VQ35DE Oil Consumption

[G35_TX]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: Johnny
Why, is your Mom's new Nissan consuming oil?


Please don't jinx me.

I've just heard that it is an issue, even with the newer ones. I just want to see what the others have to say.


Some VQ's do. The 05-06 REV-UP engines in the 350z and G35 had oil consumption issues. The 07 and above do not. Some of Nissan V8s do from the M45 and Q45.

Not all.

Remember, there have been many revisions of the VQ engine.

 

[G35_TX]

Originally Posted By: ludiferino
If this is the vehicle is question (from your signature):

'10 Nissan Altima 3.5SR V6- 200 mi- Factory Fill

I wouldn't be very worried. The early VQ35DE and HRs were/are known to consume oil, but I the newer ones seem a bit better.

FWIW, I have also have 2002 Maxima which consumes oil based upon driving style; 1+ quarts per 4k miles if driven aggressively, 1/2 quart if driven nicely.


The HR has never been known to consume oil. Please don't post mis-information. My post above are the ones that consume oil.

 

[il_signore97]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
1/3 qt low @ 550 miles.

Factory fill is Genuine Nissan Ester Oil 5w-30.

Discuss.




Critic, you don't have much to worry about. My 2005 Altima with the 3.5 VQ and a 5-speed M/T now has over 100,000 miles, and has a clear pattern with regards to oil consumption, which is a good thing in my opinion.

When I first got it (brand new), I did a "moderate" break-in, which involved driving it relatively easily, avoiding high RPM's (above 4,000), but making sure to always vary RPM, and load it by accelerating briskly but smoothly from red lights, stop signs, etc. I tried to avoid highway driving, but when I did use the highway, I varied speed to allow the RPM's to move around.

My car used some oil during break-in, and completely stopped using oil at around 4,000-5,000 miles I think (IIRC). My driving back then was mostly city though (about 25 miles each way, but through city streets @ ~30 mph on average). With driving like that, after break-in, there was no noticeable oil consumption at all after 4,000-5,000 miles, on conventional or synthetic.

However, around 30,000 miles, my driving changed to 36 miles each way, driving all highway. 1/3 of the highway drive is stop and go traffic, going from 0 to 50 repeatedly. The rest of it is high speed driving on the toll highway at about 80-90 mph average. With the M/T this translates to about 3,500 rpm cruising. With this type of driving, it will need 1 qt in about 5,000 miles. Doesn't matter if I use 30 or 40 weight, same consumption. And btw, the consumption goes back down if I commute through the city and avoid high speed cruising / passing.

I have 4 other friends with 3.5L VQ engines as well (2002-2008 models), and they all use a small amount of oil, again, depending on driving style.

I wouldn't worry about it, mine has never got any worse, and doesn't look like it's going to. Just keep her full, as the sump size is not very large for the oil temps that can result when under load. As measured, some VQ's can get quite high in short order with some spirited driving (240-250 F).

 

[ludiferino]

Originally Posted By: G35_TX
Originally Posted By: ludiferino
If this is the vehicle is question (from your signature):

'10 Nissan Altima 3.5SR V6- 200 mi- Factory Fill

I wouldn't be very worried. The early VQ35DE and HRs were/are known to consume oil, but I the newer ones seem a bit better.

FWIW, I have also have 2002 Maxima which consumes oil based upon driving style; 1+ quarts per 4k miles if driven aggressively, 1/2 quart if driven nicely.


The HR has never been known to consume oil. Please don't post mis-information. My post above are the ones that consume oil.


I put VQ35HR, but meant the '05-'06 VQ35DE rev-up. I didn't know the correct terminology since Nissan refuses to rename engines to maintain the Ward's 10 Best Engine records.

 

[RD400]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Who here owns a vehicle equipped with a Nissan VQ35DE engine?


Your 2010 should be fine; I wouldn't worry about any oil consumption yet.

The 05-06 VQ35DE engines which were installed in 6-speed manual models are the main consumption candidates. Seems the contributing factors are suspect piston ring and valve guide materials, PCV system, and coil pack seals in the valve covers.

I've had an '06 G35 6MT for about a year and so far it consumes almost 1 qt per 5K miles using Rotella T 5W-40. It is considered 'good' for consumption as defined by the Nissan TSB. I also have an '08 VQ40DE on PP 5W-30 which does not burn oil at all.

 

[MaxCarnage]

I have a 04 Maxima and it does not consume any oil. I use PP 5w-30. Like others have said some VQ's consume oil, some don't.

 

[RumbleG]

46K on my '05 G35 Sedan with no oil consumption issue at all. Last oil change last week was at 10K miles on Q HP full syn with a Napa Gold oil filter. Other OCI have been at 8K with Q full syn and no loss of oil.

There is a issue with the VQ on oil consumption. There is a thread on G35Driver.com about this. The Rev-up VQ has the majority of the issues.

 

[gizzsdad]

I'm on my 5th VQ. The current 4.0 does not seem to use any.

The current 3.5(Max) seems to be following the two 3.0's and the first 3.5('05 Max) by using about 1/4 qt. per typical 4-5K OCI. I'm sure many would call this "no issue."

 

[CBR.worm]

Reviving an old thread. . .

I have an '06 G35 6MT with just under 100K on it.

If I drive normally, it requires zero additional oil between 6,500 mile oil changes w/ Mobil1 0w40. When I take it to the track and sit between 4,500 and 7,000 rpm all day, I can use a quart in a few hundred miles.

It has been the same since new. There has been a high coorelation between 6mt and oil consumption. I suspect that people who buy manual transmissions drive harder and are more likely to sit at high RPM.

 

[The Critic]

I'm at 1500 miles now and the dipstick reads almost a 1/2 qt low.

The dipstick was showing 1/3 qt low at 600 miles so I think the consumption just stopped sometime between 600 and 1000 miles.

 

[mirnes]

i have a 05 350z,well i tried synpower, pennzoil plat and i was about half a quart low on both of em ,that was about 20 k miles ago been using mobil 1 0-40 or 5-30 depends what i got at the time of oil change with no oil consumption at all.so far so good.

 

[hisege]

Had the wife's 02 Altima on M1 Synthetic Truck & SUV 5w30 for about 5K, burned about a quart. Prior to this, dino lube of various brands was used without consumption. Using PP 5w30 now, need to check the stick to see if it's using any - wife says it's MY JOB to check the oil on HER car *pffft*!

 

[TLMjared]

I have seen some use no oil and then there was the one I saw last week, that was down almost 2 quarts, was smoking (burning out the tailpipe) and under the oil cap in in the valve cover was large amounts of nasty black sludge... only 20,000 miles and had been running mobil 1 0w30...
guess it all depends, i've seen it both ways

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

My wifes 04 G35X uses mobil 1 5-30 but used no kendall full syn of the same grade. Also note these engines are famous for the O-rings going bad and leaking oil around the spark plugs. Hers has 111,000 miles now and still runs like a champ.

 

[umbg35]

I have a 05 G35 coupe. It has 104,500 now. At 100K I had the valve covers changed as I saw oil on the plug threads when I changed the spark plugs at 80K or so. Definitely change out your plugs at 65K and see if there is leakage...if it does you get can get it fixed for free since power train has a 70K warranty. I put in 5.5 quarts of oil or 8K OCI on GC. At 4K I add 1/2 quart which reads about 3/4 the distance from the L to H markings. However, I scored Castrol HM 15W-40 5 quart jug for 9 dollars so I'll be running that for 3 OCIs. I drive 30 miles each way (mostly highway) and I hit redline probably 10 times each way so it's spirited driving.

 

[The Critic]

I have 2200 miles on my current fill of Valvoline SynPower 5w-30 and the oil was 1/4 low. So for now, I guess my oil consumption is about 1/2 qt every 5,000 miles.

Not too bad, though I would have expected 0 oil consumption since the engine never sees more than 2000 RPM.

 

[kbohip72]

I have an '02 Maxima with the 6-speed manual.

Mine has always used oil to the tune of around 1/2 to 1 quart every 1k miles. This has been the same for the 55k miles I've owned it. I'm not worried as the engine still has plenty of power and the mileage (22-23 in the city) is consistent. I'm now running 10W-40 which has slowed consumption by about 1/4 quart every 1k miles.

What does worry me is how many times the woman I bought the car from let it run low on oil.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: shokhead
02 Altima 3.5SE. 40K miles. Never has used 1 drop.


That is the same car I used to have. Did not burn oil.
My 2002 Maxima does. I did however buy it used in March of this year at the ripe age of 8. It uses a lot of oil. If I didn't care to run it slightly low I would probably add a quart every 2 weeks (I do drive a lot though) but instead I top off weekly at maybe 1/2 quart. (750k kms)

 

[NewC6]

I have an 05 Murano with the VQ35DE engine. It uses about a 1/2 qt between 6500 mile oil changes. More than acceptable in my book.

 

[CBR.worm]

I have had 2 G35's with normal oil consumption - both 6mt.

The current one has 105K miles on it and uses about 1 quart of oil every 5-7K with normal spirited driving.

Trackdays where I spend lots of time at redline or on the limiter not wanting to shift up only to shift back, I can use a quart in a day.

It seems to be sucked in through the PCV system. After a hard day the intake manifold is wet with oil and has puddles. Some people use catch cans for this reason.

With normal driving almost no oil consumption.