Oil Consumption

[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

[MortnCyn]

I cannot see how they can call this normal oil consumption. I had V6 '04 and '05 and never had to add oil. Same is true of '07 V8. On '04 went to 12,000 miles and did not have to add any oil.

[Bcce787]

Thats what I said but I'm just the customer, what do I know. I was told by their service tech that since they are building the engines so loose to gain better mileage they will burn more oil. I guess I had my stupid sign on that day.

[TSS]

Is it an 8 or a 6? Northstars are known to burn some. My 01 N* burns a bit. It always has. Though , my SRX, not a drop in 11K miles of use. Oil in SRX was mobil 1 and changed every 6k miles.

[n7don_srx]

In the recent past I recall GM's definition of excessive oil comsumption is 2 qts or more in 2000 miles. My guess the dealer can't get reimbursed unless there is documentation oil comsumption is excessive per GM's definition. This is probably GM's way of drawing a line in the sand to say we won't pay for repairs unless comsumption is greater than a certain amount BUT to say it's normal is not correct in my opinion.
If "loose tolerances" were the culprit that would imply a much higher percentage of the popluation would be oil burners. Like the other posters none of my GM vehicle come close to using even a qt/5000 miles. I'm still using 5W-30 in the 95 S10 @111K but I know that anything mechanical is built to a tolerance. If those tolerances line up wrong excessive clearance can and do happen.
Has it gotten worse with mileage/time? At 3/4 qt/1000 miles you are getting close, assuming the 2qt/2000 is still the magic number. I'd ask the dealer to see the actual GM document stating what he told you.

[pepsi]

Document ID# 823067
2005 Cadillac SRX


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oil Consumption Diagnosis

DEFINITION: Excessive oil consumption (not due to leaks) is the use of 0.946 liter (1 quart) or more of engine oil within 3 200 km (2,000 mi).

[srx2005]

2005 V6 AWD 32K miles. Uses about 1/4 - 1/2 quart between oil/filter changes - every 6K miles. Using Mobil 1 5W30.

[Bcce787]

I can understand 1/4 to 1/2 every 6k but I lost that after 1k. Guess all I can do now is have a few extra quarts laying around the garage and keep an eye on it. Thanks for the replies

[akdj1055]

Hey Bcce787 - Just to make you feel better, my '05 V-6 SRX, with 38,000 miles, burns a quart every 1,000 miles or so. Cadillac's response has been - "too bad." They readily admit it consumes more oil than their own spec's say it should (per their own test) and in the next breath claim there is nothing wrong with the engine. How f'ed up is that? This is the same Cadillac that lied to me when my Ultra View shattered and they claimed an Ultra View had never shattered before - mine was the first. I had to pick up the nearly $5,000 repair. A year later, after a NHTSA investigation, it came out that at least 17 other Ultra Views failed before mine - many repaired under warranty. Cadillac won't talk to me about that.
Their remedy for the engine problem - they've extended the engine warranty. And this may sound hard to believe, but that's done absolutely nothing to slow the oil consumption.

[King3244]

GM'S definition of excessive oil consumption is...... more than 1 quart in 800 miles....not as stated by pepsi. Check the tsb's....

[akdj1055]

The acceptable rate of oil consumption IS NOT 1 quart in 800 miles.

Per GM, the acceptable rate of oil consumption in most GM vehicles under warranty is 1 quart in 2,000 miles. Which by simple deduction would mean anything beyond a quart in 2,000 miles is unacceptable - unless you're GM and you don't want to fix an expensive problem. Then you can just intrepret the spec's however you want. And suddenly a warranty is no longer a warranty - it's whatever GM wants it to be. And they wonder why they lose market share every year.

[King3244]

I stand by what I said....GM will not even look at excessive oil consumption unless it is greater than 1 quart in 800 miles.
There is a difference between acceptable and excessive by definition.

[akdj1055]

If that's the case, what's the point of publishing the quart in 2,000 miles standard?

Their own guideline recommends following service manual diagnostics to access potential avenues for repair. Nowhere is it stated that 800 miles becomes the next standard - though that sounds very "GM" to me.

[john d]

Originally Posted by Bcce787

Thats what I said but I'm just the customer, what do I know. I was told by their service tech that since they are building the engines so loose to gain better mileage they will burn more oil. I guess I had my stupid sign on that day.

Can a 10:1 compression like the N* be built loose?
I do remember the 70's Dodge SuperBee's were said to use a quart a 100 miles due to looseness. That smoke on launch wasn't just the tires.

[King3244]

acceptable:capable of being endured; tolerable; bearable: acceptable levels of radiation (or oil consumption)

excessive:going beyond the usual, necessary, or proper limit or degree; characterized by excess: excessive charges; excessive criticism. (or oil consumption....)

To me, acceptable oil consumption is a lot less than 1 quart in 2000 miles in fact I would feel that if I had a vehicle using that much oil that it would be excessive.

I guess we should set some parameters here.....I am talking about the N* in particular and not other gm brands of engines. I used to own an 94 STS so used to hang out on the seville/eldorado forum prior to finding life with an SRX....V-6 by the way. There were numerous loooooong discussions over there on N* oil consumption. Go to cadillac forums home page and click on technical archives and then oil consumption. One of the guys did quite a piece on N* oil consumption....now I don't know if I agree about everything he says but there is a bunch of info there.