Excessive Oil Consumption- '01 Rx300

[lkeeley]

I recently purchased a 2001 RX 300 with 88K miles on it from a Lexus dealership. It had been serviced at that dealership about every 5000 miles and they had the full service records on it. I got a great deal and was thrilled with my purchase, until I checked the oil 500 miles after I brought it home and found virtually no oil registering on the dipstick. The oil had been changed only 600 miles previous to that and I checked everything when I bought it and there were no problems. Clearly I was upset. Additionally there were no signs of leakage on my garage floor. I put a couple quarts in drove another 300 miles and discovered again no oil on the stick. I put more oil in and called the dealership.

I dropped it off 28 days after the purchase and hoped they would not only find the problem but also cover it under the 30 day warranty. They ran a compression test and told me the pump wasn't pulling up the oil correctly and they needed to replace the valve seals and all the associated parts (spark plugs etc). Thankfully at their cost. I asked if they could go ahead and replace the timing belt and water pump etc since they were going to be in there anyways and they said no problem, so I paid for the parts and 1 hour of labor. I got the car back today and so far after driving 100 miles (had to go to NJ from DE to find the RX I wanted) everything seems to be fixed, no disappeared oil, acceleration seems to be improved and in general the car is running a bit smoother. I was assured there were no signs of sludge and that the problem had been caught early, but am of course a little nervous about that. The parts and work are covered under a new warranty and I am hopeful that from this point on I will have no issues with the vehicle.

This is the first car I bought on my own and I thought I had researched everything and found the right vehicle, now I am a little bit more nervous about the whole thing especially after reading this board so much in hopes of finding someone with a similar problem.

Anyways I just wanted to post about my experience and sort of introduce myself to the this board which I have found to be very helpful so far. I also wanted to say my experience at Lawrence Lexus in New Jersey was great. I don't blame them for selling me a vehicle that had this problem as it was something that can't be caught in the normal diagnostic tests Lexus (or any company) runs on it's used vehicles ahead of sale, and they took care of me with no drama about warranty coverage when the problem was discovered. I also enjoyed the loaner they gave me while the car was being fixed :)

The big lesson here as well is to not worry about conservatively driving your new used car because if I had I wouldn't have burned off enough oil to catch the problem and 2 to check all your fluids frequently, especially after you get a new car just in case. And of course to not procrastinate about bringing the car in.

I was hesitant to buy my car from a dealership because I thought I would get a better price somewhere else but this might have changed my mind, because not only did I get a great price, but the service Lawrence Lexus gave me was impeccable. Of course I say all of that assuming that they did indeed fix the problem, because if not... well anyways I'm going to be optimistic about it.

Hope this helps anyone facing excessive oil consumption.

[code58]

name='lkeeley' timestamp='1312492150' post='438544']

I recently purchased a 2001 RX 300 with 88K miles on it from a Lexus dealership. It had been serviced at that dealership about every 5000 miles and they had the full service records on it. I got a great deal and was thrilled with my purchase, until I checked the oil 500 miles after I brought it home and found virtually no oil registering on the dipstick. The oil had been changed only 600 miles previous to that and I checked everything when I bought it and there were no problems. Clearly I was upset. Additionally there were no signs of leakage on my garage floor. I put a couple quarts in drove another 300 miles and discovered again no oil on the stick. I put more oil in and called the dealership.

I dropped it off 28 days after the purchase and hoped they would not only find the problem but also cover it under the 30 day warranty. They ran a compression test and told me the pump wasn't pulling up the oil correctly and they needed to replace the valve seals and all the associated parts (spark plugs etc).

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense! <_<

[DEATH_AWAITS_YOU]

name='lkeeley' timestamp='1312492150' post='438544']

I recently purchased a 2001 RX 300 with 88K miles on it from a Lexus dealership. It had been serviced at that dealership about every 5000 miles and they had the full service records on it. I got a great deal and was thrilled with my purchase, until I checked the oil 500 miles after I brought it home and found virtually no oil registering on the dipstick. The oil had been changed only 600 miles previous to that and I checked everything when I bought it and there were no problems. Clearly I was upset. Additionally there were no signs of leakage on my garage floor. I put a couple quarts in drove another 300 miles and discovered again no oil on the stick. I put more oil in and called the dealership.

I dropped it off 28 days after the purchase and hoped they would not only find the problem but also cover it under the 30 day warranty. They ran a compression test and told me the pump wasn't pulling up the oil correctly and they needed to replace the valve seals and all the associated parts (spark plugs etc).

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense! <_<

I agree with CODE58. I have been working with Lexus for 14 years and Toyota for 6 years before that. I don't see how an oil pump affects oil consumption. But, then again, the service consultant doesn't usually know a whole lot about cars anyway. I'm sure the primary concern was the valve seals, not completely unusual, which seems to have been taken care of at the same time. I'm sorry to hear you had a scare with your Lexus, but I'm glad to hear your local dealership stood behind their product(something you wouldn't get anywhere else). The RX300 is one of the best cars we have ever produced and we try to promote an entire ownership experience. Good luck and enjoy your car!

[jaswood]

name='lkeeley' timestamp='1312492150' post='438544']

I recently purchased a 2001 RX 300 with 88K miles on it from a Lexus dealership. It had been serviced at that dealership about every 5000 miles and they had the full service records on it. I got a great deal and was thrilled with my purchase, until I checked the oil 500 miles after I brought it home and found virtually no oil registering on the dipstick. The oil had been changed only 600 miles previous to that and I checked everything when I bought it and there were no problems. Clearly I was upset. Additionally there were no signs of leakage on my garage floor. I put a couple quarts in drove another 300 miles and discovered again no oil on the stick. I put more oil in and called the dealership.

I dropped it off 28 days after the purchase and hoped they would not only find the problem but also cover it under the 30 day warranty. They ran a compression test and told me the pump wasn't pulling up the oil correctly and they needed to replace the valve seals and all the associated parts (spark plugs etc).

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense! <_<

I agree with CODE58. I have been working with Lexus for 14 years and Toyota for 6 years before that. I don't see how an oil pump affects oil consumption. But, then again, the service consultant doesn't usually know a whole lot about cars anyway. I'm sure the primary concern was the valve seals, not completely unusual, which seems to have been taken care of at the same time. I'm sorry to hear you had a scare with your Lexus, but I'm glad to hear your local dealership stood behind their product(something you wouldn't get anywhere else). The RX300 is one of the best cars we have ever produced and we try to promote an entire ownership experience. Good luck and enjoy your car!

What if the oil pump pressure bypass fails...:

OPEN: Not enough lubricant flow nor cooling.

CLOSED: Pressure ALWAYS HIGH.

I vote for open since closed will almost always "balloon" the filter.

[lkeeley]

I probably should've been more clear.

The service consultant (who did seem to have less knowledge of the car than I would expect) explained it as the pump not pulling correctly. My understanding is that this caused it to fail which can/did? keep the pump open which caused the oil consumption.

[code58]

name='lkeeley' timestamp='1312492150' post='438544']

I recently purchased a 2001 RX 300 with 88K miles on it from a Lexus dealership. It had been serviced at that dealership about every 5000 miles and they had the full service records on it. I got a great deal and was thrilled with my purchase, until I checked the oil 500 miles after I brought it home and found virtually no oil registering on the dipstick. The oil had been changed only 600 miles previous to that and I checked everything when I bought it and there were no problems. Clearly I was upset. Additionally there were no signs of leakage on my garage floor. I put a couple quarts in drove another 300 miles and discovered again no oil on the stick. I put more oil in and called the dealership.

I dropped it off 28 days after the purchase and hoped they would not only find the problem but also cover it under the 30 day warranty. They ran a compression test and told me the pump wasn't pulling up the oil correctly and they needed to replace the valve seals and all the associated parts (spark plugs etc).

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense! <_<

I agree with CODE58. I have been working with Lexus for 14 years and Toyota for 6 years before that. I don't see how an oil pump affects oil consumption. But, then again, the service consultant doesn't usually know a whole lot about cars anyway. I'm sure the primary concern was the valve seals, not completely unusual, which seems to have been taken care of at the same time. I'm sorry to hear you had a scare with your Lexus, but I'm glad to hear your local dealership stood behind their product(something you wouldn't get anywhere else). The RX300 is one of the best cars we have ever produced and we try to promote an entire ownership experience. Good luck and enjoy your car!

What if the oil pump pressure bypass fails...:

OPEN: Not enough lubricant flow nor cooling.

CLOSED: Pressure ALWAYS HIGH.

I vote for open since closed will almost always "balloon" the filter.

For one thing, the pump PUSHES, it doesn't "pull". I realize that it has to pull it out of the pan, but it's only doing that because the system is "primed". Second, where is the "oil pump pressure bypass"? There is a bypass in the filter, in case the filter gets clogged it won't stop the flow of oil and destroy the engine. But if the bypass is in bypass mode, I still wouldn't think it would flood the top of the engine such that it would cause such excessive oil consumption. Maybe it would. That Service Writers knowledge of (or ability to convey that knowledge in an understandable manner) is very typical of the service writers I had contact with in over 30 years in the automotive field (dealers). They are SALESMAN, which means the same thing it does in any field that uses salesman, mainly that they are good at spreading bull, and not very good at understanding what they're writing about. I seldom EVER got a service ticket that I didn't have to talk to the the writer for clarification and even then, you were never sure whether you were working on what the customer actually complained about or not.

[jaswood]

name='lkeeley' timestamp='1312492150' post='438544']

I recently purchased a 2001 RX 300 with 88K miles on it from a Lexus dealership. It had been serviced at that dealership about every 5000 miles and they had the full service records on it. I got a great deal and was thrilled with my purchase, until I checked the oil 500 miles after I brought it home and found virtually no oil registering on the dipstick. The oil had been changed only 600 miles previous to that and I checked everything when I bought it and there were no problems. Clearly I was upset. Additionally there were no signs of leakage on my garage floor. I put a couple quarts in drove another 300 miles and discovered again no oil on the stick. I put more oil in and called the dealership.

I dropped it off 28 days after the purchase and hoped they would not only find the problem but also cover it under the 30 day warranty. They ran a compression test and told me the pump wasn't pulling up the oil correctly and they needed to replace the valve seals and all the associated parts (spark plugs etc).

Sorry, but this doesn't make sense! <_<

I agree with CODE58. I have been working with Lexus for 14 years and Toyota for 6 years before that. I don't see how an oil pump affects oil consumption. But, then again, the service consultant doesn't usually know a whole lot about cars anyway. I'm sure the primary concern was the valve seals, not completely unusual, which seems to have been taken care of at the same time. I'm sorry to hear you had a scare with your Lexus, but I'm glad to hear your local dealership stood behind their product(something you wouldn't get anywhere else). The RX300 is one of the best cars we have ever produced and we try to promote an entire ownership experience. Good luck and enjoy your car!

What if the oil pump pressure bypass fails...:

OPEN: Not enough lubricant flow nor cooling.

CLOSED: Pressure ALWAYS HIGH.

I vote for open since closed will almost always "balloon" the filter.

For one thing, the pump PUSHES, it doesn't "pull". I realize that it has to pull it out of the pan, but it's only doing that because the system is "primed". Second, where is the "oil pump pressure bypass"? There is a bypass in the filter, in case the filter gets clogged it won't stop the flow of oil and destroy the engine. But if the bypass is in bypass mode, I still wouldn't think it would flood the top of the engine such that it would cause such excessive oil consumption. Maybe it would. That Service Writers knowledge of (or ability to convey that knowledge in an understandable manner) is very typical of the service writers I had contact with in over 30 years in the automotive field (dealers). They are SALESMAN, which means the same thing it does in any field that uses salesman, mainly that they are good at spreading bull, and not very good at understanding what they're writing about. I seldom EVER got a service ticket that I didn't have to talk to the the writer for clarification and even then, you were never sure whether you were working on what the customer actually complained about or not.

Oil pressure bypass is generally built right into the pump body. Some newer systems, 2010+, use a variable displacement engine lubricating oil pump in order to match pressure/flow to demand.