GM 2.0 Turbo LTG oil consumption (2015 Malibu 2.0 LTZ)

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by metroplex
Originally Posted by ls1mike
Was it 2 or 3 quarts. Oil light should come on at about 2 quarts low. Was the low oil light on?

How long was the old oil in there?

The 2.0t folks have complained about oil consumption with the Amsoil, but not with Mobil 1 or Pennzoil.


She had a oil change sticker from the Belle Tire shop that changed it last, and the mileage was fairly close to when I changed it. The oil light never came on, but the reason I say it was about 2-3 qt low is that I used windshield wiper fluid gallon jugs to collect the old oil. The book said 5 quarts of 5W-30 with filter change. What I collected was a lot less than the full jug. Saying it was 4 quarts / 1 gallon is a stretch, more like maybe 3 quarts. Normally when I change the oil on an application that needs 5 quarts, I will fill that gallon jug and then fill some of the other jug. I was able to only get a lot less than 4 quarts even draining the filter dry.

Do you have any links to complaints about consumption with Amsoil? She claimed the dealers and Belle Tire used M1 5W-30 in the past. It was the first time I used Amsoil in this engine based on her recommendation.

I will find them again. It was on the Camaro and Cadillac board...Us Malibu owners are too cheap to use Amsoil….

LOL

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted by metroplex
I'm working on a 2015 Malibu LTZ with the 2LT package that has the 2.0 LTG Engine (GTDI).

Original owner, claims she had the oil changed based on oil life monitor each time with Mobil 1 synthetic. Currently has 73,000 miles. I changed her oil and filter with Amsoil SS 5W-30 and an Amsoil Ea filter at 68,000 miles. The oil that came out at 68,000 was super black and about 3 quarts low. At 5,000 miles, her engine is about the same level low (on the dipstick) so I'm guesstimating 2-3 quarts low. But this is with Amsoil SS 5W-30.


It's not going to matter what is in the sump if the engine is allowed to routinely get that low, which sounds like is the case. She's not checking the oil, so your best bet, if you can't convince her to check it, is to just change it more frequently.

 

[metroplex]

Originally Posted by Rand
Originally Posted by metroplex
[ge the oil on an application that needs 5 quarts, I will fill that gallon jug and then fill some of the other jug. I was able to only get a lot less than 4 quarts even draining the filter dry.


so it was really 1 to 1.5quarts low? or is that the new math?

If you could see the oil on the dipstick it wasnt 2 quarts low.

The add mark is 1 quart low.


It wasn't anywhere close to the cross-hatched area. I'd say 2 quarts low at a minimum. I'll pour in some make-up oil and find out for sure this time around.

 

[metroplex]

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Originally Posted by metroplex
I'm working on a 2015 Malibu LTZ with the 2LT package that has the 2.0 LTG Engine (GTDI).

Original owner, claims she had the oil changed based on oil life monitor each time with Mobil 1 synthetic. Currently has 73,000 miles. I changed her oil and filter with Amsoil SS 5W-30 and an Amsoil Ea filter at 68,000 miles. The oil that came out at 68,000 was super black and about 3 quarts low. At 5,000 miles, her engine is about the same level low (on the dipstick) so I'm guesstimating 2-3 quarts low. But this is with Amsoil SS 5W-30.


It's not going to matter what is in the sump if the engine is allowed to routinely get that low, which sounds like is the case. She's not checking the oil, so your best bet, if you can't convince her to check it, is to just change it more frequently.


I agree, and tell her frequently to perform these checks.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by metroplex
I'm working on a 2015 Malibu LTZ with the 2LT package that has the 2.0 LTG Engine (GTDI).

Original owner, claims she had the oil changed based on oil life monitor each time with Mobil 1 synthetic. Currently has 73,000 miles. I changed her oil and filter with Amsoil SS 5W-30 and an Amsoil Ea filter at 68,000 miles. The oil that came out at 68,000 was super black and about 3 quarts low. At 5,000 miles, her engine is about the same level low (on the dipstick) so I'm guesstimating 2-3 quarts low. But this is with Amsoil SS 5W-30. When I first changed the Amsoil, the dipstick oil still looked black. Usually after a new oil change, the oil is clear/amber. There is signs of sludge/coking on the dipstick as well.

The engine runs smooth and fast, but it also seems qualitatively hot. I can't touch the dipstick unless I wait like an hour after shutting off the engine. My other GTDI engines (Ford EcoBoost) don't have this problem.

I read about piston failures due to "misfire" on the earlier ATS's with the same engine. Supposedly the Camaro has a different LTG engine.

Any ideas?

I'm thinking about going to 10W-30 or maybe a 10W-40/5W-40 oil from Amsoil, or perhaps Rotella T6 5W-40.


What did you pay for that vehicle? If not dirty-cheap, I would have passed on buying it.
When you first looked at it, you should have asked her to open the hood. I would bet she didn't know where to look inside the vehicle - plus outside the vehicle - plus didn;t know how to secure the hood from falling back down.

 

[addyguy]

If it were me, I'd buy an inexpensive syn-blend, like Pennzoil Gold, and run several 3k OCI's to see if I could clean it out a bit, and get consumption down.

If the oil wasn't right off the dipstick, and you never got a red oil light, there probably wasn't much damage done...these engines just use oil. Keep a closer eye on it.

 

[BigCahuna]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by BigCahuna
My wife has a 2011 Equinox 4 cyl, and it has the same consumption problem. it uses 1/2 a qt in about 750 miles. Doesn't matter who's oil or what weight. There's alot on it on the net about that motor and oil consumption. It boils down to bad engineering and design right from the factory. If you don't have it fixed under warranty, which they make you jump the hoops and play games with running back & forth to the dealer, to having them officially say it consumes too much oil, they act like they never heard of the problem and want you to pay to fix it. I'll never buy another GM product after this piece of junk.,,,

Your wife's engine is a 2.4 which shares nothing with the 2.0 LTG.
It shares the same oil consumption problem.,,

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by BigCahuna
Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by BigCahuna
My wife has a 2011 Equinox 4 cyl, and it has the same consumption problem. it uses 1/2 a qt in about 750 miles. Doesn't matter who's oil or what weight. There's alot on it on the net about that motor and oil consumption. It boils down to bad engineering and design right from the factory. If you don't have it fixed under warranty, which they make you jump the hoops and play games with running back & forth to the dealer, to having them officially say it consumes too much oil, they act like they never heard of the problem and want you to pay to fix it. I'll never buy another GM product after this piece of junk.,,,

Your wife's engine is a 2.4 which shares nothing with the 2.0 LTG.
It shares the same oil consumption problem.,,

That is not true, search the ATS/CTS/Camaro/Malibu boards
13 had a piston problem which was warrantied that did cause oil consumption.

Mine has not used a drop in 60,000 miles with 5,000 mile change intervals.

2.0 Oil consumption

2.4 oil consumption

Big Difference. The 2.0 is not an oil eater. Show me where you are seeing this.

In fact you can search each platform with the 2.0 and you come up the 3.6 and 6.2 using oil. 2 threads about a Malibu 2.0 and they are on this board and some about the 13's

 

[va2001ss]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by BigCahuna
Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by BigCahuna
My wife has a 2011 Equinox 4 cyl, and it has the same consumption problem. it uses 1/2 a qt in about 750 miles. Doesn't matter who's oil or what weight. There's alot on it on the net about that motor and oil consumption. It boils down to bad engineering and design right from the factory. If you don't have it fixed under warranty, which they make you jump the hoops and play games with running back & forth to the dealer, to having them officially say it consumes too much oil, they act like they never heard of the problem and want you to pay to fix it. I'll never buy another GM product after this piece of junk.,,,

Your wife's engine is a 2.4 which shares nothing with the 2.0 LTG.
It shares the same oil consumption problem.,,

That is not true, search the ATS/CTS/Camaro/Malibu boards
13 had a piston problem which was warrantied that did cause oil consumption.

Mine has not used a drop in 60,000 miles with 5,000 mile change intervals.

2.0 Oil consumption

2.4 oil consumption

Big Difference. The 2.0 is not an oil eater. Show me where you are seeing this.

In fact you can search each platform with the 2.0 and you come up the 3.6 and 6.2 using oil. 2 threads about a Malibu 2.0 and they are on this board and some about the 13's


Agree^ My 2.0T (LTG) doesn't burn oil either. I have used a 5k OCI since new.

 

[metroplex]

I filled it with 1 quart and it looks like it could take another 0.5 qt or so. It was definitely more on the dipstick than before, so the last oil change was definitely 2-3 quarts low.

I replaced the 2 cam cover breathers and the PCV (the one that connects directly to the turbo) but the nylon hose connecting the braided SS to the PCV shattered from being so brittle. It was not easy to change as it required some way to pry it out of the cam cover. Doing so breaks the PCV so there is no way to re-use your stock PCV. In addition, removing the nylon hose requires one of those fuel coupler tools but most are too thick to fit into the spot. But underneath that PCV was basically an exposed oil bath. There was no baffling or mesh to reduce oil vapor flow. Ford's PCV valves on the EcoBoost are almost always part of a factory oil to air separator assembly built into the cam cover.

 

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
I think there are some subjective readings here. The engine should be running at about 210 deg F. If you have a temp gun, you could get a few shots to confirm.The temp of the dipstick is a function of what is positioned next to the tube. Is the tube running past the metal cover over any of the exhaust plumbing? That would cause the tube to be hot and stay hot longer. Being that the oil is three quarts low would contribute to a higher oil temp for sure. This lady was not ever checking or adding oil and the engine loaded up with carbon. A few more oil changes will help with that. Thanks for the post. Interesting issue.

Be careful - - the engine exterior will be MUCH HOTTER than 210!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[metroplex]

I pulled the breather tube that connects to the air intake tube in front of the turbo and inspected the air intake tube... There is a lot of oil there. The turbo seems to be ingesting a bunch of oil from that hose as it is all saturated.

I bought a new PCV hose for the turbo connection, but I cannot seem to remove the metal fitting at the turbo.

 

[Ram02]

You should try the new corvette spec Mobil 1 0w40 ESP in the Malibu 2.0T. They will help with the oil burning

 

[metroplex]

Interesting, it seems like the 2018 Vette manual still calls for dexos1 but 2019 LT1/LT4 uses Dexos2 0W-40.

 

[metroplex]

The only thing I can think of that might help resolve this oil consumption would be the Mishimoto catch can kit for the Camaro, but no one seems to have adapted it for the transverse engines yet.

The Mishimoto routes the crankcase into a baffled can, so the breather hose that connects to the air inlet of the turbo is post-baffled.

 

[metroplex]

Just an update:

I replaced the 3 PCV valves that can be accessed (there's another PCV inside the intake manifold that isn't normally changed) along with a new PCV hose that goes to the turbo (stock plastic shattered upon removal, new one is revised and has flex looming). I changed the oil in her LTG just recently (7900 miles). I had to use 1 qt makeup oil to bring it to the full mark (just at the 3 dots) a few weeks prior, and it had dropped down just below the hatch mark. So basically I should have gotten 6 qt of oil drained out (assuming no consumption). What came out was maybe 3-4 qt (didn't come close to filling up a gallon wiper fluid jug). I did not change the filter as it is an Amsoil Ea 15k filter (I plan to run it through at least 1 or 2 change intervals). My estimate is that it used about 2 quarts of oil in approximately 8000 miles (probably within some OEM's spec). The engine now has 77k miles. My guess is that most if not all the oil consumption is from the oil getting sucked into the turbo via the crankcase breather tube (the braided hose going to the air intake hose). My Cobalt SS Turbo (LNF) has a check-valve on this hose, the LTG does not have this check-valve.

This time, I took note of the quantity of oil and the level on the dipstick. At 3 quarts, the oil is at the very bottom of the dipstick (the flat part up to the twisted part). At 4 quarts, it is about an inch from the hatch marking. At 5 qt it is at the 3 dots.

Good news is that this time around, the dipstick oil was clear (like new clear) when the fresh oil was poured in. At the last change, the fresh oil still looked very dark on the dipstick. There is noticeable sludging on the dipstick and under the oil filler cap. I used brake cleaner and scrubbed the dipstick and oil filler cap and will keep an eye on it. She claimed it had received Mobil 1 oil changes at the dealership and at Belle Tire.

 

[kevjam79]

Has anyone noticed that dipstick reads differently front to back? This to me is abnormal for GM vehicles. Am I seeing an abnormal condition? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[metroplex]

Originally Posted by kevjam79
Has anyone noticed that dipstick reads differently front to back? This to me is abnormal for GM vehicles. Am I seeing an abnormal condition? Any help is greatly appreciated!


I noticed the same thing. I think the tube curves into the block at one point more aggressively than on other cars.

BTW on this current oil change, it's about 5500 miles in with Amsoil 5W-30 and it already needed about 1.5 qt of makeup oil. Engine has almost 92k miles now.

 

[demarpaint]

2-3 quarts low indicates neglect to me. I wonder how long the OCIs were following the OLM? As much as I don't like OLM, and ignore both of mine, I can't point a finger of blame at them because the engine imo was neglected. I'd run it on Mobil 1 ESP 0W40 if it were mine.

 

[metroplex]

I changed the oil at 94.5k miles with fresh Castrol Edge 0W-40 and a fresh AC Delco PF64. It now has nearly 98k miles (owner drives it a lot) with the miles driven in 2 weeks, and the oil warning light came on. Owner showed me pics of the dipstick, and the oil level was about 2 qt low. The car was not raced or anything, just driven in mixed conditions. I was planning to perform another oil change at 6000 mile interval.

Engine runs fine, gets 22-23 mpg in mixed driving (was getting about 30 mpg average for a cross-country trip) and was seeing 35 mpg coming down Beartooth Pass.

I still can't figure out where/why the oil is being consumed in this manner. There's no visible leakage.