Mazda Miata ridiculous oil change interval

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My 2012 is still covered by the warranty,and to maintain the warranty Mazda wants me to change the oil every 8000km or EVERY 4 MONTHS !!! 3 times a year use it or not !!!

Thats ridiculous, imagine my cars will get an oil change tomorrow and I will put it in the garage until the month of april, or maybe May. Tell me do I have to change the brand new oil ? I'm not cheap but throwing 30.00 down the drain ...you know what I mean.

Do you think that Mazda can seriously think that they can deny warranty coverage if I decide to ignore the time limit and if I go with milleage only or 1 year interval ? before you ask this car doesn't make many short trip in summer, its usually 3/4 hrs ride.
 
Buy the oil and filter at Walmart, keep the receipt and return it the next day. You don't need a receipt to return at Walmart. They can pull up the return with your debit card. Keep the receipt and write down your mileage of when you "CHANGED" the oil. How are they gonna know?
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Buy the oil and filter at Walmart, keep the receipt and return it the next day. You don't need a receipt to return at Walmart. They can pull up the return with your debit card. Keep the receipt and write down your mileage of when you "CHANGED" the oil. How are they gonna know?


+1 Just be a little creative. I've done a few virtual oil changes while under warranty.
 
Instead of returning it.. just keep it.. buy it at regular periods write the date and mileage down, file it with the recipet, store the oil and filter, change it when you are ready too.
 
They claim the shelf life of oil is about 5 years so you can keep it a long time. It's probably longer than that, but they figure that the API certification would probably change in that 5 year period. At that interval, they are assuming that you are driving 15k a year which is what the average US driver drives. If you only drive 9k, then you end up changing it every 3k which some people still do.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
I think you only get a certain number of returns w/o a receipt.

Yes, three. But receipts could be copied or scanned.
 
generally 6 month on mineral oils, 4 month on severe service. DO NOT store typical dino oils very long + store where temps are pretty constant if you do. use a mid priced semi-synthetic bought at wally world + you wont be loosing much $$ do your own changes + keep receipts + records!
 
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Originally Posted By: actionstan
Instead of returning it.. just keep it.. buy it at regular periods write the date and mileage down, file it with the recipet, store the oil and filter, change it when you are ready too.


Carefull, this is a gateway to oil stashing!! ( good idea!)
 
Yes, they can deny coverage if the customer hasn't kept up on maintenance. That is their right. That does not mean you can't get in your car and go to the next nearest dealer that is willing to help. But in the event something catastrophic happens, which is rare with Mazda there is a possibility they can goodwill the repair depending on how tight you are with the service manager and district rep. If we see a customer can not provide evidence from another shop or self service ie: receipts, repair orders etc.

In my opinion, keep a folder and document all services, keeping receipts from purchases. Helps in the long run in the event that something should happen. Only real issue we have with new body miata's is the thermostat goes bad and throws a p0126/0128 code. Other than that just normal maint stuff really.

Our dealer reccomends 4mo/5k which is partially to help get you back in the door sooner to see us. If the car doesn't see mileage, I don't see an issue extending it time wise.
 
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Originally Posted By: Baveux
Do you think that Mazda can seriously think that they can deny warranty coverage if I decide to ignore..


Yes.

Seriously.
 
If they want it changed every 3 months, I'd change it every 3 months. Think of how clean your engine will stay. That's a lot better than BMW telling their customers 10,000 miles or 10 years; whichever comes first.
 
Originally Posted By: benjy
generally 6 month on mineral oils, 4 month on severe service. DO NOT store typical dino oils very long + store where temps are pretty constant if you do. use a mid priced semi-synthetic bought at wally world + you wont be loosing much $$ do your own changes + keep receipts + records!


Based on what?
 
Originally Posted By: Baveux
My 2012 is still covered by the warranty,and to maintain the warranty Mazda wants me to change the oil every 8000km or EVERY 4 MONTHS !!! 3 times a year use it or not !!!

Is there a difference between severe service and normal service? If the vehicle isn't being used for half the year, then I wouldn't consider that severe service.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
If they want it changed every 3 months, I'd change it every 3 months. Think of how clean your engine will stay. That's a lot better than BMW telling their customers 10,000 miles or 10 years; whichever comes first.


Europe is different from the US, they don't have oil change places at every corner. Plus at 10k, they spec a synthetic oil. For just 4 month oil changes, dino is fine.
 
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