GS350 oil consumption guidelines from Lexus
12-04-18, 07:18 PM
#61
Intermediate
So I bought my daughter a 1999 RX300. I quickly realized it was an oil burner consuming 1qt every 300 miles. But only at 70mph and above. What was happening was not bad piston rings, but a poorly designed bank 1 valve cover. The baffle inside the valve cover did not strain out the oil before the vapors reached the PCV valve and the PCV was sucking liquid oil right into the intake and out the exhaust. There were 3 itterations of valve covers on the 3.0L before they got it right. I source a valve cover on ebay from a dismantler and when it arrived, I disected the newest version and found that the oil vapors now actually made 3 passes within the valve cover before it reached the PCV valve which cleaned out the liquid oil significantly better. The older versions only made 1 pass thru a baffler before reaching the pcv. So now it uses about 3/4qt between oil changes rather than quarts
My point is dont jump to the conclusion that its piston rings. It wont cause any harm to test for yourself. Disconnect the PCV hoses and vent to atmospher with a breather for a few hundred miles and check your oil loss. If you continue to see oil loss, then the rings could be the issue. If your rate of loss is nil then its the PCV system is you issue. The positive side of this problem is the passenger side valve cover is easy to replace on the GS unlike the RX which is transverse mounted. What a bear of a job that was.
what I do on my cars is to add 3/4 qt of MMO at each oil change to keep the internals carbon free. On the RX, there was no carbon build up inside the heads. The sole problem was the valve cover on the PCV valve side (passenger side).
I am curous. Is the 3.5L engine in teh 08 Sienna the same as the 3.5L GS350? Our 08 Sienna used no oil and was the best motor I have ever owned. The van was a rocket ship. But it got totalled last July. I miss that van. And we only ever used 87 octane in it. 23 mpg all the way to 190,000 miles on the original spark plugs. I pulled a couple plugs at 150k and they spec'd the correct gap. So I left them in.
My point is dont jump to the conclusion that its piston rings. It wont cause any harm to test for yourself. Disconnect the PCV hoses and vent to atmospher with a breather for a few hundred miles and check your oil loss. If you continue to see oil loss, then the rings could be the issue. If your rate of loss is nil then its the PCV system is you issue. The positive side of this problem is the passenger side valve cover is easy to replace on the GS unlike the RX which is transverse mounted. What a bear of a job that was.
what I do on my cars is to add 3/4 qt of MMO at each oil change to keep the internals carbon free. On the RX, there was no carbon build up inside the heads. The sole problem was the valve cover on the PCV valve side (passenger side).
I am curous. Is the 3.5L engine in teh 08 Sienna the same as the 3.5L GS350? Our 08 Sienna used no oil and was the best motor I have ever owned. The van was a rocket ship. But it got totalled last July. I miss that van. And we only ever used 87 octane in it. 23 mpg all the way to 190,000 miles on the original spark plugs. I pulled a couple plugs at 150k and they spec'd the correct gap. So I left them in.
Last edited by Drcoffee; 12-06-18 at 02:54 AM.
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R_Rated (06-06-22)
02-06-19, 08:24 PM
#62
Pole Position
I'm at 165K on my 09' and it runs like a f'ing champ....BUT...I am starting to have to add more oil between changes. I want to say that I've have to add up to about 2.5 qts per 5k mile change intervals. Someone on here once said to change every 3k or so because these engines consume less if the oil is cleaner?! Or something like that. I've had the low oil level warning light come on twice now....and I check my levels pretty dang often. Since I'm on the road a lot for work and often far from home, I'm now keeping an extra quart of oil in the trunk. Has anyone added the "oil catch can" to see how that effects things?? Is this consumption avoidable?? If so, exactly how??
02-06-19, 08:27 PM
#63
Pole Position
So I bought my daughter a 1999 RX300. I quickly realized it was an oil burner consuming 1qt every 300 miles. But only at 70mph and above. What was happening was not bad piston rings, but a poorly designed bank 1 valve cover. The baffle inside the valve cover did not strain out the oil before the vapors reached the PCV valve and the PCV was sucking liquid oil right into the intake and out the exhaust. There were 3 itterations of valve covers on the 3.0L before they got it right. I source a valve cover on ebay from a dismantler and when it arrived, I disected the newest version and found that the oil vapors now actually made 3 passes within the valve cover before it reached the PCV valve which cleaned out the liquid oil significantly better. The older versions only made 1 pass thru a baffler before reaching the pcv. So now it uses about 3/4qt between oil changes rather than quarts
My point is dont jump to the conclusion that its piston rings. It wont cause any harm to test for yourself. Disconnect the PCV hoses and vent to atmospher with a breather for a few hundred miles and check your oil loss. If you continue to see oil loss, then the rings could be the issue. If your rate of loss is nil then its the PCV system is you issue. The positive side of this problem is the passenger side valve cover is easy to replace on the GS unlike the RX which is transverse mounted. What a bear of a job that was.
what I do on my cars is to add 3/4 qt of MMO at each oil change to keep the internals carbon free. On the RX, there was no carbon build up inside the heads. The sole problem was the valve cover on the PCV valve side (passenger side).
I am curous. Is the 3.5L engine in teh 08 Sienna the same as the 3.5L GS350? Our 08 Sienna used no oil and was the best motor I have ever owned. The van was a rocket ship. But it got totalled last July. I miss that van. And we only ever used 87 octane in it. 23 mpg all the way to 190,000 miles on the original spark plugs. I pulled a couple plugs at 150k and they spec'd the correct gap. So I left them in.
My point is dont jump to the conclusion that its piston rings. It wont cause any harm to test for yourself. Disconnect the PCV hoses and vent to atmospher with a breather for a few hundred miles and check your oil loss. If you continue to see oil loss, then the rings could be the issue. If your rate of loss is nil then its the PCV system is you issue. The positive side of this problem is the passenger side valve cover is easy to replace on the GS unlike the RX which is transverse mounted. What a bear of a job that was.
what I do on my cars is to add 3/4 qt of MMO at each oil change to keep the internals carbon free. On the RX, there was no carbon build up inside the heads. The sole problem was the valve cover on the PCV valve side (passenger side).
I am curous. Is the 3.5L engine in teh 08 Sienna the same as the 3.5L GS350? Our 08 Sienna used no oil and was the best motor I have ever owned. The van was a rocket ship. But it got totalled last July. I miss that van. And we only ever used 87 octane in it. 23 mpg all the way to 190,000 miles on the original spark plugs. I pulled a couple plugs at 150k and they spec'd the correct gap. So I left them in.
ok...so what the heck is "MMO" ??!
02-12-19, 08:25 PM
#65
A few posts back a writer spoke of the influence of baffling within the valve covers and how Toyota rev'd the design a few times. YES,baffling matters!!!!
Let's take that a step further. Blow-by past the piston rings forces the combustion gasses into the crankcase where oil vapors are being shed from pistons, wrist pins, conrod and main bearings as well as the timing chain and VVTi system.
A lot of oil vapor needs to settle and condense back into a solid (oil) to be pickup by the oil pump and make the rounds back through the system.. If it doesn't condense to a solid, out the valve cover it goes into the intake to be burned and consumed.
In short, how you treat the engine matters!
Rev it and let it pull RPM under load as high velocity helps remove deposits from the intake, piston crowns, and to a lesser extent rings and piston skirts.
If your engine saw all highway miles and consumes oil, chances are it has a real problem.
If it was a grocery getter and idled across town year after year and never got opened up, chemical treatments may help. There are options people.
Let's take that a step further. Blow-by past the piston rings forces the combustion gasses into the crankcase where oil vapors are being shed from pistons, wrist pins, conrod and main bearings as well as the timing chain and VVTi system.
A lot of oil vapor needs to settle and condense back into a solid (oil) to be pickup by the oil pump and make the rounds back through the system.. If it doesn't condense to a solid, out the valve cover it goes into the intake to be burned and consumed.
In short, how you treat the engine matters!
Rev it and let it pull RPM under load as high velocity helps remove deposits from the intake, piston crowns, and to a lesser extent rings and piston skirts.
If your engine saw all highway miles and consumes oil, chances are it has a real problem.
If it was a grocery getter and idled across town year after year and never got opened up, chemical treatments may help. There are options people.
02-16-19, 07:02 PM
#66
Just to add to this thread, I bought my 2007 GS350 new and averaged 5,700 miles/year through early 2018. Changed the oil every 3.000 miles or 4 months (whether or not needed). Never lost oil between changes. 7 months ago I started a job that puts 1,200 miles/month on the car, traveling 25 miles to work each way, 90% going 65MPH on the highway. Now with mostly highway miles put on the car, I'm losing 2 1/2 qts every 2,600 miles (that darn warning light comes on the dash). Though nothing of it first, figuring maybe the tech left me a couple quarts short at the last LOF. Went and did a LOF and sure enough, almost 3 months and 2,800 miles later, the warning light came on. Just did another LOF at the dealership and they marked off the cap for an oil consumption test (have to return in 1,200 miles).
I'm no gear head but have a question: I thought the longer a car travels in its highest gear at a low rpm (65MPH at 2,000RPM), the less oil should be consumed (car should be more efficient). My car is having the opposite affect. Why and what could be the cause for this oil loss? Nothing is dripping and no (smoke or) smell of burning oil under the hood.
I'm no gear head but have a question: I thought the longer a car travels in its highest gear at a low rpm (65MPH at 2,000RPM), the less oil should be consumed (car should be more efficient). My car is having the opposite affect. Why and what could be the cause for this oil loss? Nothing is dripping and no (smoke or) smell of burning oil under the hood.
02-16-19, 11:36 PM
#67
Just to add to this thread, I bought my 2007 GS350 new and averaged 5,700 miles/year through early 2018. Changed the oil every 3.000 miles or 4 months (whether or not needed). Never lost oil between changes. 7 months ago I started a job that puts 1,200 miles/month on the car, traveling 25 miles to work each way, 90% going 65MPH on the highway. Now with mostly highway miles put on the car, I'm losing 2 1/2 qts every 2,600 miles (that darn warning light comes on the dash). Though nothing of it first, figuring maybe the tech left me a couple quarts short at the last LOF. Went and did a LOF and sure enough, almost 3 months and 2,800 miles later, the warning light came on. Just did another LOF at the dealership and they marked off the cap for an oil consumption test (have to return in 1,200 miles).
I'm no gear head but have a question: I thought the longer a car travels in its highest gear at a low rpm (65MPH at 2,000RPM), the less oil should be consumed (car should be more efficient). My car is having the opposite affect. Why and what could be the cause for this oil loss? Nothing is dripping and no (smoke or) smell of burning oil under the hood.
I'm no gear head but have a question: I thought the longer a car travels in its highest gear at a low rpm (65MPH at 2,000RPM), the less oil should be consumed (car should be more efficient). My car is having the opposite affect. Why and what could be the cause for this oil loss? Nothing is dripping and no (smoke or) smell of burning oil under the hood.
Next buy a new pcv valve and replace that, you might be leaking from there.
Third thing you can do is remove all your spark plugs into each spark plug hole pour in marvel mystery oil, then loosely install all your plugs and let it sit over night, "Do not attempt to start the car you can blow the engine up". After sitting over night, remove the plugs, then start the engine without the plugs, the mm oil will shoot out of each spark plug holes. Once the majority of mm oil has emptied reinstall the plugs and this should help cure or greatly reduce your consumption.
02-19-19, 04:53 PM
#68
Pole Position
I would do a top engine cleaning with original seafoam (the kind u pour) a full bottle run it through the intake manifold. Run the car let it get very hot, pop the engine cover theres a blanked off nipple on the manifold, with a small vacuum line, and a coffee cup pour a 1/3 of seafoam in the cup. Attach the vacuum hose to the nipple and with the car still running let the engine vacuum suck in the seafoam from the cup. Once empty turn off the vehicle and let it sit for 15min-30min and keep repeating until you finish the bottle.
Next buy a new pcv valve and replace that, you might be leaking from there.
Third thing you can do is remove all your spark plugs into each spark plug hole pour in marvel mystery oil, then loosely install all your plugs and let it sit over night, "Do not attempt to start the car you can blow the engine up". After sitting over night, remove the plugs, then start the engine without the plugs, the mm oil will shoot out of each spark plug holes. Once the majority of mm oil has emptied reinstall the plugs and this should help cure or greatly reduce your consumption.
Next buy a new pcv valve and replace that, you might be leaking from there.
Third thing you can do is remove all your spark plugs into each spark plug hole pour in marvel mystery oil, then loosely install all your plugs and let it sit over night, "Do not attempt to start the car you can blow the engine up". After sitting over night, remove the plugs, then start the engine without the plugs, the mm oil will shoot out of each spark plug holes. Once the majority of mm oil has emptied reinstall the plugs and this should help cure or greatly reduce your consumption.
I would be very interested in performing this on my car but am not sure exactly which hose to use to suck the seafoam in. Would you mind posting a picture which indicates where this hose is?? I see a "capped off" nipple at the back but there is no hose close to it.
02-20-19, 12:47 AM
#69
Seafoam will basically pressure wash the inside of your engine by spraying chemicals that will attach to the carbon, seafoam softens up carbon. You will have a lot of smoke shooting out of the exhaust pipe throughout the whole procedure. Its super easy to do, and the car will run smoother and faster.
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gr8fulRed (02-26-19)
02-20-19, 08:36 AM
#70
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I have a 2006 Lexus GS300 and my low engine oil level light keeps coming on and off. I took it to the dealer and the Service rep topped it off with oil, advised us to come back after 1200 miles or if the light comes back on. The light came back on the next day we took it back in and without looking at anything or breaking the engine down he stated we need a new engine(motor) @ $7300. What I'm reading that's not necessarily the case. What would you guys recommend? I know I could get a 2ND opinion also.
02-20-19, 08:56 AM
#71
I have a 2006 Lexus GS300 and my low engine oil level light keeps coming on and off. I took it to the dealer and the Service rep topped it off with oil, advised us to come back after 1200 miles or if the light comes back on. The light came back on the next day we took it back in and without looking at anything or breaking the engine down he stated we need a new engine(motor) @ $7300. What I'm reading that's not necessarily the case. What would you guys recommend? I know I could get a 2ND opinion also.
02-20-19, 09:15 AM
#72
I have a 2006 Lexus GS300 and my low engine oil level light keeps coming on and off. I took it to the dealer and the Service rep topped it off with oil, advised us to come back after 1200 miles or if the light comes back on. The light came back on the next day we took it back in and without looking at anything or breaking the engine down he stated we need a new engine(motor) @ $7300. What I'm reading that's not necessarily the case. What would you guys recommend? I know I could get a 2ND opinion also.
The issue is the way your engine head is designed and that the fuel injector do not spray fuel on the intake valves like traditional engines. Lexus did this to save fuel, but that created an issue where dirt/grime/carbon builds up on your intake valves. When you have so much carbon build up, it seeps into the tops of the pistons and gums up the piston rings therefore allowing oil to pass by.
What I would do if I was you, I would remove the intake manifold and manually clean the intake valves with long handle stiff brushes and chemicals like berrymans parts cleaner. Or you can take it to any bmw specialty shop, as their mini coopers have the same issues with carbon. What the mechanics will have is called a walnut blaster, they will remove the intake manifold and with high pressure nozzle spray walnut shells into the head while running a vacuum to clean it at the same time.
After you do this, I would pull all the spark plugs out, and pour seafoam/marvel mystry oil/bg44k etc into each spark plug hole and let it sit over night. If you see any fluids drain out quickly know that, thats more likely where your oil leakage is coming from. I would add more fluid! Then after it has sit overnight, turn the engine over without (very important so you dont destroy the engine) the spark plugs this will shoot out majority of the fluids. Then install new plugs
06-01-22, 10:31 AM
#73
Yep....the G35 issue was bad...it actually stopped me from getting one. My 08 350 doesn't burn a drop of oil. I wonder if this could be attributed to the oil not getting up to temp or circulating well before some may go flying down the road. I'm just saying that because now days I see people driving off before all the warning lights on the dash go out and in some cases on the highway in less than 1/4 of a mile.
I'm saying this because I had a friend that had a BMW x5 w/4.8 and it would lower the redline and warn you when cold if you went above 2000 rpm. I could be way off...IDK but it seem plausible to me.
I'm saying this because I had a friend that had a BMW x5 w/4.8 and it would lower the redline and warn you when cold if you went above 2000 rpm. I could be way off...IDK but it seem plausible to me.
06-12-22, 12:54 PM
#75
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Re Excessive consumption.
I have an 07 GS350 (108k) - 2nd owner, all service done by Lexus. Have owned both previous generations and plan to own a 4th whenever I feel like upgrading. I still love my 07 and don't plan to change very soon.
I would like to say that the oil consumption is getting a little frustrating.
I've had Lexus monitor it for the last 5 months and the consumption is definitely higher than what I would consider normal or "within spec". Got off the phone today with the service manager and was given a new spec that I hadn't read before:
Unacceptable is when the consumption is greater than 1.1 qt /600 miles.
As of my last two checks, it was 1 qt at around 1000 miles and 1.5 qt around a little over 1000 miles.
Seems a little excessive to have to wait until 1.1 qt /600 miles to get the seals replaced doesn't it??
I would like to say that the oil consumption is getting a little frustrating.
I've had Lexus monitor it for the last 5 months and the consumption is definitely higher than what I would consider normal or "within spec". Got off the phone today with the service manager and was given a new spec that I hadn't read before:
Unacceptable is when the consumption is greater than 1.1 qt /600 miles.
As of my last two checks, it was 1 qt at around 1000 miles and 1.5 qt around a little over 1000 miles.
Seems a little excessive to have to wait until 1.1 qt /600 miles to get the seals replaced doesn't it??
Dear GS350 owner. i was having the same problem with my Lexus. Luckily i ran into a mechanic that had a lil more logic sense. I thought omg hes going to give me a sermon about engine n blah blah blah.
Nope his answer n suggestion was" to take it a step higher as far as the oil weight". He says ok new engines are great with your average 10 40 weight. Well yourotor starts aging of course therefore it requires thicker oil. Hmmmm i tried it . Low n behold it worked.