[Babbs1957]

Drips and smoke are not the only signs of oil leak. Current autos:

2003 Chrys TC minivan - 204352 mileage, no oil drips on floor, but minor drops from seal that burns off within seconds of squeezing out of engine periodically, change every 7k and never seen a loss on stick.

2010 Mercedes 350 - 289458 mileage, oil drips constant, change every 7k and always see a loss on stick. Oil burns off on back of engine from seal, what does not burn off, works it's way along the undercarriage shield and collects dirt until it's almost a solid in the rear of the shield back by rear tires. Usually drops off in big chunks when we hit a large bump like a cow patty if I don't get to it during a lift inspection.

2019 Hyund Sonata - 125234 mileage, no constant oil drips, but minor drops burn off on engine, change every 7k and never seen a loss on stick.

A quart of oil every 1k is unacceptable, every 5,000 or 10k is unacceptable for any engine that you would consider reliable.

[MicRoDrafting]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

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.

[Topspinmo]

Here’s pretty basic information on how to check oil, when check oil, and oil change intervals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9-YT9RiM84

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by MicRoDrafting

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.

Subaru’s have had engine problems in pass just like other brands boxer engines are extremely hard to work on when the do have problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMJMu2S9NMc&t=646s

[jimjamuser]

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.

[NoMoSno]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

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.

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

[MrFlorida]

None of my cars ever used that much oil between oil changes, something is seriously wrong here.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

That is STRANGE. As a general rule, newer cars should burn less oil than older cars. You could look on the internet for people with your same year and model of vehicle and see what they are saying about oil consumption. Also remember that stop traffic is hard on a car because idling is harder on a car than long distance driving. So, there are a lot of variables including drivers - some are fond of heavy accelerating from a stop light. Others slowly move up to the speed limit. So, driver individuality can affect oil burning.

[almondz]

I used to have a Ford station wagon. I finally just had to get rid of it because the headliner fell apart. It had 234,000 miles and just wouldn't die.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by nn0wheremann

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.

I agree with everything that you said, especially the idea of checking the tailpipe for excessive oil burning. My humble opinion is that in Florida, I am not sold on multiple weight oils. They are fine for up North, but in Florida I prefer a straight weight 30W oil.

[CarlR33]

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.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by NoMoSno

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

Ok, now I am curious. Instead of just an overall criticism of my post. Please go further and dissect (preferably sentence by sentence) what you believe to be incorrect statements.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by CarlR33

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.

I usually do, but I cannot say for sure. It is possible that he didn't fill it properly.

[J1ceasar]

Another possible explanation is that it was never filled properly or full to begin with

If you think about it you should be checking it once a month for the next few months to see how it is filled up.

And honestly both sides of the stick should show the same exact amount. You're supposed to wipe off the stick first and put it back in
Before you actually check it.

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.

[retiredguy123]

I always wipe off the dipstick completely. But apparently, sometimes you will get some oil on one side of the stick when you slide it in. That is why, you need to look at both sides of the stick.