[Rango]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I am definitely not a car guy. But I thought I knew how to check the oil level in my car. The last oil change, I used synthetic oil because the mechanic said it would last 7,500 miles. Yesterday, after about 6,800 miles, the "check engine" light and the oil light came on in my car. I checked the oil level and it looked fine. There has never been any oil on my garage floor, but my car was almost totally out of oil. I took the car to Firestone, the guy changed the oil, and he said I only had about one quart of oil in the car. There was no indication of a leak. It is interesting that the low oil light never came on before yesterday. Apparently, when checking the oil, you need to look at both sides of the dipstick. I was only looking at one side. I was also surprised that a car with only 65,000 miles could burn off that much oil with no indication that the car was using any oil. In the future, I will be changing my oil much more often.

Very few if any cars have a “low oil light”. They have a “low oil pressure” light

I was a Ford dealership technician. For warranty purposes 1qt/1000 miles was acceptable

In a modern car 1 qt/1000 miles is too high. You will get a plugged cat converter.

[nn0wheremann]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

I have seen some articles recently that automotive manufacturers consider 1 quart every 1000 miles to be acceptable. Now I would ask the dealer or look at the owners manual to see when the oil light is supposed to come on. Since you do not have any indication of a leak, you are probably burning the oil, you could have someone follow you and see if they see any smoke from the tail pipe.

Wipe the inside of your tailpipe with your finger. Use a paper towel or kleenex if you have delicate fingers. If it comes out with a thick coat of black carbon, your car is burning oil. It should come out fairly clean. When checking oil, park the car on a level surface, remove the dipstick and wipe it clean. Reinsert it, then remove and read the level. Cars back in the old days routinely threw off the top quart in the first 500 miles, but that was then. No car in good running order should use a quart every thousand miles. As new cars age, with the extremely light viscosity oil we use nowadays there will be oil consumption, so ditch the 0-15 or 5-20 for 10-30 after 75,000 or 100,000 miles.
Also, check your oil immediately after an oil change. Some technicians are not careful. I have found oil under-filled by a quart, or over-filled the same amount. A tech at Walmart once lost the crush washer from the drain plug on my Subaru, and used a plastic garden hose washer. The bottom cover under the engine caught the leaking oil for a thousnd miles before it overflowed onto my driveway.

[Tomptomp]

If the PCV (positive crankshaft ventilation) valve is clogged then pressure can build in the crankshaft forcing oil past the rings and into the cylinder. It’s an easy check but unusual problem.

[Rocksnap]

Change out the PVC valve. They are relatively cheap, and are known to fail. What is a PCV valve and how does it work?

[Bwanajim]

I completely restored a 66 Corvette, including pulling the engine and everything else. I don't think I could find a dipstick on my car today!🙄

[Josephjmarchese]

Perhaps, and I hate to say it, but maybe the mechanic who changed the oil before you big loss, didn’t fill it

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by MrChip72

There's a retired mechanic guy on YouTube that has a Dodge Caravan with over 400k miles on it which is extremely rare for a Dodge almost unheard of. (not unusual at all for a Toyota or Honda)

He claimed that to make up for the poorly made Chrysler engine he has changed the oil every 2000 miles and that is the main reason for reaching that level. Seems plausible. 200 oil changes seems a bit extreme though.

I could still be driving my 56 Chevy I brought at 16, most anything can be fixed or repaired it person motivated enough. Not so much with newer electronic controlled vehicles, once rhe miles of wiring get corroded then headed for smasher. In rust belt that’s about 6 years. We see how electric vehicles fair in the rust belt?

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Josephjmarchese

Perhaps, and I hate to say it, but maybe the mechanic who changed the oil before you big loss, didn’t fill it

See I would have known that cause I follow up on anything done to my vehicle other than me.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Bwanajim

I completely restored a 66 Corvette, including pulling the engine and everything else. I don't think I could find a dipstick on my car today!🙄

If you’re taking about transmission dipstick you could be right, some models don’t have transmission dipsticks.

[sowilts]

Originally Posted by Bwanajim

I completely restored a 66 Corvette, including pulling the engine and everything else. I don't think I could find a dipstick on my car today!🙄

My new GLS 450 does not have a dipstick and has a plastic drain plug. Can check the oil level from the computer. S Series has a dipstick. 95k on the 2019 and is the same level when I check.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Josephjmarchese

Perhaps, and I hate to say it, but maybe the mechanic who changed the oil before you big loss, didn’t fill it

That is possible.

[NoMoSno]

I would take it to a trusted mechanic and hook it up to the OBD scanner.
See if any obvious codes could be causing the issue. It should show if a PCV valve may need replacing.
Burning that much oil will clog the Cat in no time.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by NoMoSno

I would take it to a trusted mechanic and hook it up to the OBD scanner.
See if any obvious codes could be causing the issue. It should show if a PCV valve may need replacing.
Burning that much oil will clog the Cat in no time.

If that is the plug-in connection under the steering wheel, it was done, but no indication of a PCV problem. The mechanic who did the computer check said that it could be one of 3 problems costing between $400 and $2000 and that he needed to keep the vehicle for an entire day. It seems to me that the fancy computer gizmo would have suggested that the oil level be checked or that the mechanic could have figured that out himself. It wasn't until he reset the check engine light and I drove away that the red oil pressure light came on. At that point, I checked the oil level, but I only looked at one side of the dipstick, which indicated that there was plenty of oil. So, I took the car to Firestone and the guy knew immediately that the oil level was low, he changed the oil, and the problem was solved. Go figure. What I learned is that you need to check the oil often and you need to examine both sides of the dipstick. I do not know how the oil level got so low, but I have never had this issue with any vehicle I have owned.

[Worldseries27]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

2017 ford escape. I have been changing the oil every 5k miles, until i used a synthetic oil, which is not required for my vehicle. But, honestly, i didn't expect it to burn oil, so i haven't checked the level very often. I tend to be lax about maintenance because i consider vehicles to be disposable items. I would never keep a vehicle for more than about 80k miles. I know that many people don't like fords, but they seem to be the best value today as compared to toyotas and hondas, especially if you are not keeping the vehicle very long.

I recently tried to buy a toyota using the costco free buying service, but the price the dealer wanted was outrageous. The rav4 was about 10k higher than the ford escape.

i know a guy who returned his 2017 ford escape and got a new engine block from key scales ford leesburg. it was covered under a recall. It was running rough and burning oil. Suggest you let them look at it. You got nothing to lose. If it's not covered under a recall you can always walk out. No harm in asking.

[NoMoSno]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

If that is the plug-in connection under the steering wheel, it was done, but no indication of a PVC problem.

Yes.
Keep an eye on the oil level.
It could be just a fluke (last oil change wasn't filled properly)?