Oil Level

[tigerclaws1318]

This has been happening a lot lately. Everytime I would check my oil level after the cars been sitting for more than 24 hours the level would be below the low mark. So I decided to add a bit of oil in. When I go to start the car you would see a puff of blue smoke from the exhaust and it smells pretty damn bad. This isnt the first time it has happened but plenty of times already.

After driving it for a while and letting it sit for a few hours I would check the oil level again and it seems to be in the exact middle. Kinda weird knowing the oil level is either dead in the middle or below the low mark. I dont see the car comsumming any oil with 28k on it. Any ideas?

[qship96]

Search the forum for oil burning threads- common problem on 2002 and newer 4.5 liter Infiniti motor. If it gets bad enough, Infiniti will put a new engine in if still under warranty and you can provide proof of meeting or exceeding required frequency of oil changes as listed in your owners manual.

problem is, the new engine they put in can have the same problem as the original- crappy design with loose tolerences to allow them to squeeze a few extra horsepower out of the engines, at the expense of longevity.

[M4T5]

Wouldn't they have addressed this issue since all the engine replacements they had to do on the 02-04' model M45's?It wouldn't make sense for them to stay with a defected design and keep replacing engines. That's just my opinion. Has these issues appeared in the 07' & up M45's? I haven't really seen a post about any 07' or 08' owners complaining of this.My next oil change will definitely be full synthetic just to be on the safe side.

J

[323k137]

How much oil did you add?

[tigerclaws1318]

How much oil did you add?

in less than 2000 miles i have added more than half a quart of oil

[M4T5]

Ummm...one question. Who changed the oil last?Is it possible they did not fill it completely from the start?Puff of blue smoke during initial start up?? Is this always after it has sat or does it only do this after adding oil?

Details please.

J

[tigerclaws1318]

Ummm...one question. Who changed the oil last?Is it possible they did not fill it completely from the start?Puff of blue smoke during initial start up?? Is this always after it has sat or does it only do this after adding oil?

Details please.

J

I changed the oil myself and added 5.7 quarts as stated in the manual. Check the level and dead on in the middle. I do check the dipstick every week or less to see where its at and it would start to get lower and lower. Yes I get a puff of blue smoke when I start the car up first thing in the morning after its been sat overnight. It would smell really bad too. lol

[M4T5]

I changed the oil myself and added 5.7 quarts as stated in the manual. Check the level and dead on in the middle. I do check the dipstick every week or less to see where its at and it would start to get lower and lower. Yes I get a puff of blue smoke when I start the car up first thing in the morning after its been sat overnight. It would smell really bad too. lol

From just a basic understanding of a worn engine standpoint, the blue smoke at start up would point to bad valve seals. Basically, while the engine cools, the oil drains down over night. When you have bad valve seals, the oil will drain down past the bad oil seals and leak down into the combustion chamber. Then when you go to start it up in the morning, that blue smoke is the oil burning off that leaked down on top of the piston. If I were you, I would bring it in to the service department for them to look into this issue in depth. Mention to them you would like a compression test performed to find a possible bad piston ring or bad valve seals. Be sure to tell them what it is doing after it sits overnight. Tell them you want them to keep the car to replicate this problem. I'm just hoping you have a warranty on this car.

J

[tigerclaws1318]

Yeah, the car is still under warranty, since the car is already sitting at the dealer I might just mention it to them.

[NightWatch]

From just a basic understanding of a worn engine standpoint, the blue smoke at start up would point to bad valve seals....

J

More likely a worn piston ring problem that is allowing excessive oil into the cylinder

[tigerclaws1318]

I told my service advisor about this issue and he said it is normal to see a puff of blue smoke on this start up. He also said it is normal for the car to consume about a quart of oil every 3 thousand miles which doesnt sound right. I might ask if they can perform a compression test to see how much leakage is getting through.

[NightWatch]

BULL O NEY Its not normal for a car with 28K miles on it to blow blue smoke. He's trying to blow smoke up your "you know what" A quart of oil every 3K miles is a lot.... The only car I know that has those normal operating parameters is the Mazda RX-8

[M4T5]

BULL O NEY Its not normal for a car with 28K miles on it to blow blue smoke. He's trying to blow smoke up your "you know what" A quart of oil every 3K miles is a lot.... The only car I know that has those normal operating parameters is the Mazda RX-8

I totally agree! It is not normal for it to be consuming oil, or more less emitting blue smoke upon start up unless there is a worn part in the engine.Don't let them walk over you like that. That's bull$hit!

J

[M4T5]

More likely a worn piston ring problem that is allowing excessive oil into the cylinder

Not a worn piston ring....oil doesn't settle upwards. If it had a worn piston ring it would be smoking during normal engine operation.I'm still holding by worn valve seals or something along those lines being the culprit. Either way...it is NOT NORMAL!

J

[tigerclaws1318]

Yeah, they are bullsh!ting cause when I asked them to do a compression test they refused to do it and said that wouldnt find anything, but they did say they will perform a oil consumpion test which requires me to change my oil and drive the car for about a thousand miles and bring it back to the dealer. That is really stupid cause my last oil change was a thousand miles ago with the oil level dead in the middle on the dipstick. Now the level is below the low mark. The thing is I dont wanna change my oil again considering I use Mobil 1 extended performance and its over 7 dollars a quart. It would be a total waste of money.

[qship96]

Yeah, they are bullsh!ting cause when I asked them to do a compression test they refused to do it and said that wouldnt find anything, but they did say they will perform a oil consumpion test which requires me to change my oil and drive the car for about a thousand miles and bring it back to the dealer. That is really stupid cause my last oil change was a thousand miles ago with the oil level dead in the middle on the dipstick. Now the level is below the low mark. The thing is I dont wanna change my oil again considering I use Mobil 1 extended performance and its over 7 dollars a quart. It would be a total waste of money.

You would be a FOOL not to do the test, especially since you already know your motor IS using oil----let them do the test and get a brand new engine while it is still under warranty. Worrying about $7/qt oil is just dumb when you have a chance to replace a oil burning engine for free.

[F1SportsFan]

When my engine was going out I had to do 3 oil consumption tests in a row, each one was getting worse. The dealer had lots of documentation when they had to go back to corporate to ask for a engine replacement. I'm glad I didn't have to fork out the $15k for a new factory engine.

Moral of the story is start now so you can build up a history with the dealer. You will save major $$$ in the long run.

[M4T5]

Yeah, they are bullsh!ting cause when I asked them to do a compression test they refused to do it and said that wouldnt find anything, but they did say they will perform a oil consumpion test which requires me to change my oil and drive the car for about a thousand miles and bring it back to the dealer. That is really stupid cause my last oil change was a thousand miles ago with the oil level dead in the middle on the dipstick. Now the level is below the low mark. The thing is I dont wanna change my oil again considering I use Mobil 1 extended performance and its over 7 dollars a quart. It would be a total waste of money.

Either your not sure if you added enough oil to begin with or your mind is set on there is no way my Infiniti is burning oil. If your 100% sure it dropped down to the add mark and you know it lost oil......you better get that oil consumption test going ASAP!Don't be IGNORANT.

J

[tigerclaws1318]

I just changed my oil today with Mobil 1 extended performance and Mobil 1 oil filter. 62 dollars in total for 6 quarts of oil and the filter. Kinda pricey but the point is to see how much oil the engine is gonna consume from this point. Oil level dead in the middle and I set my maintance reminder after a thousand miles. After that I will make an appointment with the dealer for the oil comsumption test.We'll see what happens from here.

[Cougarweeds]

I am currently 200 miles into my 2nd oil consumption test. My 1st test showed I used 1.5 qts from 1000 to 2000 miles and 1/2 qt from 2000 to 3000. My service advisor explained to me that "It is acceptable for my car to use 1 qt of oil every 1000 miles." I rebuked that claim by stating that Infiniti may think it is acceptable but it is not normal. The car holds 5.5 qts of oil and Infiniti says it OK for you to have to replace more than 50% of your oil between services. I tend to burn more oil when the weather is warmer and have to put at least 2 qts of oil back in between changes but it is acceptable.

[M4T5]

Who says this is acceptable??? Where does it state this?? Are you seriously stating INFINITI says it is normal and withing specs to add 3.75 quarts of oil in between the 3,750mi oil change intervals?????I would like to read this in my owners manual. That is bull$hit!!! The dealer is pulling your chain!I would be livid right after a service tech, adviser, manager told me this!I wish SteveTheTech would chime in on this information.I'm just not believing that Infiniti would call this normal. ITS ABNORMAL!!!

J

[NightWatch]

Time to contact the regional service manager or take it to another Infiniti dealer....

Can anyone with access to the TSB website search for a TSB on excessive oil consumption?