Kryogen

How much oil is it normal to loose between oil changes? It seemed to me like i've lost half a quart in 4375 miles, 2004 maxima with 47k miles.

Normal? Got to go to dealer?

LandsEnd

I never lose any, so zero. But I'm only on my second oil change since I've owned the car. 5,700 miles in 14 months!

Kryogen

More input? I'll look into that, if I loose oil during the next oil change period, ill complain at the dealership.

Terrentius

It depends.....I would go another oil change and then see where you are at.

Could have been a crappy batch of oil, maybe you are using a low quality oil, maybe you were driving the car quite hard, maybe the temperature has gone down where you livve.....lots of factors no to mention that your car is now four years old. If it does it every oil change, then there might be a issue with your rings.

Anyhoo, time will tell, it always does.

04MAX_ILLIN

iTrader: (3)

These VQ's are known to lose oil towards higher mileage, or so i have read. Most likely due to the motor having been driven with insufficient levels of oil, frying the piston rings, and now you burn oil. Now you need to re-build.

Lovemycar

Well i have 41k and i never loose a drop of oil

Maxgig

iTrader: (5)

Kryogen,
I had a 97 SE and didn't burn a drop. I moved up to an 03 SE and now I lose about a 1/2 to 3/4 qts in roughly 1500 to 1700 miles of driving. I've seen numerous 03 - 05 Maximas and 350Z's for sale that had black, oily tailpipes from burning so much oil.

I wish I wasn't losing any but I'm thankful my consumption isn't that bad. Go to the dealer and register your complaint for the record but monitor your oil and take note of how much you lose versus the number of miles driven.

They will be more likely to take you seriously if you can give them a well documented timeline to go on rather than just being a complainant saying "hey, I'm burning oil". Because trust me they have heard this many times before.

modenaf1

iTrader: (3)

I am just curious, what is it about the VQ35's that makes them so much more likely to burn oil with age? I haven't heard of any VQ30's burning oil. Personally my VQ30 is at almost 180,000 miles, doesn't burn a drop. My friend who also has a 97 is at over 215,000 miles and his doesn't burn a drop either.


Does the VQ35 skimp on piston rings, or are the pistons not as tight a fit thus the rings wear faster? I remember a friend who had a crappy rebuild on a Suzuki engine where the pistons weren't upped in size any after the rebuild, thus they were kindof loose in the cylinder. His rings wore out in only about 40,000 miles. Just wondering maybe something similar in the design of the vq35?

Kryogen

I use Mobil 1, nissan filter, it was summer, mostly highway, and I accelerate fast, often, but on a hot engine. I'll look into that more seriously for the next oil change.

Would that be covered under the engine warranty? I dont believe that a pint every oil change after 40k miles is normal.?

eK9aT10pSi

iTrader: (1)

what oil weight do you use?

STARR

iTrader: (1)

It's a matter of engine design, the VQ30 is a heavy duty engine, overall can take more daily abuse, the VQ35, is modern and advance and needs a bit more caressing, simply put buying a new used car today with the high powered engine that was probably driven hard in it's 1st few years of life is now gonna reflect itself on the next owner I would saying over revving the engine on a cold morning or after work when it has sat for 8 hours is whats killing the car.

As far as the rings, I read that Nissan went with a US supplier for the piston rings, the US supplied rings are made of a harder material, take slightly longer to wear in but are suppose to have a longer life, things did not work out as they planned and Nissan switched back to the Japanese ring supplier.

I have my fingers crossed, approaching 54k with no problems