Oil Consumption

[akdj1055]

Hey Merriam-Webster, your definitions were cute but provided no insight. Instead of using political tactics, answer the question: What's the point of the quart in 2,000 miles standard?

And I don't believe the N* follows different guidelines - as the published guideline is for all GM vehicles 1998-2007 under 8,500 GVW (01-06-01-011D - 4/03/2007).

Anyway, my oil burner is a V6.

[carolp]

Hi. Am having a nightmare with late 05 SRX, now 36,000 miles. Twice, within 4,000 miles of dealer oil change, the car has been 4 to 5 quarts low. No warning light came on. Each time identified on Saturday afternoon or Sunday (bad noise when going uphill) and added synthetic oil at reputable service station garage. Yes, I looked at oil gauge with rather horrified mechanic and watched while they added oil. Talked with dealer each time. Finally, began oil consumption check. My car appears to be burning 1 qt/1000 miles after three oil consumption checks. Service manager says that's within "acceptable" range and won't file report, because he says there are no other symptoms than oil consumption and if they take engine out, check it, and find nothing that factory will not reimburse them. And, since there's nothing wrong with the engine other than the oil consumption they will not find anything....Huh? What next? I won't recount the various contradictory things they have said but it's amazing. Any suggestions or help? I'm about to write a very serious letter, but to whom? CarolP

[david1]

All factory's use these rediculous oil consumption standards. I was through it with Mercedes and Ford.

Ask them what happens to the catalytic convertor when it is exposed to that much oil. They will stutter, and ask what ?

Remember,
Sqeaking wheel gets the oil, switch dealers.

[King3244]

LMAO.....Mirriam-Webster.....I like that better than being called a F"ing know it all. I actually used Wikapedia but lets not split hairs.

I'm not saying that N*s are different than any other GM engine.....all I am stating is that the older N*s were noted for oil consumption and if you go over to the seville/eldorado board you will find pages of discussion on the subject.

And I stand by what I said and what carolp stated "Service manager says that's within "acceptable" range and won't file report,". 1 qt in 1000 miles is "acceptable" (to GM) BUT 1 qt in 800 miles will get you into "their" excessive range and they "MAY" do something!

End of story.....thats all she wrote!

[akdj1055]

King - you must work for GM as your stance sounds all too familiar - avoid answering the question at all costs.

That's not the end of the story - because you still didn't answer the question. What's the point of the quart in 2,000 mile spec?

We're not talking about 10 year old N*'s. We're talking about engines, under warranty, not performing anywhere close to GM's own specifications.

Please answer the question!

[Infrared in Idaho]

Welcome to the land of GM. 04 SRX AWD V6 goes through 1qt/1000 miles. Samething dealer will not do anything. 93 Volvo 940 with 475,000 miles burns no oils. 84 Dodge D250 with 250,000 miles, again burns no oil. Maybe GM has gotten so big they don't give a s**t about the consumer anymore.

[john d]

Originally Posted by Infrared in Idaho

Maybe GM has gotten so big they don't give a s**t about the consumer anymore.

You just may have hit on something! ! !

[King3244]

Well first off I don't work for GM and never have!

What is the 2000 mile spec that you are talking about?

As to 10 year old cars.....they didn't start that way they were new once as well and under warranty.....I'm just saying that there is a wealth of knowledge over on the seville/eldorado board and it has been discussed at length and that the problem is not new to the 04 and newer SRX's. The answer or at least much discussion is there...you just don't want to go look for it....you would rather rag on me.

You guys are getting your tail feathers in a knot and getting mad at me for stating GM's policy which is "they will not even consider a car to be using excessive oil until it uses more than 1 quart in 800 miles". I didn't make it up......I am just stating a fact.

Don't get me wrong I would be plenty po'ed if any car I owned burned anywhere near that much oil...... regardless of the brand. You are shooting the messenger.....I didn't make the policy nor do I enforce it, I am just telling you what it is.

[akdj1055]

Since you obviously aren't familiar enough with the spec., there's no point in your further input.

The spec. simply states nearly all GM motors under warranty should not consume more than one quart of oil in 2,000 miles - plain and simple.

Will any of the contributing techs please expound on this topic?

For the first 25,000 miles my V6 didn't consume oil between oil changes - maybe a quart low after 9,000 miles. That's certainly a reasonable amount to consume over that distance. For the last 15,000 miles it burns about a quart every thousand miles. Something has failed in the motor, it puffs blue on acceleration. My dealer has performed consumption tests to verify but says there is nothing wrong with the motor by visual simple inspection - well that's crap.

Techs - please explain.

[MLinn]

If you can't afford to add a quart of oil in a thousand miles, go back to your 305 Chevy which didn't burn oil or do much of anything else for you.

My Northstar burns a quart per thousand miles of stop and go commuting and gets 3000 or better on pure interstate driving. If you bought the V6 I'll assume that the cost of $3 per thousand miles is a legitimate complaint.

The Northstar absolutely requires a 5w-30 mineral oil and has an aggressive bore hone and those are the facts. It's designed to to use some oil. Any trade off is greatly in your favor in terms of gasoline savings. If you don't flog it once in a while with some WOT acceleration it will start to burn more oil.

[cfishkin]

I've never had a problem with oil consumption with any other car I've ever owned, so since I've owned the SRX since new, I never checked the oil, just brought it in for oil changes whenever the indicator told me to, between 0% and 20% oil life.

I happened to check it before a long trip and it was 2 quarts down after 4,000 miles. Now I'm wondering if I've been 3 down in the past ?? The car has 48,000 miles on it and it's coming off lease and I was thinking of buying it. Now that I've just discovered the the low oil level and the consumption, I don't know if that is a good idea anymore. I haven't had any other problems.

Is this a problem with all SRX's ?? Just a few ?? It's a 2005 V-6 AWD.

Input appreciated.

[eysie]

Originally Posted by Bcce787

I briefly looked to see if I could find the same topic but couldn’t so I apologize if this is a duplicate.
I have a 2005 SRX and am quite disappointed with it. I have been following the owner's manual and changing the oil as required and it has been averaging about 5 to 7k miles. However I am finding that in-between oil changes I am 2 to 3 quarts low. I accomplished an oil consumption check with my dealer's service dept and was told that I was consuming ½ to ¾ of a quart of oil every 1000 miles. This, I was also told, was normal according to GM. I can't see that as realistic, I have a 97 Ford P/U with 140k miles that doesn’t use that much oil. I don’t have any leaks with the SRX either. Does anyone have any thoughts or information about this?
Thx

I have a 05 srx and it burns more oil than gas. At 50,000 miles both catylytic converters had to be replaced, the transmission had to be replaced and the ignition coils were defective. The cadi dealer tried to tell me the useage of that much oil was normal and I suggested I buy a case of oil and carry it around with me. I haven't had to check oil in an engine like that since the 60's.

[eysie]

I have a 05 srx and it burns more oil than gas. At 50,000 miles both catylytic converters had to be replaced, the transmission had to be replaced and the ignition coils were defective. The cadi dealer tried to tell me the useage of that much oil was normal and I suggested I buy a case of oil and carry it around with me. I haven't had to check oil in an engine like that since the 60's. This is the worst product I have ever bought

[bigdaddysrx]

Wow,
What a string! Just changed my 04 N* last night. 7.5 quarts of Mobil 1 and Delco filter. Oil life indicator was at 49%. I have 39K and have never ever had to add oil! If I were burning a quart every 1K miles my SRX would be parked at the dealership.
regards,
BD

[3Left]

I have an 05 SRX V6. I don't even bother changing the oil anymore. I figure I'm changing it a quart at a time already. It uses about 1qt per 1k miles. I've heard the same ole same ole from the dealer. I've had other problems with it that were under warranty but even then had to argue with them about. What gives? I have had BMW's and Lexus in the past. Put over 250k miles and NEVER had problems with them at all. NONE! I bought the Caddy because it is "made in America". It had been nearly 20 years since I had owned a "made in America" car because they just were junk. And you know.... it's not the making of the car that is a problem. It is corporate policy. I also have a Honda Accord and a BMW in my garage right now. I know the Accord is "made in America" It is a great car. GM is losing market share big time.... as well they should. If a company builds junk and then does nothing to correct the problems they should lose money. I will probably trade the SRX and get an X3.... definitely NOT another GM product of any kind ever again. I'm not spending anymore money with them.