After last night's drive in our 2009 Mazda 6 i Grand Touring, I stopped for fuel. Then, per the car's owners manual, I let the 6 sit for five minutes, during which time I did my taxes and finished Foucault's Pendulum. Then, and only then, did I check the oil
Oil still registered on the dipstick, but it was below the low mark. So this morning I went to the auto parts store to buy the car's preferred drink, 5W20.
The Kragen I go to won't give out paper funnels ("because we want to sell plastic funnels," the staff says), so I was pleased to find this handy cutout in the plastic engine cover. It eliminates the need for a funnel altogether. I took the photo with the bottle's cap on, because I was already done adding oil -- I put in just under half a quart. The level is now fine.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 7,074 miles
sealclubb3r says:
03:37 PM, 03/ 5/09
Erin, what is it with you and pictures of adding oil? =P
sodaguy says:
03:57 PM, 03/ 5/09
Why didn't you add the entire quart?
vvk says:
04:45 PM, 03/ 5/09
I guess all that high speed driving burned off all the water in you oil real good, eh?
LOVE that top picture! Many Edmunds staffers really know how to compose an interesting photo.
joefrompa says:
05:38 PM, 03/ 5/09
Pennzoil Yellow Bottle - A fine choice, madam, a fine choice indeed.
Sodaguy - Apparently, it only needed a half quart.
Erin - A paper funnel is not the best choice for pouring petroleum through anyway. :)
Joe
sodaguy says:
07:55 PM, 03/ 5/09
Joe-
Her post said that the oil level was below the minimum. Usually from minimum to maximum, it takes one quart.
After some thought, I realized that the car is probably due for the 7500 mile service soon, so perhaps Erin only wanted to bring the oil level to an acceptable level and save the rest of the oil for another time.
blueguydotcom says:
08:18 PM, 03/ 5/09
Foucault. Ugh. A prof in undergrad thought Michel was a genius. She really believed the world, as Foucault espoused, was akin to the Panopticon. Gag. The only class I ever dropped and thus I have a W on my transcript.
brn says:
10:06 PM, 03/ 5/09
Stop taunting us with pictures of that bad-ass truck!
It makes me want to trade in my Hummer, if I had one.
joefrompa says:
04:51 AM, 03/ 6/09
I feel like one day there is going to be a grand unveiling of who Kissel is....I look forward to that day :)
crowb says:
08:20 AM, 03/ 6/09
I find myself reading the comments, scanning for postings from kissel. They always evoke a sort of confused chuckle.
ekimfeenux says:
09:17 AM, 03/ 6/09
crowb I'm with you on that. I was just recently laid up in bed due to surgery and his posts are an odd bright spot in my otherwise very boring.
stovt001 says:
07:34 AM, 03/ 7/09
Me too crowb and ekimfeenux. I thought I was the only one.
This post brings a question to mind: with the Enclave, someone took the engine cover off and one reason given was that it collected dirt that could get into the oil during oil checks like this. Any problem with that here?