I have a 98 Maxima SE with 60,000 miles on it and it uses about 2 quarts of oil every 3,000 miles. It doesn't appear to be burning it and I haven't noticed any leaks on my driveway. Does anyone know what could be causing this????

[Edited by COOPE87545 on 11-03-2000 at 09:55 AM]

 

Your engine is probably burning the oil. Burning oil at a rate of one quart per 1500 miles will produce almost no blue smoke at the tailpipe.

The two major reasons for burning oil are worn valve seals and worn piston rings.

Your concern about oil consumption is understandable, but manufacturers typically say that one quart per 1000 miles is considered acceptable. A "tight" engine will use less oil. A "loose" engine will use less fuel, due to less internal friction.

 

the dealer. If you are burning that much now, think about how much you'll be burning when you hit 100K. It will not get better by itself, only worse! How knows, maybe you dealer will be sympathetic. Fat chance!

 

How many miles on your car?? I have the same 98 SE and mine drinks like 3/4 quart every 3 K miles, and I'm at 73 K miles on the odo now.

What Dan said is probably the casue, you may want to switch to a thicker oil, like 10W30 if you're using 5W30 already.

 

I have 62,000 on my car and i've noticed this problem for about the last 20,000 miles. I visited my local dealer repeatedly and finally I gave up. He told me this kind of consumption was normal, but to me this is not normal.

 

oil, than go with a 10W30. But i guess that depends on the climate/temperature where you live. In the Northeast, 5W30, is far superior to 10W30 for Winter driving. If flows better during the initial start.

 

The Owner's manual authorizes 10W30 for outdoor temperatures above zero degrees Fahrenheit. However, since this engine is burning some oil, you might go to 10W40 and see if that helps. The "10" tells you it will still flow well during cold-engine startup, and the "40" means it is a bit thicker at normal operating temperature.