I learned this morning that I have been driving my car on under 1 QT of oil. Haven't changed the oil in about 12k miles and code P0011 came on yesterday. So this morning I check the oil and dipstick is dry, add quart after quart until I added 5 quarts at which point I reached the midpoint of high/low on the dipstick. Oil cap was caked with sludge. No oil leaks and no signs of burning oil all of this time. Also haven't been to a shop considering it is Christmas morning. Crazy and I drove 150 miles to LA two days ago and after filling the oil drove 150 miles back to San Diego this morning. Zero issues but SES light comes on if I shut vehicle off after going over 3,500 RPMs. And then I can't go over 2,500 RPMs with the SES light on which actually I can get it off for one start and drive if I unplug the positive battery terminal which is what I did to drive home today.

Anyways, what should my next steps be to clean out the engine? Run some sort of oil cleaner to flush for 15 minutes then get the oil changed then see if the SES light stays off and/or check out the Variable Valve Solenoids?

Anybody else ever heard of or seen something like this? Cannot believe the engine did not seize up on so little oil.

Tranny fluid or diesel fuel in the oil will flush out the sludge, but the oil passages into the timing cover for the VVT solenoids can be very problematic. They're tiny, and blowing back through them to clear them out will often damage the o-rings in the timing cover. You'll pretty much have to cross your fingers that the passages aren't completely clogged. If you get the same P0011 after flushing and putting fresh oil in the crank, the engine may not be salvageable without an overhaul. Sometimes flushing will also generate "chunks" of baked sludge that can clog the drain holes out of the heads or the screen on the oil sump pickup. Watch your oil pressure like a hawk and check the oil level immediately after driving. Low pressure likely indicates a clogged sump. Oil that takes many minutes to read at the correct level after shutdown indicates oil trapped in the valve covers and unable to drain.

Car runs fine up to 3,500 RPM but I'm not sure how much longer that'll last but I got a quote for $30k to fix the engine and a bunch of other issues.....lol

I have a q70 with the same issue I kept putting off getting a oil change until one very cold morning about 8 degrees my car hesitate to start sel came on and I had the p0011 code I took it to three different places including the dealer and all told me I needed a new engine they didn't want to work on the timing chain or cam sprockets the dealer wanted 5800 amcoo want 6000 and a private mechanic wanted 3000 ur most likely gona need a new engine don't waste time with flushes cam shafts sensors or crank shafts sensors in my case laziness cost me