Broken:
Thanks for the response...I called my dealer and have an appointment set in two days. Thank goodness the service rep was really nice....He said there had been one more Z sold from their dealership that had the same problem. It is there now getting a new engine. He said for me to bring it in, we would sit down and start the process of finding out what is wrong.....Wow, I am glad I checked all threads about this car out......I would never have thought about this oil issue. This site is great and thanks to everyone who puts their issues/points of interest here. It really helps us all.

Thanks again.

 

If you ask me, the best way to determine how much oil is in your car is to change the oil.

Collect the oil from the drip pan and pour it into the bottles you used to fill the new oil.

Dipstick doesn't tell you anything with much accuracy.

 

I was in the same boat when I first had the problem. I had no idea the symptoms were low oil, why would I. I had checked the dipstick a few times and it looked fine. That is the worst stick to read.
It wasn't until I read threads on here that I figured out what the problem was.
I'm really glad this forum is available as a resource.

 

im on my 650th miles doing the 700 mile check with the dealer.. just checked my oil level and it was below the "L" low mark.. wtf.. anybody know how much oil i lost? the car had been sitting for over 8 hrs, i assume most of the oil is already on the pan.. so im taking the car in tomorrow morning with 50 miles short of the test..

 

To check the dipstick, you should run the car and get it up to normal operating temps.

then turn it off, and wait 15 minutes

pull out the dipstick. wipe it off, then dip it again, and pull it out.

 

Thanks! checked it again since i just got home from work aprox 20 min ago.. oil level is almost the same as previous reading.. just a few centimeters below the letter "L"... im wondering if that is most of my oil or just equivalent to a quart or so...?

 

Hey guys,,,,just back from the dealership...They have placed the order for my new engine.,,,also,,the engine's are on back order from nissan due to "the investigation"....So, I was told to check my oil each time I fill up with gas...top it off if it needs it and they will call when my engine arrives...They were super nice at Conyers nissan in Atlanta.....The Head Tech " Richard" has another Z there waiting on an engine...He told me he would be raising cane if he spent that much money on a car and it had this problem. He spent about 30 mints talking with me about what he will be doing, and said he would watch out for me and make sure everything is fine....I feel some better being able to talk to the person doing the work on my car....So, I guess its back to the good ol days,,of getting gas, checking oil at the same time..LOL If anyone has questions about this, feel free to PM,,,,I can tell you what Richard (head tech) told me..

 

i passed by dealer this morning to show how low my oil level was even though i'm still 50 miles shy off the 700 mile test, i was surprised that they want me to leave my car there today and have my engine replaced and get it back next week.. that was before they looked at the oil!! ... wow!!... they are pretty familiar with this problem... i overheard him talking to another guy that he already has an open RO with Nissan for my car the day i went there to start the test... then they checked the oil and confirmed that most of it is coming out of the exhaust (that explains the smoke everytime i take my car for a long drive). He then told me that if i cant leave my car today then i can come back monday and and probably have a rental authorized by NNA as well.. cool guy!! i was sooo happy that i forgot to ask him about the fuel filler hose recall and rear axle click TSB before i left.

btw this is Falore Nissan in Sunnyvale, CA recommended by a fellow forum member and they are mod freindly.

 

Wow, that is great guys that you have a dealer that is that willing to work with you. Maybe I'll drive up to Norcal.

 

Hey ZXPWR,,,,,that is great they are going to replace your engine....I know I felt some relief that there was no hassle with getting mine replaced...I just have one question,,,not to down anything,but I would make sure they are not replacing your engine with "just" another engine. The dealership told me this morning that the new replacement engines are on back order due to the investigation of oil consumption. He said NNA was getting all these engines sent back to them complete, then they are running test, finding out the correlation of the bad engines,,then making the correction on the new replacement engines...He didnt sound like they would be ready next week.....I just dont want you to get an engine and have the same problem and have to go through all that again. I would ask if your replacement engine is one that has been corrected for the consumption problem.
Again, dont mean to be a "downer",,,but just trying to watch out for us people here...

 

hey Lsmith, i know what you mean.. unfortunately for me, my car has 59K miles already.. who knows what will NNA say when i reach 60K.. since my current engine is confirmed to be burning oil, i'll take a risk on a new one before im out of warranty... but let us know how your new engine goes.. if the one i'm getting eats oil again i think that would be a sign to have one built. thanks for looking out though!

 

That was exactly my issue when the idea of replacing an engine was first brought up. Why replace it when NNA hadn't admitted there was a problem yet and started investigating? There are several people that have gone through mutiple engines.
Even though it sucks my case has been dragged out I guess it's a good thing they didn't offer a replacement engine right off the bat.
At least now they're starting an "investigation".

 

Damn lol I have a 06 as well I never really bother
to check oil levels as I let the local dealer do my
oil changes. Its about time to go in for my 2nd change.
Are there signs to look for that would tell me if my ride
is killing oil? I dont get any kind of warning LEDs on
dash telling me iam low on oil and oil psi isn't odd.
Any advice fellas??? btw havent noticed any white smoke
from tail pipes when idling etc.

 

Hey MasterRacer:

I didnt know anything about it either until I read the threads here....After I read the threads here,,,I went out and looked at my exhaust tips,,,they had smudge, sut all inside and on the lower part of external tips....I ran my finger in the tips (when car is cold and not running. ) and found the black ****. I then checked my oil,,(mine had sat for three days)and found that it was more than half down my dipstick....I was like WTF.....So, I then started reading more on this issue,,,called my dealership and set an appointment so I would have a set time with them to discuss the issue. I know here, if you just show up, they will not spend anytime talking with you.I explained what all I found with my car and what this website had allowed....Fortunately they had been dealing with NNA about another 350Z that was there in the shop with the same issue,...I hope your dealer is helpful, cause I know some can be a PITA....You know if you dont bring this to their attention, they will not say anything....Sorry to Nissan, but they can be shady,,,I learned that from my 04 Titan,,,major recalls, ect, ect...thats another book I can write about,,,,what a nightmare.

 

Oh MasterRacer:

I forgot,,,,I had no indication from the gages I had a problem either. No LED's,,pressure gage was reading fine.....Thats why I love this website. I would have never known, nor checked the oil,,especially with only 1900 miles on it,,,,again,,I hope this helps, and maybe you have one of the Z's that is not affected..

 

Well, if anyone is interested,,,,I got the call today from the dealership. My new engine has arrived and ready to be installed. I talked with the head Service Director and made sure it was the "new" engine after the investigation (oil comsumption) was resolved....He stated,,,"thats why I had to wait almost a month for the new engine...Its not only the short block nor long block,,,its the whole engine, everything..he said all they will have to do is put in air filter/oil, oil filter".

I thought the long block was the whole engine? Anyway, I stated the problems here on the website about going through multiple engines....He promised me this was the "new" engine...They were just released a week ago. They corrected the problems with oil consumption and other things. He said NNA would not release what the actual problems consisted of,,,but assured this engine is the corrected, new engine.

If anyone is interested, I can keep you updated.. I hope this helps....As for the ones here waiting on a new engine,,,I would contact your dealership and let them know the corrected engines were released last week.

 

My '06 is about 2 months old now. At 1250 miles I was only down 1/4 of a quart. That didn't phase me. I checked it today at 2400 miles and I am now down below "L", at least a quart, with 3/4 of that coming in the last 1200 miles. Is it time to worry or is this normal during breakin? Seems funny the consumption tripled after I reached the "1200 mile don't exceed 4000 RPM recommended breakin"; started driving it normally, not doggin' it but normal, and the consumption triples.

John