Where Is The Oil Going??
 

Hi all, I know I have seen something on this before, however, I have done a search, and unable to find it. Long story short, I am on a maintence plan w/ my dealership, and they change the oil for free every 3750 miles. My concern is the car now has 7,500 miles on it, and over that course of time, I have had to add 2 quarts before each oil change. I have never owned a car that has required this, and I am wondering if something might be wrong. I drive with purpose every now and again, however, most of the miles logged on the car are highway. Can someone please tell me what is up?? Thanks!
:tiphat:
Be Safe!

Is this your first new car? 2 quarts in 7500 miles is nothing to worry about.

Agreed. In some BMWs, you have to put a quart of oil after each long trip :icon14: . One of my friend (sunsational04), took a 500 miles road trip (500 going and 500 coming back) and had to put a quart in when she came back. Many ///M drivers put half to full quart of oil in their BMW every month! So, 2 quarts in 7500 miles isn't too bad IMO.

The 2006 350Z MT has an oil consumption problem. Even a TSB was out, so I hope this is not the case for the 370Z. Nissan should already learned their lesson after replacing a few engines on the 2006s.

There have been more than a few threads on this..Seems to not be an issue except in a few rare circumstances. 2 here (I think) have had motors replaced for consumption of more than a quart per 1000 after Nissan performed a consumption test.... A few also got new motors due to a parts failure and related catatrophic oil loss...

It's certainly not the norm..

Short answer...

It goes out the tailpipe. Its normal.

But too much of it will choke the cat convertor.

No, this is not my first new car, it is actually my 3rd. And no, I have never seen anything like this before. I have a couple friends who have vettes, camaros, mustangs, etc..., and all of them sounded very alarmed when I told them/they saw it. None of them have ever reported such problems. I also asked a shop mechanic in the firehouse to look at it, and he too showed concern about this issue. 2 quarts in 3000 miles is normal? It is not two quarts in 7500 miles, it is 4 quarts in 7500 miles!

You are refering to 350s not 370s, right?

Enjoy!
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...-far-down.html

I don't think 2 quarts in 3,000 miles is normal for a newer car. Most newer cars will never see this much oil burning, esp with only 5 quarts to begin with.

The standard 1 quart per 1,000 miles is usually for older cars with some mileage.

What are you complaining about? Its a great feature. Just keep adding fresh oil and you won't ever have to pay $85 oil changes at the dealer. :D. ;)

2qts in 3K miles sounds excessive. Mine consumed about 1/4 qt in about 1.3K miles.

Alright, so the general feeling that I am getting here is that the engine is consuming a bit more oil than it should.... How do I approach Nissan about this? I tired the first time that this occured, however, the shop rep. said he was going to "write it off as break in"......

I replaced 3/4 Qt at 600 miles. Since then (now at 1200 miles) I have not replaced one drop.

Questions for you, how did you break it in? Did you follow the manufacturer's recommendation and keep it under 4000 rpm for the first 1200 miles? Did you vary your rpm's as much as possible? What oil are you using to replace the oil in the crankcase?

You used a bad word "break in"... :stirthepot:

Oil Consumption
:worship:

:icon17: :roflpuke2: :icon17:

It became a break-in thread in almost 1 complete page.

i havent burned a drop in 2k, and i didnt follow any break in procedure, i just drove it normally like i do every other day in any other car. i think us sitting back and taking it in the *** accepting this oil consumption issue isn't a good thing. believing its a "normal" occurrence just allows manufacturers to take advantage of people ignorance. people need to demand that these cars are built better, for christs sake, these arent worn out engines. 2 qts between oil changes, thats ludicrous!

My motor was replaced due to oil consumption. Burnt almost 2 qts per 1000 miles.

Try Google....1 quart may be considered as normal by some auto manufacturer. In any case good luck.

These are very high compresion engines - we're getting almost 100 HP/liter which was unheard of from a N/A not too long ago. Corvettes normal consumption is up to a liter per 1000 miles. First off the car is still breaking in. Secondly if you are concerned about it get Nissan to do an oil consumption check and they'll tell you if the engine needs replacement.

Its funny if the engine was designed to not burn a drop of oil but wore out right after the warranty expired people would be up in arms. Nissan designs a high performance engine that by design consumes some oil but doesn't blow up and people are still up in arms. You can't have it both ways....

Oh and for the bazillionth person who says "my Honda Civic never burnt a drop of oil" or whatever other car you drove - if it was so freaking awesome WHY DID YOU GET RID OF IT! If you can afford a 370Z surely you can afford an extra quart of oil every other month.....

On another note for those who are interested it seems the VQ engines consume more oil when you are using the engine back presure as a brake (eg coasting down a hill in second with the revs up). Just FYI....

:iagree:...However, they probably won't take this seriously until the 1qt/1000 mile mark... Chances are your burn rate will reduce.

You need to do your own consumption test...Did you check it after the dealer oil change? Assuming it was up to the full mark may not be right. Lets say they shorted you a quart...You're then Adding one more between changes plus the second for the shortage. This would certainly not be out of line. Top it up, note the miles, and keep track. I'd bet your consumption will prove to be less than you think it is..

i changed my oil at 3250 to Mobil 1. checked the level at about 5000 and it was still right on the high mark. checked it again a couple days ago at about 6400 miles and it was still right on the high mark.

even the oil that came with my car didn't have much burn off at all. checked right about 2800 before a road trip, needed like 1/4 qt. to put it at the full mark.

Yes, I did follow the break in procedures. Not to the letter, but I did baby the car for a little bit. I have checked the oil when I got it back from the dealership, and it was full at that time. I check it every time (or every other time) I fill up. I generally don't downshift to get the braking effect, unless it is a very steep/long hill. I am going to call up Nissan and ask for an oil consumption test I guess..... I am sorry, but I do not see how a brand new car is burning 4 quarts of oil in less than 10,000 miles. I haven't tore up too many back roads this oil change, and it has really all been highway driving....

I'm kind of surprised by all of the comments calling oil usage "normal". Maybe this is a just a Nissan thing that I'm unaware of.
I drove mostly Toyotas up until I bought my 350 3 1/2 years ago and NEVER used oil. The last Toyota that I drove was a Celica GTS with 11.5 to 1 compression and 100 hp per liter. I drove it for 90,000 miles and never put any oil in except during oil changes. With today's technology being what it is, oil use should never be a problem. Maybe I'm just dreaming.

Nothing is perfect. Every engine, and the drive cycles it is put through by the owners, are different. It is generally a small percentage of any production engines that have an issue. Believe it or not, some Toyotas and Hondas burn oil as well, and many Nissans, like the majority here, burn none..

Honda + VTEC = burning oil.

a friend with an RSXS says that if he hits it hard for a month he can lose up to a qt.

I agree. All of my past Honda's (NSX/S2000/Civic Si/Integra) burned oil. It must have been the VTEC :-D

I don't think there is any TSB out for the 370Z concerning this oil issue. Before any TSB is out for this, is going to take the customer to take the car to the service department and get it documented. Probabbly even write the Nissan Co. because a lot of dealer are not going to do $hit and ignore the issue.

UH.....That could be because there's NOT an issue.....


http://images26.fotki.com/v893/photo...27/jeez-vi.jpg

When there are enough complaints, and documentation, to the dealers and Nissan North America, only then will you see a TSB!

I don't think anyone is saying that its bad car nor do i think that the issue is related to spending a few bucks to top off oil.

A car that burns that much oil when new might have developed some internal engine problems. Its definitely not the norm for a new 370z to burn almost a quart/1000 miles. Although anything up to that is "normal" by the book, If you are near that 1 Qt/1000 miles, you are already at the maximum threshold and our cars are still new. That is disconcerting for many. What if at 37,000 miles when his car is out of warranty, he starts burning 1.5quarts/1000 miles? Now he needs a new engine and would have to pay out of pocket. Therefore, my recommendation to the original poster is:

1. Go to the dealer and get them to document that this is something you have observed. Setup a schedule where you and the dealer regularly check in and record oil usage. During this time, don't do any of your own oil changes. Just go to the dealer, that way they cant say it was your fault. Also let them perform any topping off.

2. After you hit 1qt/1k, tell them that this is a new car that is fully broken in, that already has reached the maximum threshold of "normal usage". Given that from here it will only get worse, ask them to perform further tests and replace the engine if necessary. Keep bugging them about it.

3. Make sure you break the car in properly before attempting item #2.

FWIW, my car has 8k miles on it and it burns zero and I mean zero oil.

Mine was using oil, but it appears that the usage may be declining. I hope the trend continues.

1 quart first 1200 miles
2/3 quart next 1200 miles
1/2 quart next 1300 miles

I'm down 1/2 qt. in the past 3700 miles since the last oil change. Not too bad.

Your average current consumption of 1 qt for every 1750 miles may not be normal but it is not a cause for concern either, at least not yet. Manufacturers will not recognize oil consumption a problem until it increases to a quart or greater per 1000 miles as has already been stated. If your car is still preforming normally then I wouldn't worry about it. Your just out of pocket a few extra bucks between oil changes. If your car's performance diminishes there may be a co-relation with your oil consumption. Keep an eye on that also.

Checking the oil when you fill up is probably not a good idea as the oil does not have a much of a chance of draining properley in the small amount of time at the service station. Best thing is to check it on a level ground first thing in the morning to get a more indicative reading.

Your checking it after warming up the engine, right?

Why would you do that? You don't get a proper oil reading after running the engine. I've NEVER checked the oil after running the engine.

Just chill out and keep an eye on the oil levels. Man up, be a good owner and take maintenance upon yourself. Oil burn will slow down as you rack up the mileage. At 15,000 miles I no longer burn a material amount of oil. But oil levels should be checked often.

Imo, check your oil every weekend when you check your tire pressures. You guys check tire pressure, right?