Oil ... car uses a lot of oil?

[Dahitman44]

Is this bad?

She has a 2006 impalla 3.9 motor. She went way over on miles between changes ... 5,000 miles total, and she got the message saying oil pressure low shut motor off. So of course she finished shopping, did not tell me till she got home.

The dipstick (not my wife) showed it to be bone dry. We added 4 quarts of oil.

We started the motor and it sounds fine ... no knocks.

What happened? What did she do to it?

What does it means to use that much oil? What is happening to to car? it has 96,000

[Jeremy airjer W]

It means that your vehicle is still in the acceptable oil consumption guideline that GM has set. Now that your vehicle is getting older you'll need to be more prudent about checking the oil level to make sure it is kept full.

If you where having the oil changed at 3k intervals than it was still more than likely low on oil when you had it changed. The extra couple of thousand miles was enough to burn off the oil that would have normally been drained.

This is assuming that the vehicle has not developed an external leak, which is also pretty common. If there is no oil dripping from under the car than your likely just burning it.

We have starting offering high mileage oil at the shop. I am skeptical of the claims of all that kind of stuff but so far I would say the average is about 90% in reduced oil consumption across the board in all makes and models.

Did you do any damage? short term no, long term yes. Like I mentioned before you have probably been driving around with low oil since before you had the extended services or ran it low enough to trigger the low oil pressure lights. Less oil in the engine means that oil has to work harder and it doesn't "last" as long as if the oil level where kept full.

The best advice is get it changed. Try a high mileage if you wish (we are using mobile 1 ). Keep an eye on the oil level (check it after a thousand miles and see where your at). If its low top it off. 1 quart every thousand is not that bad.

[DTro]

Just a thought. If this started to happen all the sudden.

Read this:

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubb...ve_#Post2600318

[Jeremy airjer W]

that would definitely have a drip if that was the case.

[Dahitman44]

no drip ... none at all. Never had a car that used that much oil.

so it did have some long term damage?

[delcecchi]

Back when I was a sprout, we were taught to check the oil every fill up. Nowdays, I let it slide a little, but still check periodically. Actually I am amazed by how little oil vehicles use these days.

I can't imagine going thousands of miles without checking the oil. And the water, and occasionally the brake fluid and steering fluid.

[vitalshot5]

GM guideline is a quart every 2000 miles is acceptable on the newer vehicles- if you go over on your oil changes the oil breaks down faster and is burnt....read your owners manual...it has all the basic mait. steps in it.....steel rings in an aluminum block just dont seal like the old iron blocks did.....Ford and chrysler have the same guidelines....it all comes down to basic mait.

[Dahitman44]

thanks a lot guys.

[crothmeier]

my 2007 impala drips and uses oil. about a quart every 3,000. havent found the location of the drip tho. but havent looked really really hard either. cardboard down in the garge takes care of the problem.