I purchased a 2008 LS460 off a lease last summer at 28,000 miles. I had an oil change at 36,000 miles this summer (with one oil change in between). At approx 40,000 miles my oil light came on and after checking the dipstick it was totally dry. It took 2.5 quarts to fill it up. I immediately brought it to my local Lexus dealer. After topping it off they stated they wanted to do a "consumption test" where I drive 1,000 to 1,500 miles and then check the oil level. After 1,400 miles the dipstick looked way down to me (under the lower indicator on the dipstick), but Lexus said it was .4 quarts down and "totally normal consumption." I complained, and we re-performed the test. I had it in there today after 800 miles and the dipstick was less halfway between the full and low on the dipstick. The "master" mechanic again says it is .4 quarts down and "normal oil consumption." If it's .4 down at 800 miles, isn't it gonna be 2 quarts down at 5,000 miles? Does anyone else have this issue with the LS 460? Should I be concerned?

 

The way to test this is to not worry about 800 miles or any specific interval, but to check it on normal intervals. With oil changes going 5k or more, it is ever so more important to check the level regularly. Average engine oil consumption of 1 qt per 3k miles is ok, a little more, fine, a little less, fine... Might be worthwhile to find out where the consumption issue is - cylinder leakdown test is the easiest way, aside from maybe an external oil leak (no, it doesn't have to leave spots on your driveway in order for it to be leaking)...

Just check it every 500-600 miles for now, so long as it is within the normal range, no biggie... You have no idea how many cars come in to shops with less oil than they are supposed to, sometimes by 3 to 4 quarts...

the difference is that you are aware of it...

 

This thread may help https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...rning-oil.html

 

JF - Thanks for link.
Mitsu - Appreciate the info and will follow your recommendation. It's good to know that it probably is not a major issue

 

I have a 2007 I bought new that now has 82K miles and does not consume any oil. I change my own oil at 5k and always measure the used oil I remove from the engine. Oil consumption is always poblamatic. I'm sure Toyota does not design their engines to burn oil. I haved owned 5 Toyotas and none of them consumed oil, even after 250k miles. I always wonder if the previous owner screwed the engine up by improper maintenance. I have a M35 I bought with 30k miles that now has 99k miles that has consumed 1quart of oil every 3k miles and it makes me wonder if it will see 250K.

Why does one engine consume no oil and another is a pig - perhaps it is a quality control issue.

 

all engines will consume a little oil. Some more than others. I wouldnt lose any sleep over it. 250k on an engine is insane. I like the fact that they are durable but I usually dump them at 100k

 

If your car consumed 2.5 quartes between oil changes you would be concerned.

At 100k this engine is just breaking in and should easily make 300k, that is if is not consuming 2.5 quarts of oil between oil changes.

 

All engines consume some oil is not a correct statement. Since l978 my wife and I have owned 12 Toyota and Lexus products. Neither vehicle consumed any oil that was noticeable on the dipstick. I maintain my vehicles very well. I drive fast on the highways but do not do jack rabbit starts nor do I race it. We always owned two vehicles at one time, so no I do not trade or sell that often as to say they were never driven much. Anything can go wrong with any engine, but if you maintain them properly and do not abuse them Toyota products do not consume oil. I have over the years had Corolla's Camry's, P/U's SUV's MR2's Lexus SC 400, Lexus GS and Lexus LS. So I think I am speaking from experience and have had quite a few friends who also owned Toyota products with no issues. I had one friend in CA who drove his corolla so long that the entire vehicle started falling apart due to age, but the engine and transmission never have him any problems.

 

I agree. I frequently check the oil level in my 08 LS with 27k miles and have never noticed any movement of oil level on the dipstick. Maybe a small level of consumption like a half of a quart between oil changes would be ok as long as it did not increase as the car aged.

 

I have a 07 LS 460. The car is continuing to consume oil for the last 15k. Car has 85k and I had to bring in the car after 3,000 miles and it consumed 3 quarts of oil!! Add engine oil light came on. Lexus corporate indicates that it has to be be consuming 1 quart every 600 miles in order to take the engine apart and take a closer inspection of the engine. At this point, I think it is just a matter of time before the engine dies or blows up and something bad happens to whomever is in the car. Need assistance on getting corporate to fix the car. I have a 100k warranty. Lexus is being negligent.

 

I am in the process of following Mitsuguy's recommendation, where the oil level is tested after 5,000 miles. I'm at around 4,000 now and the dipstick has been bone-dry for the last month. Just waiting for the oil light to come on. I am having the same problem with Lexus as you are, Bollywood. Each time they said that the oil consumption is normal. Yet, so many LS460 owners don't have this problem. Something is definitely up.

 

I also have 2007 Lexus 460 LS that is consuming a large amount of oil. It has 200k and and really didn't start till 175K. I have not had it to a garage yet but the oil light comes on at 4 quarts low. I have a 1999 lexus 400 with 350 k that don't use a drop. Any Help Thanks

 

Mine barely uses a drop. Hopefully Lexus will do something about it, but if I recall it has to use a lot of oil. Otherwise I'd be trading it in

 

I had to get problem escalated (lexus corporate warranty group) and they finally agreed to take apart the engine and oil was leaking from the piston rings. It was costly to get repaired but it was covered w/i the extended warranty.

 

Good for you!!
Your experience flies in the face of every other post on here that seemed to be riddled with excuses; (e.g. "....oh it's normal..", "...it's designed that way...", "...all cars do this..". Blah blah blah. Those folks have low reliability expectations in my opinion and their excusing the problem helps no one.
Glad to see you got yours FIXED and the PROBLEM identified.

By the way, had your car had the recall performed? And did Lexus say why the piston rings FAILED? In this years Consumer Reports reliability ranking, the 2008 LS has a half-red circle instead of a full-red circle in the Egine Major. That's a problem in my book. ( I realize the 05 has a half-red and the 06 has a white circle for ENGINE MAJOR. But that doesn't concern me, because the "issue" they seem to reference is the Timing Belt, which isn't an issue at all, it's a required maintained item.) But with the 2008, they don't have timing belts, so something else is going on, perhaps it's the final remnants of the recall being preformed because the previous year's Consumer Reports issue showed the 07 had a half-red circle for Engime Major. This year it has a full-red circle.