I like to offer good advice to my kids when they ask.
I’m thinking of switching some of my own cars to Castrol Edge Full Syn @ 23 bucks/jug.
CSA
I’ve been running Valvoline Full Syn in several of my cars for many years (it’s cheaper) and occasionally Castrol Full Syn (when it’s on sale). I even used SuperTech Synthetic for a while (Walmart house brand). My cars can’t tell the difference and they have all run to over 200,000 miles without burning or losing oil. On the Mazda SkyActiv engine I definitely recommend the OEM filter. It is a tight spot where the filter fits and the Mazda filter is spec’d using a very small can for a very demanding engine. I wouldn’t mess with it.
When I was at Wal-Mart a couple of days ago, The Castrol Edge Full Syn ILSAC GF-5 was $23/5qts and the Valvoline Syn Power ILSAC GF-5 was $25/5qts.
I use that Super Tech in my lawn mowers. It’s very inexpensive and probably the same as a leading brand (made by the same folks, but without advertising expenses).
I always/have always used OEM filters in all of my machines. I stock them in my garage. Looking up brand-x filters and seeing that a certain filter replaces more than one specific OEM filter has never made sense to me. 
There are places to save money and that’s not one of them.
CSA
Tires and oil and many other products are given various designations that seem quite impressive and while they do actually reflect some quality of the products they are mostly for marketing purposes. Like non GMO foods and gluten free foods and antibiotic free meats those who write the prerequisites are always on the payrolls of those who manufacture and market the products.
I suspect Mazda gets a little “assistance” from Castrol for having their picture in the manual. Just like TV programs get kick backs from brand name products shown on TV programs. Ever notice some product labels are generic while others are clearly branded like soft drinks, ketchup, etc?