I Learned Something Today about Cars
 

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.

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.

Changing the oil at 5k miles will always work in your favor.

Btw what brand of car do you own?

Thanks. If one quart every 1000 miles is acceptable, then my car is acceptable because I had gone 6,800 miles and the car only holds 6.5 quarts. It seems like a lot of oil to burn. I had no idea that cars burned that much oil. I will need to check the oil more often.

Hard to explain? My truck (Nissan Frontier) is approaching a couple hundred thousand miles. I have changed the oil since it was brand new. I only use Amsoil Signature Series oil and a Wix XP oil filter. The oil and filter are rated for 12K miles, but I change it every 9K. When I change the oil it is typically only down less than 1/4 quart. I do the same with my wife’s Honda HRV, which has about 102K miles, and it doesn’t seem to burn more than a couple ounces. I guess every car is different?

Do not think you should be burning so much oil thinking something is going on with your engine.

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.

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.

I agree that a Ford (or Jeep) is a good value if you’re not planning on keeping it over 80K. If you want a car that will last a very long time you’re better off buying a Japanese rice burner (Honda, Toyota, Nissan, or Subaru). And if it’s a golf cart, a Yamaha.

Buy an electric vehicle and you will have 0 worries about the oil level or changes

Burning that much oil is totally unacceptable.
The language about "1 quart every 1000 miles" being acceptable is there to limit warranty claims. What it really means is "we won't fix anything until it burns more than 1 qt every 1000 miles".

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.

Just sold my 2012 Escape. Never burned oil. Always use synthetic, especially with the water-thin oil 5-20 they use nowadays.
Bought a Rav4 that was 4k less than a new Escape.
Look at Toyota of Clermont. Family run, no pressure sales. Not loaded up with dealer add-ons you don't want.

Highly unusual. Any possibility the previous fill was short?

What model and make?

Royalty Auto puts out some interesting, real world videos.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3MXfuHS52H4

I learned long ago that all new cars should be driven gently for the first 1000 miles, then change the oil at that point. Then 4 thousand miles later at 5000 miles change the oil again, then every 5000 thereafter. I’ve purchased many new cars over the years and followed this procedure and none of my cars have ever burned more than a few ounces of oil before my next 5000 mile oil change. Years ago I used 500/3000 miles as oil change rule, but 1000/5000 is appropriate these days. BTW driving a 2017 Mazda CX5 with 85000 miles on it. Just changed the oil, was down about 3oz.