High Mileage Oil - worth the extra cost?

[jbbrown]

I have a Corolla with about 140,000 miles on it. There are no oil leaks, but it does burn through oil. So is high mileage oil worth the extra cost? What does it actually do?

 

[Thegonagle]

I've had a lot of vehicles with well over 100,000 miles, and a few over 200,000.

High mileage oil has some additives which purport to enhance viscosity--or something. I believe it has something like the stuff Lucas Oil Stabilizer is made of.

In my experience, high-mileage oil does help with mild oil burning, by maybe a third to half.

Taking it easy on the engine--basically avoiding high RPMs and fast acceleration if possible--also helps a lot in the oil burning department.

 

[Vetterin]

High mileage oil only cost $1-$2 per 5 qt jug more the conventional oil. If that's too much try switching to 10W40.

 

[mvbighead]

Ya know, I am starting to see that the performance types of oil from an oil change place cost a premium (something like a $45 oil change vs a $25 oil change). Yet the actual bottle of oil is a meager buck or two more. I simply don't understand that logic, but I digress.

I do use high mileage oil in my vehicles, and for what it's worth, I had a jeep up around 215k miles and the engine was still just as strong as when I bought it at 130k. Granted, it was an inline 6 from what I understand are already great engines, but I really don't have anything bad to say about a high mileage oil. My only issue was trying to determine if it simply made more sense to go with a full synthetic and push an extra 1 to 2 thousand miles between oil changes. The consensus in ATG seems to be RTFM so at a 3000 mile interval, I just stick with the high mileage stuff rather than fork out an extra $15-20 for full synthetic.

 

[Throckmorton]

Maybe you should try synthetic. It can withstand higher temperatures

 

[Eli]

High mileage oil usually contains compounds that swell rubber seals. Other than that, I don't think it's a whole lot different from "regular" oil. Maybe some additional detergents.

If your engine is burning oil due to rings, it won't help. If it's because of valve stem seals or other leaks, it will.

Synthetic will likely make the problem worse, especially if it's a seal related leak.

Your Toyota engine should just be getting broken in at 140k miles. 😉

 

[jbbrown]

Thanks to everyone for the comments.

Your Toyota engine should just be getting broken in at 140k miles. 😉

Oh yes, I plan on getting many more miles out of this car! 😀

 

[funboy6942]

Synthetic also doesnt smoke like regular oil so if she is a puffing she wont no more. Will not stop it from burning it up, but it wont leave that embarrassing trail behind you.

 

[KIAman]

Just get the cheapest oil for your car. I get whatever is on sale at Walmart that is either 0-20, 5-20, 5-30 or 10-30 and change my 05 Civic Ex oil every 10-15k miles. These engines don't give a honey badger!

 

[pauldun170]

Whats your actual oil consumption per 1000 miles?

 

[Eli]

10-15k mile oil changes on dino oil is insane unless you're doing oil analysis and know for a fact that the oil is properly lubricating your specific engine under your specific driving and environmental conditions.

 

[KIAman]

10-15k mile oil changes on dino oil is insane unless you're doing oil analysis and know for a fact that the oil is properly lubricating your specific engine under your specific driving and environmental conditions.

I just figure it doesn't matter if my engine only lasts 300k miles rather than 400k miles.

 

[Eli]

I just figure it doesn't matter if my engine only lasts 300k miles rather than 400k miles.

What if it only lasts 200,000 instead of 300,000?

I always strive to take the best care of my engines as I can. Why wear them out unnecessarily?

Shrug. Lots of people only keep a car for 50-80k miles. May as well change the oil every 20k then, eh? The next owner will surely thank you for your impeccable maintenance. But I guess that's not your problem..........

:thumbsdown:

 

[jbbrown]

Whats your actual oil consumption per 1000 miles?

I would guess it goes through about 1-1.25 quarts of oil every 1000 miles. I change the oil every 5000 miles or so. I think the oil capacity is around 4 quarts, so I usually have to add more oil once or twice before I do an oil change.

 

[DVad3r]

My dad's Camry is high mileage and its been burning oil for some time. Stuff like oil stabilizers and no leak fluids help a little, but they don't solve the problem. Replacing the engine seals on your next timing belt change might fix the problem.

My bike used to burn oil as wel, and it isn't a high mileage bike. When I switched to a true full synthetic it doesn't burn oil any longer.

 

[jbbrown]

I always strive to take the best care of my engines as I can.

Wow, I just noticed your signature, you sure keep those Honda's going! I hope to keep my Corolla up and running for that long. 🙂

I typically just use regular Pennzoil or Castrol - sometimes I get the high mileage oil if it's on sale.

 

[waffleironhead]

I would guess it goes through about 1-1.25 quarts of oil every 1000 miles. I change the oil every 5000 miles or so. I think the oil capacity is around 4 quarts, so I usually have to add more oil once or twice before I do an oil change.

Thats pretty high consumption. Is there a leak or are toyota engines of that generation prone to oil losses? I know my saturn 1.9 is a burner, but I only lose about a quart over the 3000 mile oil change cycle.

 

[Eli]

Wow, yeah, that's a gusher. Are you sure it's not leaking? With that much oil being burned, it likely doubles as a mosquito fogger...

Shouldn't be burning that much oil at only 140k 🙁 How do the plugs look? Are they oil fouled?

Insight #2, the 447k mile car, doesn't burn a drop, but it does have a small leak at the rear main seal. About a half a quart every 4,000 miles.

 

[jbbrown]

Thats pretty high consumption. Is there a leak or are toyota engines of that generation prone to oil losses? I know my saturn 1.9 is a burner, but I only lose about a quart over the 3000 mile oil change cycle.

There is no leak, it just burns through oil for some reason. I have looked around online and it seems to be a common problem for Corolla's around 1998-2002. The only fixes people have mentioned are expensive. Some people have mentioned adding valvoline max life oil additive and that seemed to help.

 

[jbbrown]

Wow, yeah, that's a gusher. Are you sure it's not leaking? With that much oil being burned, it likely doubles as a mosquito fogger...

Shouldn't be burning that much oil at only 140k 🙁 How do the plugs look? Are they oil fouled?

No leak that I can see. It is actually a very good mosquito fogger...a couple times a year I have to scrub the back of the car above the tale pipe because it turns my white car gray! 😀

What plugs should I look at?

 

[Eli]

Interesting. Is the problem the valve stem seals like in the 3S-FE engines, or what?

How does it get into the combustion chamber?

Sorry, I meant the spark plugs. 😉

 

[KIAman]

What if it only lasts 200,000 instead of 300,000?

I always strive to take the best care of my engines as I can. Why wear them out unnecessarily?

Shrug. Lots of people only keep a car for 50-80k miles. May as well change the oil every 20k then, eh? The next owner will surely thank you for your impeccable maintenance. But I guess that's not your problem..........

:thumbsdown:

I have never sold a vehicle. I've given them away or junked them. The next owners do thank me, they do all the time. They got a free car.

But thanks for your implied rub on my ethics.

 

[Eli]

I have never sold a vehicle. I've given them away or junked them. The next owners do thank me, they do all the time. They got a free car.

But thanks for your implied rub on my ethics.

Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Though most people sell vehicles, it's a fair assumption.

It's not like I maintain my cars because I care about the person that might buy one next. I don't care, I was just giving an extreme example. It's like "Well, I'm going to die anyway, so I may as well keep smoking these cigarettes".

 

[Meghan54]

There is no leak, it just burns through oil for some reason. I have looked around online and it seems to be a common problem for Corolla's around 1998-2002. The only fixes people have mentioned are expensive. Some people have mentioned adding valvoline max life oil additive and that seemed to help.

Have you tried adding a dollop of Lucas Oil Stabilizer to the crankcase? I really doubted the claims Lucas makes with that product, but after using some to get our dying Blazer home, I'll try some on my next oil burner/leaker. It did the job on the Blazer that blew out its rear main seal 2 hours away from home and before the Lucas was added, the Blazer was leaving a huge mosquito killing synthetic oil fog behind. After adding it, it barely puffed any smoke at all.

 

[KIAman]

Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Though most people sell vehicles, it's a fair assumption.

It's not like I maintain my cars because I care about the person that might buy one next. I don't care, I was just giving an extreme example. It's like "Well, I'm going to die anyway, so I may as well keep smoking these cigarettes".

True. On the flip side, I keep a very aggresive maintenance schedule for the bimmer because I want it to last 200k miles instead of 100k miles, LOL.