Wanted to share a thread I started on 350zmotoring.com in regards to my 2003 Z burning oil. I went in for the thrid time and the dealer confirmed oil was consumed. I burned/lost 5/8 of a quart in 1K miles.

As you will see in the thread, I am not the only one with this problem.

Just wanted to give a heads up to anyone else out there whose oil light is coming on or whose pressure gauge is running lower than usual.

http://350zmotoring.com/forums/showt...5&pagenumber=1

JB

 

Thanks for the info,

I don't think my Z is eating too much oil. The problem is that with the crappy dip stick, it is nearly impossible to know how much oil is in the pan. Oil gets splattered everywhen as you are trying to pull the dipstick out

 

No problem here. 500 miles till next oil change and shes right on the full mark...

And if you think 5/8 qt lost evey 1000 miles is bad, talk to Honda S2000 owners

 

I agree, the z dipstick is just BullSh*t!!!!!!

 

i second that...when i first tried pulling it out,i said to myself...wtf is this? am i doing this right. then i got it out..and im just like...wow...wtf is this

 

a half a quart at 3k with mostly normal driving, but mix in some redline fun getting on the freeways a few days a week and it's a quart at 4k. with this much power in a v6 the oil's got to go somewhere if you keep it in the higher rpm ranges a lot.

 

I've already posted on this but I've lost 3 quarts of oil in 1000 miles!!!!

The dealer is contacting NNA and will most likely replace my engine altogether just like HFM had done. My car has 7,700 miles on it.

Just got unlucky with a bad car. I baby it, broke it in properly, have been changing the oil every 3000 miles, and this happens. Unbelievable.

No signs of oil leaking from below, no signs of oil burning either. Really strange.

 

Welcome to the mysterious oil loss club.

Please keep me posted as to this issue, I am going through the same thing but have yet to hear if my engine will be replaced.

JB

 

Doc, if you have any problems with your dealership, I recommend you speak with Torrance Nissan. You can PM me for contact information.

 

if this is for real i feel sorry for you guys because you will be without your z while they fix it...the good part is you will get the opportunity to have a second chance to break in a new engine and statistically you should get a good one to break in...this ain't like body work.

 

I wonder if I'm burning any OIL .

I better check mine tommorrow. With everything else going wrong, why not the engine

 

Has anyone actaully had their engine replaced due to the loss/burning of oil? I had this problem early on shortly after I bought my Z. First time, they found less than a quart of oil left. Second time, lost more than 3 quarts in less than a month. No blue smoke, no oil puddles. The oil was just dissapearing.

I started bringing my own filter and oil for the dealer to use when changing my oil. Since then I have had good oil pressure/ no loss of oil. However, if anyone finds out what the real problem is, definitely post! I don't want to have people tampering with my engine if nothing is wrong with it. It seems like everytime I bring the car in for something, I leave the dealership with a new problem! But then again, if there are defective engines out there, I want it replaced before my warrranty expires.

 

My Z always burned a little oil, but less and less as the miles accrued.

By the time I had 6k miles and three oil changes, it was getting hard to tell if there was any oil lost because the dipstick is so inconsistent and hard to get a good measure.

 

Yes.

 

hfm: how much trouble did you have to go through to get your engine replaced? i already filed a claim with nna regarding this problem some time ago. have you had any problems since they replaced your engine?

 

http://350zmotoring.com/forums/showt...5&pagenumber=2

"You need to go to a good dealership and be advised, Nissan North America reps will give your dealership guff. My service guy explained, 'this guy changes his oil religiously.' 'I don't care how hard he is driving his Z, there is a rev limiter.'"

I've established an excellent relationship with my dealership. I trust them implicitly and they will bend over backwards for me. As a result, the Service Advisor and the Service Director both went to bat for me when it came to dealing with NNA. My car was in Wednesday when I was told of the problem. The engine was at the dealership by the following Friday. I dropped her off the following Tuesday and I was provided a rental. My motor was replaced within two days and I was back in my Z by Thursday.

There are no problems with oil burning. However, I have a vibration issue at 4k rpm on cold starts that I think is attributable to my JWT Popcharger. The vibrations existed in my prior engine as well. And, it occurs where the sound usually changes due to the popcharger. I believe this is an air/fuel issue due to excessive air incoming from the CAI. This is a completely separate issue from the burning oil. And, I have a difficult time repeating the problem.

 

Just curious, do you guys check your oil in the morning before driving? I find I get consistant readings this way. I burn about 1/2 quart every 5K miles, which is nothing to complain about. My Acura RSX burned a quart every 1500 miles.

 

For what it's worth, my oil consumption: 0 in 17,000 miles. Not a drop.

I check my oil when totally cold, otherwise as the previous writers say, it just splatters everywhere and you can't read the dipstick.

 

i hope the guy who designed our dipsticks was fired.