The basics of engine oil consuption no evidence

[asetoftools]

Hey there,

fixed an oil leak on my 2002 kia optima 2.4L (G4JS) aprox 6 months ago. The car goes through 500ml per month (half a small oil bottle) every aprox 1500km.

There is no sign of the oil. The oil leak that was fixed was the valve cover gasket. But I have since cleaned up everything and dont see any oil pools under the car or drops or anything. It must be consuming the oil, but the exhaust does not smell like oil and it is normal colour.

Are there any other symptoms I can check for that will help with diagnosis?
What are the main causes. Particularly interested in causes that do not involve engine rebuilds. I have been looking at forms and the consensus seems to be that seals have worn down which requires engine disassembly. The car is only 180k on it or so. Whereas my old car never consumed oil and was over 300k.

let me know, and also how much i should worry about it. I have scan tool if anything is helpful in electronic diagnostics. Thanks.

Topic

[Richard Kirshy]

Your basically losing 1/2 qt. every 1000 miles
Can’t say that is excessive..
I believe the often accepted rate of oil consumption for today’s engines (passenger cars and l/d trucks under 8,500 GVW) can be in
the range of 1 quart within 2,000 miles on a properly driven and maintained vehicle.
You state 180K… is that 180,000 kilometers( ~112,000 miles) or 180,000 miles.
Either case, doesn’t sound all too bad considering the mileage.
Also have to take in account your driving habits

[zero]

That’s not excessive at all. For comparison, Honda doesn’t care until you reach over 1 liter per 1500 kilometers. Seeing half of that on a 2002 Kia, which were honestly just no built that well, is no big shock. It sounds like the consumption may be related to one or more of the rings on the piston being carbonned up allowing excessive blow-by. There’s several things to do that people say will improve the situation, but nothing is going to cure it.

Keep your oil clean and it shouldn’t get worse.

[asetoftools]

Thanks. I typed a big long reply but then the baby deleted it.

First of all its all metric, thats how we rolls up here.

Secondly thanks for the advice, i wont worry to much about it, but i may try and stick a bit more to the manufacturers recommended oil change intervals. I was letting it slide a bit because i figure if i have to constantly fill it and i use a mobil 1 filter, then its probably OK for longer (new oil in every month!).

i consider 180,000kms on the motor to be a young car! maybe thats just me….
My driving habits are good, but i have only owned the car for 20000kms so.. I try not to ever go over 2200 rpm and such. My wife is a bit rougher on it. The car is great because it has more leg room and trunk room then any car i tested from the 1999 -2005 era. And i sat in a lot of cars. Impalas , regals, altimas etc were all much smaller than they looked inside. The grand am has so much god damn trim inside i dont know how anyone fits in there! and i didnt want a luxury car like a Cadillac because they cost too much to fix. The kia has been great maintenance wise requiring few repairs. Have to do the timing belt at 200k but thats reasonable i guess with this sort of motor. The 4 cyl is supposed to be good on gas, but in the city i guess nothing really is.

thanks for the comments!

[Author]

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