dbb

A couple of weeks ago we set out from Adelaide to drive to Sydney. Just past Mildura the oil light came on. Knowing that it either could me low on oil, or simply a faulty signal, we stopped and checked the oil (after waiting 5 minutes). The oil was at about half, so we added some Penzoil 5W-30. The fixed the problem for the day until we reached Wagga that night (the car was a HUGE hit with the local youths hanging at the bottom of the main street). The next day, just as we joined the Hume highway, the light came on again. This time we ignored it, and it went away after a while. It came on and off intermittently all the way to Sydney.

After some experimentation, the following was observed :

(1) Problem only occurs on straight roads.
(2) Problem more likely to occur when using cruise control
(3) Problem only seemed to occur on a slight incline
(4) Problem only seemed to occur when travelling about 110 kph
for at least 20 minutes with all of the above.
(5) Dropping to 80 kph, or quickly jerking the vehicle (ie. warming the tyres) would make the light disappear, as would going into a hard bend at speed.

After reaching Sydney, the first thing we did was have lunch at the Paddington Inn. The second thing was to drive down to Rockdale Mazda and talk to them about it.

The tech guy wasn't there, but the Manager came and spoke to us. Apparently, just the day before, there was a big teleconference amongst all the Major Mazda dealerships in Sydney about the issue. If I rocked up 24 hrs earlier he wouldn't know about it.

Apparently it is because the oil is frothing at that speed, and due to the sump design, the sensor is incorrectly placed. I am going to place a warranty call to get this problem fixed when a fix is available. But in the short term, 5w-50 oil makes the problem less likely to occur (I made it from West Wyalong to Hay without seeing the light on the way back). I guess a second oil cooler would also help.

pepe

Have you had the sump baffles replaced yet? The situation you describe is very similar to the one I had when my oil light came on...

msydd

As I said in the your other post...

My recent Syd-Adel-Syd trip was just after I had the baffle problem fixed... and I didn't have any oil light problems.

So, don't know if you've been in with yours but if not, it should go away.. no problem.

timbo

Yep, those are the sump baffle symptoms!

Suggest you take it to your dealer for the replacement.

Which makes me ask why Mazda (Australia) has not issued a recall to the owners of vehicles they MUST know are affected.

Timbo

Pappy

I spoke with Mazda Australia a few weeks ago about this problem and they're not about to issue any recall but will replace the oil sump if owners experience the oil light problems.

My car hasn't experienced this issue but I did push to find out which VINs are affected but Mazda wouldn't provide this information.

Anyway, I think I might just tell the dealer I'm experiencing this problem and have the sump replaced during the next service.

Kev

Is there a sure fire way to make the light come on it a pre baffle fix car? If so, I'll try it and report results and VIN.

BTW, can those with the problem (or who had the problem) publish their VIN's to give us all a clue please?

Pappy

Kev - I'll try to get the oil light to come on also and report back along with VIN.

timbo

I had the baffle replaced following the above symptoms.

My VIN is JM0FE103100100052 with a June 03 build date, delivered 7 August.

Timbo

Kev

Aha, one of the early ones! :D

Mine's an entire month younger July 03, with a VIN of ...614

It'll be interesting to figure out where in the VIN numbers the new sump comes standard.

Sustained left handers or right for the problem???

Wildcard

All of the first batch of cars to arrive in Australia were fitted with the faulty oil sump which is causing the oil light to come on. If you haven't seen the oil light yet, rest assured that you will the first time you take the car on an interstate trip.

Mazda know it's a problem and have new oil pans waiting and ready. If for no other reason - it's worth getting it done ASAP for the free oil change.

I've already had mine replaced. For the record:

VIN: JMO-FE1031-00100319
Built: Jul 03

Still don't understand why Mazda is being reactive and not pro-active on this one. Thanks to the forum, I already knew it was coming when it happened for the first time. Sadly most people are going to have to go through what dbb did.

tonym

Well mine was one of the first ones (VIN ... 154, June '03 build) ) and it only happens at 110kph and above on freeway driving but it does not take long (about 5-10 mins) to occur and only seems to be on inclines as reported by dbb. It does not matter what oil level it has. I have around 3K on the clock so I might contact the dealer to see if they recommend changing the sump for the "baffled" one. Any one heard of bad experiences from the lack of baffed sump?

Cheers,

Tony.

timbo

Mine has been fine since the operation was done at 5K with filter and oil change. Have now done over 10K and no light, even in same conditions and even as oil level fell naturally, according to spec (ie, added 500ml at 8K)

Timbo

labrat

Well my VIN # has a 242 suffix, so I guess I have a dodgy oil pan too. However, I haven't seen the oil light yet. To be fair, I haven't taken it over 110km/h (where can you do that in Qld?), and relatively limited freeway driving. I'll certainly get it replaced at my 10,000km service, as I have a trip to Melbourne in my sights.

Wildcard

Actually both new and old oil pans have baffles in them. The reason for the oil light is that in the original oil pan, the design of the baffles in combination with the position of the oil level sensor is causing the oil light to incorrectly come on when it shouldn't.

Maintaining high rpm for a long period of time (highway driving is the classic) will cause it due to the oil not being able to cycle back through the sump quick enough to keep the sensor wet. In my experience it only took 5-10 seconds in neutral or with the clutch in to make the light go away.

Harsh cornering and driving up an incline may also have the same effect of reducing the oil level in the pan to below the level which sets off the oil light.

In the new oil pan, the baffles and oil level sensor have been redesigned to get rid of this faulty indication.

tonym

Yep, I can confirm D.G.W's post - when I rang the the dealer today he immediately stated that it was a known problem with "some" cars (I'd like to know what VIN the fix was cut-in at) and that it was caused by a combination of high engine revs making the oil "foam-up" and the sensor location in the sump - no mention of baffles. He said the part is on order and he will confirm a time for replacement which he said was a relatively simple operation as the sump was readily accessable. So it sounds like the fix willl work.

Cheers,

Tony.