jujuC6

Hi all, I once asked if oil consumption was a problem or normal for our cars and most replied that this is normal if moderate. My car has just approached 84K, I had my first oil change at 80k and this weekend I got a low oil level warning. I stopped the engine and let the oil settle for a couple minutes then looked at the dip stick which showed me a low oil level like expected. I got and poured a quart of the same oil used for my oil change Castrol 5/40. Oil level went back to normal but I am concerned that the car went through almost 1 qt. over 4k. I ask again is this normal? There is no drips in the driveway and base on what I could see the seals do not appear to be leaking. One thing I have noticed is that the car shows a very light vapor/smoke when turned on cold even if it is 85°F and sunny outside, is that normal too?

spence341

It is true that these cars consume oil. Frustrating to say the least. I went about 4500 miles on my last oil change before the light came on. I try to have it changed every 5-6,000 miles.

Medic1

Did you check the oil level after it was changed? My guess would be they didn't fill it correctly. Sorry, a lifetime of seeing shoddy work by mechanics has left me cynical.

RDD

Mine goes through a quart every 3k miles or so. So I basically add a quart in between oil changes. Having said that, my old '07 A4 2.0T and my current '03 M3 do not burn a drop of oil at all. Proper break-in procedures.

jujuC6

I witness the whole thing and the oil was measured and shown to me.

jujuC6

So the concensus is that this is normal and not to worry about it as long as I add a quart in between oil changes? Will this worsen well past 100k? I feel better now to know that as much as a quart is normal on this type of vehicle.

KevinGary

I have the dealer change the oil every 5,000 miles and have never needed to add any oil between changes. By the way I am at 73,000 miles.

RDD

I don't think it will magically get worse just because you hit 100k. Considering you are 15k miles away from that mark the oil consumption should stay the same.

jujuC6

Glad to hear you are not affected by this problem. Could the size of the engine have something to do with it given that the V8 would perform under less stress than the V6?