acceptable oil consumption

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
2,230
Location
Detroit, MI
I was looking up something for Spykem4e and saw this. I remember mitsubishi being similar but I would be [censored] if my car used a qt of oil every 2k miles and GM thought it was fine... lol

Models:
1998-2009 GM Passenger Cars and Gasoline Powered Light Duty Trucks Under 8500 LB GVW (Including Saturn)

2003-2009 HUMMER H2
2006-2009 HUMMER H3
2005-2009 Saab 9-7X

Supercede:

This bulletin is being revised to update model years. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 01-06-01-011D (Section 06 - Engine/Propulsion System).

All engines require oil to lubricate and protect the load bearing and internal moving parts from wear including cylinder walls, pistons and piston rings. When a piston moves down its cylinder, a thin film of oil is left on the cylinder wall. During the power stroke, part of this oil layer is consumed in the combustion process. As a result, varying rates of oil consumption are accepted as normal in all engines.

Oil Consumption

The accepted rate of oil consumption for engines used in the vehicles referenced is 0.946 liter (1 qt) in 3200 km (2000 mi).Models:
1998-2009 GM Passenger Cars and Gasoline Powered Light Duty Trucks Under 8500 LB GVW (Including Saturn)

2003-2009 HUMMER H2
2006-2009 HUMMER H3
2005-2009 Saab 9-7X

Supercede:

This bulletin is being revised to update model years. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 01-06-01-011D (Section 06 - Engine/Propulsion System).

All engines require oil to lubricate and protect the load bearing and internal moving parts from wear including cylinder walls, pistons and piston rings. When a piston moves down its cylinder, a thin film of oil is left on the cylinder wall. During the power stroke, part of this oil layer is consumed in the combustion process. As a result, varying rates of oil consumption are accepted as normal in all engines.

Oil Consumption

The accepted rate of oil consumption for engines used in the vehicles referenced is 0.946 liter (1 qt) in 3200 km (2000 mi).
 
Yeah, it would bother me. But as long as it wasn't fouling plugs or evidenced in some other mechanical/drivability way would I consider it a life/ownership shortening condition.
 
Jdblya,

I've owned 4 Subaru's & they've all consumed some oil. Per Subaru 1 Qt per 1K is acceptable but not to me.

Nevertheless, I currently use Amsoil SSO & will be changing to 10W-30 to see if it will curb the consumption.

Regards,
~Button
 
All previous vehicles used less that 1/3 quart in a 6,000 mile oil change. (Slant 6/4.0 Jeep/Volvo/Subaru and mow a Mazda CX7. I think if my car had less then 80,000 miles and used a quart in 2-3,000 miles I'd know something was not up to snuff.
 
I know that some cars are more prone by design, and as engines get older and what not. Evo's used to use a bit of oil, but they are also forced induction. Are all subaru's turbos? But think about how many women or moms drive Cts's around, prob a lot of divorced ones also ( lol ) and I'm pretty sure they are not going to be out their checking their oil ever 2k, especially because I'm almost positive they have oil life monitors on them also...

my 95 Ram 5.9l uses some oil, and my 96 camry leaks it lol but my gf has a 98 Contour with 150+ on the ztech and I ran it 7500 on m1 and at least on the stick I didn't see much loss if any at all. And my 06 eclipse uses no oil.
 
my 05 2AZ-FE engine uses ZERO oil.

in the manual toyota says "1L per 1,500km is considered normal".

"especially if a lot of engine braking is used going down hill as the oil film is sucked in under negative pressure during engine braking. "
 
Hi,
German engine makers have long published maximum allowable oil use - usually in the Owner's manual

For as long as I can remember this has always been about 1ltr per 1000kms. In the case of Porsche this is (typically) 1.5lts per 1000kms

Some MB diesel engines had a permissible consumption of 1ltr per 300 kms

Most manufacturers use a very detailed analysis process when engines alledgedly consume excessive oil when under Warranty

IME excessive oil use in new engines that does not moderate is typically due to the lubricant;

a) being changed out on a new engine before recommended, and or,
b) using a non specified lubricant

In some engine families it can take up to 100kkms before oil use stabilises. Some ring packs now used in modern heavy high speed diesel engines are so "hard" that it may take longer than this. Where possible I have used a mixture of road use (initially) and WOT dyno loading to "settle" problem engines down rapidly
 
My 99 SL2 Saturn is using 1 quart per 800 miles (sometimes more). It is a common problem with older ones due to design of the rings/pistons. Some people do an in engine rebuild and drill drain holes in the pistons. It corrects the problem. I just add oil and buy it on sale.
 
That is not the bulletin though that was put out to deal with the North Star motors....They allowed those to consume even more.

I always have laughed I had one of the problem year 22RE's in my 1986 4Runner. It did too good of a job on the oil ring.......They latter solved this issue by useing a special heat treated stainless steel for that ring. That engine running dino oil always used about a 1/2-3/4 of a quart per 3000 mile oil change interval. When I bought the vechile off my Dad and switched it over to synthetic it never used any oil dureing the oil change interval at all.

My wifes Buick has the 3.8 and her car leaks oil but it does not consume any. Even with the leak it almost never needs to have any oil added dureing the oil change interval.

My 2003 Camry has never used more then a 1/4 of a quart and it has only done that twice. The first time was when I first put synthetic in it at 1500 miles and it was Redline 5W40.The second time was when I used an Ester based fluid again a few years latter and again 1/4. It seems that when ever I switch from any other oil to anything high in ester content it will use a 1/4 of a quart. Other then these times not once have I had to top off my oil since I have owned that car even when I have done 10,000 mile OCI's! Really if you give a piston a decent skirt and do not put the rings right at the top of the piston oil consumption should be really low now that everyone is useing under cut or back cut rings aka low tension rings.To add to this the big increase in thin oil viscosities should reduce this as well since the layer of oil on the parts like the cylinder walls will be thiner with a thinner oil!

I understand some consumption is needed to keep all the parts working right but in a light duty car or pick truck ie anything less then 2 ton rated vehicle I think anything more then 1/2 a quart per 1000 miles is really a sign of poor engineering, poor surface finishes and poor manufacturing methods!

People worry all the time about poisoning cat's due to additives but how about we just make sure we do not burn that much oil so we do not have the additives and excessive amounts of hydrocarbons flowing through the cat's to begin with! It never fails that the vehicles that have cat problems are also oil burners!!! GM like many manufactures would rather put the problem in anyone else's lap then their own. It would cost a lot of money to redesign their pistons, valve guides and valve seals so that their cars and trucks in general did not drink oil like a wino drinks Mad Dog 20/20 or Night Train!LOL Instead we will just take most of the best additives that are in motor oil down to silly low levels so we can keep using the cheapest pistons poorly designed and cheap cat's!!! Sure other companies say this as a good thing as well if you stop and think about.

I believe Dodge is starting to have some issues with the Dakota's 4.7 due to the high ring placement.I know as soon as the engine was on the market TRW formally said that they intended to redesign their replacement piston for this application to move the rings down from the top of the piston. TRW said it was a problem waiting to happen with regard to oil consumption and long term engine durability. I never had problems with my Dakota with the 4.7 but I also ran M1 15W50 during the warm months and M1 5W30 during winter.

When it comes to oil consumption I think that the longer you can keep your engine and rings especially clean the longer you have before consumption becomes a problem. Once it starts it is like cancer in that if you do not cut it out right away it just seems to get out of control to the point that you can not recover from it.

Trust me I was a bit nervous putting in dino oil tonight in my car because I know it is super clean right now. I am just hoping that it stays that way especially my ring pack area!
 
Their "acceptable" means: We aren't fixing anything unless it is worse than that.

A "D" grade could be acceptable to some. To most...Not.
 
I'm actually surprised to see 1 qt/2000 miles. I would have thought they'd say 1 qt/1000 miles was acceptable.

AD
 
My 08 NA 2.5 Subaru uses about zero in 3000 miles.
My 99 NA 2.2 Subaru uses about zero in 3000 miles.
My 95 Mitsubishi uses zero in 3000 miles. I did have one that used 1qt per 2000 miles, but that was second hand, I suspect abused, and also I had "cleaned" it with kerosene, probably a mistake.
My 05 Chev 3.4 uses zero per 3000 miles.
My 97 CrownVic 4.6 would use 1 qt/2000 miles, but that engine had a defective head gasket that blew, engine overheated and probably that caused the problem, because before that, oil consumption was zero.
With modern engine technology, just be sure that engine is broken is properly when brand new, with a few WOT in higher gears, to seat the rings, which probably already has been done by the dealer before they deliver the vehicle, anyway. Most engines nowadays will not use any oil, or just small amounts. I would consider 1qt/2000 miles to be too much, but from the dealer's point of view not bad enough to replace the engine.
 
Last edited:
Wow, 1qt/2k mi. The low oil level light would be turning on more frequently than the OLM. And thats acceptable by GM's standards,pretty sad.
 
The car isn't supposed to consume any oil, so anything more than say 1 pint per 3000 miles is excessive in a normal well maintained engine. Past 1qt/3000mi, is the starting line for excessive oil consumption.

As the car gets older, oil consumption will trend upwards, but it may take a long time before the car gets to the point where it starts seriously consuming oil.
 
the industry standard (foreign and domestic) is 1 qt per 1000 miles. that is when they will work on an engine under warranty.
 
Originally Posted By: Doug Hillary

a) being changed out on a new engine before recommended, and or,


Doug,

Would you clarify the quote above, please? Do you mean change out a specified break-in oil too early, or any lubricant during the break-in cycle?

If a break-in lubricant, how would it differ from an ordinary lubricant and why would changing it out be harmful? I know some of the answer, I think, but I just wanna hear your typically thorough explanation! :) < )

If an "ordinary" lubricant, I can't think of any reason an early change would be harmful, but maybe you know of one.

BTW, define "too early?" Please.
 
Oh,

And I don't necessarily worry about a little consumption. I just find out what's "normal" for my rig in my use and keep after it. If it's excessive, I'll look into problems. Getting lazy, however. Our Honda 3.0L V6 w/72K uses not a drop between 7K+ changes of 5W30 Castrol GTX/Syntec (4+1). Neither does our Ford 5.4L 3V in 7.5K changes on RP 5W20. I have a Dagenham-built Ford 3-cyl diesel tractor that uses a little between changes, but never enough to add. Only our 8200 hour Farmall 826 uses some oil... but with those kinda hours, it's entitled!
 
Same here. I guess for folks who don't check oil between 3000 mile walmart oil changes, 1 qt consumption per 1000mi is dangerous. Any new car that could have that kind of consumption should come with a warning stuck to the window.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top