Car ran on low oil

[mehc]

Hi,

I have a car with 187,000kms which was checked at 182,000kms for oil change and engine noise, since we were going by car to the united states. Dealer (yes still going to dealer, cheap oil changes, etc) said everything was fine, belts to be changed soon. Last few days (4-5) car has been very noisy, like a diesel truck, so we brought it in for the oil change and to have the belts changed. Dealer told me the car was making that noise since it was very low on oil.

My question is:

Is it possible for a car to be drinking that much oil in the last 5K kilometers without having signs of it doing so before? I want to know if they badly did the previous oil change or my car simply 'broke' during that time. No oil leaks on driveway. I'm also wondering what now, it's been running a while on low oil so it's probably damaged and will be drinking more oil. We planned to keep this car another 150,000, always been taken care of.

Also unrelated, but for the past 5 years we always dropped the car in the morning and took it back ~6PM. For some reason today they closed early, and they didn't bother to warn us, no 'emergency' phone, so no car for the long weekend. It's probably the last time I go there depending on the answers for the oil troubles I get on here

Thank you

[tsxnation]

It really depends on how low they define very low to be. Did it register on the dipstick?

[mehc]

No idea..I will ask Tuesday when I go get the car. But it was making a ticking noise like metal rubbing or something. Definitely not a noise I liked and it kept getting worse and worse, with loss of power

[ichpen]

No idea..I will ask Tuesday when I go get the car. But it was making a ticking noise like metal rubbing or something. Definitely not a noise I liked and it kept getting worse and worse, with loss of power

What car is it? Did you notice it overheating? Any oil warning lights or pressure sensors on the vehicle? Odd smells?

Ticking could be a few things some scarier than others. Can you tell if its coming from the top end, middle or down at the bottom of the engine? Does ticking increase with rpm?

[plucky duck]

Does your engine regularly burn oil? Mine does and there's been a few times where it's gone below the lowest dot rating without issues. I just added 3.5 liters to my engine. Burns about a liter a month.

[mehc]

It's a Hyundai accent 2007. Does not overheat. No warnings or CELs. No odd smells except gas when cold. Seems to originate from medium to bottom part of engine. The sound was proportionate to engine rotation.

My engine doesn't burn oil, I haven't added any manually ever. Dealer has never hinted that I should check/add oil until now. I just find it weird that now all of a sudden I should check oil/add it when 5K kms ago it was seemingly fine.

[ichpen]

It's a Hyundai accent 2007. Does not overheat. No warnings or CELs. No odd smells except gas when cold. Seems to originate from medium to bottom part of engine. The sound was proportionate to engine rotation.

My engine doesn't burn oil, I haven't added any manually ever. Dealer has never hinted that I should check/add oil until now. I just find it weird that now all of a sudden I should check oil/add it when 5K kms ago it was seemingly fine.

Does the ticking change in volume/intensity as the car warms up or is it constant?
Could be lifters, would explain the link with low oil as lifters will tick in a low oil pressure situation. The low oil could be a bunch of things. Did you add oil and is ticking better?

[macnut]

No odd smells except gas when cold.

That could be a useful clue. Although most cars have a bad exhaust smell when just started up, your injectors may be leaking fuel while parked.

The resulting overly rich mixture could have washed down the cylinder walls and caused some wear enough to create noise and burn oil.

Burning oil is usually accompanied by blue smoke from the exhaust but can happen without such obvious signs.

However, mid to lower engine noise would more likely be a deeper knock.

A ticking is almost definitely associated with the upper engine valve gear, so fortunately not as serious.

Could be from the oil getting diluted with gas, or from the dealer giving you a short fill the last time (hard to prove) or using a lower viscosity oil.

Low oil would normally lead to overheating, so nothing conclusive.

For now, assuming they found it to be only moderately low on oil, and the ticking goes away with a proper fill, see how things go but check the dipstick every month at least.

[poedua]

It's a Hyundai accent 2007. Does not overheat. No warnings or CELs. No odd smells except gas when cold. Seems to originate from medium to bottom part of engine. The sound was proportionate to engine rotation.

My engine doesn't burn oil, I haven't added any manually ever. Dealer has never hinted that I should check/add oil until now. I just find it weird that now all of a sudden I should check oil/add it when

5K kms ago it was seemingly fine.

How often do you typically go in km between oil changes ...it is consistently every 5k?

And just to confirm, you've never checked your oil between oil changes over it's 182,000kms life ( I assume you bought it new ? ) .......correct ? Or simply, very infrequently ?

As for " seemingly fine " ....can't account for it being ' very low ' now, but your engine may have been a bit " low " on oil each oil change for quite some time....the dealer may simply of deemed that sort of oil consumption ( for those kms ) as being within the ' normal ' range of oil consumption, and therefore didn't feel the need to bring it to your attention.

Also, when is the last time you had your PCV valve checked / replaced ...cause a bad / plugged PCV valve will cause oil consumption.

[DavidY]

If I was you, I would check the oil on a regular basis....every 2nd gas fillup or at least monthly. What oil are you using? Is it a high mileage type? If not, you may want to consider switching to a high mileage type (120,000 km+; semi-synthetic)....easier for engine starts, if there are any minor oil leaks, this type of oil will try to fix them over several oil changes. This oil is pricier however. Stop going to your dealer.....I would only go to the dealer if under warranty. Go to an independent dealer that you trust...or do your own oil changes.

Check your tire pressures and your other fluids (primarily coolant and windshield wiper) at least monthly. I also try to check my lug nuts on an infrequent basis....always after a service that involves the tires (bad experience once).

Dave

[XtremeModder]

Does your engine regularly burn oil? Mine does and there's been a few times where it's gone below the lowest dot rating without issues. I just added 3.5 liters to my engine. Burns about a liter a month.

My 2000 civic burns a crap ton of oil, I'm just gonna throw about 3L in it sometime this weekend. Then do an oil change a bit later after I get my windshield replaced. Engine in my civic is bulletproof!

[BDSL]

My question is:

Is it possible for a car to be drinking that much oil in the last 5K kilometers without having signs of it doing so before? I want to know if they badly did the previous oil change or my car simply 'broke' during that time. No oil leaks on driveway. I'm also wondering what now, it's been running a while on low oil so it's probably damaged and will be drinking more oil. We planned to keep this car another 150,000, always been taken care of.



Yes, engines can consume oil. The older the engine, the faster the consumption.
You (and all owners out there) should check engine oil level and other fluid levels regularly!!!
Do a quick compression test on the cylinders to see if they are within spec.

[tsxnation]

Older engines do consume oil so it may be normal if it's a higher mileage car with a known issue for that model year. Also check for obvious leaks.