Topic: Test Drive: 2016 Mazda6

[Solstice2006]

No 220HP+ option? It's North 'Murica. F'get it.

Very few people buy the high powered versions of family sedans.

Except for Ford! The 2.0T gets the majority of sales.
Perhaps is Mazda offered such option and adjusted their price mix. They'd be able to get a bigger slice of the sales pie.


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Do you have numbers for that?

[mixmanmash]

Sent e-mail to Mazda Canada 2 days ago to inform them of the concern over the Mtce requirement. I told them Mazda would be off my shopping list because of it. Told them in my situation with putting few Kms on 2nd car I would be changing oil every 2000 kms. With my use of pure synthetic oil that would not only be expensive but also a pain in the butt.

I am awaiting their response. I will pass it along if and when I get it. If they do not respond it may show they cannot support this requirement with any logical explanation.

You should buy a Honda then. Maintenance minder or once every 12 months.  Whichever occurs first.  Cross Nissan and Toyota off your shopping list, which are barely better than Mazda at 6 months / 8000 kms or whichever occurs first.

BMW and MB are similar to Honda.

[Solstice2006]

Sent e-mail to Mazda Canada 2 days ago to inform them of the concern over the Mtce requirement. I told them Mazda would be off my shopping list because of it. Told them in my situation with putting few Kms on 2nd car I would be changing oil every 2000 kms. With my use of pure synthetic oil that would not only be expensive but also a pain in the butt.

I am awaiting their response. I will pass it along if and when I get it. If they do not respond it may show they cannot support this requirement with any logical explanation.

You should buy a Honda then. Maintenance minder or once every 12 months.  Whichever occurs first.  Cross Nissan and Toyota off your shopping list, which are barely better than Mazda at 6 months / 8000 kms or whichever occurs first.

BMW and MB are similar to Honda.

Personally, not a believer in the maintenance minder.  As per the mainternance minder on our Odyssey, it would be about 10 months, on conventional oil.  With the vast differences of climate throughout Canada, the stop and go of traffic.  I have it done every 6000-8000km.  And some of Honda mechanics at the dealer agree that its too long. 

[mixmanmash]

Sent e-mail to Mazda Canada 2 days ago to inform them of the concern over the Mtce requirement. I told them Mazda would be off my shopping list because of it. Told them in my situation with putting few Kms on 2nd car I would be changing oil every 2000 kms. With my use of pure synthetic oil that would not only be expensive but also a pain in the butt.

I am awaiting their response. I will pass it along if and when I get it. If they do not respond it may show they cannot support this requirement with any logical explanation.

You should buy a Honda then. Maintenance minder or once every 12 months.  Whichever occurs first.  Cross Nissan and Toyota off your shopping list, which are barely better than Mazda at 6 months / 8000 kms or whichever occurs first.

BMW and MB are similar to Honda.

Personally, not a believer in the maintenance minder.  As per the mainternance minder on our Odyssey, it would be about 10 months, on conventional oil.  With the vast differences of climate throughout Canada, the stop and go of traffic.  I have it done every 6000-8000km.  And some of Honda mechanics at the dealer agree that its too long.

Honda uses synthetic oil right from factory.  IIRC, you need to use synthetic according to the manual for maintaining warranty.  Maintenance minder might be different on your older model Odyssey as well.  On current models, it flags when the ATF needs to be changed, air filter, timing belt, spark plugs, engine coolant, etc.

With that, I am pretty sure you can go long given how good modern synthetic like are.  I will get a UOA done when I next have the oil changed.  I end up changing the oil every 7-8 months currently (12k kms on maintenance minder).

Sent e-mail to Mazda Canada 2 days ago to inform them of the concern over the Mtce requirement. I told them Mazda would be off my shopping list because of it. Told them in my situation with putting few Kms on 2nd car I would be changing oil every 2000 kms. With my use of pure synthetic oil that would not only be expensive but also a pain in the butt.

I am awaiting their response. I will pass it along if and when I get it. If they do not respond it may show they cannot support this requirement with any logical explanation.

You should buy a Honda then. Maintenance minder or once every 12 months.  Whichever occurs first.  Cross Nissan and Toyota off your shopping list, which are barely better than Mazda at 6 months / 8000 kms or whichever occurs first.

BMW and MB are similar to Honda.

Personally, not a believer in the maintenance minder.  As per the mainternance minder on our Odyssey, it would be about 10 months, on conventional oil.  With the vast differences of climate throughout Canada, the stop and go of traffic.  I have it done every 6000-8000km.  And some of Honda mechanics at the dealer agree that its too long.

Honda uses synthetic oil right from factory.  IIRC, you need to use synthetic according to the manual for maintaining warranty.  Maintenance minder has evolved since the model year of your Odyssey as well.  It flags when the ATF needs to be changed.  Same for timing belt,


With that, I am pretty sure you can go long.  I will get a UOA done when I next have the oil changed.  I end up changing the oil every 7-8 months currently (12k kms on maintenance minder).

[Solstice2006]

^^ I think thats true with the newer Honda's (like the newer Mazdas).  Previous to 2010, Mazdas specs didn't ask for synthetic. My Odyssey doesnt indicate synthetic in the manual, and I asked a dealer.   

[whaddaiknow]

^^ I think thats true with the newer Honda's (like the newer Mazdas).  Previous to 2010, Mazdas specs didn't ask for synthetic. My Odyssey doesnt indicate synthetic in the manual, and I asked a dealer.

From my understanding, Honda dealers (at least in Ottawa) are using synthetic blend oils (a marketing trick term for semi-synthetic oil). The manual only specifies that 0w20 oil must be used, synthetic or not. When I bought out the van last month, I did an oil change and put fully synthetic 0w20 in it. Oil changed every ~11,000km.

Oil change at a dealer costs ~$55+tax. You can't get synthetic oil for that price, so it has to be semi-...

[mixmanmash]

^^ I think thats true with the newer Honda's (like the newer Mazdas).  Previous to 2010, Mazdas specs didn't ask for synthetic. My Odyssey doesnt indicate synthetic in the manual, and I asked a dealer.

From my understanding, Honda dealers (at least in Ottawa) are using synthetic blend oils (a marketing trick term for semi-synthetic oil). The manual only specifies that 0w20 oil must be used, synthetic or not. When I bought out the van last month, I did an oil change and put fully synthetic 0w20 in it. Oil changed every ~11,000km.

Oil change at a dealer costs ~$55+tax. You can't get synthetic oil for that price, so it has to be semi-...

Incorrect.  Honda's 0W20 is a full synthetic.  http://honda.ca/parts-service/parts/oil-and-fluids

"Honda 0W-20 engine oil is a full synthetic formula that provides advanced protection against oil breakdown for a cleaner running engine."

Oh and here: http://honda.ca/special-offers/alberta/Honda-Service-Specials

It says full synthetic again and they have the lowest price. 

[whaddaiknow]

^^ I think thats true with the newer Honda's (like the newer Mazdas).  Previous to 2010, Mazdas specs didn't ask for synthetic. My Odyssey doesnt indicate synthetic in the manual, and I asked a dealer.

From my understanding, Honda dealers (at least in Ottawa) are using synthetic blend oils (a marketing trick term for semi-synthetic oil). The manual only specifies that 0w20 oil must be used, synthetic or not. When I bought out the van last month, I did an oil change and put fully synthetic 0w20 in it. Oil changed every ~11,000km.

Oil change at a dealer costs ~$55+tax. You can't get synthetic oil for that price, so it has to be semi-...

Incorrect.  Honda's 0W20 is a full synthetic.  http://honda.ca/parts-service/parts/oil-and-fluids

"Honda 0W-20 engine oil is a full synthetic formula that provides advanced protection against oil breakdown for a cleaner running engine."

Oh and here: http://honda.ca/special-offers/alberta/Honda-Service-Specials

It says full synthetic again and they have the lowest price.

I will check with the dealer but the last time I did an oil change at Kanata Honda, the regular oil change was $55, full synthetic was close to $100. I know, I asked... I even asked if running full synth will extend the maintenance minder interval and the answer was "No". That's going back to 2013 though. Things might have changed. Regardless, it's a change for the better quality without raising the price. Can't say NoTo that.

[EV-Light]

Sent e-mail to Mazda Canada 2 days ago to inform them of the concern over the Mtce requirement. I told them Mazda would be off my shopping list because of it. Told them in my situation with putting few Kms on 2nd car I would be changing oil every 2000 kms. With my use of pure synthetic oil that would not only be expensive but also a pain in the butt.

I am awaiting their response. I will pass it along if and when I get it. If they do not respond it may show they cannot support this requirement with any logical explanation.

You should buy a Honda then. Maintenance minder or once every 12 months.  Whichever occurs first.  Cross Nissan and Toyota off your shopping list, which are barely better than Mazda at 6 months / 8000 kms or whichever occurs first.

BMW and MB are similar to Honda.

Ford and VW are similar...my Taurus goes about 11k before the oil life gets to 25% and my VW goes about 12k, but I always replace both at 10k anyways - which, in my case, means once a year.

[dkaz]

You can't get 0W20 in dino or even semi-synthetic blend. 0Wxx can only be made with full synthetic oil. But then you get into different groups of synthetic base stocks.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

[whaddaiknow]

EDIT:

From another source:

"Regarding the 0W20's, the older silver bottle, 08798-9029, was made by Idemitsu. Currently, ConocoPhilips makes 2 different 0W20 oils, a synthetic blend and a full synthetic, 08798-9036 and -9037"

Checked both part #'s and both are available for sale. So yes, you can get 0W20 semi-synthetic blend.
And if you think, Honda is putting fully synthetic oil in your car for $55, think again. Or better yet, ask you dealer what they are actually putting in your car. I did, and my dealer asks for a hefty premium if I want fully synthetic 0W20.

You can't get 0W20 in dino or even semi-synthetic blend. 0Wxx can only be made with full synthetic oil. But then you get into different groups of synthetic base stocks.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

FFS.

http://www.amazon.ca/Genuine-Honda-08798-9036-Blended-Synthetic/dp/B007P5RFRO
Check the attached picture.
Now read your own link above.

Semi-synthetic oilEdit

Semi-synthetic oils (also called 'synthetic blends') are blends of mineral oil with no more than 30% synthetic oil designed to have many of the benefits of synthetic oil without matching the cost of pure synthetic oil. Motul introduced the first semi-synthetic motor oil in 1966

[Solstice2006]

damn Odyssey hijacking Mazda6 thread!  Screw the van, I give it 5w-20!  let the 6 get 0w-20!

[dkaz]

Goddang I'm going to shut up now.

[dkaz]

Maybe there's a reason why I insist on bringing in my own Pennzoil Platinum 0W20 full synthetic oil.

[mixmanmash]

EDIT:

From another source:

"Regarding the 0W20's, the older silver bottle, 08798-9029, was made by Idemitsu. Currently, ConocoPhilips makes 2 different 0W20 oils, a synthetic blend and a full synthetic, 08798-9036 and -9037"

Checked both part #'s and both are available for sale. So yes, you can get 0W20 semi-synthetic blend.
And if you think, Honda is putting fully synthetic oil in your car for $55, think again. Or better yet, ask you dealer what they are actually putting in your car. I did, and my dealer asks for a hefty premium if I want fully synthetic 0W20.

You can't get 0W20 in dino or even semi-synthetic blend. 0Wxx can only be made with full synthetic oil. But then you get into different groups of synthetic base stocks.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

FFS.

http://www.amazon.ca/Genuine-Honda-08798-9036-Blended-Synthetic/dp/B007P5RFRO
Check the attached picture.
Now read your own link above.

Semi-synthetic oilEdit

Semi-synthetic oils (also called 'synthetic blends') are blends of mineral oil with no more than 30% synthetic oil designed to have many of the benefits of synthetic oil without matching the cost of pure synthetic oil. Motul introduced the first semi-synthetic motor oil in 1966

Next time I go in, I'll ask what they use and ask to see the bottle. 

[dkaz]

Next time I go in, I'll ask what they use and ask to see the bottle. 

My Mazda dealer said they mass buy Castrol 0W20. I can also use Mazda's OE 0W20 with Moly additive (ultra low friction additive made specifically for Skyactiv engines) for $25 extra.

[whaddaiknow]

damn Odyssey hijacking Mazda6 thread!  Screw the van, I give it 5w-20!  let the 6 get 0w-20!

Agreed, guilty as charged.
Mazda6 is one fine looking car but I'm still waiting to hear a good reason for such frequent oils changes. There is NO WAY, in this day and age, I would be calling Mazda every 4 months to set up an appointment for an oil change. And no, it's not "just" an extra $20 per oil change, as some here suggest. It's the fact I have to waste my time and resources to comply with a schedule that has no good reason to exist.
And it's not like the car is priced lower than the competition.
And it's not like the other options (aka, Camcord and such) are vastly "inferior" in their driving dynamics and looks.

[dkaz]

True. As I've said before, if I were shopping a midsize today, the Accord Sport with 6 speed manual would be it. It's pretty much as well equipped as a Mazda 6 GS for $2k less. It uses a bit more gas but that's offset by the larger passenger cabin and less stringent maintenance schedule.

With an automatic, the Camry is great. I took my dad's girlfriend's new 2015 Camry SE around the block and it is a surprisingly agile car especially for the size, unlike the previous gen which had terrible driving dynamics.

[Solstice2006]

^^ It's one more extra oil change a year compared to the Honda, not a big deal for me.  For others, maybe it's something that goes into your buying decision.  Not being like everyone else and having an Accord or Camry, is a major thing on my buying list.  And the fact that the Accord doesn't have a 60/40 split back seat, is a major deal breaker for me.  As I have used that 3 times on my Mazda6 in less than 6 months, and I have a van!

[dkaz]

Yea I've used my split seat a couple of times in the 3 in the past year, but most times I don't bother because using the fold down seats involves removing a car seat.

In 2012, the Mazda 3 was still the best compact available. I don't regret my choice one bit. An extra oil change is not a huge issue really, although I noticed it in the last two years where I've only put 21,000km a year on the 3, an anomaly compared to the five years prior where I averaged 34,000km a year on the primary vehicle. I'm in a situation now where I'm doing my 72,000km/36 month service at 67,000km/34 months, due to the fact the first year we were doing oil changes by kms then the second and third year by months, so nothing's synchronized and it kinda irritates me.

Anyway, I'm not brand loyal, and the Accord offers more value. Although the Accord did drive too much like a big car when I test drove one, while the 6 felt perfect. Hm.