Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2448628)

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.

Originally Posted by MicRoDrafting (Post 2448760)

NOTICED that you
Failed to Mention “SUBARU”

Typically the HIGHEST RATING in
Consumer Reports year after year,

and also Known to be Driven the
LONGEST with the MOST MILEAGE

and RECENTLY LEARNED that
the SUBARU Company Maintains
Superior Safety Standards over the
other Automotive Manufacturers.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2448775)

Florida has such great humidity and that humid, water filled air can get into a cars crankcase where it has an ADVERSE effect on the oil. The oil and water mix and then the combustion process in the cylinders causes both OIL and WATER to end up going out of the exhaust system. A person that starts and stops driving after a short distance would intensify this water in the oil problem.

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2448631)

The Firestone mechanic said the same thing that VT said. It is acceptable to burn one quart every 1000 miles. Apparently, newer cars burn more oil than older cars.

Originally Posted by nn0wheremann (Post 2448731)

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.

Originally Posted by NoMoSno (Post 2448782)

If your mechanic told you that, you'd better find a new one.

Originally Posted by CarlR33 (Post 2448800)

If not already said, did you check the oil after the oil change or trust the mechanic? I would refill to full and recheck often until you know the true baseline.

Originally Posted by retiredguy123 (Post 2448604)

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.