Soccer1809

Hi All!

I have a 2007 GS350 AWD with about 110,000 miles right now. For almost the last year or so it has been burning off some oil. By the time its up for an oil change, it occasionally gives me the engine oil low light. It stays on between a few seconds to a minute and then turns off.

I've been telling this to the local Lexus dealership where i've had all my maintenance done, and they eventually did an oil consumption test. They said it was losing about 1.5 liters after 3,000 miles. They say that is within spec.

This issue came up several times while i was still in my 100,000 mile warranty, but they wouldn't do anything as it was in spec. I don't see how i should get a low engine light warning every 3-4k miles and have been pushing them to do something and cover under warranty since it has been documented as an issue before the warranty ran out. Lexus corporate asked for a compression test (which i had to pay for), the results are below:

Cyc#1: 205 dry; 225 wet
Cyc#2: 200 dry; 215 wet
Cyc#3: 190 dry; 215 wet
Cyc#4: 200 dry; 225 wet
Cyc#5: 205 dry; 210 wet
Cyc#6: 190 dry; 220 wet

After Lexus received the results they asked for, they still said: well the oil consumption is in spec so won't do anything. Any thoughts on the compression test above or the situation in general?

Thanks!!!
Sean

XxGoKoUxX

That's really strange! Always make sure you're topped off though, you're now out of warranty and that can be pretty bad .

Do you have any oil leaks on the floor where you park?

chuckGS350

My 2007 GS350 AWD consumes oil a bit less than yours. About 1.0 Qt (~1.0 liter) per 3000 miles.
Been like that for 2 years (since 75K miles). Car now has 98K miles. Car still runs great.

Lexus spec is 1Qt per 600 miles. So they are not going to do any thing.

Just top it off every 1500 miles. And keep checking your consumption rate.

decay1984

This may sound like a stupid question, but what type of oil would be better for the gs350? i've seen plenty of people posting that pure synthetic is the way to go, and i know it's advisable to just go with whatever the manual says. but i have also seen people posting that they just use conventional and have had zero oil consumption problems. when i bought my 2007 gs50 on january 31st, they said they had changed the oil that day. it was at 80,000 miles. i'm now at almost 84,000 and my "exclamation point" came on saying, "oil maintenance required soon" then goes off. i go into my info on the car and highlighted is oil change and oil filter. i dont know if i'm just being paranoid bc of the threads i have been reading about these babies burning through oil or if this is something that should be a concern? any input would be helpful, and i appreciate everyone on this forum and their knowledge. peace~

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

You probably read my posts, I am the rare one who only runs basic castrol gtx conventional oils. I change it every 2500 miles and use an oem filter always. Im at 190k miles now with no issues. I use conventional because for me it is cheaper, and being a low rpm daily driver there is no point for me to run high dollar synthetics. From what I can tell the majority of the people with oil issues are the ones that let their oils run up to and past 5,000k miles. To me, the fresher the oil the cleaner your internals will be. Of course synthetic is the best! Those oils can last up to 10,000 miles, but engines collect carbon, sand, and grime. Always cleaner to slap a newer filter and fluids. Kinda like underwear!

The reason for these oil issues is the design of the piston oil control rings and the holes in the grooves on the pistons. Once you gum up those gaps in the lower oil control rings, the rings will compress and get stuck. Making the oil control rings totaly usesles! Allowing oil to slip past the oil rings and past the 2 compression and through the exhaust system, therefore burning/consuming oil.

ibidu1

iTrader: (1)

Heres a good video explaining it easier

Bushwack

Just to add to the conversation, my 2007 GS350 with 85,000 miles burns one quart every 900 - 1,200 miles (900 miles if its mostly highway driving, 1,200 in stop and go traffic). Lexus did an oil consumption test and said all is within specs.. Since new, I still get 30-31MPG (all highway driving at 65-70MPH) and 19 MPG in mix use (L.A. traffic driving short 1-2 mile trips). It is puzzling how the car consumes oil yet my mpg remains consistent.

threehunna

it depends on the oil too. what kind of oil do you guys use?? i use 5w30 but i heard there was a TSB to use 0w20. i freshened up this engine 2 years ago cuz it was smoking like crazy all the friggin time. after i played with it the smoking stopped and first couple of oil changes i didnt see any oil loss but last time I put eneos in it and it burnt like 3 liters in 8000km, and when it didn't burn any I was using Redline. Once in a while when putting big load on the engine(WOT from slow speed) i'll see a decent amount of smoke, or maybe its just dust idk. engine is pulling good though.