Lets fight Infinti Oil burning problem

[Timgbuggy]

would anybody be interested in taking part in starting a class action law suite against Infiniti and regards to the m45 burning to much oil? I am hoping to get enough followers to sign and force Infiniti to issue some type of notice, recall, or even replacement for m45 owners. i talked to several firms and they say if i get enough people this could be a strong case. I know most of you are still covered under warrnty but what if your car starts having the oil burning issue when it is over with. It could happen and guess what IT HAPPEN TO ME. WITH 71,000 miles the engine is basically shot. 1,000 miles out of warranty it needs a almost $15,000 motor replacement. Infiniti is offering to pay only $6,000 and i pay the rest which is out of the question. A similar situtation like this happen with Lexus and in the end, they issue a free extended warranty to owners on the motor. they extended the warrtanty to 10 year 120,000 miles. :

[CAUG2]

i burn only 1 quart every 3k. which is normal for the cars with 300 and up hp.
but if you need my vote, you can count on it.
C

[qship96]

no, that is not "normal".

[Pwnin O'Brien]

What is causing the engine to burn the oil?

P.S. This is a huge issue on a lot of Nissans with the VQ35DE

[Y34GLORIA]

its "NORMAL" within the acceptable range. I dont want to start this thing again. u can ask MB/BMW high HP engine owners see if their car actually "burn:" oil when engine reach some mileages. do some "research" before u even speak. thank u

[1scottie]

Caug, it is not normal to burn oil at 29kmi. My car was smoking and knocking on occasion and it was serviced by the dealer regularly since day one. Also, 335hp is no great acievement out of 4.5ltr engine, the Lexus LS from the early nineties was 250hp and 4.0ltr and never saw any of these issues. If our car had the 500hp V8/V10 BMW 5.0ltr then ok I would be on board with it being in the normal relm of high performace engines but the Infinti M is not the case, they need to own upto this defect in its engines by offing an extended warranty to owners such as Lexus did with the oil sludge problem in the RX300s. TB I have made posts on this in the past and on this website with no real response, it seams that if you gotta warranty dont worry about it. I am worried as I keep my cars for five to seven years and put well over 100kmi on my cars, so far none, nada, zero have ever burned any excessive amounts of oil and never ever smoked on start up. I dont even check our other car between oil changes, maybe once and a while for long trips or after servicing, it now has 107kmi and does not burn a drop of oil. It a 2003 Toyota SUV with 282hp V8 and 4.7ltrs, completely realible and is serviced less frequently than the Infiniti. Ok not exactly the same type/use of vehicle. Infiniti has a very nice product with the Ms but they need to own up to this defect that could cost more than the cars worth to fix. I hope they cover your engine under warranty for you and you get satisfaction from Infiniti, 1kmi out of warranty on a luxury car that you have serviced regularly seams resonable for customer satifaction they would cover the repair on this known issue.

[thomasm35]

These cars should not burn any oil . Oil consumption is always a serious problem. I have a 2007 Lexus LS 460 (380hp) with 46k miles that does not burn any oil, on the other hand, our 2007 M35 with 43K burns oil. I change my own oil so at the last 3 oil changes on the M ,that I do every 3K, I monitored oil use and found that it burns 16 to 24 oz. (16,16 & 24oz.) - I hope this does not get worse at the next oil change.

I have owned a couple cars with 200K + miles that did not burn any oil. When we bought the M we were hoping to put on 200k + miles without any problems but now I'm starting to wonder about the integrity of the engine.

For you guys that have your oil changed at the dealer/shop I doubt they measure how much oil they drain - you could be burning up to a qrt and not even know it.

[CAUG2]

Fine, where do i sign.
p.s.
i will ask my friend with lexus-ISF, if he ever add any oil.

[fiveliterbeater]

no, that is not "normal".

....you need to take a trip over to the BMW "M" forums. they've been burning oil for years....and the LS1 forums would also give you additional "oil consumption problems" as well.

[fiveliterbeater]

If our car had the 500hp V8/V10 BMW 5.0ltr then ok I would be on board with it being in the normal relm of high performace engines but the Infinti M is not the case,

....ummmm if you do just a little more research you'll find out that the E34 M5's and the E39 M5's consume oil as well. oh and the LS1 as well...

I dont even check our other car between oil changes, maybe once and a while for long trips or after servicing, it now has 107kmi and does not burn a drop of oil. It a 2003 Toyota SUV with 282hp V8 and 4.7ltrs, completely realible and is serviced less frequently than the Infiniti.

...the answer to your question was pointed out by your observation. this is a Nissan and not a Toyota. the 2UZ-FEV8 engine that's under your hood, was built with the pendilum leaning more toward reliability than performance. im quoting wiki here "Designed for low-reving, high-torque SUV applications".
as you pointed out, it's completly reliable and serviced less. a fact that Toyota achieved beautifully.
reading your post you don't seem very performance oriented which would've helped aid your search before buying your M. but you have to understand the engine under your hood was built with the pendilum swinging more towards the performance side rather than reliability.
and there's nothing wrong with that as there are manufacturers out there that cater to your needs (such as toyota) that build cars how people want, instead of how "the manufacturer" wants to build them.

[Y34GLORIA]

If our car had the 500hp V8/V10 BMW 5.0ltr then ok I would be on board with it being in the normal relm of high performace engines but the Infinti M is not the case,

....ummmm if you do just a little more research you'll find out that the E34 M5's and the E39 M5's consume oil as well. oh and the LS1 as well...

I dont even check our other car between oil changes, maybe once and a while for long trips or after servicing, it now has 107kmi and does not burn a drop of oil. It a 2003 Toyota SUV with 282hp V8 and 4.7ltrs, completely realible and is serviced less frequently than the Infiniti.

...the answer to your question was pointed out by your observation. this is a Nissan and not a Toyota. the 2UZ-FEV8 engine that's under your hood, was built with the pendilum leaning more toward reliability than performance. im quoting wiki here "Designed for low-reving, high-torque SUV applications".
as you pointed out, it's completly reliable and serviced less. a fact that Toyota achieved beautifully.
reading your post you don't seem very performance oriented which would've helped aid your search before buying your M. but you have to understand the engine under your hood was built with the pendilum swinging more towards the performance side rather than reliability.
and there's nothing wrong with that as there are manufacturers out there that cater to your needs (such as toyota) that build cars how people want, instead of how "the manufacturer" wants to build them.

Amen Brother, well said.. i couldnt said any better then this. some people just DONT get it when it come to performance. NISSAN's engine such as VK, VQ were designed and borrowed alot technologie they learned form racing. Thats one of the reason why they do need alot more attention then like say a TOYOTA engines. Its really for people that LOVE performance cars not just want an ordinary ride that owner do not even know how to open their hood.

[qship96]

no, that is not "normal".

....you need to take a trip over to the BMW "M" forums. they've been burning oil for years....and the LS1 forums would also give you additional "oil consumption problems" as well.

so have daihatsu and hyundai.....whats your point, find other poorly engineered examples to compare to????? The VH45de was considered state of the art when introduced in 1990 with 278 advertised horsepower being produced out of 4.5 liters{ the similar year corvette with 5.7 liters was less powerful, especially considering its huge engine size} and burned no oil - even as they accumulated 200,000+ miles.....nissan has just cheaped out their newer designed motors and stopped overbuilding for extra longevity and durability to save money- and so have some other brands. Follow the money

[fiveliterbeater]

so have daihatsu and hyundai.....whats your point, find other poorly engineered examples to compare to????? The VH45de was considered state of the art when introduced in 1990 with 278 advertised horsepower being produced out of 4.5 liters{ the similar year corvette with 5.7 liters was less powerful, especially considering its huge engine size} and burned no oil - even as they accumulated 200,000+ miles.....nissan has just cheaped out their newer designed motors and stopped overbuilding for extra longevity and durability to save money- and so have some other brands. Follow the money

wow! you're stating that that the S38,S62, LS1/LS6 are "poorly engineered examples"
to retain my membership on the NICO forums im gonna have to bite my tongue here and just keep my mouth shut to not unleash half the things id like to embarass/insult you on.
the only thing i will say is that you need to do your homework outside of your "qship" and wake up to other manufaturers that have made huge leaps and bounds over the past century; and don't get me wrong, the VH was an awesome motor, but there are certainly other engines out there that have made huge leaps and bounds in hp/liter.
and nissan hasn't cheaped out on anything. every manufaturer has it's problems. hell, look at what toyota is going through. so your statement is about as clueless as your reply.
if you ask me, the only thing poorly engineered is your knowledge on vehicles.


p.s. ...if you wanna play the HP/liter game, the F20C (found in the S2000) puts out an amazing 120hp per liter!
absolutely embarasses the VH motor.

[fiveliterbeater]

The VH45de was considered state of the art when introduced in 1990 with 278 advertised horsepower being produced out of 4.5 liters{ the similar year corvette with 5.7 liters was less powerful, especially considering its huge engine size}

google: LT5 engine. thank you and please drive through.

[qship96]

so have daihatsu and hyundai.....whats your point, find other poorly engineered examples to compare to????? The VH45de was considered state of the art when introduced in 1990 with 278 advertised horsepower being produced out of 4.5 liters{ the similar year corvette with 5.7 liters was less powerful, especially considering its huge engine size} and burned no oil - even as they accumulated 200,000+ miles.....nissan has just cheaped out their newer designed motors and stopped overbuilding for extra longevity and durability to save money- and so have some other brands. Follow the money

wow! you're stating that that the S38,S62, LS1/LS6 are "poorly engineered examples"
to retain my membership on the NICO forums im gonna have to bite my tongue here and just keep my mouth shut to not unleash half the things id like to embarass/insult you on.
the only thing i will say is that you need to do your homework outside of your "qship" and wake up to other manufaturers that have made huge leaps and bounds over the past century; and don't get me wrong, the VH was an awesome motor, but there are certainly other engines out there that have made huge leaps and bounds in hp/liter.
and nissan hasn't cheaped out on anything. every manufaturer has it's problems. hell, look at what toyota is going through. so your statement is about as clueless as your reply.
if you ask me, the only thing poorly engineered is your knowledge on vehicles.


p.s. ...if you wanna play the HP/liter game, the F20C (found in the S2000) puts out an amazing 120hp per liter!
absolutely embarasses the VH motor.

You obviously did not comprehend my post......let me clarify it for you so you gain some benefit from the time you spent reading it........At the time {1990} the VH series motors were state of the art in power produced for their size AND long term durability......Obviously as time marched on additional power was squeezed from similar displacement motors.....unfortunately this extra power has at many times come AT THE EXPENSE OF OIL CONSUMPTION and reduced durability due to engineers CHOOSING lower tension rings and other less rugged parts{to save rotational mass} to achieve this increased power output.....pretty simple concept once you understand the tradeoffs......and no, I do not consider the chevy engine to be anything to brag about, sorry but a engine still using pushrods is just laughable in todays market.......despite its {short term} impressive power output.

[fiveliterbeater]

You obviously did not comprehend my post......let me clarify it for you so you gain some benefit from the time you spent reading it........At the time {1990} the VH series motors were state of the art in power produced for their size AND long term durability......Obviously as time marched on additional power was squeezed from similar displacement motors.....unfortunately this extra power has at many times come AT THE EXPENSE OF OIL CONSUMPTION and reduced durability due to engineers CHOOSING lower tension rings and other less rugged parts{to save rotational mass} to achieve this increased power output.....pretty simple concept once you understand the tradeoffs......and no, I do not consider the chevy engine to be anything to brag about, sorry but a engine still using pushrods is just laughable in todays market.......despite its {short term} impressive power output.

ok. i understand your point of view but im confused because now you're contradicting what you said in post #3 and #11. from my understanding you're saying that its not normal to burn oil in a car but in the above statement you're saying that: "unfortunately this extra power has at many times come AT THE EXPENSE OF OIL CONSUMPTION and reduced durability due to engineers CHOOSING lower tension rings and other less rugged parts", which tells me that you acknowledge that it IS normal for engines to burn an acceptable amount of oil to achieve higher HP numbers and sacrifice longevity.
....and i agree about how chevy still insists on using pushrods in their engines to this day , but you cannot deny the fact that they are masters at it ,and their longevity isn't compromised at all. 200k miles isn't uncommon in these cars. and they can still avg. 18-20 mpg.

[1scottie]

FLB ok, 335hp out of 4.5ltrs is no great performance pendulum. Infiniti M56 is 420hp and 5.6ltrs, is this our engine bored out? I dont know? I think your love of the VK will be changed when you are forced to part with 15 grand at 71kmi, it is completely unacceptable in a mass produced modern day luxury car, amen and peace. You are not on board. The M was not built as an ultimate sports car, it is a luxury sport flagship sedan that is marketed towards luxury not a fire breathing high performance sedan like the BMW M5. Havn't u already had a new engine in your car? I thought I saw it in another post...if so...arent you glad you had a warranty.

[Y34GLORIA]

FLB ok, 335hp out of 4.5ltrs is no great performance pendulum. Infiniti M56 is 420hp and 5.6ltrs, is this our engine bored out? I dont know? I think your love of the VK will be changed when you are forced to part with 15 grand at 71kmi, it is completely unacceptable in a mass produced modern day luxury car, amen and peace. You are not on board. The M was not built as an ultimate sports car, it is a luxury sport flagship sedan that is marketed towards luxury not a fire breathing high performance sedan like the BMW M5. Havn't u already had a new engine in your car? I thought I saw it in another post...if so...arent you glad you had a warranty.

FYI my VK is 340hp and of course its no M5 but its close to 540i. BMW's performance sedan and its "sports sedan" in case u didnt already know. 4.5 pump out 340hp is pretty awesome when VK introduced in 2002 when LS430 4.3 liter pumped out 290hp. If u dont like M or infiniti so much why dont u just sell ur car to someone who actually apprecited the M and buy a car u think its better then ur M. I hate to see a nice car end up to a owner who dose not apprecitate it. I notice u always posted on VK burn oil related threads. This board is for INFINITI/NISSAN enthrist not some bashers. By the way, I dunno about fiveliter but I am certain he has his original engine on it and mine is on original approaching 145k still running strong and i dont have warrenty

[fiveliterbeater]

FLB ok, 335hp out of 4.5ltrs is no great performance pendulum. Infiniti M56 is 420hp and 5.6ltrs, is this our engine bored out?

how do you figure and what makes you say that? a 335hp V8 sitting on an FM plattform seems like it means buisness to me. and no, the engine is not bored out. the VK is merely a VQ with 2 more cylinders. the bore and stroke for the VQ is 95 and 81. the VK is 93 and 82.

I dont know? I think your love of the VK will be changed when you are forced to part with 15 grand at 71kmi,

my love for the VK? the only engine ill ever love was my old LS1. im biased in that area and i don't think there is another engine out there like it.
and if you're complaining about this engine situation, google "Vanos failure" and see what BMW has done to the M5 owners.

The M was not built as an ultimate sports car, it is a luxury sport flagship sedan that is marketed towards luxury not a fire breathing high performance sedan like the BMW M5.

noted. and thanx for pointing out the obvious.

Havn't u already had a new engine in your car? I thought I saw it in another post...if so...arent you glad you had a warranty.

yes. the engine in my car has already been replaced under warranty. i did my research prior to buying this car and made sure to get a warranty in case of any surprises.

[fiveliterbeater]

By the way, I dunno about fiveliter but I am certain he has his original engine on it

..no brother. i wish it wasnt true but my engine was replaced under warranty due to excessive oil consumption. it's ok. i dont think i ever told you at the meets. i think we always talk about other things.

[1scottie]

Maybe I am baised in my old age of 41. I am an airline pilot by trade and have watched my whole industry "cash out." Good service and quality are gone, my kids will never see what is like to sit in an airplance, get a meal served to them from a fine looking female flight attendant with passengers dressed up in nice clothes, this was the case when I was a kid in the 70s, unfortunately those days are gone. Ok enough talking about other things but my point is made. In the 80/early 90s a Japanese car was of the highest quality you could find, for Nissan it was the 300z turbo. If you look at what all the kids are racing today, its 90s something Honda, Nissan, or Toyota. I do not want to see my kids never get the opportunity to drive a high quility car in their lifetime, as the industry turns to China for cheaper parts, and you are right it is not just Nissan as Toyota is feeling the heat right now with its "cashing out greed."

Y34, I purchased a V8 luxury car made in Japan. I post on a lot of threads including in this web site. FLB I had a 1994 Camero Z28 with the V8 (LS or LT) and freaking loved it, burned no oil, I was in my 20s so I did not care too much about quality and fit and finish of the car as the car was one thing, fast. I am grewed up now and have kids and wanted another V8 with that kind of torque only a V8 can produce, I drove the M and so I purchased it with a very smooth running V8. I am not here to "bash" the cars but it has shocked me how poorly made our once very high quailty products from Japan have become, it seams like they are following the same route as our once great american made cars.
Thier is hope, look at Ford, I never liked them but thier new products are certianly looking promising.

[fiveliterbeater]

i agree on many points you made. and your 94 Z28 had the LT1. still a good motor. just that dam opti-spark would need to be replaced every 35k miles and the engine loved to run dangerously hot (dam reverse flow cooling )
as far as better quality luxury cars from back in the day untill now? not sure i have much of a leg to stand on and argue cause im only 31 and all the vechiles i've owned were mainly to street race and drag the 1/4 mile. this is only my 3rd luxury car so you probably know something i dont when it comes to quality not being as good as it used to.
i just bought my M becuase it has a little bit of everything and creates a balance of luxury,performance and features.

[finfinM45S]

I have to add about a half a qt in my M every 3k miles ~ Instead of doing that, I just go and get it changed. When I go beyond 3k miles I begin seeing the consumption over 1 qt. I have 77,577 miles as of tonight, on the original engine - got it with 45 miles in late 2005. But my neighbor with an 07 M45 has to add about 1.5 qt every 3k miles, no leaks at all on the driveway ~ Infiniti hasn't done anything so its safe to say we'll sign up.

[yosM45]

I'm in if you need me.

Last oil change I the mark was about 2mm below the L dot at 3500 miles. Had to add 1 1/2 quarts to bring it up to the midway between the L and the H, so I could make it to 5000 for my next mobile one oild change.

It may not be worth it to use Mobile 1 anymore, if I have to change the oil at 3500 due to consumption.

My question for those of you that have gotten new engines, have you seen your consumption reduced/eliminated with the new engines?

[dvan]

I had my engine replaced due to that infamous clacking sound which turned out to be a #7 piston failure according to the dealership. I had brought my car in prior to this after reading the oil consumption threads too see if that was the problem, but after the oil consumption test the dealer said I had no oil consumption. The cause of the failure was appearently a freak thing.

Ive checked my oil in the new engine and to date i don't have any consumption. Im about to roll up on my next oil change soon, so ill check it again before i get the change to see if its still between L and H.

[fiveliterbeater]

I have to add about a half a qt in my M every 3k miles ~ Instead of doing that, I just go and get it changed. When I go beyond 3k miles I begin seeing the consumption over 1 qt. I have 77,577 miles as of tonight, on the original engine - got it with 45 miles in late 2005. But my neighbor with an 07 M45 has to add about 1.5 qt every 3k miles, no leaks at all on the driveway ~ Infiniti hasn't done anything so its safe to say we'll sign up.

hey buddy i just noticed you have the UpRev tune as well. how do you like it? (apologies to the OP for hijacking this thread)

[WaynesNside]

I just wanted to post in on this thread as well to let you all know I'm having the same problem as some of you are with our 06 we just got about 3 months ago.

Just trying to figure out where to go from here. My nearest dealer is 2 hours away and I can't run down there o the fly to get the run around.

[wizard8873]

I'm in as well. Will be bringing this up at the next visit to my dealer as even with synthetic, it's burning oil, although not nearly as much as others here. still, I don't want to have to worry about this in the long run as I do like the car and plan on keeping it for quite some time.

[Pashdut]

Question: I don't change my oil every 3 months, but wait until every 3K miles (regular oil) which takes me about 6-7 months. In a regular sedan, changing every 3mo before 3K is useless as I have learned from experience and speaking to mechanics, but the VQ engine does consume a little more oil than other engines as I have realized myself. I don't have any smoke from my exhaust, but I do hear a click sound when shifting main gears (P>R>N>D & vice-versa).

Should this be of concern pertaining to the topic in this thread?

[dvan]

Timgbuggy, any updates on the engine?