- A Mazda CX-90 owner cracked the oil pan while trying to do an oil change himself.
- The oil pan is a stressed structural member, making replacement a 12–30-hour job.
- Saving C$120 CAD turned into a C$6,000 bill requiring engine and gearbox removal.
Many automotive enthusiasts occasionally try to save money by doing work on their vehicles themselves instead of visiting a service center. Sometimes, though, the job doesn’t go as expected and it ends up costing much more than the amount it was supposed to cut. That’s a lesson one Mazda owner in Canada learned the hard way as a simple C$120 (US$90) oil change snowballed into a C$6,000 (US$4,330) nightmare repair bill.
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According to a post by a person who appears to be a dealership service tech, this all comes down to the oil pan. The owner in question evidently wanted to avoid paying C$120 (roughly US$90) for an oil change. In the process of jacking the car up to begin the work, they cracked the oil pan. Most oil pans are pretty quick, cheap, and easy to replace. However, that’s not the case with Mazda’s CX-90 crossover.
When an oil pan isn’t just an oil pan
The service tech explained that the oil pan isn’t just a stamped piece of metal but a stressed member of the Mazda crossover’s structure. Which means that once it’s damaged, replacing it is anything but quick or cheap.
Photos Reddit/u cookie955
The dealer allegedly claimed that the flat-rate book calls this a 30-hour job. That sounds extreme, and a shop Carscoops spoke to with ALLDATA says the real figure is 12.2 hours. Either way, the gearbox has to come out. Labor, plus the cost of the part and fluids, means this C$120 DIY shortcut quickly ballooned into a C$6,000 repair bill.
Photos shared by Reddit user Cookie955 show why this design complicates everything. The front axle actually runs through the oil pan, and the part itself adds rigidity to the chassis. Replacing it requires dropping both the gearbox and engine, not just unbolting a single component. Add labor, the new part, and fluids, and suddenly that skipped service bill looks like the bargain of the century.
A tough reminder about modern cars
This is a seriously painful lesson in modern car design. Not every component is as simple as it used to be, and what looks like an easy driveway job can quickly turn into a massive headache if you’re not extremely careful. For this unlucky CX-90 owner, a money-saving plan ended up costing nearly 50 times more than the service they hoped to avoid.
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$120.00 for an oil change? I’ll do it myself to save money (and do $6000.00 damage in the process)
byu/Cookie955 inJustrolledintotheshop
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#Oil #Change #Ill
