Ideal Maintenance Plan and early part replacement - 9 year old 100k Mazda 6 4cyl 2.5

Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Messages
27
Location
Ohio
Hello to the collective wisdom of the forum!

I have a 2012 Mazda 6 2.5 auto with 103k miles, bought new. I drive it on a long trip several times a year and would like for it to continue it's incredibly reliable status. Below are the maintenance items I do and and will continue. The car has a timing chain. The car sees frequent highway miles.

1) Replace oil and filter every 5k with synthetic 0w20 and a Fram Ultra filter.
2) Replace air filter every 40k miles with OEM or Fram Ultra
3) Drain and fill coolant every 30k miles with OEM FL-22 Mazda Coolant and distilled water.
4) Drain and fill ATF and power steering fluid every 30k miles with Royal Purple Max ATF (has similar cst as OEM) Redline D4 would work too.
5) Hook battery up to smart charger every 4 months.
6) Proactively replaced radiator cap and gas cap at 100k as I have had them fail in the past and they are inexpensive.
7) Brake fluid flush every 4 years.
8) Clean Mass AF sensor yearly.
9) Replaced Iridium plugs with same at 70k miles

The above plan will continue, but my question is:

Is there any other items I should replace proactively to keep the car "drive across the country" ready at all times.

Also what mileage would you recommend doing these things? (things like tensioners, drive belt, idler pully, water pump, ignition coils etc) Any critiques of my plan? OEM parts only ?

I will do the work myself.

Thanks - Ryan
 
One of the first SkyActiv 2.5 motors. Great engine.

I would reduce the engine air filter change to 30k/3 years. I just had mine changed at 15,000 miles ( three years) and it looked fairly dirty already. I don’t do any long cross country drives. Of course, the filter is a easy check item.
 
I think you could go longer on the antifreeze, most OEM's are - and have been - using long-life coolants for a while, with 8-10 year replacement intervals. This is better for the environment and your wallet.

If your area has any issues with road salt use in the winter, check if a corrosion oil spray might be warranted. In my area, the best maintained Mazda will rot away with the drivetrain running perfect within 8 years. Get this checked out, rust doesn't sleep.
 
rust doesn't sleep.
1618244989900.jpg


I agree with the Mazda rust issue....I have a friend with a 2009 Mazda 6 and it's flawless, but the frame is rotting away.
 
On reading that I heard "let's do the time-warp again"...

1-4 and #9 are total overkill. If you're an environmentalist, you're wasting resources and undoing all the "pollute less" stuff that long-life lubricants and things provide. If you're cheap, you're throwing away money. If you just care about maintenance, none of those things do anything to extend the life significantly enough to justify the cost.

1: What's the OCI Mazda states it should be? I have not seen a vehicle with a less than 7500 mi OCI since 1995 or so. Used oil analyses on my 2001 VQ30DEK-powered Maxima (an engine known to be really hard on oil) showed plenty of life left, and my 2013 Tundra's 0W20 after > 10k miles of which over half were towing more than 6000 lbs also showed the oil to still be within spec. Do a used oil analysis for a couple of changes.

2. I check air filters and replace when dirty or when mfg says to do so. Even the cheap Denso filters (which are white and show the dirt really well) do fine; following people on dry gravel roads for a couple hundred miles every year seems to not really make a difference.

3. Long-life coolant lasts 10 years on the first fill and 8 years every fill thereafter. There is zero reason to change it unless it gets contaminated by something else.

4. For real?

None of what you're doing is likely to shorten the drivetrain life. I am surprised you're not swapping all the coolant hoses and drive belt every couple of years as used to be recommended.

As someone else mentioned, change your cabin filter as soon as pollen season is over though.

IMHO - factory maintenance will take you through the lifespan of the vehicle. Miles never really mattered much, so if you drive 100k miles/year or 5k/year - what will fail first is the electrical stuff, and its lifespan is measured in years, not miles. The Japanese-made Mazda 6 is a 15 year car in most environments, the US Mazdafords around 10. Taxi operators hit 350,000 miles easily with less attention to maintenance on poorer quality vehicles, if miles is still your thing.

The best thing you can do to get the most life out of the vehicle is to make sure road salt corrosion, connector water-intrusion and wire chafing don't become issues, and actually checking the things that are supposed to be checked at the maintenance intervals and fixing the things as they come up at that point.
 
On reading that I heard "let's do the time-warp again"...

1-4 and #9 are total overkill. If you're an environmentalist, you're wasting resources and undoing all the "pollute less" stuff that long-life lubricants and things provide. If you're cheap, you're throwing away money. If you just care about maintenance, none of those things do anything to extend the life significantly enough to justify the cost.
Mazda specs spark plug replacement every 75K on the non-turbo Skyactiv models.
 
One of the first SkyActiv 2.5 motors. Great engine.

I would reduce the engine air filter change to 30k/3 years. I just had mine changed at 15,000 miles ( three years) and it looked fairly dirty already. I don’t do any long cross country drives. Of course, the filter is a easy check item.
My understanding is even the older design 2.5's are overbuilt in Japan and that it even has a forged crank. I'll check the air filter a little sooner, but have read some studies that suggest they filter better as they load up more. Thanks for the input.
 
FL-22 is spec'ed for 10 years and 100k for the factory fill and 5 years and 60k miles thereafter, so you can stretch that out no problem.
I did the first drain and fill at 60k and then again at 90k. Since I don't flush it I am a little more conservative, but you are right, probably overly so. Thanks for the input.
 
I think you could go longer on the antifreeze, most OEM's are - and have been - using long-life coolants for a while, with 8-10 year replacement intervals. This is better for the environment and your wallet.

If your area has any issues with road salt use in the winter, check if a corrosion oil spray might be warranted. In my area, the best maintained Mazda will rot away with the drivetrain running perfect within 8 years. Get this checked out, rust doesn't sleep.
Good idea, do you like Krowne for corrosion service? The car drives 90% new and looks 90% new except for the tops of the headlights which are beginning to cloud up, fortunately I got some new ones ready to install. Thanks for the advice.
On reading that I heard "let's do the time-warp again"...

1-4 and #9 are total overkill. If you're an environmentalist, you're wasting resources and undoing all the "pollute less" stuff that long-life lubricants and things provide. If you're cheap, you're throwing away money. If you just care about maintenance, none of those things do anything to extend the life significantly enough to justify the cost.

1: What's the OCI Mazda states it should be? I have not seen a vehicle with a less than 7500 mi OCI since 1995 or so. Used oil analyses on my 2001 VQ30DEK-powered Maxima (an engine known to be really hard on oil) showed plenty of life left, and my 2013 Tundra's 0W20 after > 10k miles of which over half were towing more than 6000 lbs also showed the oil to still be within spec. Do a used oil analysis for a couple of changes.

2. I check air filters and replace when dirty or when mfg says to do so. Even the cheap Denso filters (which are white and show the dirt really well) do fine; following people on dry gravel roads for a couple hundred miles every year seems to not really make a difference.

3. Long-life coolant lasts 10 years on the first fill and 8 years every fill thereafter. There is zero reason to change it unless it gets contaminated by something else.

4. For real?

None of what you're doing is likely to shorten the drivetrain life. I am surprised you're not swapping all the coolant hoses and drive belt every couple of years as used to be recommended.

As someone else mentioned, change your cabin filter as soon as pollen season is over though.

IMHO - factory maintenance will take you through the lifespan of the vehicle. Miles never really mattered much, so if you drive 100k miles/year or 5k/year - what will fail first is the electrical stuff, and its lifespan is measured in years, not miles. The Japanese-made Mazda 6 is a 15 year car in most environments, the US Mazdafords around 10. Taxi operators hit 350,000 miles easily with less attention to maintenance on poorer quality vehicles, if miles is still your thing.

The best thing you can do to get the most life out of the vehicle is to make sure road salt corrosion, connector water-intrusion and wire chafing don't become issues, and actually checking the things that are supposed to be checked at the maintenance intervals and fixing the things as they come up at that point.
Regarding oil changes... I change just the oil in every April and the oil and filter every October. This keeps me out of the cold Ohio winters, yet allows me to take a long trip on a whim without ever going too far on a change. I spend about $30 yearly on oil and a filter (after rebate) and I do recycle my used oil. I do agree that an analysis might make sense at the next change.

The drain and fills on the ATF are only 3 quarts, so just trying to keep it relatively fresh. The power steering "turkey baster" changes only take 5 minutes and I have used only 1 quart over 100k miles. I had a steering rack go bad in the past, and this is easy enough and likely ensures that will not happen again.

I don't know where you get your 10 year lifespan idea for Mazdafords. The average age of a car on the road is 16 years, and Mazda certainly builds more reliable cars than average. My car has only had 1 unscheduled repair in over 9 years(motor mount in 1st couple years under warranty) . The car drives 90% new and looks the same (use ceramic coating on paint). The undercarriage is very solid with merely surface rust. I bet I will get 20+ years as I take care of my things. Thanks for the input re electronic care. It's a base model, so it's pretty simple!
 
Draining and filling the coolant every 30K is a waste as the service interval for the modern Asian coolants is generally at least 10 years and 100-120K. Also most makes don't even specify a power steering fluid replacement interval which is kind of telling that you don't need to do it regularly.
 
Our Mazda 5 has the 2.5L motor in it. Good solid motor. Gets oil and filter at 5-7K miles. Averages 28 mpg on calculator . I record mileage on every fill-up. That way I can see if there is an issue coming up. Something like O2 sensor or cat or muffler or mass airflow sensor. We love our 5 and hope it lasts forever. We have 129K on it now and runs like when we bought it.
 
hello ,we are a group of mazda 3,6,cx 3,5,30 owners live in extreme hot , dusty environment with an average temperature 109 °F.
and the owner manual doesn't have any hot countries and we have few questions after i have read alot of discussions
1- we compared ATFs and found that mz-fz is fully synthatic made by idemitsu indonesia , toyota ws is meniral oil have group 3,4,5 , louqi moly 1800 are semilar to mazda fz but half priced and semi synthetic , dexron vi and KIXX ATF DX-VI are a bit thicker , quarter of the price and fully synthetic can we mix mz-fz with dexron vi , and when to drain and fil ? all data sheets are here Google Translate
2- are catch can necessary if we use 0w20, 5w30 api sp , sn + , low sulfer , because on our experience with 43500miles , 25 miles car there is minimal carbon build up on cylinder valve maybe of the heat?
3- regarding bulit in mazda oil/air seperator under pcv when to clean them and how , what did mazda change after this article because my car is 2.0 2015 Mazda CX-9
3- when to chenge transmision coolar because there is a website recommend to change it every 4-5 years Google Translate 4- when to change break fluid in in dry environment because i haven't found an accurate tester
5- will cleaning maf , oxygen synsor with maf cleaner damage it , what is the recommended interval ?
6- fl22 and motorcraft vc10a2 are semilar , and motorcrafet said " Motorcraft® Yellow Antifreeze/Coolant can be used to top-off or entirely replace (drain and refill) antifreeze/coolant in vehicles factory-filled with Motorcraft® Specialty Green Engine Coolant. https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/quickref/FCSD Motorcraft Yellow Antifreeze-Coolant Backward Compatability.pdf , but in the 2021 ford SDS the yellow has 2-eha
is it better than fl22?,, can we dilute it with 35/65 distilled watter to increase heat exchange (in 0.951 quart Measuring Cup , 0.62 quarts premix , 0.33 quarts distilled water
7- what do think of this schedule :
each 5.6k miles or 6 months
: engine oil and filter , clean engine air filter by hitting it only , clean engine air box with air gun while closing maf inlet , injector cleaner , clean radiator from the back to front with air gun ,
each 11.2k miles : cabin filter , tyer rotation
each 18.6k miles :
replace engine air filter
each 24.8 : break fluid synthetic dot 4
each 37.3 or 43.5 : drain and fill transmission fluid with filter , fuel filter PE11-13-ZE0 and PE01-13-ZE1
each 62k miles : coolant flush , both engine belt and tensioner , pour catalytic converter cleaner in oxygen sensor inlet , spark plugs , clean maf , manual cleaning with brush valve, intake , intake manifold with there specific cleaner ,, throttle body
each 124 miles water pump and thermostat and radiator cap
thanks and we really appreciate your help
 
I think you could go longer on the antifreeze, most OEM's are - and have been - using long-life coolants for a while, with 8-10 year replacement intervals. This is better for the environment and your wallet.

If your area has any issues with road salt use in the winter, check if a corrosion oil spray might be warranted. In my area, the best maintained Mazda will rot away with the drivetrain running perfect within 8 years. Get this checked out, rust doesn't sleep.
I keep it pretty clean and have noticed only a little surface, flakey rust on the k-member area. I now use CRC marine or Fluid Film, thank you for the suggestion!
 
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