Ecotec 2.4 consumption went down

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Hoping it's not just a fluke, but wife's troublesome 2013 Equinox that was consuming about 1quart/2000 miles seems to have gone way down. Was running Valvoline Full Synthetic (formerly Synpower), but couldn't really justify the price for its appetite. On a whim I used plain old Pennzoil 5W-30 at the last change, and I'm amazed that consumption has gone way down. It's also getting quite dark. Maybe it was a sticky ring and it's cleaning things up? Thinking I'll change it again at 3000 since the OLM usually goes 6000.
 
This is not the first time I have heard of conventional oil reducing oil consumption (compared to synthetic) but I have yet to find a technical explanation that can explain this behavior.
 
I've always felt Valvoline is a better oil in terms of wear protection but does so at the cost of not having the cleaning ability of some other oils. Pennzoil is better at keeping engine clean but doesn't have the best wear protection in my opinion. I think there a trade off and the motor oil companies choose what they think is best. Some of the Valvoline UOA's I've seen are spectacular. Some engines may favor a better cleaning motor oil and some don't.
 
I am not an engineer but I suspect that the smaller molecules found in syn oil get more easily past the rings and valve seals. In the past I have also noted that syn oil is consumed a bit quicker than conventional. Also, syn will leak out of small cracks and crevices more easily than conventional. At least this has been my experience.
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
I've always felt Valvoline is a better oil in terms of wear protection but does so at the cost of not having the cleaning ability of some other oils. Pennzoil is better at keeping engine clean but doesn't have the best wear protection in my opinion. I think there a trade off and the motor oil companies choose what they think is best. Some of the Valvoline UOA's I've seen are spectacular. Some engines may favor a better cleaning motor oil and some don't.

Does not have the best wear protection -- yeah ok!! Settle down there King Elentra 6 speed!!! LOL
 
Originally Posted by Dave Sherman
Hoping it's not just a fluke, but wife's troublesome 2013 Equinox that was consuming about 1quart/2000 miles seems to have gone way down. Was running Valvoline Full Synthetic (formerly Synpower), but couldn't really justify the price for its appetite. On a whim I used plain old Pennzoil 5W-30 at the last change, and I'm amazed that consumption has gone way down. It's also getting quite dark. Maybe it was a sticky ring and it's cleaning things up? Thinking I'll change it again at 3000 since the OLM usually goes 6000.

The newer Valvoline Advanced is a better product than Synpower. I run Valvoline, Pennzoil or Mobil-1 EP.
That engine brings plenty of consumption complaints here. The idea to shorten the OCIs is a good one.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
This is not the first time I have heard of conventional oil reducing oil consumption (compared to synthetic) but I have yet to find a technical explanation that can explain this behavior.
SonofJoe wrote about conventionals, especially Group I, having greater solvency, as I recall.
 
I've noticed my old cars consuming MUCH less with dino but op's car is 2013.
Aren't the newer cars supposedly "designed" with syn in mind?

This is one theory :
I think syn molecules are uniform and little and more of them can escape ...
Dino molecules are not uniform and bigger ones stick around while the little ones may escape ... So you will have less escaping and more staying. You see what I mean?

since we are taking about molecules, maybe MolaKule can elaborate
grin2.gif


Originally Posted by walterjay
I am not an engineer but I suspect that the smaller molecules found in syn oil get more easily past the rings and valve seals. In the past I have also noted that syn oil is consumed a bit quicker than conventional. Also, syn will leak out of small cracks and crevices more easily than conventional. At least this has been my experience.
 
Originally Posted by Dave Sherman
Hoping it's not just a fluke, but wife's troublesome 2013 Equinox that was consuming about 1quart/2000 miles seems to have gone way down. Was running Valvoline Full Synthetic (formerly Synpower), but couldn't really justify the price for its appetite. On a whim I used plain old Pennzoil 5W-30 at the last change, and I'm amazed that consumption has gone way down. It's also getting quite dark. Maybe it was a sticky ring and it's cleaning things up? Thinking I'll change it again at 3000 since the OLM usually goes 6000.


This is a known issue with the 2010-2013 Terrains/Equinox. The 2010-2012 Terrains were covered under a special warranty for this exact problem, I believe that after the class action lawsuit the 2013 is now covered for 7 years or 120,000 miles. I had my 2011 Terrain fixed under this special coverage and it no longer burns oil and runs great. You should look into getting this done to your Terrain, it will fix this problem.
 
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Originally Posted by Matt1980

This is a known issue with the 2010-2013 Terrains/Equinox. The 2010-2012 Terrains were covered under a special warranty for this exact problem, I believe that after the class action lawsuit the 2013 is now covered for 7 years or 120,000 miles. I had my 2011 Terrain fixed under this special coverage and it no longer burns oil and runs great. You should look into getting this done to your Terrain, it will fix this problem.


We did look into it, even received the letter with our VIN saying we were eligible if we were consuming oil. Dealer begs to differ and says we're not covered. One problem; I gave the oil change receipts to my wife to keep with the paperwork for her car, but she didn't keep them, so I might have a hard time proving I changed the oil except for the dates and mileage I wrote down. Also bought it secondhand, and the only documentation we had for previous oil changes was the Carfax report.
 
Originally Posted by Dave Sherman
Originally Posted by Matt1980

This is a known issue with the 2010-2013 Terrains/Equinox. The 2010-2012 Terrains were covered under a special warranty for this exact problem, I believe that after the class action lawsuit the 2013 is now covered for 7 years or 120,000 miles. I had my 2011 Terrain fixed under this special coverage and it no longer burns oil and runs great. You should look into getting this done to your Terrain, it will fix this problem.


We did look into it, even received the letter with our VIN saying we were eligible if we were consuming oil. Dealer begs to differ and says we're not covered. One problem; I gave the oil change receipts to my wife to keep with the paperwork for her car, but she didn't keep them, so I might have a hard time proving I changed the oil except for the dates and mileage I wrote down. Also bought it secondhand, and the only documentation we had for previous oil changes was the Carfax report.

This is why I purchase my oils and various filters online (Walmart and rockauto) and keep the proof of purchases in an Gmail specially-named email folder.
No physical paperwork to hang-on to. The OC mileage and installation date are in the back of the owners manual. Every manual I owned has a few blank pages for Notes.
 
I assume you brought that letter from the GM to the dealer, past oil changes are irrelevant. you should go to the fourms over at https://www.terrainforum.net/. They helped me a lot when I had this problem. I took the letter GM sent me, I also made an account https://my.gmc.com/home/?sso=false confirming my car was eligible for the fix. I brought both those things to the dealer and they knew immediately what my problem was and only required that I do a oil consumption test before they start the work. I had to pay the dealership to change my oil, then they required that I bring it back every 500-1000 miles so they can check the oil level. If the vehicle burns 1.25 qts in 2000 miles then you quality and the dealer will fix your equinox. This is exactly how the vast majority of people over at the terrain forums had to proceed to get this done, A few people like you had dealerships that gave them the run around. If at all possible find another GMC dealership in your area and try again. Like I said I got lucky in that my dealership had already done dozens of these jobs and knew of the issue so my process was a piece of cake.
 
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