LexBob2

I believe CR's info came from their Owner Surveys, so I'm not sure what the false claims are. In any event, it's definitely a good idea form drivers to check their oil regularly, but I'd be interested to know the % that never, or rarely do it.

Toys4RJill

It is false claims by CR, on their website it states as a headline "Automakers say adding oil between schedule maintent is acceptable. It's not" ….....that is a false claim as I already showed that my 2014 Corolla may need an oil refill between scheduled maintenance. Am I supposed to trust big bad CR when Toyota says otherwise ???

The proper thing to do would of been for CR to report what is recommended by the manufacturer.

I have always said that CR is one of the worst magazines out there, I have just shown how CR is trying to grab headlines for this. They are trying to start a needless panic and they are in the wrong.

LexBob2

Also from the article:

"It's normal for cars to burn a little oil as they age toward 100,000 miles, the magazine said in its August issue. But for a late-model car to burn a quart or more between changes is not acceptable", Rechtin said.

Toys4RJill

Buy it is not normal to burn a little oil as they age. As I have shown, Toyota engines burn more when they are new? Also, I have also shown that my Corolla may need a refill between oil changes which is acceptable. A quart of oil looks to be considered as nothing harmful.

CR has very cleverly written the article to grab headlines.

A better alternative would be to state what the manuals state.

mmarshall

CR does not write articles to grab headlines, but to serve its readers and car owners. They already are a well-known publication, accept no product-advertising, and don't have to prove themselves any more to anybody. Now that does not mean that I always agree with them, or that they are always 100% right, but to claim that they write just for media-effect is ludicrous.

You are missing one point.........SCHEDULED maintenance. Regularly scheduled oil changes, for most driving conditions usually run 3000-4000 miles (up to 7500 miles for easy driving conditions, but those driving conditions are getting harder and harder to find nowadays as traffic keeps getting denser).

But computer oil-monitors, which are becoming more widespread now (my Verano has one), don't operate by a regular schedule....they take data from a number of engine-operation factors and either project the remaining life of the oil the crankcase or flash a service-light when it's time for a change. They may (?) delay the change for a substantially longer mileage interval, so, naturally, the engine is more likely to use a quart or two between those kind of changes. That's not the type of situation CR was referring to in the article.

The real problem, like it or not, is that today's oils have become so good that they actually keep up good lubrication in the engine longer, under oil-monitoring conditions, than it takes for slight tolerances in ring/valve/bearing seals to allow their consumption. That is even more the case with semi and full-synthetics, though the detergent packages can also deteriorate over time.

AL13NV8D3R

I drag race and track my 2006 ZX10R motorcycle and when I change my oil i measure before and after oil change and i can confirm that my bike burns little to no oil whatsoever. If my motorcycle with a 12,000 rpm redline burns very little oil in harsh conditions, i think Audi, BMW, and Subaru need to redesign their engines. Heck my 2014 Lexus Gs350 hardly burns any oil at all and it has over 30,000 miles on it.

bagwell

so if you owned a 14 Corolla and it used 1 qt of oil every 300 miles, you'd be ok with that then because the owner's manual states "a certain amount of engine oil will be consumed...blah blah blah" ????

Toys4RJill

So your GS does burn oil?

Toys4RJill

Where did you get 300 from?

mmarshall

My first two cars, decades ago, burned a quart of oil every couple of hundred miles, but that was because they were 1960s-vintage products with well-worn piston rings/valves that had many thousands of miles on them.....and, back then, except for the Chrysler Slant Six, you were lucky if you got 100K miles before an engine replacement or overhaul. But, Owners' Manual or not, for a late-model vehicle to use oil like that, especially at low mileage, would clearly be unacceptable.

LexBob2

Yeah, most manuals rightfully don't say what is acceptable or normal, just that it could happen. If you consume 1 qt. every 300-500 miles is that OK? 1 qt. every 1,000 or so miles, OK?

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

A qt every 1K miles is excessive to me.

Toys4RJill

One quart every 300 miles is going to cause catastrophic failure.

LexBob2

I agree. That's my point, the manuals don't really say what's considered excessive and what isn't. They're vague and rightfully so.

Toys4RJill

It's not that vague, it says some oil. On the same page it talks about what happens if the engine gets to extreme lows.

The whole issue of burning oil is largely irrelevant as nobody on here noticed that the manual states that engines can burn oil until I decided to read the owners manual.

CR on the other hand is full of it.