I think there are 2 main issues here: blow by and the piston rings.

Do a search for "blow by" or "catch cans" and you'll find that people have made oil catch cans and how much they've actually seen the cans collect even in daily driving.

The other issue which is much more serious and probably the main cause is poor quality rings or improperly placed rings. One unverified theory is that the rings are of poor quality and come loose after a certain amount of driving. Another possibility is that the expansion gaps in the rings are not offset like they should be, but more or less lined up. TILLEYS99 has seen this first hand on a VQ35 that he pulled apart, so we know its a possibility. This is where my knowledge ends, but I guess its possible that its because the rings came loose that they ended up lined up?

 

To add to your thoughts, I understand it depends on the way people maintain their cars and their driving habits.

What i will say is that THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE BY NISSAN which is why they don't really hesitate as much when a LONG BLOCK is needed to be replaced by the customer.

Having this knowledge, I doubt I would ever buy another maxima used in teh 2k2/2k3/2k4 years (i think 2k5 and up - problem was corected) because your warranty is almost up and replacing a motor isnt the cheapest thing.

The funny thing is my dad's Benz E320 needed a new motor. The dealer claimed 1quart every such and such mileage to burn was okay. But on a benz the service intervals are in excess of 10,000miles (about 15-20,000 kms between oil changes). By aobut 8000kms, there was NO OIL IN THE ENGINE, so how can they expect that level of burning oil was okay. Long story short, motor was replaced under warranty..

 

I plan on buying a CPO and/or a warranty through my credit union because of this possibility.

 

1qt every 5000, mobil 1

 

my engine burns 1qt every 1000 mils,and it rattles at 1800 rpm

 

2k2 SE, no mods (yet), just bought w/58k, have 61k now, don't know how it was driven for the 1st 58k, but I have no problems mentioned above, knock on wood

 

So is nissan going to recall any or all of these motors? Toyota had a similar problem in the mid 90s on a couple models with faulty head gaskets. They basically rebuilt 10's of thousands of motors. Looks like Nissan could be in the same boat here?

 

I had 97000 miles on my 02, never burned oil, only rattled on cold starts. Probably should have kept it.......

 

Sup well i have a 2k2 A33 6SPD wit 55k miles.... its running really strong.... actually i dynoed it not to along ago and its did 273hp stock!!!!! and torque was i tink 256.... damn i'm lucky all i get is a high pitches noise at slow speeds but it goes away when i engage the clutch//

 

You might want to edit your post before you get FLAMED to hell with this.

No such thing as a 273hp STOCK VQ35DE (assuming this is at the wheels).

Its a virtual impossibility that your car is a factory freak with 65hp over the regular dynos of 2k2/2k3 6speeds of 205hpish.

 

DPOTW .

 

DPOTY .

 

?????

 

my guess he converted to crank hp and did it WRONG, by a lot. or it was -30 out and he didnt use correction factors

 

Those cars are completely different animals. And while I'm not knocking their performance or appeal (I'm a big fan of the F-bodies myself) those motors are completely different from the VQ. With the exception of newer 'Stangs with the 4.6L SOHC, most of these cars have pushrod motors built on technology from the 1960s. The reality is that they don't posess the refinement and build quality that many newer engines do, let alone the world-leading VQ. While those engines are solid designs and good for a lot of power, they do not age as well, which is only further accelerated by the fact that many of their owners beat the hell out of them.

Are there really enough 2005 cars out there with significant milages on them (at least 60k miles?) to be able to come to that conclusion?

 

96k on my 02 and I only get the cold "crank-up" rattle. Nothing else.

 

Based on the poll, I'd say oil burning is pretty rare. CASE CLOSED

 

15%

I still wonder if this is due maybe to a combination of bad parts (ie piston rings) and poor break in procedure.

 

I got the rattling at start up...

 

probly, and the 15% on here i think would be a little off because the people on here are more likely to rev their engine up, race and do anything else that gives the motor crap. i think most grannys wont be experiencing oil burn and would take that 15% down quite a bit.

 

Thats possible

 

I'm sorry but this argument bugs me, the LS1 was rated one of the top motors in the world for several years straight after its introduction. If they're so unrefined then why do people consistantly get 20mpg in the city and 30 - 32 on the hwy with them? Have you driven an LS1 car? For a V8 its pretty damn smooth and its application in things like the GTO prove that it is indeed a civilized motor with a good deal of refinement. As far as aging well that depends completely on the owner. My Trans Am (LT1) has been pretty trouble free. I've had no motor problems. In 35k miles and 3 years of ownership my repairs are:
1)Headlight motor
2)Water pump
3)Wheel Speed Sensor
4)Pinion seal

Other than routine stuff thats all I've done. They age very well if they're treated right. My dad was a cop and put 155k miles on his built LT1 car. Went through 3 transmissions but the motor was still running great even when he died. LT1's and LS1's are very reliable IF they're maintained. The problem you see with F bodies isn't the motors, but the owners. I know several people that have owned them that didn't change the oil/filters at approrpriate intervals. The results of course are spun bearings and damaged internal components.

 

true dat. i know people with LS1's and theyre great engines. run good, get good mileage and but out tons of power. however, the volumetric efficiency with our vq's is better than the LS1's. in other words, we get more power/liter NA than they do.

 

No disputing that...but its interesting that big V8 is every bit as fuel effecient as the VQ in the real world.

 

NO rattle or hesitation..but than again i just bought mine yesterday!

 

Congratulations Acid!! Hopefully, you'll have the same relatively trouble free ownership with your 5.5G as I've had with mine.

 

mine seems fine, has 65k on it

and i beat the living snot out of it, the clutch is on its last legs

 

Mine has had no problems with the motor so far...although the transmission, maf, and o2 sensors have been replaced!

 

So far so good here, haven't burned a drop of oil in the 5 months I've had my maxima.

 

This is an excellent point that I did not see (or missed) a response to. Do the 3.0's share the same precats as the 3.5's? If so, then maybe eliminating the precat theory would be correct. Just a thought...

 

I have an 03 with 43K miles on it and no noticeable oil consumption at this time. I bought it with 25K on it from a gal in Wisconsin, so I doubt it has ever been abused. I rarely push it to the limit and generally keep it under 3k RPMs, so I would say my car has been babied. Only time will tell if the problems are going to develope later in it's life.

I do have some timing chain rattle during the first startup in the morning, most days, but it only lasts a second. Doesn't happen during normal operation or even after it sits for a couple of hours. I have thought about taking it to Nissan under the powertrain warranty to have it repaired, but I am concerned that even if they did the repair, it may result in additional problems later. My 00 Max did the same thing and I ran it up over 130K before I sold it. It never failed and didn't burn any oil.

 

I have 110k miles on it, purchased at 104k, and there's been nothing wrong with it. The car has been serviced every 4k miles on the dot since it was born though. Has been babied by an older man.

 

I have to wonder, why is it that some have a huge problem with this and others (the majority) like myself have no significant oil burning issues? If it were a honing or ring problem wouldn't we see it on the majority of motors?

 

I have no issues with the VQ35 in my 2002 Altima SE ..

 

Some 3.5's burn oil. Where just going to have to deal until someone can figure out why the timing chain rattles and why some eat oil.

 

Bad batch of piston rings

 

Where'd you hear taht?

 

i run lubra-moly oil in my car and man it runs great no engine issues for 5 miles now and i dont need to change it for another 5.....

 

really? 5 miles? you change your oil every 10 miles? i guess its better to be safe than sorry

 

I've driven my 02 for about 1k miles and so far the oil level has not changed. There is, however a split-second hint of rattle at startup...