I have a 2007 Mazda 6, 6 speed manual. I took it to the garage on Tuesday as it was making a 'noise', he said it was pretty much out of oil, it takes 5l, he put in 4.25l. Tonight the temp gauge went to high, I checked water, was fine, but seems its out of oil again. Its not leaking on the ground anywhere, so where would 5l of oil disappear too? Any advise would be great, thanks heaps ;)
franc123,
Dec 19, 2:55am
Its either leaking it into the cooling system, leaking it on the ground, or burning it out the exhaust. If it was burning as much as you say it must be a mobile smokescreen on the road, bear in mind that because its not registering on the stick doesn't mean its right out of oil again, its only measuring the top litre or so if that makes sense. Given its been so low on oil I'd be preparing for the worst.
ash4561,
Dec 19, 2:58am
So when you check the level on the dipstick is there any oil on it. Is there black smoke out the exhaust when you rev the engine. There is an oil can light on the dashboard that comes on when you turn key on before starting the car does this come on when driving?
jules.,
Dec 19, 3:02am
No smoke, oil no leaking on the ground at all, just a very small amount of oil on the dip stick.
franc123,
Dec 19, 3:11am
Ok so it may not be down by that much. Any oil in the coolant, when was it last serviced and do you know what brand and grade was used?
jules.,
Dec 19, 3:13am
Coolant looks normal to me and was serviced in June
jmma,
Dec 19, 3:14am
Been on a long trip lately?
franc123,
Dec 19, 3:17am
Can't help much if you don't or can't answer the questions right. Good luck.
jules.,
Dec 19, 3:22am
Sorry, I don't know what else to tell you? Im only trying to answer as best as I can. I have just been out and checked again, coolant is normal and radiator is full, last service in June and Im not sure what oil other than synthetic.
jules.,
Dec 19, 3:22am
Nope, no long trips.
jules.,
Dec 19, 3:23am
Dip sticks reading low.
mm12345,
Dec 19, 3:35am
Well you're going to notice 4 litres - wait - it about 8 litres now - of oil pumped into your cooling system, or leaking on the ground, or burning out the exhaust. Must be someone sneaking the sump plug off in the middle of the night and stealing it.
jules.,
Dec 19, 3:37am
Yip, just seems to have up and vanished!
shakespeare6,
Dec 19, 3:45am
Reading the dip stick correctly I presume ?
jules.,
Dec 19, 3:47am
Yes, wiped it clean, put back in for a while and pulled out to check ;)
alfred011,
Dec 19, 3:50am
If you are using synthetic over priced oil change the oil and filter go to a heavier grade mineral oil and then see what the consumption rate is.
stevo2,
Dec 19, 10:03am
Check the oil after the car has been sitting for a while, NOT after it has been running or you will get a false low reading. To use that much oil in 3 days, its:- *Leaking *Burning (which would leave a real smokescreen *Going into the coolant *or most likely a false reading cause the oil was checked Straight after use
franken1,
Dec 19, 10:23am
Continue to use the grade of oil specified for the vehicle. Not all advice is good advice.
jules.,
Dec 19, 1:26pm
Thanks for all the advise. in the daylight I can now see its nothing to do with the oil as I didn't have the dipstick in fully (it has a twist thing on it and I feel like the dipstick!). So must be the water? The radiator only took a cup of water last night and the coolant bottle is at the full line.
shakespeare6,
Dec 19, 1:32pm
The radiator should not take anything if the coolant system is working correctly.As the engine cooled it should have sucked coolant back from the reservoir. May be there is air in the system or a leak somewhere. I would have a mechanic have a check over the cooling system. You don't want it ruining your Xmas break
intrade,
Dec 19, 1:35pm
The radiator only took a cup of water last night and the coolant bottle is at the full line. first thing to do replace the radiator cap for a correct new one.
jesus2000,
Dec 19, 2:39pm
Had you been regularly checking the oil previously? The Mazda 6 typically uses a small amount of oil and needs checked every fortnight or so. If you hadn't been doing that then it could have got dangerously low over time without you realizing.
Check regularly on level ground on a cold engine over the next few days and weeks to see what is going on.
If the car has suddenly started burning a lot of oil, then possibly replacing the PCV valve and making sure none of the hoses connecting to it are cracked may fix it.
And there are two levels on the coolant bottle. A bottom line for when the engine is cold and a top line for when the engine is hot. Make sure you are looking at the appropriate one. i.e don't fill to the top line when the engine is cold.
MZR engines are really hard to read the dipstick. they are pretty much useless. pull it out first thing in the morning before starting and read the level. DO NOT WIPE IT AND READ IT AGAIN. wiping and putting back in then pulling out to read gives a false level because the dip tube manages to smear it all over the dipstick making it impossible to accuratly read. you only get one chance with these mzr motors
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