Engine Burning Oil Problems of Mazda MAZDA6

The v6 motor in my Mazda 6s has been leaking oil for almost 10 of the 12 years I've owned it. The oil leaks out of the faulty seals on the timing chain cover in front of the passenger, and the oil drops onto the catalytic converter. This oil vaporizes and that vapor enters the cabin in slow speed driving and when stopped at intersections. I complained about a burning oil smell many times while the car was still under warranty, and the Mazda service techs always pretended like they didn't find any problem. Years down the road, I am finding this is a rampant problem with all Ford and Mazda cars and suvs with this "duratec" 3. 0 v6 which was made by Ford. It is installed in many Ford, Mercury and Mazda vehicles. I carry a fire extinguisher with me in the event I have an under hood fire, and I'm very worried about my health after all these years of breathing this vapor. The cost to repair this seal failure is daunting. I hope mhtsa can see that Ford has been covering up this defect, endangering lives and the health of drivers as well as creating a tough financial burden on the owners to fix the issue. I gave a date on the form below, since it was required, but this has been going on since 2006 or so.

See all problems of the 2004 Mazda MAZDA6 🔎.

The contact owns a 2004 Mazda, Mazda6. While the vehicle was parked, the contact smelled burnt oil. The oil light never illuminated but the next morning when he started the vehicle, the contact noticed that the engine was knocking. He added oil to the engine and had the vehicle towed to an authorized dealer. The dealer stated that the cam had slipped which caused extensive damage to the engine. The vehicle had not been repaired. The dealer was speaking with warranty personnel and the manufacturer at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were approximately 85,000.

Mazda 6 v6 made in the Ford/Mazda auto alliance factory in flat rock, mi. The miles/speed I listed are actually n/a - this is an ongoing problem that has existed for most of the 10 years I've owned this car. I complained about smelling burning oil coming into the car's cabin since the car was only 1 year old, but the Mazda repair techs appeared to "never notice the smell". It was more than a year or so after my warranty ended - despite a dozen instances of complaining to Mazda dealers of this smell - that I realized my problem was oil leaking from my v6 motor's timing chain cover. The oil leaks down the side & bottom of the motor & drips (only while driving, never while resting) onto the top of one of the exhaust system's catalytic converters. The intense heat of the converter vaporizes the oil, the result of which enters the car's cabin through the hvac system. I have been adding a quart of oil almost every two months for years now, breathing this carcinogenic vapor and worrying about an engine fire for the better part of a decade now. Leading up to discovering the leak, I had replaced my valve cover gaskets & oil pan & gaskets at great cost. The proper repair for this would likely require removing my car's engine & a 12 hour repair at $100 per hour, and that's just the labor. When researching this problem, it appears in online forums to be a consistent problem for hundreds (likely thousands) of owners, and variations of this Ford-made v6 engine are installed in a dozen Ford and Mazda cars. I firmly believe that over the years Ford - knowing this was a consistent problem - advised it's dealer network to keep hush-hush and pretend to not understand or notice the problem in an effort to avoid a costly recall campaign. I feel that the time has come for Ford, not Mazda, to pay the piper, and I would like my car repaired without a financial hardship placed upon me.