My cousin gave me a call last night all in a hissy about his 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe. He says he has noticed recently his truck has been burning/losing a lot of oil between oil changes (3k oci) somewhere to the tune of 2 quarts. I was astounded. the truck only has 30k on it so he takes it to GM. their answer was simply that they are aware of an oil burning situation in the 5.3 07' Model only. He was told this... "After shutoff, a small amount of oil is released on to the top of the pistons, this is resulting in the oil loss". So I called a buddy of mine that currently has a 5.3 07' silverado, same story. They were both told that unless they burnt/lost more than 2 quarts in 3,000 miles then there was nothing to worry about.

Anybody heard anything about this?

Seems like a lot for only 30K. Give him some advice: BUY A FORD! lol sorry but I have no idea why it would be burning so much oil.

I've never heard of this before. The GM Gen3 engine has not had a reputation as an oil burner, and it seems kind of fishy that one version of that engine in one specific model year would have the problem. The 4.8, 5.7, 6.0, and 6.2's all come down the same production line, why would the 5.3 be different? I'm not saying it couldn't happen, but it would be nice to hear specifically what the problem is.

Can't find much on all data except for a lot of speculation. one guy does mention overactive lifters that pump way too much oil and after shut off the oil sitting on top of the valve seals leaks down the valve and on to the piston. If this really is the case, can a change in viscosity help?

I haven't heard of any problems. I've got a number of friends with 5.3's and I haven't heard of any of them using oil. There's nothing special about the 5.3 in relation to the 4.8 or 6.0 engines and neither of those have any oil-burning issues, either.

Most manufacturers have a 1 qt/1,000 mile oil consumption spec. 2 quarts in 3,000 miles is not enough to really get concerned about. He should rest easy knowing his upper cylinders are essentially lubed for life, and he'll likely never have any upper cylinder wear.

not sure about the issue but i have 3 buddies that have have 1500 series pickups with the 5.3 and none of them burn any oil. I dont think there known as oil burners.

I'm with you all. I have never heard a thing about these motors burning any oil. I even used to own one myself and I was extremely happy with it.

So why are two different GM dealerships telling these two guys the same story? Is it lip service?

Just typical 'Factory Authorized Response',JJ,Tell him he'll always have a certain % of fresh oil.There's the upside.

Well I guess it makes sense then. I work for a parts distributor that deals mainly in exhaust. We are currently selling Catalytic Converters for these trucks like they are going out of style. logic would only tell me that it could be from all the oil being burnt off at start up... if there's any truth to this.

still not buying it.

This oil burning due to gms AFM?

You know that had completely slipped my mind. Anything is possible I guess... But how?

A quick google search shows some...although very few... complaining of the problem and going on to say they are getting rid of their trucks or giving up on trying to buy one. I am not going to join any forum to get an answer as it sounds like those guys don't know what they are talking about... compared to BITOG.

This is extremely popular on the 07 5.3.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=2007+5.3+oil

The ONLY real fix I have read about so far, is a full engine swap. Good luck getting GM to do that, they have a TON of 5.3's to swap!

Sorry to hear about your engine. I'm surprised there isn't more outrage here. GM is essentially pawning off a poor design onto customers.

Having had similar customer service/run-around issues with GM before, I can state that I will never, ever purchase another GM vehicle.

GM has the best heavy duty truck, bar none. It is their half ton lineup that needs a HUGE renovation as far as transmissions and engines go. The 5.3 is a dog, and so is the 4.3. Unfortunately they won't stuff the 3.6 in it as a base engine... that and unfortunately they don't have a whole new engine to replace the aged 5.3.

Cobalt, malibu, Aveo, Colorado... all terrible vehicles, falls to the stereotype of "American Made" vehicles.