400H Oil Consumption

[katzjamr]

my 06 400h has 92,000 miles, has always been maintained since it was new at the dealer, and we have always used Castrol synthetic blend at each oil change. At this point it uses about a quart of oil every 5K between changes, i know everyone considers this 'normal' however i am considering keeping this vehicle longer and i have other higher mileage vehicles that use no oil at all. My question is how many miles do you have currently and what is your oil consumption if any. Thank you to all for your replies.

[RX400h]

No vehicle uses no oil. When you read the dipstick, you are reading an oil level that represents oil, fuel, and water, so a "full" reading does not mean that no oil was consumed by the engine.

Our RX has 75,000 miles on it and I believe if I check the oil level before the 5000 mile oil change, it is approx. 1/2 quart below a full reading. If you look at your owner's manual, you'll see notation that a quart every 800-900 miles is "normal". However, my guess is that standard build tolerances would never allow that much oil to be consumed. My Corvette consumes 1 quart every 2500 miles.

[lenore]

mINE HAS maintained full level consistantly. When I got car at 87k it appeared to use a half quart. I would suggest changing oil brands...I am presenstly using Mobil 1 0-20 energy oil full synthetic. Now I go oil change to oil change with no loss. Also change the pcv valve. the engine may be building up too much crankcase pressure.

[katzjamr]

thanks for your replies, i used the castrol synthetic blend because at first that was what my dealer was providing at oil changes, when they started using bulk oil i stayed with the castrol, although i should have gone full synthetic as you suggest. what do you think of the new high mileage oils that chemically expand the seals to curb consumption.

[RX400h]

This is what Mobil recommends for your RX if you want their best:

http://www.mobiloil....ance_5W-30.aspx

They have a selection "wizard" to guide you to their recommendation, here:

http://www.mobiloil....r.aspx?option=2

Again, no vehicle engine consumes NO oil, but some use more than others.

[lenore]

However 0-20 is used for energy conservation...I find my level the same at the time of oil change and after 5k miles. Changing the PCV valve seemed to make the difference. However some oils just act differently in this engine.

[RX400h]

As a general rule of thumb, the PCV valve should be changed when the spark plugs are replaced, although I don't recall seeing that (PCV valve) replacement requirement in the owners manual.

[katzjamr]

now that i am out of warranty i guess i could also use the full synthetic for longer than 5K, if i do that should i use a different filter than the toyota dealer provided one.

[lenore]

Actuallly the toyota filters are quite good....

[RX400h]

The question is how many miles is a standard filter good for? There are some filters out there that have "extended mileage" printed on the box, but what about those that don't? Personally, I would not go more than 7000 miles on a standard filter. I use K&N filters for 5000 miles, along with Mobile 1 5W-30 oil.

[Nikodemos]

This is what Mobil recommends for your RX if you want their best:

http://www.mobiloil....ance_5W-30.aspx

They have a selection "wizard" to guide you to their recommendation, here:

http://www.mobiloil....r.aspx?option=2

Again, no vehicle engine consumes NO oil, but some use more than others.

I thought the TSB for the 2006's says to use 5W-20?

[RX400h]

Keep in mind that when a Toyota service bulletin states that the 0W-20 is "superior", it is comparing that oil to the original non-synthetic oil used as factory fill. I really doubt that their 0W-20 oil is superior to Mobil 1, Amsoil, and other top-name full-synthetic oils.