At 16,000 miles, I switched to Mobil 1 synthetic 5W-30 with the recommend 9E000 Nissan oil filter. I am now at 18,xxx miles and after letting the car sit for an hour after a quick drive, my dip stick read about 1/4-1/2 inch above the Low mark. I made sure my car was not leaking any oil, so could this mean I am burning oil? Everytime I start the car the oil light shines for maybe half a second and goes off. Suggestions? Change oil to be safe? Top off oil? Thanks

 

Hmm try to change it first. Not to make you dork but how do u check oil level?

 

hmm...try checking the oil level in the morning when it has sat overnight....and you said its BELOW the criss cross patterned area? hmm thats weird....well if thats the case, go ahead and top it off so it goes above the criss cross patterned area...then check it often to see if it burns up again...you may qualify for warranty service

 

The criss-cross area is in betwene the Low and High marks right? The oil level is sitting in between but more towards the low mark. Also, the car runs perfectly, no noises, runs very smooth, but I get that metal rattle once in a blue moon for a brief second (the common chain is loose thing).

 

yes the criss cross pattern is between the high and low marks...if your level reads BELOW the criss cross section, then you got a problem there...if it falls within the middle of the criss cross, i wouldn't worry too much....but i would keep an eye out...

and i get the timing chain rattle every morning i start up my car

btw, how much did you fill up with last time? the mobil1 that is

 

Yeah 1 hour isn't long enough to get an accurate reading with this enging. Try overnite.........

 

I filled half a quart to the filter, and 4 quarts in through a funnel.

 

i think the oil light is normal at start up. it flashes through it's check, and goes away. i had the same question a few months ago, and that's what everybody told me.

 

Burning up to about a quart every 900 miles or so is considered "normal" by Nissan and most other manufacturers. Some do, some don't, but it doesn't hurt anything or mean the engine isn't going to last as long as one that doesn't burn a drop. It's all in the manufacturing tolerances.

 

That's what I hear. I've had my 2k2 in for several "tests" to no avail. I didn't notice the problem until I switched to Mobil 1. I have downgraded to the regular Mobil 1 instead of the Extended stuff. It seems to hold up better for me.

I plan to do the blow-by mod and start collecting some real info about oil blow-by.

 

you're kidding right?

So, if you're supposed to change the oil every 3000 miles, then you're saying that it's just fine that by 3000 miles, you will be 3 1/3 quarts low (one quart every 900 miles)??? PLEASE!

No car should be any more than maybe 1/4 quart low at each oil change (3000-5000 miles).

5000 miles since my last change, and my oil is not low at all.

The reason he is losing oil, is because he has a VQ35....

 

This morning I checked again, the oil level has not moved. Sigh....

 

+1 for ragging on the vq35. if this oil burn trend continues in my car, i will be getting a 330ci with a 6spd.

 

My engine has not burnt a single drop of oil even after 100k miles. None... I check it about every two weeks after letting it sit overnight and there is never a change in level. Some slight oil burn may be acceptable, but it is certainly not the norm... at least for the 3.0 engine

I use Mobil-1 changed every 4k miles with a OEM Nissan filter...

 

yes, this is only with the 3.5l engines.