2004 Q45 using oil

[valq45man]

Hello everyone - I have a 2004 Q45 135k that I've noticed has been using about 1-1.5 quarts per oil change. Is this something that is normal with this car ? I'm going to take it to my mechanic - but I don't see any leaks and so I'm guessing it is burning the oil somehow (although I can't tell ).

Any suggestions on what to look for or is this a normal deal for this car ?

Thanks for any ideas/suggestions ...

[maxnix]

What's the OCI history? Which oil?

[valq45man]

I just switched to Kendall full synthetic and I've got about 1500 miles or so on it. I think I'm down 1/2 or 3/4 quart.

[qship96]

Pretty typical for the VK45,many owners had run their engines dangerously low on oil,not thinking they had to actually check their oil levels frequently on a brand new $50-60K luxury car.....Infiniti swapped more engines for brand new ones,which often had the exact same issue! ALWAYS check oil levels at each and every fuel filling and top up if you want to avoid running the engine dry....there is NO permanent fix.

[valq45man]

Wow - so there is NO fix ? Well, I've been thinking of getting something a little newer. This just might be the time to get something else. Do the M35-M45s (2006 and up) have the same problems ?

[Skibane]

1 - 1.5 quarts per oil change isn't much to be concerned with.

As qship96 mentioned, just check the dipstick on a regular basis, and you should be OK.

[loystock]

I check the 03Q and 06M at least every other week and top off as needed. I now use Mobil 1 Syn 0/10W-40 (from 5/10W-30). I installed oil trap but did not help much. I never have had oil consumption issue with the older Q and I30s, using 5/10W-30.

I have had lifter/HLA 'ticking' noise with the 03Q when it was unused for @ 3 weeks. A couple of oil change with BG Quick Clean and it went away.

[valq45man]

Well - I just checked again and I think I have underestimated the amount I'm using. It appears to be down about 3/4 quart now after 1500 miles. At this rate I think I could be adding about 3 quarts if using synthetic allows me to go 6000 miles or so. Is there any type of oil treatment to slow this down .. maybe something like STP ? I switched over to synthetic thinking this could help - but the expense isn't going to make much sense I've realized.

Guess I need to start considering a trade-in - possibly Lexus ES/GS if the newer M models have the same problem.

[qship96]

Should have just kept the 96Q ! Even at 298K,my 96 uses less than 1/2 qt per 5,000 miles!

[valq45man]

Yeah that is a shame ... I loved that car too !

[Skibane]

Well - I just checked again and I think I have underestimated the amount I'm using. It appears to be down about 3/4 quart now after 1500 miles. At this rate I think I could be adding about 3 quarts if using synthetic allows me to go 6000 miles or so. Is there any type of oil treatment to slow this down .. maybe something like STP ? I switched over to synthetic thinking this could help - but the expense isn't going to make much sense I've realized.

Guess I need to start considering a trade-in - possibly Lexus ES/GS if the newer M models have the same problem.

You're considering getting rid of a nice car because it uses 4 bucks worth of oil every 1500 miles?

[valq45man]

Considering Yes ... meaning I usually get another car every 4 years or so. That will give me another year on this one. Don't get me wrong I love the Q45's (this is my third one) - but I'm not a big fan of adding oil often in between changes.

[Skibane]

Many owners of boats, motor homes, trailer tow vehicles, cargo vans and other high-weight vehicles are accustomed to adding oil at every fuel-up - if not sooner. It's just the nature of some engines and applications.

My personal rule of thumb: If it's not consuming more oil than gasoline, it's not a problem!

[Q451990]

I completely understand your frustration... we've all been conditioned to think that oil consumption means the engine is wearing out, or was built incorrectly. Especially long term Nissan owners. Unfortunately Nissan's quest for more horsepower out of the same size engine resulted in them building them looser... and some that are on the loose end of the looser spec. consume oil.

I think the solution here is psychological. Maybe try to think of the consumption you're seeing now as a baseline (like zero consumption would be on an older Nissan product) and only concern yourself with an increasing consumption rate? To avoid the pride obliterating top off at the gas station, only top off the oil in the privacy of your closed garage at home. Checking the oil bone cold after an overnight sit is the most accurate measurement anyway...

It's still a hard pill to swallow - but understanding why it's consuming oil may make it easier.

Heath

[valq45man]

You are probably right there. But I'm also thinking of when I sell the car ... what to tell a prospective buyer on oil consumption ? I'm not a dishonest person and I think people will balk at using 1.5-2 quarts of oil between changes. Thoughts ?

[Brew Q]

If you want to keep the car - give GC a try - abbreviation for German Castrol... the current name is Castrol Syntec Edge 0W-30 (black bottle, European Formula will be in a red circle on the bottle and on the back it will say made in Germany).

on another site (bobistheoilguy.com), people with vehicles with consumption issues, switched from Mobil 1 among other synthetics to GC and noticed decreased consumption (among other improvements). This stuff compares to Mobil 1 0W-40, but in my opinion outperforms it (it is also closer to a true 40W instead of 30). Mobil 1 makes great stuff, but after switching to GC I don't use anything else - the '92 will be getting it come oil change time.

[valq45man]

Where is the best place to get that at the lower price ? I see some on Amazon for $50/6qts. Is the European formula the same as the GC you mentioned ?

[Brew Q]

Autozone has them on sale from time to time and I read Pep Boys has them too.

Yep, GC is just oil geek lingo. European Formula is what it says on the front and it'll say made in germany on the back...

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/access ... 40533_0_0_

[valq45man]

Thanks very much for the help. I will definitely give that a try on the next oil change. In fact - I may just do it now as a test and hope for some good results !

[BadQ45t]

I don't know that a new oil would make any difference, I have all my cars running Amsoil for 5 years now and that stuff is the only oil the quieted down my old 84' Z's lifters. My 97' Q45 gets better mileage than it did with Mobile 1 0-40 (the only real fully synth Mobile now), Redline, Royal Purple, Valvoline full-syth or Castrol Syth. I haven't heard of the German Castrol but I can get Amsoil from a local guy for $11 a quart and it has 1 year 25k rating and it comes out fine with a year of use. Of course my old Z and my 97' Q burn ZERO oil in a year and the 05' Xterra also burns no oil but it is a 4.0 liter V6 with only 265HP.

This is a well documented issue, but Nissan/Infiniti are not only ones, Audi, BMW, MB and Lexus all have similar issues. My dad's 2007 LS460 burned at least a quart every 5k.

[valq45man]

Another question that popped into my mind... I'm in Houston where we've been having 98-100 degree days. Will the 0W-30 Castrol still be ok ? Or should I maybe consider going thicker 0W-40 ?

[Q451990]

Set aside an hour or so, pour up a tall beverage and read this - this article has shaped my thinking about motor oil in a lot of ways.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/

As I understand it - if your Q's cooling system is functioning properly, ambient temperature doesn't matter much.

If you want a true coolant temperature reading, get one of the ELM Bluetooth OBDII readers on eBay for $15-20, download the free TorqueLite app on your smartphone or tablet, and you can see the real time temperature readings - along with a ton of other useful information.

This recently bailed me out when I had the "Service Engine Soon" light show up on my wife's G35 after I cleaned the throttle body. Although I still had to relearn the idle and full open and closed positions by a series of key on/off and gas pedal presses, the software let me know I was successful on the 3rd attempt by showing that the code wasn't pending anymore, and let me clear the stored code.

Heath