SIDI SV6 SERIES I - excessive engine oil consumption

[Sean880]

Yeah true, I emailed the dealer last night and booked a service for the end of this week. I saw from another forum/thread that if there is still excessive engine oil consumption, then the dealer may take the car in to replace the piston rings.

Since the service intervals are 15,000kms, 30,000kms, 45,000kms...it should not be necessary to have to replace the engine oil during those service periods and nor should the oil levels drop so low that the dip-stick can't even get a reading!

If that is what people think then they will end up destroying their engines. You need to check oil (and other fluid) levels WEEKLY - especially if you are running 100s of kms weekly as most people are. If the oil level is down from full you top it back up. Simple. That way you don't end up with the oil level dropping to dangerously low levels.

You clearly never checked your oil levels in 8000 km of driving and allowed the oil level to drop too low thus causing possible engine damage from lack of lubrication. If the oil consumption was excessive you would have been alerted to this very early with just weekly checks on oil levels from new and had the car into the dealer to check out.

No engine can run 15000 kms without burning some oil. Manufacturer service intervals have nothing to do with engine oil consumption. You will need to top up a vehicle's engine oil between service intervals if you leave 15000 km between oil changes - even 10000 km and less.

People should read their owner's handbooks on weekly checks. GM does not write that for fun.

If your vehicle was using excessive oil from new then I sympathize with you but it is negligent not to frequently check engine oil levels, coolant levels etc in your vehicle.

Had you followed GMs instructions you would have picked up the oil consumption issue very early, never allowed the oil level to drop too low and had the car checked out before any possible damage to the engine was done.

Anyhow I hope the problem is fixed for you.

 

[curious2010]

The engine oil level, other fluids and electronics of the car were checked at 3000kms. There was no indication of excessive engine oil consumption or other faults.

Ideally people may check their engine oil and all other fluids every week. If the engine oil level is low, the 'Check oil' indicator would light up on the dashboard which is in the owners handbook. But that never showed.

I believe in my situation, there is excessive engine oil consumption probably because the piston rings which were fitted might not seal the cylinders properly.

Your info is quite helpful and will heed your advice in the future.

Cheers.

If that is what people think then they will end up destroying their engines. You need to check oil (and other fluid) levels WEEKLY - especially if you are running 100s of kms weekly as most people are. If the oil level is down from full you top it back up. Simple. That way you don't end up with the oil level dropping to dangerously low levels.

You clearly never checked your oil levels in 8000 km of driving and allowed the oil level to drop too low thus causing possible engine damage from lack of lubrication. If the oil consumption was excessive you would have been alerted to this very early with just weekly checks on oil levels from new and had the car into the dealer to check out.

No engine can run 15000 kms without burning some oil. Manufacturer service intervals have nothing to do with engine oil consumption. You will need to top up a vehicle's engine oil between service intervals if you leave 15000 km between oil changes - even 10000 km and less.

People should read their owner's handbooks on weekly checks. GM does not write that for fun.

If your vehicle was using excessive oil from new then I sympathize with you but it is negligent not to frequently check engine oil levels, coolant levels etc in your vehicle.

Had you followed GMs instructions you would have picked up the oil consumption issue very early, never allowed the oil level to drop too low and had the car checked out before any possible damage to the engine was done.

Anyhow I hope the problem is fixed for you.

 

[TinSnips]

Off topic a little, but mobil 1 has a significantly weaker skin than a lot of other brands - but it all comes down to your budget. In a 5w30, Royal Purple will protect better than just about anything - but you'll pay for it.

Castrol 5w30 is good for the money, but there are a bunch of other oils out there for Mobil money that will do a better job than mobil 1. A lot of the mobil caper is hype. Not saying it's bad, just not worth the cash, to me.

There is no reason to vary from the recommended oil grade in a new or near new car - and I'd always recommend a full synthetic.

 

[WogBoyz]

Off topic a little, but mobil 1 has a significantly weaker skin than a lot of other brands - but it all comes down to your budget. In a 5w30, Royal Purple will protect better than just about anything - but you'll pay for it.

Castrol 5w30 is good for the money, but there are a bunch of other oils out there for Mobil money that will do a better job than mobil 1. A lot of the mobil caper is hype. Not saying it's bad, just not worth the cash, to me.

There is no reason to vary from the recommended oil grade in a new or near new car - and I'd always recommend a full synthetic.

Yeah agreed, a little more off topic about all engines using oil, since ive had my ute since it had 100,000kms its now got 127,000kms every oil change ive done it hasnt used any oil, thats with a 10w40 and driven pretty hard

 

[andyman]

is the cars that are using a bit of oil manual by anychance?

manual cars tend to use oil moreso than autos as manual equiped motors do heaps of engine breaking as the revs are always held higher, whereas most autos will drop back down to converter stall speed or idle when cruising nowadays,

best thing would be todo is log an oil burning case with holden, they should start a case on there computers and give you a card to write down your km's amount of oil added etc, they may allow you todo it or you may have to take it to holden to let them top it up and write on the chart to keep consistancy,

to keep consitancy you need to have the car on a level surface and check with the engine hot after letting it rest for 5 minutes


if you check the oil after youve run it for 5 minutes when motor is cold, it will never be accurate as the cold 'thick' oil will hold around the motor rather than drain straight back to the sump

 

[Jarp]

I used a litre in the first 12000kms. I didn't realise the dealer didn't change the oil at the 7500km check. 15000ks between changes seems excessive?!

 

[curious2010]

My SV6 is semi-auto, I drove around for 20 minutes and let the engine rest for 10 minutes, when I checked the oil level it showed abit more than when it was checked cold, but one side of the dip stick always shows more than the other half.

I've written down the times which I checked and refilled the oil, will be heading over to the dealer tomorrow. Will keep this updated.

Thanks for the advice

is the cars that are using a bit of oil manual by anychance?

manual cars tend to use oil moreso than autos as manual equiped motors do heaps of engine breaking as the revs are always held higher, whereas most autos will drop back down to converter stall speed or idle when cruising nowadays,

best thing would be todo is log an oil burning case with holden, they should start a case on there computers and give you a card to write down your km's amount of oil added etc, they may allow you todo it or you may have to take it to holden to let them top it up and write on the chart to keep consistancy,

to keep consitancy you need to have the car on a level surface and check with the engine hot after letting it rest for 5 minutes


if you check the oil after youve run it for 5 minutes when motor is cold, it will never be accurate as the cold 'thick' oil will hold around the motor rather than drain straight back to the sump

 

[RiCeY]

150,000 kms on my LS1 and never requires a topup over 5,000kms. It gets plently of WOT during that time as well.

New motors shouldnt use any oil, complain and complain loudly.

 

[curious2010]

Just went to the dealer this morning, they topped up half a litre of engine oil (5W-30) grade, will come back in 3000kms and re-test how much oil is left.

They didn't find any leakages so it should be an internal problem.

150,000 kms on my LS1 and never requires a topup over 5,000kms. It gets plently of WOT during that time as well.

New motors shouldnt use any oil, complain and complain loudly.

 

[blasto]

Mate, regardless of what people may tell you, it's obvious your own conscience is correct - ie "NO car should be half down the dipstick in 5,000km" Just to repeat "NO car (built this century that is)". Or said in another way, "What RiCeY said"...

If your MY10 is doing this, it's broken.

It does not matter whether you check your oil weekly, or any other interval.

This engine shouldn't use more than a litre (more like 500mL) in 10,000km of HARD driving, and that's not anywhere near half way down the stick as far as I can calculate...

You have a serious problem here, I assume you have done the check with someone driving behind while you are under power, and under compression braking.