4.0L consuming 3 qts of oil every 5,000 miles?

That's a lot of oil burning to not see any of it trailing behind you. My FJ40 burned this much before I rebuilt the engine but it smoked like crazy under any kind of load. I've actually got an 84 Capri right now that burns about a quart every 3k miles and if I pay attention I can see it smoke under load too. First thing I would do is get the junk Fram oil filter off there and really pay attention to the oil consumption. If it truly is burning oil, get it to the dealer. Unless this is a salvage title rig or something with no warranty. Mine's got almost 150k on it and it uses no noticeable amount of oil between changes. Neither did the 96 I had a couple years back with 260k on it.

 

My 2011 AC 4x4 six speed has not required ANY oil top up between changes, Mobil 1 5w-30, 5k intervals, Wix filter, and now at 60k miles without ANY corrective maintenance, on PM and upgraded shocks, struts, tires and brakes, plus oil, filter, spark plug and gear oil changes by the book for severe duty.

I would talk to the dealer ASAP. They will most do an oil change, seal the drain plug and filler and request you return every 1,000 miles to check oil level. I suspect the motor is going to come out, most likely from the motor running dry of oil during the test.

Howard

 

I don't check mine in between changes. Just sayin'

 

Something is up for sure. Its still under warranty so take it back and have them run a test on it.

 

OK... I'll say it.

The oil issue is because of the POS Fram filter. Cardboard pressure valve probably stuck closed.

Dealer may fuss about using an oil filter that may not meet Toyota standards. But the warranty still should cover this issue.

 

At Lexus the owners manual gives some obscene normal amount of oil to be burned during services. It is something like 1 quart for every 1,500 miles. Maybe you can find out what that is on your model. While everyone there can't call that normal, the factory wouldn't do anything because there is nothing wrong according to that. As a service advisor, be persistent with the service manager who can talk to the factory on your behalf if you need to but don't take it out on the service advisor. If everything checks out "normal" then that is all we can do at a dealership level.

 

This.
I'm on my 3rd Toyota truck and it's actually spooky that none of mine have burned ANY oil between changes, even with towing etc. and milage up into the 200K range.

As has been said before, back to the dealer it needs to go.

 

Not so sure this post shouldn't have started out "once upon a time" (something is a qt. low & I don't think it is the Tacoma)

You smell something also?? I don't think it is oil

 

Sounds like oil is blowing by the rings. Improper assembly at the factory? Some Bot put your rings in upside down? It's recommended not to use synthetic for the first 1000 mi or so until everything seats.

 

are you putting the correct amount of oil in? not trying to be a dick just doesnt make sense you would lose that much without seeing something.

 

dino oil ftw

 

+1 for getting it into the dealer.

As for being able to see that kind of usage, I don't know. My wife's old Grand Prix used oil at about the same rate, but I never saw it smoke. Granted I wasn't the regular driver, but it never gave me any indication that it was using oil until my wife told me the low oil level light (yes, it had a sensor in the pan for the level) came on.

 

Might have pumped it into the air box, Dealer should know.

 

x2

 

I re-read the post, the answer is obvious. fram filter

 

if you're losing that much oil it's not that hard to figure out where. just sayin.

 

OK. I need to ask, why do you think the filter's brand the cause for oil loss???

 

something doesnt add up here..... you are saying that you are 3 qts low, and a mechanic....
you also said "The oil level was barley on the tip of the dip stick and last oil change it was a couple millimeters below the lower dot" how the hell is that 3 quarts low?

i wasnt going to say anything but i couldnt resist....

 

Thanks guys so much for the feed back but I did run non-synthetic oil in the truck the first 5,000 miles and I'm not sure how my filter would be the cause. I truly do not want to start pulling shit apart because it is under warranty an I don't really want them to try and say its something I did.

 

I can agree that Fram filters are garbage. [Tangent]Check Chris4x4's review of oil filters. I have always used the OEM toyota filter after watching his video.[/Tangent] However, I don't see how a sealed unit could be the cause of oil loss.