Nissan - Sentra :: 2003 - Burning Oil Fast / 1 Quart Every 140 Miles
Nov 24, 2014
So I have a 2003 Nissan Sentra which was given to me by my family and it's main issue is how much oil it is burning constantly. I find the car to be a lot more safer and reliable than my previous vehicle a 98' ford taurus. I have my 1 year old son with me daily so his safety is my #1 concern especially when we are in the car so whatever I must do to fix this issue, I am ready though I am hoping to not have to replace the engine. The car is currently at 176,653 miles as of right now. I have done a lot of research on this issue in these past months and this is what 'lve come up with.
I have seen a lot of blogs regarding similar issues that their nissan sentra was burning massive amounts of oil due to the manufacturer's precat. It has been said to relieve the vehicle from its oil burning issue to change the precat to a header so one of my questions is would you find that to be the most reasonable answer, to change the precat to a header?? I was told the precat in my car had been changed previously so I inspected the car myself due to finding the mechanic had replaced the precat with another precat thus making no change to the issue at hand. I am getting really tired of feeding my engine oil when it just guzzles it down in a day or two. Here are some questions i have:
Would changing the precat to a header be the most reasonable solution to ridding this oil burning problem?? (if thats the case this would really relieve me over the stress i endure from this car)
I currently use SAE 10W 40 High Mileage engine oil; the owner manual says to use A) SAE 5W-30 viscosity oil for all temperatures & B) SAE 10W-30 or SAE 10W-40 if the ambient temperature is above 0*F so after using choice B, would changing now to SAE 5W-30 be a good idea?
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I have a 1997 f 150 4.6l, 145k miles, it seems that very slowly it is loosing coolant but i haven't noticed any leaks, it also burn about a quart of oil every 3000 miles but i was told that was normal?
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My 2006 GS300 has oil burning issue after 80k miles now my odo is at 110k miles. I have changed my oil every 5000 miles, keep burning about 1 quart every 1k miles average. Literally burnt about 20 quarts of an oil with premium fuel. At 105k miles, I had replaced my bank 2 sensor 2 after the check engine light and vsc light came on, reset the code those lights came right back on.
Check the code again, found out bad cat converter between passenger side sensors. The recalls has been done at 65k miles at dealer. My questions are :
-What would be the cause of burning that much of an oil? No leaking on floor or bad smell.
-Is burnt oil causing the failure of cat converter?
-If I replace the cat, will it go bad again?
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My 2003 Nissan Sentra was doing fine a few days ago until I started up a very steep hill and went into 1st gear. There was a burning smell for about 2 blocks so I shifted to 2nd gear. The smell went away. When I was in 1st gear it did not sound or feel like I was trying to go too fast for the gear. I just smelled the burning. Same hill in 2nd, no smell. How much should I worry?
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I have a brand new 2012 BMW 650, production date Nov 2011, and took delivery in December 2011. The low oil light indicator came on at 3300 miles 4 months later. Took it to the dealership and I reported to the service advisor that the car had a clanky (like a fan was hitting it's surrounding metallic covering) noise for 1-2 seconds on cold start and then disappears. I also told them that there was excessive soot noted on the passenger side exhaust tip. I was told by the dealership that this was normal oil consumption.
The dealership put in one quart of oil and told to monitor the oil consumption. At near 6600 miles and 3 months later the low oil light indicator came on again. Took it back to the dealership and the service advisor told me everything was normal and again added another quart of oil. The odometer is now at 8500 miles and the oil level indicator shows half full at 1900 miles later. I keep my cars for a long time and the first oil change is at 15,000 miles. I am sure I don't want to mess with adding a quart of motor oil every 3-4 months. I would not have bought this car if I was told or made aware that this was normal oil consumption.
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I have a 2004 VR6 GTI and it's burning around a quart every 1000 miles. I understand that it could be the notorious piston ring issue, but I am running heavyweight oil and it still seems to be burning. I'm currently running 20w-50 (That is what the previous owner was running and I figured I shouldn't switch it up). There doesn't seem to be a leak either... Are any additives worth a shot?
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I have a 1997 Toyota RAV4 with 137,500. I got it in 2004 with 93,000 miles. Since I've had it, it burns about 1 quart of oil every 1,000 miles or so. I don't think it's been getting worse since I've had it. I had the compression in the cylinders checked last year, and the compression's good in all four of them. What the problem might be? It the problem worth repairing, or should I just keep adding a quart of oil every 1,000 miles? Also, does burning oil damage other parts of the car?
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My 2013 Subaru outback four-cylinder is burning 2/3 of a quart of oil per 1000 miles. It is not leaking anywhere so I know it is burning the oil. The dealership says I need to replace the engine, I'm just wondering is it bad on anything else in the car if I keep driving it for a little while before replacing it? how much longer I could go?
FYI: The power train warranty is void because of rear end damage and a rebuilt title.
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I've owned a 2001 Chevy Prizm LSi for about 12 years and it's been burning oil at a rate of about 1 quart every 200 miles or so. No tail pipe emissions or noticeable smoke and no OBDC codes.
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OK, updating my test with my 2006 127k mile engine burning oil. After 2 OCI with MMO added to the oil, it has not improved the oil burning. I was using 3 quarts 5w30 oil and added 1/2 quart of MMO. Oil burning seems to be about 1 quart 1500 miles or so. I believe before this MMO test, the car was burning around 1 quart every 2000 miles or so.
This may be because the oil has been thinned out by MMO but not really sure. Next OCI, I will be using Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic 5w30, because I heard that oil has exceptional cleaning power.
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My 2008 Honda Accord started burning oil at the rate of 1 quart per 2000 miles. It currently has 48,000 miles on it. The dealer told me that this is within Honda's specifications. Honda won't do any warranty work unless it is burning oil at the rate of 1 quart every 1,000 miles. The dealer service person told me that if I use their oil and filters - get my oil changes there at the dealership - it will burn much less oil. Question - if they are using some sort of high mileage oil, and it does indeed burn less oil, is this problem considered fixed? Should I hold out for some engine work before the warranty runs out? How should I approach this?
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I have a 2009 Toyota Matrix that has 127,000 miles on it. It has had several sources of oil loss in the past year and now it just seems to be burning it. I am very skeptical that a toyota engine is burning oil at 127,000miles. I replaced a part called a pcv valve as well as a seal that was causing leakage. Now I am losing about a quart every 1000 miles and no leaks can be found. Any other things that would cause oil loss besides burning?
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I have a 2007 Toyota Camry with 110,000 miles that is burning oil too fast. A farm mechanic told me I should put thicker oil in it- straight SAE 30. It is a 4 cyl, 2.4 L Automatic. I had a oil and filter change less than 2 months ago, have driven maybe 2,000 miles. The oil is below the first dot. The manufacturer says to put 5W 20 oil in. I live in central North Carolina, so below freezing temperatures aren’t an issue. Last oil and filter change, they checked for leaks and they said it was clean underneath with none. Also, is it possible the car is burning the oil fast because I live in a warmer climate and I’m using the thinner oil? Is it ok to put the thicker straight SAE 30 oil in it? If yes, can I add it to what’s already there (5w 20)?
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Where do I start. I have a 2001 Nissan Sentra. 128,000 miles. In Aug. of last year, the engine detonated, so I had it replaced along with other parts. Shortly after that, I noticed a burning plastic smell coming from the car after driving it for a while. I confirmed that that the smell wasn't coming from a plastic bag. Fast forward to Dec 2011, my check engine light comes on. I go to Autozone, have the code read; it's the dreaded 420 code. I go to have it checked out, was told my cat went bad and probably because of the old engine and that the smell is probably coming from that.
The check engine light went off on Christmas day. Fast forward to last month, the light comes on again and I pony up the cash to have the cat replaced since inspection is coming up in June. Now, I had an engine diagnostic run right before I got the cat replaced and it came up fine. The cat was replaced on 4/20. Everything seemed fine. The burning plastic smell went a way, but lo and behold, it came back this week. I don't know what to do. I did a little search on the net and it seems that burning plastic smell indicates there is something going on with engine and possible misfire.
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Three mechanics have given us three different opinions about what is wrong with our 2003 Nissan Sentra. I'd like to hear from the Car Talk community.The problem started when our car began to shake when we drove above 40 miles per hour. We got the radiator replaced. However, the car still would not always start. We took it to the Nissan dealership. The mechanic there said it needed a new fuel pump.
We took it to mechanic #2 for a lower-cost fuel pump replacement. However, the car has started every time for them. So they cannot be confident that there is something wrong with the fuel pump. The fuel pressure does drop off after turning the key off. This mechanic said our main problem is that there is antifreeze in cylinders No. 2 and 3 of the engine (likely from when our radiator broke). There is either a crack in the cylinders or the head gasket has failed. They are estimating $1,200 to $1,600 to fix this. They said if we don't take care of this, the antifreeze will continue to circulate and damage the engine further.
The Nissan dealership says if there were antifreeze in the engine, the check engine light would have come on. Also, they say they would have noticed if there were antifreeze in the cylinders. Their opinion is the fuel pump is only thing that needs to be fixed.
We then called mechanic #3 to get another opinion. This mechanic specializes in Hondas/Toyotas/Nissans. He hasn't looked at the car yet, but he thinks that the motor could be damaged since the car was shaking when the radiator broke. He says he thinks it is unlikely that the fuel pump needs replacing, and he thinks the check engine light would not detect the antifreeze in the engine.
Fuel pump, antifreeze in cylinders, or motor? Or all three? What do you think?The car has about 85,000 miles on it.
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While a friend was using my 2003 Nissan Sentra evidently a child spilled a sugary drink onto the gear shift console without my friend realizing it. The car sat for 2 weeks in the Sept. heat. When I drove it for the first time, I noticed a grinding sensation when I put the gear shift into reverse and park. The other settings were normal. Do I need to have it checked out, or will the motion of using the gear shift eventually wear away the sticky mess that obviously is in there? My husband didn't notice a thing, but it is my car and he very seldom drives it.
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I have a 2004 BMW 330xi with 115,000k. Over the past few years I have to put oil in the car frequently. Four years ago it was every 1500-2000 miles, but It has now gotten to the point where it needs a quart of oil every 400 miles. There are no leaks under the car.
There is no smoke coming out of the back. The BMW dealer has no clue. They've replaced some gaskets and a few other things but nothing works. Another mechanic recommended changing the oil from the regular synthetic to a blend and driving the car at higher rpm's. That didn't work either.
Where is all this oil going? I am worried that something is really wrong and I'm going to loose the engine. Hoping I don't have to get rid of this car. It's in great shape...
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I recently had my "Service Engine Light" come on, Sunday to be exact. I went through my normal procedure of checking the fuel cap and drove several times to no avail. So today I ran by Autozone where I got the P0302 code. Now I realize I could go in for a tune up, but I'm a college student and just spent all my money on books so I'm looking for some DIY solutions before I lay down any large amounts of money. Where to start. As for a bit more background, I filled my car up with gas on Friday, the light came on Sunday and the car will shake on initial idle of the car.
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Totally stumped. Replaced the head gasket in Nissan 03 Sentra 3 months ago and car has been running great since with good power. Car suddenly completely dies after coming to a stop without any warning or any loud noises.
No compression in all cylinders. Seemed to be lots of oil in all four cylinders according to the bottom of the spark plugs. Pulled timing cover, timing marks still line up perfectly. Leak down test suggests valve problem.
Pulled the head and see all the exhaust valves are bent and the intakes are bent on pistons #1 and #3. (which is also odd as pistons #1 and #4 run in the same positioning) Question is how can all the exhaust valves suddenly get bent simultaneously with the timing chain still registering perfectly on the marks it's supposed to?
Things I've checked: I checked to see if the camshafts have sheared through the key, but they seem fine. No deep grooves found to indicate they slipped or anything.
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I bought a new Audi A5 with a 2.0 liter turbo engine in August 2010. From the very beginning this car has been using in excess of a quart of oil every 850 miles. I have done some research and it appears that this happens to a small minority of their engines. Audi seems alternatively unwilling or unable to solve the problem. They have performed 3 extensive repairs replacing 2 different engine seals-one of them twice. The consumption has now actually worsened to about a quart every 800 miles. Now they are starting to tell me that my consumption is really not all that far from Audi's "minimal acceptable limit of a quart every 1,000 miles". Why does the oil consumption vary so widely in their new engines? Why can't they fix the problems? Why do they act like we are unreasonable to expect the same consumption of all the lucky A5 drivers?
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No noticeable oil on the ground and there's no noticeable exhaust smoke. I have 207,000 miles on it and don't have any intention of making any major repairs. Usually using Castrol or Quaker State regular 0w-30. I'm the original car owner that keeps a 5 quart oil jug handy.
However, where the oil "might be" going and is there an additive that I may could use to slow the oil usage down?
I drive about 225 interstate miles and about 175 surface street miles weekly.
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