exactly what i was thinking.... i work for nissan, so i have access to bulletins like this one which got me thinking! what the hell did they find and change? i mean, i work for nissan and i cant even get that info. wtf..

......... and if it is anything like the 2006 OC issues (of which I was an unwilling participant :rolleyes:) , they won't tell you what changed or what was done............ that would admit there was actually a problem and risks widespread demands from the customers :ugh2:

yup yup

OK. I am prety thick here. I read my manual and found where the serial number should be. Well, I do not think you can read the serial number of the engine without binoculars (one would need need to lift the car and use mirrrors).

Lifting the hood, so far my replacement engine (on my 09 car) has a serial number of ???6757A. I could not make the first few characters.

:eek: That is completely incorrect.

How so? I've built full race engines with huge clearances and they've maybe consumed a quart of oil in a 3000 mile interval. We're seeing factory-fresh engines here with tight emissions-and-paper-performance-oriented clearances consuming twice that. How is that acceptable?

try driving a rotary

I wasn't commenting on how much oil consumption is acceptable - I was commenting on the statement that cars produced over the last 30 years are not supposed to consume any oil in between oil changes. Here's the poster's statement that I was replying to:

That statement is completely untrue. No manufacturer, nor anyone who knows anything about cars produced in the last 5 years (much less 30), will state as fact that cars are not supposed to consume oil between oil changes. Yes, manufacturing tolerances are much better these days than in yesteryear, but not good enough to completely eliminate oil consumption.

No offense, I don't know people's ages here, but I bet that in general it's the "older" crowd (which includes me) that thinks it's laughable that you don't need to check the oil level between oil changes and that it's the "younger" crowd who thinks otherwise (although I could certainly be wrong).

I saw the thread on the 350z OC. I found it very very intriguing and interesting.

We have a bunch of 09 owners and I am wondering if it is time to start a poll on mileage and how much oil is being used by the 09s.

I got a 370z with less than 10k and is drinking oil. Finally after 2 oil consumption tests she is getting a short block in it. They said it will take 4 days to install and they will call me when the parts are at the dealer. I don't know about having a brand new car with a fixed engine. I'm not happy about it.

I purchased my 370 in May 2009. Unknown build date, but I think it is 03/09. The question I have is - why is it that at 25,000 miles, my engine (very thankfully) consumes less than 1/2 qt in 5000mi? I broke every single rule in the book during break-in and have driven it like a complete ******* since day 1.

The transmission was replaced under warranty, but the engine in my car is 100% bulletproof as far as I can tell.

Not rubbing it in, but what gives. Is there a definite cause that's been pinned down? Is it the rings leaking or valve seats?

Late,
Trav

NO one knows.

As oppose to you, I have religiously followed the break in period restrictions for 1200 miles. My usual driving habit is pretty aggressive. I have also just crossed 26,000 miles (Synthetic oil since 3,600 miles). My Z is running fine with no oil consumption and recently got a certification from BLACKSTONE LAB that everything is A-OK!

No one really knows what's the cause ....

Blackstone labs has had good things to say about my Z also, until the last oil report, when lead was elevated. In about 500mi, I'm going to send another sample in to see if that has improved. Worrisome. Castrol Syntec 0W-30 since 4500 miles on mine with zero issues.

Late,
Trav

[QUOTE=antennahead;147533]Got me paranoid, especially after owning an '06 OC Z. Just checked the oil level, 2500 miles since the first oil change, 4500 miles total on the car. Level was just below half, approaching 2/3 down from High.........

Wow ......I check my oil at least once a week.....and top it off if needed. Read the manual............if you dont top it off, you are running your engine with less oil than it is made to have to lubricate and cool your engine !!!

my advice, from working at a nissan dealer and seeing what happens... if u are not happy with a short block... complain and complain, go to the top. Go to the owner and if that doesn't work goto to nissan directly... i see it everyday.. people just keep complaing and eventually u get what u want.. unfortunately where i am at i end up heaving to do warranty work on cars that have 100k or more miles and are WELL out of warranty, my service manager just lies about the mileage, because the customer didn't take no for an answer. most people don't realize if u don't give up u will eventually get what u want especially at the dealer... they want/need u as a good customer.. If the motor isn't out yet u still have time! just go in and talk to them say u have done ur research and u know its a on goin problem and u want it done right... U WANT A LONG BLOCK... plain and simple..and follow the chain of command till u get to nissan directly...ive seen it before u can get what u want u just have to be persistent.. btw 4 days? are they letting the oil lube tech do it lol... i am pretty sure it pays 14 hrs warranty. and it can get done in one day even being a short block.... too bad all u guys live in cali id be hookin u all up lol

:iagree:

I too followed the break-in procedure religiously. The engine did use quite a bit of oil up until about 7000 kms. Now, at 10700 kms, it uses little to no oil.

Just my personal opinion, and I know it has been said by more than just me.... but people need to relax about this issue. Oil usage is very normal in the early life of any engine. Let the miles add up a bit and then see what is going on. Have your oil tested. If there's anything abnormal happening, the analysis will show it. I had mine analyzed at 9500 kms. Except for a high concentration of dirt (and that's a K&N issue), my engine showed exceptional results.

Please don't flame too hard. As I mentioned above, I'm not the only one who's saying... RELAX!!

Sage advice!! +1 rep!

:iagree:
The older crowd accept reality. The younger crowd.................get over it!

:bowrofl::iagree::roflpuke2:

By older crowd, do you mean "MORE EXPERIENCED" ?

:icon18:

Where do you draw the line? I've been driving for 30 years and I think a car requiring checks is ridiculous today. I don't check the water level in my battery either.

Well, as much as I loved my Z, I sold it.

I didn't want to deal with the oil consumption. Nor did I want to fight it out with the dealership, only to have a brand new car with a powertrain that had already been disassembled and reassembled.

Pretty disappointed. The handling was phenomenal, but the engine wasn't where it needed to be. When you add in the elevated engine temps and the throttle response...WTF? Moving on to something else... Damn.

:shakes head:

sorry to hear about that. good luck.

heres my personal experience.

bought car new 50 miles on. it now has 10,500.
don't know much about how to break one in just drove it normal.
will say i've had it reach red line twice and had it up to 105.
i know i walk on the wild side!!!!!!!!!!!! i drive mostly highway miles
back and forth to work. three oil changes with mobil 1.
have only had to add 1/4 quart of oil. and really didn't need that.
that was for my peace of mind. anyway sorry to ramble.

Glad to hear it.

I babied the car from day one. I don't think I ever even took it to WOT until 1800mi miles, or something like that. Changed to full synthetic at 1600mi. It was burning so much oil that sometimes I would wipe off soot from the back bumper. Ridiculous.

The real problem is - it's going to show up in more, or a replacement engine, after the warranty has run out. I'm not pissed, I'm just really disappointed and bummed out. I miss my car.

You know there's a Nissan TSB that applies to 2009 model year Z's, right?

Thread on Nissan oil consumption TSB

If your car falls under the TSB guidelines then there wouldn't be any fighting with the dealership - even if they balk, just contact the regional Nissan rep yourself.

I draw the line at making sure I check the oil level between oil changes... :)

You know, my g35 2003 had OC problems, replaced my motor at 99k and purchashed a used engine that also ate oil.. I was so ticked that i got rid of the car, I loved it but didnt want to deal with checking oil every 500 miles ...

traded up for the 370z, Now this car seems to eat some oil too ... I drive it hard occasionally but Im going to go in for a OC test to see what they say. Its not all that bad but it def uses a little oil... its upsetting because when you think of keeping a car long term dealing with O.C. is not something that makes you want to keep it.. and is unfortunate for who ends up with it after you...

Nissan's are notorious for this... my girls mothers i35 is the same thing with her vq35de , and she drives the car as easy as possible... its really not fair to the customer

Well, that sounds just like the kind of fun I want to have after buying a new car.

Then, after I go a few rounds with all of those folks, and their bosses, then give up my car for a week...then I can have a new car with a powertrain that's already been taken apart...

Don't get me wrong, because I love this car. But this is ******* unacceptable in this day and age. I don't want to deal with it, and I shouldn't have to.

Then, I thought... what happens when the replacement engine develops the same problem at 80k miles? Then where the **** am I?

Is there an actual Nissan TSB document? When I went for the rear hatch springs, there was a nice Nissan document that they could reference. It just seems like asking them to check SafeCar.gov is going to be met with resistance.

do you guys think that this problem of oil burning still exist on a 2010 model z or has nissan solved the problem????????????

You're not going to get an answer with any validity. Nissan may just be swapping the same engine design back in hoping lightning doesn't strike twice.

Yes!!!!!! I have seen it. This TSB is actually for the 370Z.

Then someone please post the link where I can print out the TSB that has a Nissan header at the top and an internal TSB reference number that my dealership can punch into their computer for lookup.

here ya go, i will get the bulletin number tomorrow and reply

Not that this matters much, but Nissan has a history of excessive oil consumption even with the V-8's. I bought a new 2002 Infiniti Q45 and it sucked oil like crazy. Seems it turned out to be a common complaint. They finally replaced the engine at 28,000 miles and there was considerable improvement. But as mentioned by others, that is not a real great experience either...it took several trips to get everything sorted out. Fortunately, my 370Z does not seem to have a major oil issue. I've got the fingers crossed.:ugh2:

The bulletin number is NTB-10-090.

You know...tho......as long as there are no other serious problems associated with the excessive oil consumption.........I am not going to worry about it.........Just keep the oil level topped off.......an so what........it dosent really cost that much to buy oil.....

Do you have smog-check in TN? We are just afraid that oil might be clogging the cats and we would fail the test! I wouldn't even tell you how much 2 cats cost!!!! YIKES!

About $300 on this site in the 'parts for sale' section. Frankly, I'd rather replace cats every 20k miles and a quart of oil every 1k than go through an engine swap at a Nissan dealer. The consumption would have to be REALLY excessive to make me go with an engine swap.

if everyone waited, then nobody in the past with the older VQ motors would have complained and a bulletin more than likely would not have been made up. Nissan has a history of oil consumption on these VQ engines, it's a fully legit concern IMO. If there was no track record, maybe not. It's not conjecture, and people with this issue should complain about it. If people do not complain, nothing ever gets fixed, how else would nissan know there's an issue to begin with? NO engine should consume that much oil during it's normal operation short of a rotary perhaps. Break in or no break in. The end.