...I have the notchiness too, AND the VTC Grind -- had BOTH since I bought the vehicle NEW in '02.

It makes me SO mad that each time I tell the dealer I'm having these issues, they can't "Reproduce" them while the car is in their hands.
Big surpise.....I have given-up on the those malodies, and concentrated on the Oil loss issue, although i'm CERTAIN I'll never get a new engine.

gr

 

UPDATE:
Well i had a SES light before I went to Korea (P0420).
Im home on leave and went to the dealership. So I still have the P0420 (O2 sensor downstream on bank 1 is detecting that the converter is not working as efficiently as it should be). Basically, the cats are going bad because of the unburnt oil going through them.
On top of that, I have a multiple cylinder misfire (with plugs and coils 10K miles ago). Thats because the plugs are all fouled with the oil.
And since the converters are messing up O2 readings, its running rich...so oil AND unburned fuels going through the cats.

So to fix the problem I now need - rings, cats, and plugs.

I'm officially giving up on the problem. I'm planning to get an Xterra this summer and the POS maxima will be my beater.

Biggest thing pissing me off - i have always babied that car and taking so much care of it...yet this happens. People abuse their car and never change the oil...this needs to happen to them.

 

I bet you could find a low miler VQ for not much money and do a swap

 

originally i was planning to replace the rings and maybe pistons while i was at it.

a new VQ might be cheaper

 

she is an organ donor...if i pull the plug cause her heart is bad, other cars can get some of her working parts.

trying to stay positive...i just made myself laugh

 

An used VQ would be cheaper. And way cheaper than pulling the motor and doing the rings.

 

yeah, thats what all the guys at the dealership says. they said if rings are bad, they just swap the engine cause its easier and cheaper.

time to start looking.

 

i'm sure somebody has tried those oil treatments that are supposed to seal the rings and reduce/stop oil burning.. i saw one at auto zone and was wondering, how do they work with our engines? i was thinking of trying that along with running castrol gtx high mileage with burnoff protection (even though the engine only has 51k).. my 3.5 burns probably a quart every 1000 miles.. i havent driven 1000 yet without refilling it, so i dont know exactly, but it definitely burns close to that

 

that sucks man... i'm really surprised that a motor swap would be cheaper with the price of the motor and labor costs.. because you figure with both processes, the labor of pulling the motor and putting it back in would be the same price.. but that means that the extra labor of going into the engine and replacing the piston rings alone would be cheaper than the price of a whole new engine.. it must be alot of work to replace the rings once you have the engine out

 

doing internal work will always be more and its pretty much the labor that will kill you. Dont try those ring seal products b/c they will sludge up your engine and you'll create even more problems. Just dont use them. 1qt every 1k miles is a bit high but try changing the way you drive. For instance try shifting at 2k if your a 6mt and also try a heavier weight oil if you live where it permits. Just check your oil every 2 weeks and you'll be fine...its a small price to pay for a great car imo

To sooner, new (used) engine with headers will be prefect. Get rid of those precats and have an engine with fewer miles

 

thats why i bought the car knowing there was a possibility of oil burning.. and good thing i posted here before buying it because i had it in my hand today! but i put it back.. i don't know if i can change the way i drive... with a 6 speed, i love the upper RPMS waaay too much.. but i'm assuming that type of driving will burn more oil than low-rpm shifting.. oh well.. a heavier weight oil will help though? i live in philly, so i don't think it'll get cold enough for it to damage the engine.. would 10w30 castrol gtx high mileage be a good choice?

 

yea man I'm in NYC so we have the same conditions pretty much. 10w-30 is ok to use as long as the temps dont go below 0 degrees. How often do we have sub-zero temps? Not all that much but damn it does get cold lol. I would def. use 10w for summer though.

 

yeah... one of the things that makes me mad is how we can't use synthetic.. i really want to use it because i drive in upper RPMS alot, and could really use the extra protection, but from what i understand synthetic oil will make the oil burning problem worse, right?

 

It doesn't make sense to me that a stuck PCV valve could account for a quart every 1k. Getting stuck open is plausible, but a quart every 1k?

This would definitely give helpful, but don't get have this done at a mechanic's shop, not an inspection station. In many states inspection stations are required to report their findings to the state. A mechanic's shop doesn't have the same requirement.

 

This only makes sense if the car isn't under warranty. The point of having a warranty is that you don't have to jack with stuff like this. When you have a problem you take it to the dealer and they fix it.

 

I'm due for an oilchange and loss diagnosis. I'm sitting at 62k right now.
I've driven 4400 miles since my last change, and burned approx. 2 qts. of oil.
This is a consistent burn/loss rate of 1 qt. every 2500 miles.

I'm going to try and get Nissan to replace my Valve Covers, gaskets, and PCV this time in under 60k powertrain warranty.
There is, and HAS been oil accumulating around the front and rear banks - and I'm going to pull plug #5 before I go in to see if I have oil accumulation on the plugs....just for good measure.

i'll keep everyone posted on Nissan's latest excuses....

gr

 

If you are using oil, you want the extra protection that synthetic gives over dino oil, especially if oil levels get a bit low. Besides, with warmer weather coming, you may see a decrease in oil consumption since clearances won't be as much on cold starts.

I got my oil changed immediately when I got the car, went with Mobil1 5W-30. Used about 2 quarts in the next 6400 miles before I got it changed again 750 miles ago. The oil level is completely unchanged. I can live with adding a quart every 3000 or so miles (or a half quart every 1500 miles) for the huge performance increase I got over my V6-POS 626.

 

Good luck on that. 1 quart every 2500 miles may be inconvenient but it isn't excessive by most car manufacturer's standards. Unless you are going through 1 quart every 1000 miles or less, don't hold your breath waiting for them to give you another engine or replace your valve cover gaskets.

 

mine doesn't change at all, and I usually don't warm it up too long about 1-2 minutes then drive.

 

a car burning oil with burn synthetic faster. best thing is to keep using dino and keep it topped off.

 

Sooner - you know I don't like arguing with YOU on this subject...but I'm not convinced I should switch back to dino -- and I find that my car "burns" more oil when it's topped-off.
I HATE thinking that my sump isn't full at all times -- but it literally consumes oil twice as fast when it's FULL.
Dammit - i wish Nissan would do me right on this!!!

gr

 

guys...argue with me or not, its "normal" for these cars. My engine only has 6400 miles on and for the first 4k miles I babied it. I actually drove like a grandma not revving past 3k. The car STILL burns a little bit...an acceptable amount but definitely noticeable on the dipstick. I can safely drive 3000 miles without needing to top off BUT every 2 weeks you could tell the levels went down a bit. Its ok though b/c I'm convinced its normal for these engines.

 

it "burns more" when its full because their is more oil to burn...thats not a reason to let it stay low.

and if its burning anyway, my pay more for the oil...especially if its going to burn faster

 

1qt every 1K miles is not normal.

if its normal, why do i have documentation that NNA admits that there is a problem?

i'll go with what NNA, service managers, and master techs say.....

 

Babying a new engine during the break-in period is just about the worst thing you can do. If it doesn't burn oil and has good compression it's in spite of the babying, not because of it.

 

vv idiotic postvv

 

^^ moronic post^^

 

go with who you want. But isn't it stated somewhere that 1qt per 1k miles is "normal"? I remember searching all over these boards when I was burning oil and so many people said the industry standard was 1qt per 1k miles and dealers used standard as well.

NNA and the service managers say 1qt per 1k miles is normal...atleast all the ones I have spoken to. With that said, and since you said you'll go with what they say, does that mean your fine with your current oil consumption issue?

 

my car burned 1qt every 1K miles

i have proof of the following -
failed a compression test (3 cylinders)
failed a leak down test (3 cylinders)
service manager confirmed excessive oil consumption
NNA confirmed excessive oil consumption

so is 1qt every 1K miles really "normal"

i am not fine with the problem...thats why i created this thread. im sure the other people that have started threads (here and other VQ35s) arent happy.

 

My 626 burned Royal Purple faster than Mobil1 and both are synthetic. RP-a quart every 1500-2000 miles, Mobil1 a quart every 3000 or so.

Personally, as long as consumption isn't much less than a quart every 1000 miles, I'd go with synthetic for the higher level of protection it provides even with lower oil levels. If you are really going though oil, like the quart of 60w every 40-50 miles like my Z/28 was, just go as cheap and heavy as you can.

 

I know its not "normal" but you stated "i'll go with what NNA, service managers, and master techs say.....". These people are saying it is normal...thats what I'm getting it

 

service manager confirmed excessive oil consumption
NNA confirmed excessive oil consumption

NOBODY said it was normal...have you read this whole thread

 

yes I have...but forget it, your not understanding what I'm trying to say. If you read more closely, you'll see that the people I spoke to (NNA, service techs) said 1qt per 1k miles is normal. Then you say your current rate is 1qt per 1k miles...so that would be "normal". Since thats the case I just dont know why NNA is saying its excessive if its 1qt per 1k miles.

 

i dont care what you were told...i say again

i have proof of the following -
failed a compression test (3 cylinders)
failed a leak down test (3 cylinders)
service manager confirmed excessive oil consumption
NNA confirmed excessive oil consumption

so it isnt normal

 

Then why won't they replace your engine? Sure sounds like they should and they've replaced others.

Maybe you ought to go to the papers about how Nissan treats our servicemen.

 

"lack of maintenance records" for the 2 oil changes i did myself when i bought it.
its all been discussed in here...i could spend thousands and years to fight nissan....or just do it myself for cheaper (new rings or whole engine)

 

Hell, I'll just call the newspapers or some TV consumer advocate and tell them how Nissan screws our military. What do you have to loose, right?

 

my wife does consulting/PR/spokesperson work....we tried a few things...gave up. not worth the effort....

 

not only that, but the fact that you worked for nissan for a while should have had some pull... guess not though

 

I brought my car into the dealership on Thursday for the oil consumption test (1,000 miles since my last oil change) although i was a little over... it had really been 1200 miles but they said that was fine. They came outside to get me and hit me with the "you need a new engine". I take my car to an infinity dealership because i know the owner and they kindly put me in an '08 G35 for the weekend while they argued with Nissan for me. To no avail! I am unfortunately out of warranty, and at only 65,000 miles, Nissan refused to "good will" the engine! So i brought the G35 back today to pick up my car and asked what the actually calculations were as far as the consumption. They said they had to add 3.5 quarts which means i'm burning 1 quart every 350 miles!!! Today is my 25th bday! Happy Birthday To Me!!!

It's time to SELL... that's it!.... i loved her once... but no more!!! She's been a bad girl!