Buick 3.8 oil consumption ?

Get to the dealer? Sounds like he already got to you ;>)

IMHO, that is too much oil. The GM philosophy might say that is within their specifications. But that is too much oil for a nearly new car.

You may have a leak. Sometimes gaskets, oil pressure senders, etc spring a leak, and depending where it is, you might not see it so readily.

Have somebody look at it....a dealer, maybe, if it is still in warranty.

GM will tell you it is in spec, but that is very high, IMO. I've not had a

3.8 that could not go 7500 miles between changes with no oil added. And that is even after 75,000 miles. At 150,000 miles it would get changed a bit more often, but still never added oil.

A quart every 5000-7500 miles is more like it.

Maybe what you would accept and consider reasonably normal, but the auto companies dont see it that way.

I had a new Ford that was using oil 'way back in 1968. I went to the dealer under warranty, and they put the car on test...changed oil, sealed the crankcase. They told me that if my consumption was a quart per 750 miles or better, this would be viewed as within normal limits and they would not cover it . Car had about 17000 miles on it at the time It was actually 400 miles per quart and they put in a new engine. A ring land had cracked.

You have to see what the auto company sees as acceptable.

No, not at all normal, it is in fact excessive. Get thee to thy warrantor. Insist that it uses oil at the rate of 1qt/500 miles, put the onus on them. Be persisitent, if you don't get satisfaction from the dealer, elevate your complaint to the district rep.

That is awful. I have heard stories about oil consumption being ignored by the mfg.

If you can find a district representative or a zone representative you will be lucky. Those guys used to be the people who had the information that dealerships overlooked, who could make decisions. The last time I tried to find one, I was told that they didnt exist anymore.

Maybe if the engine had 250k on it.

Didn't see a mention of mileage on his one. But loss between oil changes should be very small and hardly noticeable between oil changes.

What kind of gas are using? Do you have any leaks?

Using regular 87 octane. There are absolutely no leaks anywhere. Forgot to mention, engine has 41k miles on it. Just once, the other day, when I started it up in the AM there was a puff of blue smoke. Never saw that before, or since. Gary

That particular indication of blue smoke can mean that oil is leaking down the valve stem, due to valve stem seal failure or valve stem wear, or both.

That would be very unusual in a car as new as this one.

If this is happening, you wont normally see blue smoke in normal driving because the catalytic converter keeps it fully burned. When starting, the engine can get a fairly large dose of oil and the converter is not hot enough to really get rid of the evidence.

This car should be in warranty. Get it to a dealership, and have them start the procedure to see if it is bad enough for them to repair under warranty.

Normal every day regular gas. 87 octane I think. No leaks, park it in a a weather sealed garage and never smell gas.

Next time you change your oil add a bottle of Lucas.

Blue smoke = burning oil Talk to the service manager about it and it may be a good idea to run the car until hot, park it at the dealers and let him start it in the morning. At that mileage, no way should it be using oil.

It was fairly common back in the 1950's and 60's to see that type of action from worn valve stem guides, but I've not seen that on anything since with less than 150,000 miles. GM may not agree, but you have a problem. If they don't give you any satisfaction, trade it in on a Hyundai Genesis.

Underline that sentence...Modern automobiles just normally don't occasion this sort of issue until much later in life.

Now, to get GM to do something about it may take a little perseverance.