370Z oil consumption

wilsonp

It doesn't sound normal if it continues - 1/2 qt at 200, means 2.5 qt every 1000 miles, way over the 1 qt per 1000 max.

fullmonty

ya that ain't kosher

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Totus44

An update for those with the excessive oil consumption issue. After Nissan replaced the short block (trying to get the photos that shows all the blow by past the seals) and going through yet another 1500 mi break-in period, I got the dreaded Service Engine Soon light. Took it into the dealer right away and they checked the code - valve timing issue. When they tried to reset the code the engine completely shut down and the techs could not restart the car....yes i was dumbfounded as well. First they wanted to replace the sensors....three days later i hear nothing. I told the service guy to go get one off a car in the lot and make sure that's the issue. well magically the parts arrive later that day and i'm told Nissan recommends replacing the long block now. I'm a little fed up as the original question I had was why not just replace the whole damn thing. So now i'm 12 days in a loaner, still a week away and in less than a year my car has been in the shop over a month and i'm going to have to go through a third nanny driving session.

Anybody have reasonable suggestions about going to nissan corporate and getting some relief? I'm beyond fustrated and i just want a car that works as it was intended.

blackflag

Jit13

wow I guess im going to hold off from buying one for now..

the_student

New oil change. 1500 miles later I'm down around 3/4 of a quart. After the oil change though I definitely pushed my car hard. Went on a mountain run plus a long drive two days after the change. I approx. did 450 mi that day. I also get on it a lot while driving to and from work and everytime I'm in it. Doesn't seem too bad to me.

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2009 370Z PW 6MT Base/Sport/KW/PWJDM/HKS...RIP.

2011 370Z PW 6MT Base/Sport...KW V3/HKS/TE37 SL/Clear Bra

Dwight Frye

My '09 has just shy of 9000 miles on it. Broke it in easy, first oil change at 1250 miles with Ester Oil, next change was at 5K miles with Redline 5W-30. It's been burning some oil, for the first 5K miles probably burned 1.5 quarts and has burned about 1.25 quarts since the last change. I check the level weekly which is about every 300 miles and it finally seems to be settling down. My previous car was an '04 G35 and it drank about 3/4 quart between changes which were every 3K miles using Castrol GTX or Pennzoil dino. So I think the guys who have VQ engines that use no oil are the exceptions. I could live with a quart every 5K miles and hoping that as the engine is more fully broken in that will be the average.

persian54

if the Z keeps burning this much oil... who ends up picking up the tap? the owner or the dealer?

I don't mean for the oil change, but for adding all this oil... if you are forced to add 1-1.5 qt every 1k miles.. that can add up..

FricFrac

You're joking right? If you can't afford to buy a quart of oil every 1000 miles you shouldn't be driving a new car.... wow.... Let's hope you never use more than a quarter throttle or you'll be after the dealership for excessive fuel consumption.....

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'09 370Z - '93 300ZX Vert - '83 280ZX - '83 280ZXT -'81 280ZXT stroker - '72 240Z - Stillen CBE, HFC, G3, Grounding Kit, Sways // Swift Spring // H&R 15mm // 5% Tint // Clear Bra //

persian54

I guess what I originally meant to say wasn't portrayed corrected:


From my little bit of reading on this forum (my knowledge on this engine is very minimal, even at best), consuming more than 1qt of oil every 1k miles is excessive.
Where it's lead to some owners getting several engines parts replaced, and in some cases even getting new engines.
How was diagnosis achieved?
By topping off and checking how much was burned correct?

Thus, for an engine to be burning excessive amounts of oil, and then needing excessive warranty repair (I feel that a new engine is as excessive as you can get), can't one blame Nissan for the 1qt/1k miles?

If it was standard for the Z to burn 1qt/1k miles, then that's a choice you make when purchasing the car.

However, if burning 1qt/1k Miles is NOT standard, and in fact a fault in the engine/Nissan design etc, then why should the owner be held accountable for the oil?


On my 335i, we don't have an oil consumption problem... except we have the High Pressure Fuel Pump.. which is worse IMHO as having a car shut down on you is dangerous, to say the least.

In the 19k and 14 months I've had my 335i, I've had 2 oil changes;
One covered under BMW warranty/maintenance, the other I did myself at 7500.
I think it's total BS to change oil at 12-15k, especially on a twin turbo car...
Maybe stock... but for a car pushing upwards of 430wtq... I wasn't going to wait until 12-15k
But... during all this time, I never needed to top off... and my car runs at 240 oil temp Daily driving, hitting 250-260 spirited driving, and 280+ on a hot track day.
But then again, these cars have completely different engines..
I was just surprised that for a car that burns oil at a much higher temp hasn't (don't mean doesn't, I can't speak for all owners) needed a top off..

and then again, not even all Z's seem to need top-offs... it seems just a few...

So, again sorry if what I originally said came off as incorrect; it's not that one can or cannot afford the qt, it's if it's worth it.

Esther oil is about 12/qt if I've read corrected?
If so, it puts it right around how much my oil costs me.

Thanks.

sonic370

To me the $64,000 question is how are these engines being treated?

If you are burning a quart of oil every 1000 miles and only driving it on the street normal than nissan needs to step up and replace entire motor.

on the other hand if you track your car or drive it like you stole it every time
you get behind the wheel.remember the old saying buyer beware.

FricFrac

Fair enough. My car was burning a lot of oil - around 2 liters per oil change. It seems to have calmed down now since my 18,000 km oil change. I was never too worried about it. If it remained an issue then I would have the engine replaced for free which to me is win/win other than a slight inconvenience of not having the car available to me.

I'm sure pretty much every vehicle made has some failure with the engine, etc. People with problems make the most noise. Unfortunately in this thread there is a LOT of people with "oil consumption issues" that haven't put enough mileage for the engine to be fully broken in. Some people are suggesting an engine isn't fully seated until 20,000 miles! For those who do have a real problem Nissan verifys and replaces. Is there really any issue here?

There are lots of comments about "oh my VehicleX never burnt a drop of oil!". So what? There are lots of other vehicles that do. Its very common for high compression engines to consume oil. If a liter or two of oil is an issue then don't buy this car. If you want what has been claimed as the best sports car value on the planet then buy a $17 gallon of Penzoil Platnium 5W30 and stick it on the shelf in the garage and do the minor maintainance of keeping your oil topped up and enjoy a fantastic sports car. It's amazing that for the very first year that the car was produced that there is virtually no problems with it.

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'09 370Z - '93 300ZX Vert - '83 280ZX - '83 280ZXT -'81 280ZXT stroker - '72 240Z - Stillen CBE, HFC, G3, Grounding Kit, Sways // Swift Spring // H&R 15mm // 5% Tint // Clear Bra //

mattjk

my engine burned a quart every 1k miles when it was new, up until about 4k. Now at 8900 miles, it doesn't burn any. I've been using regular 5w30 valvoline for break-in every 2k miles.

I'm going to wait a little longer to change to redline, but these engines just seem to burn oil when new. They just take a long time to seat the rings fully.

I also did not baby my engine, it drove it hard right off the lot. I am a firm believer in fast break-in = strong engine.

Totus44

It's now pretty common knowledge if you talk to Nissan service techs that there was a break-in, seals seating issue with a number of cars in '09.

The oil consumption test was done by Nissan service, they sealed the dip stick and the car was inspected every 1K, three times. Exceeding a 1QT was a failure. What triggered the test initiation for me was the car fail-safing into limp mode about 1K past my first oil change at 3750. It did this because the oil level was critically low.

The other tell tale sign you have this specific issue will the pressure of oil in your exhaust system, or as my wife described it...the garage smells like french fries, lol!

The new engine I've broken in harder as this was the third time (original, short block replacement, engine replacement). The '10 engine seems to be a big improvement. After to next post-service inspection i'll finally get to start doing some mods, having kept my Z bone stock throughout this ordeal.

Was it a pain, yes. But all I had to do with service to say the word "Toyota" and they got the point and bent other backwards to earn my business.

persian54

hmm. so no problems on the 10s?

So would it be worth it to buy a 10 vs a 9, even though it'll cost about 10-15% more?