My 2002 is less than 2k miles but the engine oil is right at the low position. Is it normal? Should I add in more oil? Is it a problem if I add in differnt brand of oil? I don't know what dealer put in my car...

Thanks!!

 

u measured it when the engine was cold or hot? Was there any leak on the floor? as long as it falls in the opreational range and there are no leaks, you are fine.

 

just curious, did you follow the break-in recommedations? (dont freak out if you didnt, oil consumption up to 1qt between changes can be normal)

 

That's been my experience. I use a quart of oil approximately every 5,000 miles. That freaked me out at first. But I found out by running a search on "oil consumption" that my fears were unfounded.

 

Like others said, that's nothing to worry about, especially during break in.

 

What causes all the of the variation between those that use oil and those that don't? Up to one quart is a lot of oil to "disappear" in less than 5k of driving. My VQ doesn't seem to budge from the level of oil it shows after each oil change and I've gone anywhere from 3700 to 8500 miles between changes. Are tolerances so loose as to allow on a "worst case engine" for this type of oil loss or is there some goodness to be gained by it? Hmmmmm, could my engine be so "tight" that its allowing for this high *** bearing wear I've seen in my past few analyses.....Aw well, me and my speculation...I just want a good, strong, VQ.

 

I don't have an answer for you, sbarnes4ever. My wife's 2K GXE doesn't use any oil between changes and I lose about a quart every 5K. We have different driving habits, but I'm not sure that's enough to account for it. The only thing I can tell you is I read a number of threads and checked with my mechanic. According to both sources, there's nothing to worry about.

 

Thanks for all the answers.
I broke in my car very carefully. But had a long term trip from 800 to 1300 miles. I don't know if it got to do with the oil consumption.

My oil level from the stick is right on the "low" now, is that what you guys mentioned a qt less?

Thanks!

 

There's roughtly a quart difference between the Low and High oil level on the dipstick. I like to keep mine in the middle, which is about 4 quarts total.

 

I would guess that it has a lot to do with normal production tolerances, how the car was driven by salesmen etc... before you got and how it was broken in. I guess when you produce something in this quantity, no matter what you do they're not all going to be the same.

 

Ideally, for break in, the engine should go through many heating and cooling cylces and constant rpm settings should be avoided. The long trip might have had something to do with it. The majority of my oil consumption occured on long high speed highway trips, such as Boston to D.C. and back in a day.

 

Ditto on the break-in recommendations. And since break-in is a process that generates a more than normal amount of heat as the various parts develop compatible wear patterns you'd do well to avoid full throttle and/or high rpm's for the first couple thousand miles or so. Let the proper wear patterns get established first.

On trip oil consumption being higher than normal - if your normal driving is mostly short trips with little apparent oil loss but you lose oil rapidly on an extended trip there's another possibility. Your daily driving may permit enough net condensation to collect in the crankcase to more or less replace the oil that's being slowly lost all the time. Extended time at full operating temperature boils virtually all of this condensation off and, bingo, your dipstick reading suddenly indicates a huge increase in oil consumption. BTW, this condensation is one reason why mostly short-hop driving is considered "severe duty" but mostly highway use isn't (for the purposes of oil change intervals).

Norm

__________________________________________________ ___________________________
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing one year ago today?

 

My last oil change I was down about a half quart over 4k mi. None of my previous cars have used 1 drop of oil so I was a bit concerned but it appears to be normal on the Max. BTW I followed recommended break in procedures so that doesn't seem to be an issue in my case.

 

Yes, just enjoy your car. Half a quart per 4k is almost nothing. I think we are spoiled by the generally tight Nissan engines. I keep reading about oil consumption in VWs and Saturns that are scary in comparison.