My 2012 4 cylinder Camry’s owners manual say "oil consumption of one quart or less in 500 miles is normal. Sounds like Toyota Knew they had troubles coming down the pike.
This statement about oil consumption was not in the owner’s manual that came with my 2000 Ford Windstar, nor was it in the owner’s manual for my 2006 Chevrolet Uplander. The first time I saw this statement was in the owner’s manual for my 2011 Toyota Sienna. However, it does not appear in the owner’s manual of my 2003 Toyota 4Runner. I haven’t examined owner’s manuals of later model GM or Ford vehicles. I’ve never had to had a quart between changes of either of my Toyotas, but I didn’t have to add oil between changes of my Ford Windstar or my Chevrolet Uplander either.
I’ve only had three engines that used oil between changes: 1) my 1947 Pontiac used 1 quart every 300 miles (well, you don’t get much of a car for $75); 2) my 1971 Ford Maverick–it used a quart every 300 miles until I had new valve stem seals then I would go 1250 miles on a quart 3) my lawnmower that I purchased in 1992. It got to the point where I fogged for mosquitoes when I mowed the yard. I put in new short block about 8 years ago, but it is using oil again. The owner’s manual said to check the oil after every 5 hours and top it up as needed.
You are not checking your oil, or at least you did not do that in the past so to you it looks like you are consuming a quart every 1500 miles. In fact, you oil consumption rate is a lot less than that.
Oil consumption is not linear if you are not checking and adding oil every time it gets a quart low. Right after an oil change, it may take 3000 miles or more to burn off the first quart. Now at a quart low, the oil spends less time in the pan cooling off and more time picking up heat in the engine. The next quart goes a little faster, maybe 1500 to 2000 miles.
Now you are two quarts down and the oil really begins to run very hot so the oil begins to burn at a very fast rate. 1000 miles later, you are down by three quarts. You only have two quarts of very hard worked oil trying to keep your engine cool and lubricated. Its not going to last very long.
Good news is that if you now keep an eye on the oil and never let it drop more than a quart low, you will see that it is not consuming as much oil as you think.
Recommendation, do the next few oil changes at 3000 mile intervals, then 5 or 6k after that. You should be good for a long time if you do that.
One last thought, if we never made mistakes, we would never learn anything.
As much as one quart consumed per 1400 miles is annoying but can be lived with. If I had a car with under 150k miles that burned one quart per 500 or 600 miles and was told by the dealer or mfr that it was normal, I would not buy that brand again if I knew that I did not neglect maintenance. “500 or 600 miles per quart is normal” is a cheap and easy CYA statement to weasel out of repairing or replacing the engine. It likely does not happen often enough to be a problem for the mfr.
Many new cars, including some from BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, etc, don’t have a dipstick anymore.
That’s a new one on me. I’ve heard dipsticks are becoming rare w/automatic transmissions. Presumably that is b/c it is too complicated for the average owner to determine if the transmission fluid level is correct w/ the ever-increasing complexity they build into the automatic transmissions these days. The manufacturer probably thinks it is better to have someone trained in servicing the car check the transmission fluid level instead. Otherwise, with owners doing it wrong, then over-filling or topping off w/the wrong fluid, the manufacturer would get bad publicity and poor reliability ratings.
I guess for BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, they are thinking the same thing even for the oil level. Best for everybody to just let the experts at the shop check the engine oil during scheduled services. DIY’er minded folks who want to check their own fluid levels, they’re welcome buy a different make. And one with a manual transmission.
The really irritating part in the story provided by the link is that the cost was laid onto others because the owner of that car is clueless and he was compensated because of fear of an equally clueless jury pool.
“Many new cars, including some from BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, etc, don’t have a dipstick anymore.”
And yet people still refuse to believe that they are the slightest bit responsible for the well-being of their car, no matter how easy it is to do. You don’t need to be an expert. All you need to do is know how to press a button and read. Surely the motoring public is capable of that.
No oil dipstick means no more opening the hood and getting hot or cold, fumbling with a rag and getting your fingers dirty and wondering if you’re reading the dipstick correctly. Simply press a button inside the car and the instrument panel will tell you “oil level full” or “oil level 1.5 liters low”. What could possibly be easier than that?
Simply press a button inside the car and the instrument panel will tell you “oil level full” or “oil level 1.5 liters low”. What could possibly be easier than that?
So once the car has the ability to read and display oil level, what’s stopping them from using that information to automatically ALERT the driver that the oil level needs attention rather than expecting them to periodically check it manually? My vehicle dings the warning chime if I leave the turn signal on for too long going down the road and yet, wouldn’t it be more prudent to invest the money required in providing a gradually more alarming chime as the oil situation becomes more dire? With all this sensor and display capability, the days of the idiot LIGHT should be fading…because the days of the idiot are not…
More important, what if the oil level sensor becomes inaccurate? It’s not at all uncommon here to see a comment posted that one sensor or another on the OP’s car has failed. To my way of thinking, pressing a button to get an estimate of the car’s oil situation is a “nice to have” function, but it isn’t sufficient for something as critical as oil level. A dipstick or other direct visual indication remains necessary.
I do pretty much what one poster said. When I change the oil, I check it again in a day or two. Then, when it is clear no usage, I don’t check it for a while.
Because of extreme experience with my Sienna, I have been known to take a 3,000 mile trip without checking the oil again until I get home. Now that I have over 200,000 miles I check the oil before most trips, even 4 hour ones, just in case something changes with the high mileage. And, once a day on long trips.
But. not checking the oil often should only happen when you have plenty of experience with that car. And, this is another of those cases where it is better to err on the side of caution. And, if you do break the motor because of not checking, take it like a man…
My Lincoln has a message center that will check everything at the touch of a button but I believe in checking the stick regularly. The car will beep if it’s a quart low on oil but I’m of the opinion that an engine should not be allowed to run a quart down; even if there is no harm, no foul.
To the OP - what happened to the oil? It burns off. The burn off happens faster and faster as the oil level drops. With 4 gts missing there is enough oil to keep the oil light from flickering. But the 2 quarts of oil in the motor are working very hard and therefore the oil temps get much higher than normal and the oil burns off fast.
Make it a point check your oil level regularly. Since this situation is still uncertain I’d check it once a week and add 1 qt as needed to keep the level at the full mark. Once you are confident the oil level isn’t changing that fast you can check the level less often. I feel a monthly oil level check is a minimum and non of my cars use much oil. Having an oil level near the 1/2 to full mark is just so very critical to the long term health of your motor that you need to check the level at least monthly.