Victor Shack (@victorshack) is a mechanic known for his blunt TikTok commentary on specific manufacturer’s engines and call outs of “lazy” dealerships who avoid finding a problematic vehicle’s root issue.
Numerous viewers remarked that they not only appreciated Shack’s foul-mouthed candor when it comes to assessing vehicular damage and build quality, but the educational nature of the TikToker’s posts. Many believe it’s clear that he knows his stuff.
But even he seemed astounded at the extent of damage a 2023 Mazda’s engine sustained after a customer purportedly put the wrong type of fuel in the car. He documented just how badly wrecked the engine was after the error in a trending clip that’s garnered 6,700 views and counting.
Shack holds up a piece of the engine to the camera and explains what happened to a driver’s Mazda after he put the wrong type of fuel inside of its engine.
A Mazda fuel mishap
“’23 Mazda 2.5. This is what happens when you don’t put the correct fuel in your tank and check your [expletive] when it starts to misfire,” he says, holding up the greased piece of the engine for viewers to see.
“Reamed out on one cylinder and completely melted…the [expletive] out of this piston, look at it,” he says, giving viewers a closer look at the engine.
While the engine would be in bad shape even for one that’s logged some 200,000 miles, Shack reveals that the engine, especially for a Mazda, is far from even being close to reaching its mileage threshold.
“It’s got 17,000 miles on it. What happened to it is [expletive] beyond me…looks like it leaned out real good and [expletive] itself real thorough…wow.”
Shack goes on to state that he’s “never seen” an engine in such poor condition as he walks on over to another portion of the engine. Despite being “barbecued,” he says it still appears brand new.
He speculates that the engine might be able to “get away” with replacing one of the pistons. “I’ve never seen one eat the piston like that. That’s amazing,” he states before holding up the piece he was sharing at the top of the video, indicating that it was a “rod bearing.”
Shack then comments on the reliability of more recent engines, stating that drivers “need to be careful with this new [expletive]” while going on to call the 2023 Mazda engine a “joke.”
One commenter asked why the dealer wasn’t fixing it, to which Shack replied in all caps: “DONT KNOW.”
Another user thought that the issue is a fundamental design flaw with the this particular engine, claiming that Mazda is attempting to squeeze too much horsepower out of a 4-cylinder design. “They keep trying to get 300hp out of these little 4 bangers, these are the problems people have to deal with,” they wrote.
A further user said that the “lean” nature of Mazda vehicles lends itself to these kinds of issues, and they speculated what probably happened with the vehicle: “Mazda runs very very lean . I think injector as well . Guessing high psi fuel pump got metal in injector bore.”
Someone else thought that this was a very bizarre incident: “This is an anomaly. The new sky activ Mazdas are very solid cars.”
What type of fuel does a ’23 Mazda take?
The other question numerous people had was what kind of octane fuel should the Mazda owner have been using to avoid this from happening.
One surmised that the driver may’ve used 87 octane which is what caused the destruction to the engine, while someone else remarked that 91/93 was the proper fuel type.
However, according to this Mazda dealership, 2023 Skyactiv 2.5 liter engines are capable of taking either 87 or 93 octane fuel. “For 2023, the Mazda3 receives enhancements to the naturally aspirated Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter engine, now capable of 191 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque with either regular 87 octane or premium 93 octane fuel. The updates result in a five horsepower increase and an increase in overall fuel efficiency,” the business wrote on its website.
It seems that there are people who’ve noticed better performance with their Skyactiv 2.5 liter engines when using higher octane fuel, as detailed by this Redditor who published their findings in a post uploaded to the site’s r/mazda3 sub.
There have been other folks who’ve purportedly had issues with their Mazda’s engines rod bearings, like this one CX5 driver who says their engine failure was more than likely covered under the brand’s warranty.
Another Mazda driver wrote in this forum post that they, too, encountered rod bearing damage but that the manufacturer wouldn’t be covering the repairs under warranty.
@victorshack Mazda Mazda they’re the best drive 17,000 walk the rest
♬ original sound – Victor Shack
But what type of “wrong” fuel did the Mazda owner in question place inside of the tank in Shack’s video? These Redditors don’t think a different octane would’ve necessarily caused such a catastrophic engine failure, unless they put diesel in it when it was supposed to take gasoline or vice verse.
There was another user on the application who believes that the problem wasn’t the fuel, but rather the oil.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Shack via TikTok comment and Mazda via email for further information.
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