excessive oil consumption solved*

From my parent's '58 VW Owner's Manual:




Didn't see any mention of oil consumption rates.

 

I don’t see any mention of ZDDP either, but it’s good to add it to those engines.

 

:-|

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Once more then I'm done.

The definition of "excessive oil consumption" is not included in owner's manuals because it would scare potential buyers.
It IS included the the warranty documents that generally are available only to dealers.

And no, I'm not going to waste my time doing research for those who are too lazy to do it themselves.

Anything mechanical wears.
Sometimes a part is not exactly right and it wears faster.
Sometimes there is a design flaw with a new design.

The MANUFACTURERS set the standards for their warrantys; NOT the purchasers.

You don't have to like it.
Starting flame wars in places like this accomplishes nothing.

And yes, back when I drove my vehicles until the wheels fell off......sometimes literally......every one of them gradually used more oil as they aged. When it got up to around a quart every thousand miles, that was a good clue to start shopping.

 

OK ... information only available to dealers. I get it now.

Now I've never driven any vehicle until the wheels fell off. I'm sure I would have maintained it better than that. I have however, put a lot of miles on a lot of cars. None of my cars ever burned any oil. I do understand that numerous other engines may have had oil-burning problems. Most of those problems, when realized by the manufacturers, were fixed or eliminated. I myself have rebuilt a number of engines to repair some of those engines.

In 1970 Chevrolet produced an interesting car called the "Vega". This car had an aluminium block engine. A real piece of junk that turned out to be. As it was, that block would score up and burn oil profusely. Guys that didn't want to just throw the car away, which was the easiest remedy, found that the block could be bored out and fitted with steel sleeves. That worked really well. You could also build a nice performance engine starting with that block. Buick went on to continuing to use that same block, now with steel sleeves, for numerous years.

Anyway ... there is NO flame war going on here. NO cars are made expecting to burn oil. NO manufacturer would just go out and do that. Does a tiny amount get consumed through regular combustion? ... Sure ... but not really excessive measurable amounts. I'm talking < +/-2 ounces between oil changes.

Automobile engines expecting to burn oil in the amounts listed previously in this thread are poorly engineered and poorly manufactured. I don't give a rat's-tail bit of difference if the brands are BMW, Audi, Porsche, Volvo, Subaru or Mercedes. Needing a quart or more between oil changes is garbage.

 

Actually Zeppo the original Vega engine was supposed to have steel cylinder liners. The bean counters at GM stopped it. To save 8 dollars per car.

 

Well ... there you go.

 

Its the new normal due to engines having thinner rings and higher tolerance and oil thin as water. After 200k expect oil consumption on aluminum blocks. Maybe a few teaspoons to 1/4 a quart on maintained engines unless you rebuild or had a great motor with no issues.

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Seems to me we have a lot of speculation on why we burn oil on here....have we not had any rebuild shops put there take on it comment. Incidentally wife car has 220,000 miles on it 2009 model get 3 and doesn't burn oil.
Not sure if we are doing something right or it's just luck of the draw, maybe under different circumstances it would be an oil burner.
Incidentally oil changes have been every 10,000 miles, fully synthetic 0w/20 bulk oil has been used (whatever brand the garage had in....read cheapest) and supermarket fuel (cheapest) has been used.



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Delete

 

Actually, I think it's 1 liter every 600 miles.

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Yeah..I don't get it either. Our 2012 Prius V (wagon) has 145K miles on it and doesn't consume a noticeable amount. However, our 2010 liftback has 110K miles and does consume a noticeable amount.

 

Those are pretty close; here's the jumbled numbers from the Owner's Manual:



But they've softened their criteria: with Toyota USA's T-SB-0168-16 (oil consumption test) and T-SB-0169-16 (the fix, if you exceed the consumption limit) they reduced the consumption criteria, more-or-less cut it in half, to one quart every 1100~1300 miles. An excerpt from T-SB-0168-16:

 

Since the increased intensity of this thread, I've been checking the oil level of my own car much more frequently; a 2005 Gen 2, now w/ 143,000 miles. The color of the oil looks very clean, none burned, or so I wish to believe.

Thinner or thicker rings should not make any difference. The rings either work properly or do not. In the same area, thinner oil, 0 weight, should clean off even more if the rings are doing their jobs. The rings might have higher tolerance but the lower viscosity of the oil is because of much closer tolerances of today's engines. Today's engines are made much tighter than before causing the need for thinner oils to properly lubricate. Yes, you should expect old 200,000+ mile engines to be a little sloppier than new engines, but if maintained properly should not consume all that much more. Think about trying to wear thick heavy sport-socks in your Sunday going-to-church shoes.

I'm still going with the idea that "expected oil consumption" only shows poor engineering and crummy production. Overall ... we're talking garbage quality control.

 

I'm not good at talking oil consumption, I haven't put a quart of oil in a car other than oil changes for at least 11 years.

 

Speculation? Toyota revised both the pistons and the rings became of the oil problem. A 2009 gen 3? Gen 3 starts with the 2010 model year.

 

According to wikipedia : "Toyota debuted the new Prius (2010 US model year) at the January 2009 North American International Auto Show,[53] and sales began in Japan on May 18, 2009.[54]"

Guessing GB also had sales start in 2009 for the gen3

 

Any official word on this also being unacceptable consumption in Gen 2?

 

You mean GB isn’t Green Bay?

 

IMO, an engine that has always had oil in it should not have any significant bearing wear, and because of that, the oil viscosity should not be changed. Now, clogged oil drain holes and piston rings due to someone seeking out the cheapest oil change, or someone paying a normal amount for an oil change from a shop that seeks out the cheapest oil they can find, is a different story.

At my shop, our oil change starts at $93.00 and you're guaranteed to get Mobil1 oil and a Toyota Genuine filter. I refuse to be the McDonald's of auto repair. Dealers in our area do oil changes for $35.00. W what kind of oil do you think they're putting in people's cars? You know, if they put crap oil in your car, they'll likely get the opportunity to sell you an engine or a new car. What a win win situation for them.

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