I recently bought a Lexus 2001 RX 300, In the past few weeks I have had to add 2 qts of Oil and have only driven 800 miles. I will be taking it to a lexus dealer next week to have it checked out. Has anyone had this problem?

It has 105,000 miles, does not seem to burn oil and there are no leaks.

The previous owner had great records, used synthetic oil Mobil 1 .. changed the oil approx. every 7,000 miles, shortly after purchasing the vehicle the Oil light came on and I had the oil changed and it was full. There was a puff of black smoke after the RX300 sat for a couple days. I did have to replace 4 O2 sensors right after purchasing the vehicle.

 

that doesnt make sense.
it doesnt burn oil nor is there any oil leaking from under but somehow you have to add 2 quart of oil. where is the oil going? any more info could help us diagnose your problem.

 

maybe your engine oil level was low to begin with. you probably bought it with not much engine oil.

 

Welcome to the Club.

4 possibilities I would think.

1. Old oil that is sheared getting past piston rings and going into combustion
2. Bad piston rings
3. Bad compression, cylinder walls scratched
4. Seal leak

Yes, low oil would be another one.

 

Plus, that is a tell tale sign of the sludge problem? (oil consumption?)Right?

 

Even the seal leak might not be noticeable unless driving, some of these leaks can be in some odd locations.

Sludge is always a possibility, but then the oil that is being put in should be going somewhere. In this situation, the newer oil would shear quicker and could get around the piston rings and out the exhaust, though not enough to notice a plume of smoke out the back. Since the engine can't run on sludge.

 

Unless the previous owner's records are lies, then Mobil 1 should not sludge to the point where you'd lose 2 quarts in 800 miles. I've used Mobil 1 on all my vehicles and none has had any sludging or oil issues.

 

Thanks for replying to my question. I took the RX 300 to our Lexus Dealer and they can't find a problem. The next step is to do a 5,000 mile oil consumption test because there is no indication of a sludge problem. It will be interesting to see what the findings are.

 

Ah yes,the old can`t duplicate the problem (cust. complaint) routine.Been their done that.Seems to be the way a lot of dealerships get out of things they can`t figure out.Especially when it comes to warranty work.I have already figured out thing`s on my own, such as the abs/speed sensor problem I have encountered.And I heard people say on this board that their dealer couldn`t duplicate/find that problem too.Makes you wonder,at what 90.00 or what ever it is an hour they get,that their not better educated with some of these problems.They must concentrate on the computer telling them everything that`s wrong I guess.Not all dealerships are bad,I`m not implying that,I just think their is some well,we cant find it, so be on your way attitudes going on here.

 

How did they determine it wasn't a sludge problem?

 

If they were smart, they would take the valve cover off at the dealer AND let you take a look.