SinF and mjm3457, I think you're both seeing boogers in your oatmeal (that's southern US for seeing a problem that really isn't there). The fact is that some cars burn oil as the engines wear in and others don't. My '93 Nissan 240SX never burned a drop (sold at 105k miles). My '03 Honda S2000 burned two quarts between oil changes for the first couple of years (takes 10W-30 btw). Then it stopped burning. My '07 Subaru WRX burned about a quart of oil between changes the entire time I owned it (sold at 75k miles). My '14 BMW 435i burned a quart of oil between each oil change for the first two years but now appears to have stopped burning oil. On the other hand, my wife's '01 Nissan Pathfinder never burned a drop of oil, but the head gasket blew at 130k. I know that my personal experience is anecdotal, but the experience of countless others is the same. If a car engine burns from new and then stops; no problem. If a car engine burns from new and continues to burn the same amount; no problem. If a car engine starts burning oil when it hasn't been burning oil; PROBLEM!

This is incorrect. The top mark is the maximum amount of oil that's acceptable (too much oil is also bad). The bottom mark is the minimum amount of oil that's acceptable. If the range indicated the entire amount of oil, then the bottom mark would read "empty". Also, the engine would likely break before it got to the bottom mark.

 

My approach: if you have to top off oil between oil changes when following manufacturer-specified oil change interval than you have an issue.

If my F-type used "quart of oil between changes" I'd be annoyed, but would likely let it be. Anything more, and I'd press for a fix.

For my classic cars, with some engine-specific exceptions, I start investigating when oil consumption exceeds 1L/1000km. I believe modern cars should never approach this level of oil consumption.

 

Following that approach, three of the last four cars that I've owned have an issue... but they don't. It will be interesting to see what happens with my new '17 F-Type S MT.

 

Based upon a couple of years of experience reported on this forum, these engines don't tend to burn oil even while being broken in. I've not added a drop and on my 3rd oil change.

Given that, I'd worry a little about one that was an oil burner, but my experience w/ many other cars has been similar to yours.

 

For my 2016, that'd be a quart in 16K miles. My Saab 9-2x (tarted up Subaru Impreza) would be empty by then, at lest towards the end of my association with it. OK, maybe the middle as well. If I had to top up as often in the F-Type as I did with it I'd be pretty unhappy, and making noise about it.

 

Love that "booger in my oatmeal" comment. I'll look carefully in the morning, if I see 'em, I'll change brands.

1982 Audi 5000, 135K miles, never burned oil; 1995 BMW5-series, 95K miles, never burned oil, 1999 BMW 328i, 135K miles, never burned oil; 2003 Nissan Pathfinder 90K miles, never burned oil; 2006 Audi A6, 60K miles never burned oil; 2012 Audi A7, 47,000 never burned oil (yet), 2013 Audi Q5, 27K miles, never burned oil (yet), 2016 Jaguar F-Type Base, 4700 miles, oil level shows exactly full. I mean I never added oil between regular changes in any of my cars, and never was the oil level off full when it went in for a change. I tell the truth.

Maybe it just me, but I don't buy motor oil anymore, since I stopped doing my own oil changes back in the mid-80's. If I saw car burning a full quart or more between changes at any mileage, I'd be pretty unhappy.

 

I don't doubt you're telling the truth. It's just that based on my experience, I don't worry about a car initially burning oil.


When I got my '03 S2000, it was pretty well known that they'd burn oil up until about 10k miles. I had a conversation with a guy on an S2000 forum who was local to me and we got together to talk about our cars. I asked him how much oil he'd added and he said none, but he'd never checked the oil. He only had about 3k miles on it. He actually didn't know how to check the oil, so I did it for him. When I checked it, none showed on the stick. I added two quarts of 10W-30 before it finally showed just above the minimum marking. I told him that he needed to add another quart. I pretty much saved him from burning up his engine. Funny thing is, he never reimbursed me for the oil and I never heard from him again.

 

1972 Vega. Only burned oil!

 

Ditto.....and none of the new vehicles I've purchased (over 15 in the last 10 years) have burned a noticeable amount of oil, even during break-in.

Break-in isn't what it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago; engines are manufactured to much higher tolerances these days and many break-in procedures are overkill and carry-overs from days gone by IMO.

I've raced motorcycles for years and I've rebuilt engines in the pits and then gone out and raced them....ideal? perhaps not but it didn't cause any measurable harm either.

I would accept a small amount of oil burn on a new car until about 3000 kms, but if it required much topping up between changes after that, I'd have warranty step in or I'd get rid of it.

2 cents,
Dave

 

Ha, I had one too! Truth!

 

Not much to add except that I also encountered some squirrely oil level information. I am 5000 mi and 8 months in, just completed a 2000 mi road trip. Not sure if I checked oil when I got back, I know I did halfway through and the indication was OK, but at the lower end of the band.
I checked today in prep for another trip and indication was underfilled, cold. So I ran the engine for 10 minutes and let it sit for 20, still underfilled. The manual says add 1.5 for that indication.
I decided to just add .5, wait 10 and check again. This time the indication said, low, add a liter. I added the remaining .5, waited ten and the reading said OK and was in the middle of the band.
Don't know what to conclude, but I am surprised that there was no warning for low oil when I started it up today or while driving the last time. There are warnings for about everything including low washer fluid!
Makes me long for a real dipstick to see the oil!
Larry

 

This video tells the whole story about Jag 5.0 V8 and AM V8+ V12 engines. Powered by Ford.

 

I recently notice on my 2016 F Type R that my oil level was about half full. Now I remind you I receive this car in September from the dealer with only 90 miles on the odometer and now I have a total of 1,900 mile on the car. I spoke with my SA about this issue and he said this is the first they have heard of this issue. They top off the oil and told me to bring the car back in two months for them to recheck the oil level. This is Starting to be very concerning for me after reading this thread.

 

That's interesting. I received my '17 V6S last April. I checked the oil yesterday and it was full to the top. The line was yellow though. I'm not sure what that means.