V6 Oil Consumption

[ritch_w]

V6 peeps,
how much oil should a v6 use between services (9K)???

the reason i ask is that the warning light came on and checked the dip stick, it was well below the minimum leve indicator - so i topped it up immediately.
it dues a service in another 1K miles but it would not have lasted that long.....

normally i would give it an oil change myself at 4500 miles after the last service, but i never got round to it this time...

[Nick Mann]

I never use much oil between services. Once it went from maximum to halfway down to minimum, but never below, and NEVER saw the oil light apart from when the engine was off and the ignition on!

Have you done the trick of leaving cardboard under it overnight to see what it catches?

[colVR4]

I had a similar question a while back. My V6 Sport was about due for a service in another 2K miles and I noticed the oil light on. I checked and the oil light was just below minimum. I was told at the garage that it is quite normal for the V6 to go through a bit of oil if it is being pushed, and that it wasn't anything worrisome. They did a check under the car and couldn't find any significant leakage.

I have done about 3,500 miles since the service and the oil is about 3/4 down the stick. I am going to have an oil change at 4,500 anyway.

[Spirit]

I would do what Nick says and just check for any leaks, but you have the right idea in that good practice would be a change every 4.5k miles anyhow. Personally I change the VR4's every 3k to 3.5k

[ritch_w]

havent noticed any leaks - they would have shown upon the driveway.
i would be concerned if it was leaking as it is a 2002 car with less than 40k

the car does get ragged sometimes

i will highlight the oil thing at the next service which should be within the next couple of months.

[Dmac1969]

My V6 has used no oil at all in the 5000 miles or so that ive owned it. Is this normal or are they all using oil apart from mine???

[Big Ian]

i will highlight the oil thing at the next service which should be within the next couple of months.

does this mean you are holdin on to your galant

[ritch_w]

yeah, the car i fancied is long gone.
so i'll probably keep it unless someone offers me silly money, which is highly unlikely

just got an FTO spoiler to play with - need cut & shut to fit as its too narrow.
will need to leave it for a few weeks before i can start on it - off to the good ole U S of A at 5am tomorrow!
:hurrah:

[lorriman]

Mine is a 2002 V6 Auto with 25k on the clock. About 2k from the 18k service the oil light came on and I topped it up with 1litre of Magnatec.

When I reported it to the dealer he said that this kind of usage was acceptable. They thought I should be expecting more usage.

At least it's not as thirsty as the Mazda MX8. Don't they expect you to check the oil every other time you fill it up with fuel?

Now that's what I call oil consumption. :rolleyes5

[ritch_w]

When I reported it to the dealer he said that this kind of usage was acceptable. They thought I should be expecting more usage.

I've just put mine in for a service today and mentione dthe oil consumption, the service guy reckons the v6 can use upto 1 litre for every 1000 miles, i thought thats a bit excessive tho....

[lorriman]

A litre every 1,000 miles? Urgh!

Do they live on a different planet to the rest of us?

I think I'd be a bit upset if mine started using that much.

[Nick Mann]

So for the V6, 9000 mile service interval, 9 litres of oil? Surely that would mean the service only requires filter changes as the oil change has been done twice since the previous service!! The service guy may be guessing a little high there!

[ritch_w]

yeah i thought so as well, i'll try to remeber and change the oil myself at 4500 miles - i had no issues with low oil levels the last time i done this!