DFF Regen causing High Oil Level warning???

Faults and Technical chat for the Mazda CX-3
Nick_B
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Post by Nick_B »

Hi Guys,

I have had my 2016 CX-3 1.5 SkyActiv Diesel Sport Nav (Manual) in Ceramic Metallic since late February of this year.

So far it's been a great car and I really enjoy owning/driving it.

I rarely drive the car on a motorway as I am at least an hours drive away from one and thus most of my trips tend to be short journeys.

On two occasions in the last six months the orange spanner light has illuminated on the dashboard caused by 'High Oil Level'. Upon checking the oil level it is indeed higher than the holes in the dip stick by about an inch. It is neither emulsified nor does it smell of diesel. It looks perfectly normal, but just on the high side.

On the first occasion I took it straight back to the VW Dealership I'd just bought it from and they changed the oil and said it was probably a series of failed regens and that in all likelihood the diesel had passed through into the engine oil, rather than being ignited and passed through the exhaust.

On the latest occasion the orange spanner light has come on during a reasonably long run (1 - 2 hour journey).

Is this a fault that need attention by Mazda before my 3 year warranty lapses? (I know the answer will obviously be YES) but should I come to expect this to happen on a fairly regular basis due to only doing relatively short journeys.

My nearest Mazda main dealer is over an hour away so for immediate convenience I am going to get my local garage to drop the oil out.

Anyone else had this problem? Is it something I can periodically force the car to do to prevent it happening at the 'wrong time'?

I'd be very grateful for any help advice please?

Thank you.

Nick_B
2016 CX-3 1.5 SkyActiv Diesel Sport Nav (Manual) in Ceramic Metalic

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AndyRen
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Post by AndyRen »

It definitely needs to be checked by Mazda under warranty and is probably (as you know) caused by failed regens - do you hear the fan running on when turning engine off? That's one sign. Fuel in the engine sump is not good and in extreme cases can lead to engine failure - before allowing another garage to have a go you should get it to Mazda so they can't blame your local garage for any problems that might be found and invalidate your warranty!
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AndyRen
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Post by AndyRen »

As an aside the garage should have asked you what sort of journeys you do and perhaps steered you away from a modern diesel!
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jtonline
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Post by jtonline »

For info., this Topic is also related to the Topic in April on this subject from Nick_B:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1446
Julian.
Sept. 2015 CX-3 Sport Nav, Dynamic Blue Mica, 1.5 Diesel, AWD, Automatic
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jtonline
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Post by jtonline »

What are you calling a 'short journey'? My daily commute (one way) is 18 miles on A and C class roads and I get my oil changed once a year by a Mazda dealer at service time.
Julian.
Sept. 2015 CX-3 Sport Nav, Dynamic Blue Mica, 1.5 Diesel, AWD, Automatic
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Nick_B
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Post by Nick_B »

Thank you for your replies.

I seldom drive on motorways (the nearest one is an hours drive away).

My commute to work is a 10 min drive and my work is always local so always short journeys within town of less than 25 miles in total.

I have recently heard the fan overrunning after I have walked away from the car.

Regards,

Nick_B
2016 CX-3 1.5 SkyActiv Diesel Sport Nav (Manual) in Ceramic Metalic
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jtonline
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Post by jtonline »

Hmm., with journeys that short, it does sound like partial regens are the issue and therefore you're probably going to have to get used to doing more frequent oil changes than every 12 months.

Don't just lower the oil level as a permanent fix, because if it's got to the X mark or above on the dipstick it will be diluted and will not perform as intended.

IMO, it wouldn't do any harm (apart from your bank balance and the journey time) to get it booked into a Mazda dealer for them to give it the once over anyway.

If you get the oil changed elsewhere, make sure you get the correct spec. of oil and the oil data reset once changed, as per your other topic. Both are very important on the SKYACTIV-D engines.
Julian.
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Nick_B
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Post by Nick_B »

Ok. Thanks for your further response jtonline.

Just a quick update for you.

Phoned Turnbulls Mazda York to report problem as a warranty issue on Tuesday.
Car immediately collected by my Mazda roadside assistance and taken to them some 50+ miles away. Hire car immediately provided.
On Wednesday I was told nothing wrong with car so not covered by any warranty and told £170 to pay for an oil and filter change that they had already conducted. It was intimated that I may have been miss-sold the car as it is not appropriate for my type of driving. Mazda sales teams (I am told) must bring this to the attention of a potential buyer as a duty of car and suggest petrol cars as an alternative.
With my heckles up and my heels dug in I referred the matter straight back to Mazda Customer Services UK. The vehicle has since had all its data downloaded and shared with Technical "in Europe" and I am awaiting the outcome of their findings. Advised that the car hire has been extended until Monday.

As I see, it I have 2 potential arguments brewing:

1) I have clocked-up 8000 miles (above average mileage) since purchasing the car at the end of Feb 18 and in that time it has required 2x (additional) oil filter changes. I have no way of knowing when the car is about to do a regen or indeed when it has last regen. Hence, I have no control over the timing and the frequency of when it is likely to regen. Regardless of lengths of journeys, it is likely that any owner of any modern diesel car will interrupt DPF regens at some point and therefore likely to have the same problem as me? If that were the case I suspect I'd struggle to get my car booked in anywhere as garages would be full of modern diesels having oil/filter changes. Having to carry out 3-4 oil filter changes at £170 per chuck is wholly unacceptable and either this is a poor design or there is an inherent problem with my particular car.

2) I return the car to the original dealer I bought it from and accuse them of miss-selling me the car as they never made me aware of the potential for vastly increased running/maintenance costs due to the engine dumping quantities of diesel into the engine oil at any given time....secretly.

In reality the choices/options this leaves me with are:

1) Pay £170 and put the whole thing behind me until the spanner light illuminates and hope I have £170 to hand.
2) Fight Mazda to try and get my out-of-pocket expenses (£170) covered......until the spanner light illuminates and hope I have £170 to hand.
3) Take on the dealership I bought it from as they never told me about this.
4) Say good bye to my lovely CX-3 and have a bad taste left in my mouth, never to consider Mazda again.

It seems option 4 is the only option I can face without further upheaval and cost.

I will update further, as I find out more.

I'd like to hear from anyone having the same problem.....as this must be commonplace and not just restricted to me.

Thanks,

Nick_B
2016 CX-3 1.5 SkyActiv Diesel Sport Nav (Manual) in Ceramic Metalic
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AndyRen
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Post by AndyRen »

You are stuck between a rock and a hard place!
My thoughts on your option choices are that No3 is the only way to go as in my mind you were completely mis-sold a diesel car due to your individual journey mileages.
Did Turnbulls Mazda do a chemical test on your oil as they say there is "no problem"?
I don't really think you can say Mazda is to blame for you now owning what appears to be an inappropriate car for your needs - the problem is the VW dealership that sold it to you for not informing you of the "needs" of a modern diesel vehicle, it would seem the salesman was only interested in his profit margin! I feel for you and am sorry I can't offer any real advice.
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DaveG
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Post by DaveG »

This may or not be of help to you, I ran modern diesels as my driving school car, so week after week it was stop start town driving, I only ever had the spanner come on once.
However every two weeks I would gun it up dual carriageway in third gear keeping the revs above 3000 to force a full regen it needs generally around
20 minuets basically a Italian tune up.
It may seem a waste of fuel and time but it works. Bear in mind even on a motorway at a legal speed the revs are not much above 2000.
If you keep the car it is something to consider, I am surprised that once the garage were aware of your driving habits they didn't offer similar advice.
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