Consumer Reports finds some newer cars burn too much oil

[LTC8K6]

I still wonder how this is okay when we have such strict emissions standards? I guess it is getting trapped and burned in the cats?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/consumer-reports-finds-newer-cars-101209204.html

Newer cars aren't supposed to burn oil, but Consumer Reports magazine found that some engines mainly from Audi, BMW and Subaru force their owners to add a quart as often as once a month.

Several engines from the three manufacturers were the main offenders, according to the magazine, including Audi's 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder and 3.0-liter V6; BMW's 4.8 liter V8 and 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8; and Subaru's 3.6 liter six-cylinder and 2.0- and 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines. The Subarus burned less oil than the others.

Affected models include Audi's A3, A4, A5, A6 and Q5; BMW's 5, 6, and 7 Series and X5; and the Subaru Outback, Legacy, Forester and Impreza.

The magazine says that standards for certain Audi and BMW cars say that it's reasonable to burn a quart of oil every 600 to 700 miles. Subaru considers one quart burned for every 1,000 to 1,200 miles to be acceptable, Consumer Reports said.

 

[evident]

meow meow. my 07 accord burned oil at about a quart per 6000 miles. just chalked it up to being normal.

 

[crashtech]

Modern thinking on piston rings is to go pretty low with the tension to decrease friction and wear, and it works very well. But go a bit too far and you lose control of oil and even combustion gasses in extreme cases.

 

[Viper GTS]

A quart every 6k is nothing. A quart every 1000 is what my 2004 Forester did with 150k miles on it when I sold it.

A quart every 6-700 on a brand new luxury vehicle is going to piss off a lot of people.

Viper GTS

 

[NutBucket]

It's a BMW...no need for oil changes!

 

[Belegost]

meow meow. my 07 accord burned oil at about a quart per 6000 miles. just chalked it up to being normal.

That does sound normal. Using 10 quarts in 6000 miles seems a lot less normal - despite the assurance from Audi/BMW that it's reasonable.

 

[Phanuel]

My '08 A4 is burning about a quart every 4,300 miles. So pretty normal to me. But I have read plenty of reports of people burning a quart within 2k miles and that's an issue.

 

[bruceb]

I would not be surprised, given that a lot of cars use 5W30 or 0W30 oil, both of which are very thin. And if ring clearance is just a touch on the high end of design specs, you will see some oil usage. Best bet, just check it every 2 weeks or every 500 miles or so. Add if needed.

 

[crashtech]

5W-20 is common, which is even thinner.

 

[joutlaw]

Our 2010 Accord 4 cylinder uses 5W-20. It was burning 1 quart per 1K miles. There was a TSB about this and Honda still tried to hide it from us.

We did a oil consumption test for several thousand miles. During one test time they overfilled with oil and I found after 200 mile ride. From that point on I checked the oil after every consumption test at the dealer. After the results were in they refused to do anything saying 1 quart per 1K miles was normal. If you go by the maintenance minder on a Honda Accord, you will get around 8K miles before it says it's time to change the oil. The car only holds 4.2 quarts of oil, so do the math.

I ended up throwing a damn fit in the middle of the dealership. I called out the GM on their shady tactics overfilling my car in front of a bunch of customers. I mentioned the TSB that proved it was a known issue with 2008-2010 4 cylinder Accords. He called me in office and said the Honda regional rep would be in and they would take a look at the car.

In the end, they fixed our car. The problem was poor machining of the cylinder walls that would not let the rings properly seat. It's been close to 2 years and it doesn't use oil now. I still check it once a month though.

After that debacle, it is unlikely that I will buy a Honda again.

 

[LTC8K6]

Why even have oil changes if you are adding a fresh quart every 1K or less? By the time you reach 5K, you have completely replaced the oil, and most of the oil has much lower mileage.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I just bought a brand new Impreza knowing about the whole oil thing. It appears that the 2014-2015 models are seeing a lot fewer occurrences of it. We'll see what happens!

 

[thomsbrain]

Looked like I was down about 1 quart over 15,000 miles on my Accord (260,000 miles on engine). That was with Amsoil Signature 5w20 (hence the long interval).

Unfortunate to hear about the issues on the recent Honda 4-cylinders, though it sounds like it only affects people who have never driven their car hard enough to break it in. Honda builds generally solid products but they do have a history of sweeping their few issues under the carpet.

 

[Yuriman]

I'm at 185k on my 2000 Insight, and the engine only holds ~2.5 quarts of 0w20 oil. Between 10,000 mile changes, the dipstick doesn't move at all. I'd be surprised if it's burning more than a tenth of a quart per 10k miles.

 

[mmntech]

I'm at 185k on my 2000 Insight, and the engine only holds ~2.5 quarts of 0w20 oil. Between 10,000 mile changes, the dipstick doesn't move at all. I'd be surprised if it's burning more than a tenth of a quart per 10k miles.

Same with my 05 Civic. Oil level never seems to noticeably change. Just gets dirty. Which reminds me, it's due for an oil change.

Audi doesn't shock me as I've known Volkswagens to mysteriously leak fluids. Though it's usually coolant.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

AJ-V8 in my 06 LS is burning ~0.6qt / 4.5K miles (5W20 synth).
I just top it up and call it good for another few K (confirmed good with multiple UOAs)

 

[foghorn67]

My Chevy with the 3.6 V-6 looses about 1/2 quart every 8,000 miles.

 

[repoman0]

Not just new ones .. my 03 330i is burning through a quart per 1k miles or so at 145k miles. I've fixed all leaks and possible problem points and still does it, so must be getting past the rings. I'm halfway between keeping it as a winter beater and selling it for a different winter beater before the rest of the car grenades itself.

Luckily the S54 I have waiting for me in its replacement isn't known to have such issues (just floors ripping out and VANOS killing itself )

 

[gus6464]

My wife's 2012 Accord 4cyl burns no oil or so little that I can even tell. I take it for a change every 10k miles and use 0W20 synthetic.

 

[tortillasoup]

I don't care what the manufacturers say so that they can absolve themselves of any responsibility. If a NEW vehicle uses 1 quart every 1000 or so miles, it's GARBAGE. My friend's Montero Sport with 250K miles on it uses 1 quart every 1000 miles and he's tempted to dump the vehicle just on that alone!

 

[Demo24]

My Subaru wrx greatly depended on the oil I used. 5w30, it would burn some over 3000 miles or so, don't think it was ever a quart. 5w40, never burned a significant enough amount to notice.

I should probably check my gti since it uses the same base engine as those audis.

However, my Mazda 3 uses low weight oil like that and doesn't seem to be using any over its first 10k in ownership.

My girlfriends 99 Saturn burned oil about the rate Audi says is 'normal', but damn you could tell it was burning oil and it sure wasn't normal!

 

[KMc]

Strange, I have an '08 A4 and only need to add 1/2 quart every 8-9,000 miles. And that's after 110,000 miles of 10,000 mile oil change intervals.

 

[shabby]

The magazine says that standards for certain Audi and BMW cars say that it's reasonable to burn a quart of oil every 600 to 700 miles.

Only a matter of time before they say burning coolant is normal.

 

[joutlaw]

Looked like I was down about 1 quart over 15,000 miles on my Accord (260,000 miles on engine). That was with Amsoil Signature 5w20 (hence the long interval).

Unfortunate to hear about the issues on the recent Honda 4-cylinders, though it sounds like it only affects people who have never driven their car hard enough to break it in. Honda builds generally solid products but they do have a history of sweeping their few issues under the carpet.

That was not the case for me. I followed the break-in schedule. It was my wife's car, but she doesn't drive like a grandma. She doesn't go WOT to and from work, but she is not easy on it. Typically, it would see some WOT pulls when I'd drive. Mainly because the 4 cylinder is weak.

For that gen Honda Accord, it is known problem that Honda tried to hide well. I have heard they have started to rebuild more engines due to the problem. Ultimately, you buy a Honda for it to be reliable. That was not the case with this car.

Back to the topic - no car should burn excessive amounts of oil as compromise for better MPG.

 

[xBiffx]

German engineering has always been an entity unto itself.