My Z seems to be burning 1/2 quart every thousand miles or so; this seems excessive to me.

 

That's been my story since day one. Over 14K miles now and it hasn't changed. How hard do you drive?

 

I take it to the redline sometimes but not everytime I drive it. The car has just under 5000 miles. The manual states that you may have to add oil between changes. My internet search turned up: "most cars will be down by MORE than a quart...". This hasn't been by experience with previously owned cars.

 

Ever seen how much an M3 consumes

Most people don't measure the amount of oil that they take out of an engine at oil change, I imagine most would be surprised at the loss. A 1/2 quart is probably on the high side of what I lose in btwn. changes in my Maxima (still a VQ).

For the 2002 Maxima up to 1 qt @ 3000 is considered normal/acceptable by Nissan. The engine is very similar so I would imagine nissan would consider this in spec. But feel free to call NNA or you dealer to see if the spec is different for the Z.

 

Ok. This sounds stupid but I'm a bit worried. Where should the normal level be on the dipstick? My oil was just changed 800 miles ago and the oil is pretty low on the stick, like just over the first rung (even after sitting overnight). Is this about where the normal level should be? I'd change my own damn oil if the dealer didn't offer it for free. lol

 

Mine is not burning any noticeable amount of oil.

Most car companies won't replace an engine for oil consumption unless it is over a quart per thousand miles. When VW was building Rabbits in West Mooreland PA (their first water cooled engine), you had to be burning a quart in 600 miles before they would fix it.

A quart in 2 thousand miles like kgb is getting is higher than I would like for a new engine but I'd be supprised if NNA is willing to do anything about it. However, you should report it and keep accurate records so you can prove if it gets worse. You may also want to check carefully for leaks.

 

Well, after you change the oil and add 5 quarts, it should indicate full. There is a range, and below it you should add oil. If it's reading below the 'add mark' after 800 miles, there's a problem.

My dipstick reads between the add & full indicator after about 1000 miles of driving after an oil change; adding 1/2 quart takes it back to the full mark.

 

Having the oil indicated at the "full" mark isn't necessarily optimal. That being said, I'm just wondering what a normal consistant reading is for everyone. I'm only getting oil just above the first rung in the stick (the "add" mark) and I was wondering if that was the optimal position after 5 quarts. Like I said, my oil was changed less than 1k miles ago, so the engine would have to be burning some considerable amounts of oil if the normal level should be much higher than I'm getting.

 

I would suggest you check the stick's reading right after your next oil change, and again after about a 1k miles to compare.

 

I bet you broke in your car nice and easy, didn't you?

Same thing happended with my MR2 Spyder. Mine never burned, or blew by, a single drop of oil. Spyders that were babied during break in burned oil like crazy!

 

Checking the oil on Z's can only be done with accuracy after sitting overnight parked on a level surface. Sloped driveways will always give false readings. The only car I have ever owned that never dropped oil level was my 1984 VW GTI and I drove the hell out of it. 17 years and 120,000 miles and it never lost a drop. Every other car I have owned has lost oil somewhere, including my 2003 Z.

 

This is really bad. I just changed my oil after 2000 miles of running and I burned 1 1/2 quart. does anyone else burn this much? Maybe it's the oil that I use too. I use Mobil 1 5-30. What oil is everyone else using? Anyone use redline?

 

I second what BROKE has stated, I checked my oil 4 weeks ago in the driveway and it was at the bottom quarter of the low high range, I checked it this morning after sitting overnight in the garage and it was in the middle of the low high range markers. I wonder how much that wacky dipstick with all its curves and springiness has to do with accurate measuring.

 

Two points here:

1. New from the showroom my Z (after sitting overnight in my garage with a level floor) posted an oil level half way between the low and full mark on the dipstick. I contacted my dealer the next day and was told by the service advisor that Nissan only fills all fluids to the half way mark. At 3750 miles the oil in my Z was 1/4 of the way between the low and high marks on the dip stick.

2. The dealer advised me that Nissan recommends not using any synthetic oil until the third oil change. Synthetic oils reduce friction and heat. The engine needs to experience a wide range of heat and friction in order to properly break in and synthetic oils can interfere with this intended break in strategy.

 

By the way, I worked 16 years for Mobil Oil.

 

Oil? What oil?

OK I have'nt ever pulled the dipstick out - just went and did it (hard little sucker to get out) and it is just below full. Guess i'm not using oil!

Oh by the way I relined my Z from the first 5 minutes.

Goes to show - don't baby a new engine unless you are going drive below 2000 revs for ever.

 

First of all, I can never get a good oil level reading by the procedure in the Owners Manual (engine warmed to NOT, turn off, wait ten minutes). The "front" of the stick has spotty oil and the "back" of the stick is covered with oil for half the length.

When I changed the oil at 3500 miles, I measured only 3 quart removed. Did I burn the other 2 quarts, or was there a significant amount remaining in the system? I cannot guarentee that the car was on a perfectly level surface, since it was on ramps...

 

i just changed my oil last weekend , i got less than 1 quart in mine..... added 5 quarts , seems fine now.. but u think my z burned 4 quarts of oil during first 3000 miles ? sounds sick

 

For those who advocate driving your car as hard as you want, as early as you want...Nissan and other auto companies have been designing, engineering, and building engines for many years, and they all have a recommended break in period. How can Joe Average off the street post here and say it's better for the engine to run it hard and not baby it, while the people designing, engineering, and building engines are telling us otherwise? That seems crazy to me. When my doctor tells me not to take some mediction with alcohol, I follow his instructions. I don't think about it for myself, determine he doesn't know what he's talking about, and then wash the meds down with a beer. And so, you are trying to imply that the people who follow Nissan's recommendations for the break-in period are directly causing their engines to burn exessive amounts of oil and instead they should disregard the break-in warning and run it hard from day one. I challenge anyone to give me solid proof that break-in causes oil burn. Instead, all I'll get are 'opinion's and 'my buddie's car doesn't burn a drop and he redlined it out of the dealer lot'. The whole 'break it in like you intend to drive it' thing is BS, pure conjecture.

 

You tell 'em! Engines don't have "memory". Driving them hard during break-in does not mean that they will become fast cars...