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[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by SARAFIL

+1

I wouldn’t overreact to this just yet. How long is Mazda’s warranty and have they said anything about this issue other than the tech bulletin?

Powertrain warranty is 60 months/60k miles. I will definitely be weighing that in the equation. The thought is they are being mum on it until they have a fix. Apparently, the valve leak hypothesis has also been expunged from communications on the problem. I imagine this is so they don't harm continuing sales of models with that engine.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by wdc330i

Right. My car is very low mileage because I work from home. Apparently the problem starts to manifest at around 5,000 miles. At my annual oil change, it was only 2,800. That was in November. They put in 5-6 quarts of new oil then. Then I did the Florida run and the car is just under 5k miles now.

The dipstick (yes, it has a dipstick!) shows oil at the halfway mark, and that has me suspicious. Has it used up half the oil in 2,000 miles of driving?

I swung by the dealer yesterday and picked up two quarts to keep on hand. I will monitor it closely and see. That is my stopgap for now.

Apparently dealers will top you off for free and perform an oil change when you are closer to the change interval for free, but both dealers are easily 30 miles from me roundtrip, so that is not a longterm solution if it really starts gobbling up oil.

And, presumably, it is just postponing the inevitable.

If this problem is truly inherent in all those models with that engine and results in a recall, that's very big deal amid ongoing supply and shipping constraints. Not to mention the dealer time/capacity to perform the recall.

Do you know what the dipstick reading was immediately after the oil change? If you did check and it was at the max fill line, then you have an indicator. If you don't know, why would you be suspicious of a midpoint of normal reading 2,000 miles later?

Even if it does consume more oil than you'd like, what does "postponing the inevitable" mean? Oil consumption doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong or there will be a premature catastrophic failure. It just means it consumes oil. An extra quart on occasion isn't much of an expense if you don't want to visit your dealer. If you drive it 100k and need to add a quart every 1k, that's $600 over how many years?

Originally Posted by wdc330i

Powertrain warranty is 60 months/60k miles. I will definitely be weighing that in the equation. The thought is they are being mum on it until they have a fix. Apparently, the valve leak hypothesis has also been expunged from communications on the problem. I imagine this is so they don't harm continuing sales of models with that engine.

When the problem isn't known to create a real issue and they don't yet have a fix, manufacturers don't talk about it much. They rarely even acknowledge it. (See the RAV4 Hybrid gas tank issue as well as how long it took Subaru to finally say, "Yeah, it consumes oil and we don't know why, but we'll reimburse you a little bit if you can prove you bought extra oil" on their excess oil consumption issue).

If they figure out what it is, it's something that causes a real issue, and they can fix it, they will. If it takes a while to figure out and there's a possibility it could cause problems, it's nearly certain that they will extend coverage for whatever could be damaged due to whatever the issue may be.

Keep a rough eye on your oil to keep your anxiety at bay, but until it's actually creating an issue, why let the possibility of a potential future issue cloud your enjoyment?

You can find multiple examples on the internet of catastrophic failures of every late model car if you look for them. The reality is that very, very few have significant failures. If you are really thinking of replacing the car with something else because of this, you aren't going to improve your odds of avoiding something significant.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by clyde

Do you know what the dipstick reading was immediately after the oil change? If you did check and it was at the max fill line, then you have an indicator. If you don't know, why would you be suspicious of a midpoint of normal reading 2,000 miles later?

Even if it does consume more oil than you'd like, what does "postponing the inevitable" mean? Oil consumption doesn't necessarily mean anything is wrong or there will be a premature catastrophic failure. It just means it consumes oil. An extra quart on occasion isn't much of an expense if you don't want to visit your dealer. If you drive it 100k and need to add a quart every 1k, that's $600 over how many years?



When the problem isn't known to create a real issue and they don't yet have a fix, manufacturers don't talk about it much. They rarely even acknowledge it. (See the RAV4 Hybrid gas tank issue as well as how long it took Subaru to finally say, "Yeah, it consumes oil and we don't know why, but we'll reimburse you a little bit if you can prove you bought extra oil" on their excess oil consumption issue).

If they figure out what it is, it's something that causes a real issue, and they can fix it, they will. If it takes a while to figure out and there's a possibility it could cause problems, it's nearly certain that they will extend coverage for whatever could be damaged due to whatever the issue may be.

Keep a rough eye on your oil to keep your anxiety at bay, but until it's actually creating an issue, why let the possibility of a potential future issue cloud your enjoyment?

You can find multiple examples on the internet of catastrophic failures of every late model car if you look for them. The reality is that very, very few have significant failures. If you are really thinking of replacing the car with something else because of this, you aren't going to improve your odds of avoiding something significant.

Yep. I'll continue to keep an eye on it. And, no, I did not note the dipstick after the oil change, because I did not know about this issue at the time.

I also now know about the vulnerable radiator design in my 2 as well. Good times for a worry wart!

[robg]

Yeah I’m actually impressed that they are acknowledging an issue. Pretty sure bmw woukd just tell you that “it’s normal”.


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[dan]

Originally Posted by clyde

Different kind of experience with each of them or pretty similar? Was totally different with my kids. They had different levels of enthusiasm, different motivations, different understandings/appreciations for the activity before starting, different concerns, etc. Both took direction very well and each developed different component skills at different rates compared to each other.

Pretty similar. They both were quite intent on getting their license as near their 16th birthday as possible. My son started out with a good bit of overconfidence as well, but he’s gotten much less so as he’s driven with me more. We did parallel parking today and he nailed it his very first 4 attempts. I do feel like I have to get on him more to make sure he’s getting the online/classroom instruction completed. I’m gonna stop doing that and just let him suffer the consequences if he doesn’t get it done in time, which could mean at least a month delay in getting his license due to difficulty in getting appointments at the DPS.

I’ve done all of the instructing as well. I don’t think their mom could have handled it.

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by robg

Yeah I’m actually impressed that they are acknowledging an issue. Pretty sure bmw woukd just tell you that “it’s normal”.


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Good point.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by dan

Pretty similar. They both were quite intent on getting their license as near their 16th birthday as possible. My son started out with a good bit of overconfidence as well, but he’s gotten much less so as he’s driven with me more. We did parallel parking today and he nailed it his very first 4 attempts. I do feel like I have to get on him more to make sure he’s getting the online/classroom instruction completed. I’m gonna stop doing that and just let him suffer the consequences if he doesn’t get it done in time, which could mean at least a month delay in getting his license due to difficulty in getting appointments at the DPS.

I’ve done all of the instructing as well. I don’t think their mom could have handled it.

I wasn't really sure how I was going to handle it beforehand. And then I wondered how similar/different it would go with the younger one than the older one. With both, I was kind of surprised at how enjoyable the bonding time was...and how different it was was compared to earlier bonding experiences.

I don't know, it was something of a high point experience for me and makes me curious about others. Thanks!

[wdc330i]

Originally Posted by clyde

I wasn't really sure how I was going to handle it beforehand. And then I wondered how similar/different it would go with the younger one than the older one. With both, I was kind of surprised at how enjoyable the bonding time was...and how different it was was compared to earlier bonding experiences.

I don't know, it was something of a high point experience for me and makes me curious about others. Thanks!

I remember a road trip you did with one of your daughters. I hope to have a similar experience going to the BMW performance center in April with my son.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by wdc330i

I remember a road trip you did with one of your daughters. I hope to have a similar experience going to the BMW performance center in April with my son.

I've done coast-coast trips with both of them individually. One with the older one before she could drive and twice with the younger one...one before she could drive and two after she had her license. Each was fantastic in its own way.

Hope you have a great time with your son!

[dan]

Originally Posted by clyde

I wasn't really sure how I was going to handle it beforehand. And then I wondered how similar/different it would go with the younger one than the older one. With both, I was kind of surprised at how enjoyable the bonding time was...and how different it was was compared to earlier bonding experiences.

I don't know, it was something of a high point experience for me and makes me curious about others. Thanks!

I kind of knew I would be good at it, and that my kids would respond pretty well. I do think being a divorced/single dad changes the equation quite a bit. They’re with me every other week and we have had lots of good/quality quality time in these last 7-8 years. I’m very open with them and I think they are probably more open with me than typical teenagers.