Wow- thanks so much everyone for the input! Docnick, are you saying that 5W30 would be better than the recommended 5W20 because I live in warmer central North Carolina?
Also, why is it so necessary to do the O&F changes every 5K? (I always check the oil and add if needed but sometimes I push it to 7K)
Also, is the TSB the Technical Service Bulletin? I’ve never heard of that and when I clicked on the link that db4690 listed, well that was a bit over my head! Thanks again everyone!
Most manufacturers recommend 5000km between oil changes for severe service conditions. Now here in the great white north most vehicles fall under that severe service category. The usual rule of thumb is 5000 km or three months between changes. Personally I think with the improvements in motor oils that mileage can be extended without too much concern.
Depending on driving habits, environmental conditions, state of tune, etc, etc. sometimes going 5k miles between oil changes it too long.
Stretching the oil change interval can lead to oil consumption because it can cause the piston oil control rings to seize in the lands (grooves) of the pistons. This is caused by oil that has become coked; meaning the oil has essentially burnt and hardened the oil rings in place.
While not 100% definitive, a dry and wet compression test may reveal a bit about this type of problem and yes, a TSB is a Technical Service Bulletin.
@renee2010 TSB stands for technical service bulletin
110K and it burns a quart every 2000 miles??
Caddyman…you have to start buying better designed and built vehicles. Just because a vehicle has 100k miles on it doesn’t mean it should burn oil. Not one of the vehicles I owned with well over 300k miles burned even close to a quart every 5k miles.
This sounds like a design problem with that particular engine from Toyota. It surely isn’t the norm for MOST of their engines…Maybe for your GM cars it is.
@renee2010 The 5W30 is only better from an oil consumption point of view. Your type of driving is very easy on the engine, and winters in your area are generally mild. I would try it and see how the oil consumption works out. Just don’t use anything starting with 10W.
In any case, oil is cheap, just check it regularly.
I like 5,000 miles, but 7,000 miles is fine on a modern engine. Some even claim that with synthetic oil 10,000 or more is even good, but engines are expensive, so I don’t subscribe to that theory.
Yup, a TSB is a Tcehnical Service Bulletin. These are adivsories to service technicians for all forms of things, including notification of how to file for a new VIN tag or how to fix a scratch on a new type of finish. Some of them can get technical and be hard for the layman to undserstand, as they’re often written with the understanding that a technician will be reading them.
You’ll do great. You’re on the right track by poenly asking questions. That’s the first step to learning.
If I own a car that is using a quart between my roughly 3500 miles oil change intervals then I own a car with a problem. I’ve seen dozens of damaged, low miles engines (defined as 20-40k miles) due to simply not changing the oil often enough.
The first step with an oil consumption complaint would be to check for leaks and then run the dry/wet compression tests.
My gut feeling is that those tests will show a problem; assuming whoever is doing the tests is not misinterpreting the gauge readings.
OK4450, with all the respect in the world I have to disagree on this one. A Camry with 110,000 miles that’s using a quart every 3500 is operating well within the limits and probably less than 1 sigma from the mean. It’s perfectly normal IMHO.
Statistics are strange; according to one politician, “they are like a bikini swimsuit; what they reveal is suggestive, but what they hide is vital!”.
We just sold our old 1994 Nissan Sentra with over 150,000 m iles on it. This car did not use oil; we never had to add any between changes! If it had needed a quart, I would not have been disappointed. One quart per 3500-4000 miles is entirely within statistical bounds.
I like that description. Of course I like anything in a bikini!
Going back and re reading the first post, it might be that the owner might be experiencing his first time that he has had to add oil to this car between oil changes. If so, it could be due to a leak and not burning. Yes, he did say that the oil change guy inspected for leaks and there were none, and that may be true that there weren’t any at that time. But there could be a leak from this last oil change such as a defective gasket around the oil filter or one too many uses of the gasket on the oil drain plug.
“Of course I like anything in a bikini!”
Been to the beach lately?
The obesity rate is high now.
@keith You are right; oil consumption or slow leaks gradually happen as a car ages. Leaks can be so small that an normal inspection misses it. For instance, oil dripping slowly out of the valve covers onto the exhaust and the being burned off athighway speed.
In any case, it’s not something to fret or panic about. Engines are so good these days that the need to add oil frightens some owners; they’re just not used to it anymore.
My 1965 Dodge Dart 273V8 started using oil at about 60,000 miles at the rate of 1 quart every 1500 miles. That was entirely normal, and every service station had a rack with lots of different oil cans for toppping up.
@circuitsmith There is also a website with “Walmart Fashions” showing the outrageous clothes worn by some customers. Compared to that, I’ll take any beach.
The OP said the oil was below the first dot after only 2k miles since last oil change.
Says there’s no leaks…so he’s burning a quart of oil every 2k miles. To me…that’s significant.
It could also mean the person who did the oil change didn’t fill it up. One way to cut material costs of an oil change business by 20% is to hold off one quart each oil change. I’ve seen managers do dumber things.
I agree that 1 quart per 3500 miles may be within statistical bounds but to me it denotes a problem; although it could be considered a minor one.
If it’s going through a quart per 2000 miles then it becomes a more serious issue.
The ones I really disagree with are the car makers who claim that a quart per 1000 miles is normal but it’s understandable why they do this. Even under warranty reimbursement rates the cost to car makers to repair complaints like this would be mind numbing.
So given the choice of claiming oil consumption is normal or spending hundreds of millions, or billions, to repair or replace engines it’s not difficult to figure out which route they will go.
The OP needs to keep an eye on the dipstick or this is something that can easily get away from them and lead to a trashed engine.
I wholeheartedly agree that a qt per 1000 miles on a new engine is indicative of a problem. Even my ol’ pickup with 338,000 miles didn;t use that much. But, for the poor folks hat are stuck with high oil-using ne2w cars, they may not have any recourse.
As for the OP’s car, he should monitor the level, as we all should, but I wouldn;t worry about unless it rises dramatically. I honestly would not expect this level of oil usage to be indicative of any serious future problem.
The manual for my Toyota Matrix says 1qt every 600 miles is OK for warranty purposes.
I think their reasoning is that most cars would make it past the basic warranty period before the cat converter is fouled.
Yeah, if I had a new car that used a qt every 600 miles I’d be pissed big time.
I’ve owned Toyotas continuously since 1976 and have never had one use excessive oil. Typicaly, they don’t use anything significant between oil changes until they get past 150,000 miles. I have almost 200,000 on my current one, and it uses a quart perhaps every 4,000 miles in cold weather and less in warm weather.