I have a 2007 Lexus LS460L and I have to put about a quart and a half of oil in the vehicle every 400-500 miles. I have no oil leaks all the engine gaskets have been replaced. I have to drive around with oil in the trunk of my vehicle. The Lexus dealership cannot tell me what is the problem. Can anyone tell me what I should do???? I really love this vehicle and it is a bull dog on the highway distance driving. Thanks in Advance.

 

Oil burning can be perfectly normal....can be dependent on your driving style as well.

Your manual will state that you may have to add oil every 600 or so miles

 

Any competent Lexus dealer should be able to show you the cause. My guess is that since this is an old car, they don't believe you will be a good source of income in the future, so they did not waste their time on you. In Texas, this oil loss, (which I assume is coming out the exhaust, meaning piston rings are worn), would not pass state inspection, resulting in eithier having to fix the cause, or drive around a non-legal car. Check your engine oil dipstick. If the oil is getting dark almost immediately after changing it out, this probably confirms that the piston rings are worn out througn excessive miles, so they need to be replaced, (not cheap).

I would find a place that could confirm that the engine is burning excessive amounts of oil, (at this rate, anu half experiencede mechanic (if not you), shoulld be able to smelll the oil coming out), then decide if you want to pay the money to fix it.

If mine, I would sell it for as much as possible , then find me another similiar used car that I could afford, that has similiar benefits to your LS460L.

 

You didn’t say how many miles you have on your LS, but at this point, you might just have to live with it. Our ‘08 with 152k miles burns about a quart every 1k miles. We had a leaky fuel pump, but that was fixed.
Also - since I see this is your first post - if you haven’t done so, check out the LS460 sub-forum. Plenty of discussions regarding oil burn.

 

Find a good independent mechanic to diagnose the problem. Burning oil will eventually crud up your cats compounding to the cost of repairs. Deal with it now or pay more later. If you go to sell reveal the problem to the next buyer.... if your honest.

 

Welcome to CL as a new poster.

The usual reasons for excessive oil-use (but not always) are worn or defective piston-rings or valve-seals. Are you the original owner of the vehicle, and/or do you know if it was broken-in properly from the start? Break-in-prodedures in the Owner's Manual (usually for the first 500-1000 miles) are there for a reason. If not followed, piston-rings and valves will not seat properly, and it may become an oil-burner.

And, even if broken--in properly, piston rings an valves don't last forever. How many miles are on this vehicle? As any engine starts to age, the chances of oil-use radically go up...although, in most cases, you will not notice it for years unless it has defective rings from the factory.

In some cases, though, if one does not want to (or can afford to) invest in a major engine repair, sometimes using a heavier, High-Mileage engine-oil or oil-stabilizer will help. It is not a magic fix-all, but will sometimes at least slow down the rate of oil-consumption by using its thicker viscosity to help seal up the worn-space between the moving-metal-parts in the engine. The downside is that it can make the engine harder to crank in cold weather, particularly with a weak battery, and also reduce fuel economy, because it puts more of a drag on some of the engine-parts.

 

There is good advice in this thread so far. I would add...

A simple compression test will help figure out why you are burning oil and what to do about it. It is inexpensive, and if done properly, will tell you if you are losing oil via the rings or valve guides/seals.

Before trying a heavier oil, use a crankcase oil additive to dissolve any deposits that may be causing your oil rings to not function properly. Typically each piston as a couple of compression rings, above an oil ring. It is the oil ring's job to scrape oil off the cylinder wall on the down stroke. The oil ring is usually a three-piece part that can get gummed up over time. After running the additive for the bottle-prescribed amount of time, change your oil using a top-tier oil like Penzoil Ultra Platinum and see if the consumption improves. If not, try running the heavier weight oil as M&M suggested. Don't use additives labeled for stopping leaks, use a name brand additive formulated for oil burning only.

Going forward, always run a premium oil filter from Wix or Purolator to keep the oil clean. Don't take your LS to places like Jiffy Lube which use rot-gut oil and filters unless you specify the better, more expensive options. Use a well reviewed independent shop instead.

If non of the above works and your engine has very high-miles, or if oil changes have been neglected over time, your best bet may be a used engine from a low-miles, totaled, junk-yard LS. A good mechanic can find one and install it for you!

 

My RX starting consuming oil around 260,000 miles. I now have 303,000 miles on her. I change the oil and filter every 3,000 - 3,500 miles. Here is what i do now and it seems to work. I changed my oil from Valvoline 5w30 to Valvoline 10w30 for cars over 75,000 miles. I substitute one quart of oil in a 5 quart change with 1 quart of Lucas stop leak. Thats 80% 10w30 oil and 20% stop leake. I keep a couple of quarts of 80% / 20% mix in the trunk and learned how to read the dip stick so I add 4 to 6 oz of oil / stop leak mix as needed. Nothing runs forever but this combination of 80 / 20 has gotten me down the road about 40,000 in the last few years. BTW a mechanic friend told me that 1 quart of oil consumption per 1,000 miles in an older car is about normal. Bill B.

 

If you have oil leaks, fix them. If you are burning oil, don't run an oil-stop-leak additive, run an oil-burning (preventative) additive.

 

that's a lot of oil addition, essentially adding oil at every fill up?! how many miles are on the vehicle? what's your driving condition (city vs highway)? this is a flagship model which has a great engine which should last if well maintained.

 

From research, I know the engine 1ME FE is a great one and has the potential for many many miles. The SUV isn't leaking any oil. There are no driveway stains under the vehicle.

Around town I burn approximately one quart every 1,000 miles. The vehicle doesn't smoke and passes the state annual safety inspection without issue. When driving long distances at sustained high speed, I add about 1/2 quart of oil/stop leak mix every 300 miles which is when I stop to refill my almost empty gas tank. So when driving long and fast I've learned to check the oil level carefully after I fill up with gas and I carry plenty of spare oil with me.

 

Then, don't use a stop-leak additive; use a stop-burn additive.

 

Unfortunately thats not uncommon for high mileage LS460s.

 

Wilson2000, I appreciate your input. Can you suggest a stop burn additive that I may try to address the problem? Thanks, William99

 

I would try products from Sea Foam, Marvel Mystery Oil or Lucas. You want a product that has properties which will dissolve carbon and varnish deposits that gum up the oil rings. Additives that recondition seals, a la the valve stem seals, are helpful as well. These products don't work overnight, and different products have different procedures for using them, so read the labels and follow the instructions. Also, switch to the best oil on the market, Penzoil Ultra Platinum! It can help to break down deposits via its additive package, or at least prevent issues from worsening.