Hi Everyone,

I just want to say Kudos to every body on CLUB LEXUS forums excellent work and information.

I have a question regarding the NX oil consumption. I do have an F-Sport model with only 2,400 KM. I was doing a routine check on the car this morning, and I noticed that the engine oil was low, to be exact it was 3/4 full on the dipstick. Car was inside the garage overnight.

I did take a closer look at the engine all around to see if I can spot an oil leak or something however there was nothing. Now from my previous checks I know the car was full right to the full mark on the dipstick.

I did call three different Lexus dealers in the GTA (Toronto) area and I had different answers.

1) I should get the engine running until it reach optimal temperature, then shot off the engine and wait for couple minutes then do an oil check.

2) This is not normal for this car bring it in for service.

3) This is normal for Lexus, 1qt of oil per 1500 KM.

So my questions to you guys is has anybody check there engine oil? if so is there any loss?

Regards,

 

Welcome to the forum and hope you're enjoying your NX.

When my wife brought it in for complimentary 8k km servicing last week, they topped off the engine oil. I thought it was abnormal but they made no references to it being unusual.

 

Given that its a turbo engine, its not entirely shocking that it drinks a little oil. However, a qt of oil every 900ish miles is a little ridiculous.

I personally haven't checked mine at 1200 miles, but I'm going to take it in for an oil change next week (~1500 miles) and I'll ask what the level was.

That's a lot of blowby though....

 

Just my $0.02 worth. I have nearly 6000 miles on my NX. Majority of my driving is very easy starts and stops, with the Eco mode on majority of the time. I did just a few aggressive 0-60 runs just to see how things run. No oil consumption thus far. A recent round trip from Missouri to New Jersey (2,200 miles) resulted in 32.5 mpg. I typically do the posted speed limit. The intent of this is to give you an idea how I drive my NX. I would suspect, that those who drive their new NX more aggressively would obviously get lower gas mileage and possibly have a higher oil consumption.

Regardless of how you drive your vehicle, if your NX is currently consuming oil, obviously keep track of it, add as necessary but also give your engine time (mileage) to "break in". Remember, your engine has a synthetic oil which prevents engine parts from wearing less than conventional oil, but on the other hand, an engine needs to wear in some to effectively seal or mate the surfaces together. If you continue to notice your engine is consuming more oil than what the owners manual states (say at about 15,000 miles), keep receipts and detail records of your oil consumption history. If things do not improve and get worse, you will have evidence to present to the service manager, regional manager etc., for a repair or engine replacement.

Wish you the best,
Ray

 

At that rate, no one will ever make their 10K service!

Not to mention that there would be a good possibility that the car would have some black soot around the tail pipe, no?

 

Yes, you never would make that 10k mile change. Essentially, whoever told the OP that is a borderline moron...or perhaps doesn't understand math? (Oil in car after oil change - (Burn rate/900 miles) =/= safe volume of oil at 10k mile)

Black soot on the tail pipe does not always signify an oil issue. It can also represent that you are running rich, and there is nothing wrong with that. Your tall tail sign of oil consumption is bluish smoke from your exhaust, and the very potent smell of oil from your exhaust pipe.

 

Few things, I have had the up pipe/charge pipe etc (post turbo) off on a 15,16 and 2018 NX. In all off them, the mileage was BELOW 5K, And in all of them there was oil lining the pipes. I work at Lexus so I investigated this. Lexus has rather heavy blow-by through the PCV on there inline 4 cylinder boosted engine (8AR-FTS). They have tried addressing this with a semi dry sump set up and multiple internal baffles to catch the oil before the positive crank pressure vent, while still releasing pressure. The semi-dry sump set system is rather interesting as an engineer to look into. There is a valve that closes off the main sump from the engine when it is started. So, the engine runs off a much smaller amount of oil then when the engine is shut off, that oil re-mixes with the main sump. On top of that there is a windage tray around the crank even for the small amount it uses during run time. This helps pull oil away from the crank and other rotation parts to prevent air cavitation. All of this is still not enough, the engine still pulls a good amount of oil up with the pressure when venting which gets routed back into the intake. Lexus allows/accepts a level of consumption that is 1qt per 1000 miles. This does not mean its going to be 1qt every 1000 leading up to 3qt per 3K.. etc etc. This number is negatively exponential on the amount of oil left in the system after pressure purges off. essentially it gets to a level that stops picking up oil with pressure. But once the engine is restarted, you go back to that higher level with means oil consumption/blow by til it falls back down. This is effected by temp, driving style, elevation.. so many factors. I digress....

This engine NEEDS a catch can. A proper catch can with a proper internal baffle. Only catch is the air would need to route from the can back to the intake because that is metered air.

 

 

I have noticed NO oil consumption in 6 000 miles and am going to do oil change tomorrow. Oil didn't really darken, I'll do it anyway, as I had some maintenance minder messages popping up, so I want to do my own oil change and reset everything.
That was very informative post, skyshadow.
I watch a bunch of Russian Youtube automotive videos and their consensus is - any turboed engine MUST have very good quality oil, for turbo lubrication and that turbos do not last more than 60-100 000 km. That's 45 - 60 000 miles. They are all adamant on turbos to be replaced somewhere in that range and they have more experience with turboed engines than we do. Simple reason - Europe had turboed 4 cyl engines way before the wave hit US and Russia has plenty of them to play with before us.

 

Have you ever noticed this in a 2016+ GS 200T/300?

 

Same engine (8AR-FTS) as the NX300 and IS200t so same set up.

 

I do oil changes on our 2016 nx200t and 2017 is200t every 5k miles. The both drain at least 1/4 qt less when I do the oil changes. I just assumed that was normal. I wondered if I went the full 10K miles then how much oil would be burned up. The oil is very thin so it did not surprise me.

 

Just changed the oil in my 2024 after 12 months and 1700 miles, this is second oil change which I first changed at 1000 miles and yes I do not drive it much. I took it to my Lexus dealer and reluctantly paid the $250. My question is does anybody take their IS500 to a good independent for the oil change as the dealer price seems out of touch with reality, after all it's only an oil change?

 

Yes -any reputable independent shop can perform an oil change. No reason to let a Lexus dealer do it unless it’s free or you simply have a preference for having your maintenance done at the dealer and you’re willing to pay the higher cost.

 

In my state, Toyota dealers charge ~half what the lone Lexus dealer charges for both routine service and parts. I usually do my own oil changes, but purchase the oil filters from a Toyota dealer for ~$5, which includes a new drain plug seal washer. The Lexus dealer charges $10 for the exact same filter, and does not include the seal.