I'm contemplating getting a 02 6spd and I've read from some people here with oil consumption problems with the 3.5 and >80-100k miles. In general, are these isolated cases or does the 3.5 really have a fundamental problem with oil consumption with higher mileage?

 

It's a very common problem. I've gone so far as to look at other forums where the 3.5 is used and found the same thing.

 

Surely there must be some some with over 80k Miles that have no problems???

 

I don't burn a drop with 90% highway driving.

 

my car has 30k miles and consumed over 3 quarts of oil in 4,000 miles (2 months) of driving

 

In 5,000 miles.....no drop in oil.....

I have 48,000 on mine.

--Jason

 

My VQ35 doesn't burn oil. I go 5000 miles between changes withi Mobil 1 SuperSyn (5w30 when it's cold, 10w30 when it's HOTHOTHOT).

 

But you all have under 80k miles??? I don't burn oil either and I have 60k miles, I am looking for testimony from orgers who have more than 80k miles with no oil burning issues.

 

60K / 80K os not that big of a difference if the driver babies the car and does not beat on it. If you are gentle on your car and treat it right it the engine isn't going to age like an old dog like you are impling.

I agree a well maintained and treated properly engine should not burn much oil unless it is old. I have 60K on mine and I do not burn a drop. I also do not race my car or take it to redline. Once in a great while I give it a romp but aside from that I drive it like it was meant to be driven. I don't think people realize that when they constantly beat on their car it takes a toll in the long run. Keep those revs low. Also the VQ35 has won so many awards and it is an extremely well built engine. IT receives praise from around the world.

Mark

 

I treat my car like a baby and still have the oil problem. You'll have it too in about a year or so. Have fun! Oh, and don't say I didn't warn you.

 

^ if i remember correctly you have an unusual amount of mileage on your car. 100K + on a 2003 is not normal. putting that much wear/tear even on a properly maintained car is bound to cause problems. it sucks for you to have the problems you're having but imo it's a reach to say the oil burning issue is a very common problem for normally driven/maintained cars. there's just too many variables involved.

 

100k on a properly maintained car should not cause problems, even if it happens in 2 years. What difference does it make is 100k is put on the engine in 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years? If it only takes 2 years, then you're driving a lot of freeway miles which are easy on an engine. What is hard on an engine is cold starts, short trips, and to a lesser extent, stop and go traffic.

Excessive oil burning is not a common problem except on old worn out engines or those that are not maintained. 100k on a VQ is nothing. Heck, I know plenty of overworked and underpowered 4 bangers in Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans with 200k miles that aren't burning oil.

It's hard for me to believe that the 3.5 has any fundamental design issues. It's one of the most highly regarded engines ever made. But there's enough people here on the ORG and g35driver with oil problems to cause concern. I'm thinking that the oil consumption problems are prolly due to the PCV or other such problem and not worn out rings.

 

Good analyze, I tend to agree with you.

 

85K miles, running strong and no oil burn

 

given the same service schedule and same driving conditions i'm willing to bet an engine which has done 100k over 5 years would be in better overall condition than a car that has done 100k over 2 years.


+1

 

....besides the VQ30, of course.

 

85K here, it doesn't burn oil, and i drive like i stole it 50% of the time

 

Mine has 65k on it and I don't burn any oil....

 

Mine has 70,000 KMS, and i burn about 1 L / 1000kms

 

i currently have 91k And i do drive hard sometimes, Nothing except POS auto tranny is going crazy I guess its 6 Speed time

 

Actually, if you bother to think a little logically here, you might find just the opposite. Rubber and most other soft materials tend to break down over time. This means more stuff breaking over more time. Not to mention that it takes time for things to corrode. Trust me, ask anyone locally, nobody can believe my car has as many miles on it as it does. I keep it as clean outside the engine as in. I didn't rev over 4k for the first 1,000 miles (and I drove every last one of those first 1,000 miles). It's pretty darn obvious what the problem is. Ya, I have 120k miles. And, yes, that's not normal, but, then again, if you looked under my hood or in my engine, the fact that you can still practically eat off every surface isn't normal either and should attest to my maintenance. The 3.5 is a modified 3.0, sure, but those modifications were to the very same areas that seem to be having poblems. Coincidence?

Oh, and I've checked the PCV. It isn't that either.

 

tell em george , and yes i have 91 k my car is in awsome condition in and out and the engine bay

 

My 02 is at 90k and it doesnt burn a drop. you have to take stuff like this case by case

 

When I got my 2001, I was told by the dealer that he didn't want to see some other popular oil filter even if you changed the oil yourself they suggested a Nissan oil filter. The dealer was less particular about the oil used as long as it was changed regularly and was one of the well known brands.

My question is, of those that are consuming oil, which ones have used a Fram oil filter compared to those that use a Nissan oil filter? A shot in the dark?

 

i have 30k on my car - 2k3 six speed
used mobil1 supersyn 5w30 since 5k miles
i use nissan or purolator pureone oil filters

burned 3+ quarts of oil in 4,000 miles

4k left on warranty and i want a new engine!

WTF

 

yes this is not normal at 30 k car eating half of the oil in the engine, Demand a new engine from nissan or maybe you have a leak somewhere where it nots noticable

 

^^
I only burn 1qt/7500miles with my 3.0L w/ 94k miles. I do 15k oil changes with amsoil or mobil 1.

 

Anyone who uses a Fram filter ought to be shot. I don't think many of the people here on the org are dumb/cheap enough to use a Fram.

 

that's great. truth is neither of us are nissan techs or engineers so your diagnosis of the problem is just conjecture.

my point is you're making a very large scale assumption by saying there's a fundamental problem with the 3.5L engine design and leading others to believe this is a very common problem when it's not.

seeing as you don't know what's really causing the problem it's irresponsible and mis-information for you to warn others that we'll eventually have the same problem you're having. that's all. good luck with your issue.

 

I have to agree with you on this one. Nissan's other engines are so well made its really hard for me to believe they screwed up the 3.5. Excuse my ignorance but this is the first post I have seen about this too.

Do the oil consumption problems come on all of sudden?

Are there any Technical Service Bulletins on this????

Gears

 

120K miles on my 01 and I do not burn a drop of oil, I used Mobil 1 syn***ic of all kinds of weight (5W30,10W30,15W40,20W50 etc). Removing the valve cover on my engine shows very clean engine, if you whipe off the oil off the cylinder head walls its nice and silver looking.

High miles that are put on in short amount of time are better than short trips. Basically GBAUERs car with 100K miles should be (if it was a 3.0L) in better shape than the same engine with only 40K miles that is driven around town etc. While driving on the highway engine is just basically freereving, it doesn't do much while crusing. Most wear on the engine is put on durring start up, since oil pressure needs to be brought up quickly and oil is thick to begin with. It will put wear on main, and rod bearings, camshaft journals and lobes etc, due to momentary lack of oil - till oil pump starts doing its job.

I would look at valve seals on a VQ, I noticed one 4th gen this weekend while started up was puffn out a little bit of blue smoke that smelled like oil- for just a second. This indicates bad oil seals on the valves. SR20s when get old burn oil through the valve seals - sometimes.

 

why is it that the VQ35 is having this problem?? I have an 00 Max (VQ30) with 135,000miles and not burning any oil and I'm not easy on the throttle neither, whats the deal with that ? the difference between both engines wasnt that dramatic to have such issues!

If your using synthetic oil like me and still burning oil then there must seriously be a problem since synthetic oil takes much more to break down then does conventional oil........... lower mileage means nothing as well, in city driving its the constant stop and go that destroys your engine on top of cold starts, in highway a constant rpm (2500-3000rpm) is harmless to the engine, my honda did it for 250,000 miles and burnt no oil and ran like a champ

 

The difference between the two engeins is HUGE... there is a 0.5L increase in displacement versus the VQ30.

I have heard other people with this issue as well.. I am going to see if the altima/G35/350z guys also have similar issues.

Last time i checked my oil consumption has decline signficiantly after the dealer replaced some gaskets.. Hopefully i can return back to synthetics.

 

Other than the displacement I don't think there's much big difference between those two engines in terms of disign, otherwise the 3.5 won't get the profix of VQ as well. The VQ30 received plenty of reward in history. The 3.5 is the latest replacement that Nissan's using to fight the HP war instead of it's anywhere superior than the 3.0 except the increased HP. Inferior material used compares to the 3.0 maybe?? Just .02

 

It's more than just displacement. It has a different intake manifold and variable timing.

 

How would that (IM & Var. timing) lead to oil consumption?

 

I wonder if it may have something to do with the quality control. After all, there was some people whose engines injested screws that came off the butterfly valve in the TB.

 

It doesn't, I was just pointing out that there are other differences other than displacement.

 

The engines could not be more different. Are you seriously saying that haveing completely different internals and design is not that much of a difference? What is? I know, they are both 4 cycle engines so there isn't that much of a difference..

 

72k miles in a 2.5 yr period....i've never had to add any oil in between 4k mile oil change intervals

Although my 2k1 Pathfinder(3.5) that we purchased preowned and now has 90k will take a 1/2 quart if you push 3500 miles between oil changes.