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

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone else is having this problem. I've notice when i change my oil every 5,000 miles that i am 3 qts low. This has happened the past 2 oil changes. I am a mechanic and have the luxury of having a lift and I have checked underneath and no signs of leaks anywhere. I'm kinda frustrated because this truck only has 20,000 miles on it and it should not be burning nor consuming this amount of oil. Let me know if you have had this same problem. By the way I have a 2013 trd off-road 4x4 Manual transmission an I use Mobile 1 full synthetic 5w-30 5.5 qts with a fram filter.

 

Yea, how did you get a prerunner 4x4. LOL

 

Be VERY careful. My truck consumed 3.5 qts of Mobil 1 full synthetic in 5000 miles and as soon as the low oil pressure light came on, it spun a rod bearing and I had to replace the entire motor out of pocket. Oil was dark black and cooked, no bueno. No leaks anywhere to be found, and I never noticed any blue smoke out the exhaust.

Mine had 120k on it though, so weird that yours is doing this so early on. I'd take it to the dealer and tell them there's something wrong there.

I'm only using conventional 5w-30 in it now, and changing every 3000 miles. Can't afford another motor swap. lol

 

Are you sure? 3 quarts? That's pretty bad considering it only takes 5.5 quarts. Take it back

 

My 09 with 55000 miles doesn't use any noticeable amount of oil between changes. 3 qts is way too much, somethings definitely wrong.

 

yeah my bad its not a prerunner Idk why I had that on here. yeah It is ridiculous I noticed it was running kinda rough and it was close enough to my oil change interval that I went a head and changed it. 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. I was thinking something was majorly wrong here when i decided to keep the left over oil and pour it back into my left over 5 qt oil jug. and it had 2.5 qts in it. I about shit myself and couldn't believe the oil light wasn't on. But i have and appointment because my clutch pedal piston is making a shit ton of noise. I'll post on what they conclude, I hope they don't try to tell me nothings wrong. I might have to start kicking people in the nuts.

 

Low oil level will not cause the oil light to come on.

Low oil pressure will.

Something is seriously wrong with that much oil use and or burning.
No smoking exhaust either?
Very strange. No leaks, No smoke.

 

yeah well I thought that having lower amounts of oil that the pressure would be cutting in and out especially while I'm on steep inclines but it does make sense if the oil pump was still collecting that it wouldn't. Its truly weird that theirs no blue smoke but considering that the cat is so new and the fact it most likely burns at high rpm, probably on the highway, when I'm going 75-80, I wouldn't be able to tell if blue smoke was their. I have been driving like 5-6 long distance trips (350-400 miles) since my previous oil change when I only did about 2 or 3 trips like that. Although brand new truck shouldn't be burning any oil. Especially since I drive it like a old man.

 

I'd drive that truck right back to the dealer. At 20K miles, that is not your problem.

 

Yep, take it back. Mine had nothing showing on the dipstick the day my motor went. Took 3.5 quarts to get it back to full. Pressure light came on and she was idling really low (450-500rpm), and I immediately pulled over, but the damage was done. 15 minutes later after adding 3 quarts, she went byebye.

 

Mine uses less than 1 quart in 6-8k miles, and it has a LOT of miles on it (378k). Mobil1 1 5W30.

Something is very wrong. Take it to the dealer.

 

That sucks
I wonder if you had the dealer doing the oil changes they would have said anything.

 

Something doesn't feel right............

1) Don't check oil and top up between changes

2) Don't know what model you actually have

3) Apparently don't know how to check for oil consumption causes outside of looking for leaks.

4) Think that a low oil level will set off the oil pressure light in these trucks

Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

But yea, it's warranty work for sure. Maybe they'll be able to apply the appropriate testing.

 

first of all i owned diesel fords since 2003 and this is my first toyota. I'm sorry I don't know tacoma's and I shouldn't have to check my oil level ever especially since it shouldn't burn oil period unless I'm driving the piss out of it, which i'm not. Yet I love tacomas because they dependable and are excellent off road, they truly are the best off road truck money can buy. Also I'm a diesel mechanic and i understand that head gaskets, valve seals will cause an issue but I should be seeing smoke out the exhaust but not at 20,000 miles. Gasoline engines are a little new to me but diesels are a little different. Thanks for your advice.

 

Not sure about the "plumbing" on the V6, but in the olden days if the PCV valve got gunked up, it would literally suck engine oil into the intake an burn it, although that would usually cause the vehicle to be followed by a blue cloud of smoke. Heck, do today's cars and truck even have PCV valves?

 

Yes. And they still work (and fail) the same way.

But at 20k he likely has a warranty issue that should not be wear related.

OP, here's a 'related' thread that may or may not be helpful.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/performance-tuning/345423-oil-burner.html

 

Do what you like, but I always pull the dip stick every time I fill up with gas. This way you can easily see oil loss coming well in advance.

 

I think there has been a few posts on here regarding some mishaps on dealership oil changes to warrant semi-mechanically inclined owners to do their own.

 

I don't check everytime I fill up, but certainly every three or four fillups...truck never uses oil, but I still check..

There are so many things I want to say about this thread but I will stick to the consensus...warranty, bitch to dealer, get it fixed or at least documented about the problem inside Toyo's 'puter system...and a good idea to have/show receipts for the oil changes you did to satisfy the warranty mongers...

 

You really do need to take it into the dealer. If you are going to research this yourself you need to do several things. Pull the spark plugs and check for oil burning. Do a compression check while they are out. Check coolant for presence of oil.
Has your MPG fallen lately? If the oil is being burned off by the engine you are headed for a Cat failure due to becoming plugged.