Burning oil?

This Friday I’m going to take my Tacoma for its oil change and get the fuel injectors cleaned. I went to check how the oil level was doing and noticed it was getting low, checked the exhaust tip and sure enough, the towel was completely black. It’s a 2012 with the 2.7 4 cylinder engine, about to reach 166k miles so I wanted to see if it’s normal for the Tacoma to be burning oil with this kind of mileage?

 

Or maybe I’m just paranoid, I’m still a noob with this sort of stuff but I’m learning.

 

I don’t think it’s normal. My 2010 with 160k doesn’t burn any.

 

Well the exhaust isn’t letting out any blue or white smoke so I think that’s a good sign. I’ll get the oil changed and see its progress after.

 

Was the oil completely full at one time?
It’s not normal to be burning oil at that mileage, unless the oil wasn’t changed regularly in the past.

 

Most manufacturers will say that 1 quart consumed in 1000 miles falls into "normal consumption".

That said I have had many high mileage vehicles that didn't consume anywhere near that amount between changes.

The way you worded your oil check suggests that you don't check it on any set schedule.
With an older/high mileage vehicle it is best to check the fluids on a set schedule - every Saturday for example.

Once you are in the habit of a regular check any change will immediately stand out, you should be able to predict what will be on the stick before you pull it out. If you find something unusual you will investigate further.

A few things to consider:
How long since the oil was last changed? Consumption tends to increase with miles (or time) on the oil.
Was it verified full after the last change? Some shops will short a half quart if they know the customer doesn't check their own oil.
Do you park in the same spot all the time, any leaks observed?
Has the PCV valve ever been changed?
What kind of driving do you usually do - long highway trips, short in town trips, lots of idling?

Going forward I suggest you have the oil changed, personally verify it is at the full mark and continue to check it regularly. Report back if you observe something interesting.

 

Whens the last time you looked at the oil level? Can't really assume anything until you check it a few times over a few weeks/months and see how fast it's going down

 

I don’t really check oil levels after the oil is changed. I just decided to check it out now out of curiosity. So I probably should start doing that. This is my daily driver so I drive like 40 miles everyday at max. In all honesty since I got the truck I haven’t checked on the pcv valve so I’m gonna check that too.

 

So this truck was a gift from my parents, at the time I didn’t have a job so I had to wait until they can give me the money to do the oil change and it would reach 6k miles before I could do the oil change. They didn’t really take care of it too much because they said “it’s a Toyota, it’ll be fine” no engine is indestructible. Right now I’m just trying to take care of it as much as I can.

 

^^^ ^^^

Going forward I wouldn't take any vehicle care advise from your parents.

The 2.7 is an excellent engine capable of a very long life -- the operator needs to do their part as well.

Take some time and carefully read through the maintenance section of the owners manual, it will clearly explain the suggested service intervals and the products required. Keep in mind this is the minimum required to satisfy the warranty requirements when the vehicle is new.

Sometimes the vehicle may require more frequent servicing depending on use especially as the mileage climbs, people who achieve long service life from a vehicle usually take better than average care of it as well. Get the overdue items attended to and keep up on the service and your 2.7 should give good service for a long time.

No discussion about maintenance on TW is complete without an oil brand so I'll get out in front here:
As long as the oil meets the specifications provided by Toyota it is suitable to use, any major brand is fine.

 

Do you always have the oil changed at the same place?
Are they really changing the oil?
Are they using the correct oil?
I change my own oil and I know quite a few that have theirs changed at service centers. Most never have an issue, but once in a while, I hear some horror story that makes me wonder if the oil was ever changed or the correct oil was used.
Just thinking out loud.

 

This. Change it and note the level. Check it later. Maybe 1000 miles down the road.

I’m sure you could white glove any exhaust and it will come back black.

 

The truck has been taken to the same station since first purchased in 2012. The truck wasn’t kept up with maintenance on time so since I got the truck I’ve been trying to take better care of it, oil changes, changed out the cabin air filter and air filter, spark plugs are still good. The truck always ran perfectly fine but I’ll take a look at the levels after 1000 miles of the oil change.

 

You’re probably right about the exhaust, I’ll check the oil levels when it gets 1000 miles.

 

Thanks for the advice, I’ll take note of it.

 

6,000 miles isn’t “that” long.
But it can be depending on how it’s driven. Stop and go, long idle times or towing will call for shorter oil changes.
You really should try to change it at 5,000.

 

I changed my oil every 10,000 miles, or every 6 months for the 1st 9 years and 180,000 miles. Since then it has been a 3rd vehicle and isn't driven as much, but I still change it every 6 months. That works out to about 5000-6000 miles. It is at 240,000 miles now and in the 16 years I've owned the truck I've never added oil between changes. It is usually around 1/2 to 1 quart low after 10,000 miles.

And it doesn't hurt a thing to be 1 quart low. The oil should be anywhere between the hashmarks on the dipsticks. You only need to add oil when it falls below the hashmarks. I'd never add a partial quart of oil. Wait until you're 1 quart low then add a full quart of oil. Even then if I were close to oil change time I'd rock on and just top it off when I did change it.

There are at least 2 Toyota's out there with 1 million + miles that had their oil changed every 10,000 miles. You're being conservative changing it at 6000 miles. This isn't the 1950's anymore. Some manufacturers are now recommending 15,000 mile oil changes.

And while it is nice to own a vehicle that doesn't use much oil it isn't necessarily a problem if it does. Like someone else said above manufacturers don't consider it a problem unless you're adding 1 quart every 1000 miles or less. Some engines just use some oil and may need a quart added every 2000-3000 miles. They run fine and will last just as long as the ones that don't use any.

 

The black stuff on the exhaust tip is most likely just carbon, nothing to worry about. And you said it’s not giving blue tinged smoke.

changing your own oil is really easy and worthwhile to learn for anyone able bodied to 1) make sure it’s done right, and 2) save some bucks.

And for gods sake, don’t pay for fuel injector cleaning. It’s total nonsense! The gas that gets pumped through them already cleans them all the time. Unless your engine is flooding or misfiring, your fuel injectors are fine. In my opinion, it’s kind of a frivolous thing to even try to sell to people who don’t know better.

 

No disrespect to the auto shop doing your oil changes, but you wont know if the oil was properly filled up unless you check the level right after the oil change, or you do it yourself.
Black soot at tail pipe is normal. Oily substance there is not.
Note: oil capacity between the two marks on a 4 cyl oil dip stick is 1.4 qts; 1.6 on V6.

 

It should be noted that for the first 9 years you were driving 20,000 miles per year which suggests that the majority were highway miles - ideal service.

The OP stated that he drives 40 miles per day at a maximum, this would suggest that his 10,000 miles would take 1) longer to accumulate 2) have more cold starts - less than ideal service.
Those million mile cars didn't hit that number driving 40 miles per day.

While it may not hurt to run a quart low I prefer to keep the level topped up.