Just registered and joined this forum. Today I took my 2001 RX300 into the Lexus dealer because I seem to have burned 3.5 quarts of oil in about 2 months for 2.1K miles of city use. Intermittent morning blue smoke. Bought this vehicle new, and I've had it just over 8 years. I don't know anything about the class action sludge/gel suit. Never got a notice. I change the oil and filter myself... I use Toyota filters and Castrol GTX 5W30 oil. 5 quarts per change. No mistakes. Normal habit is to start it up and run it after the change, then shut it off and check the oil level. Only then, is the job done. All recorded in a spiral book with date and mileage and work done. Because I don't get much highway use on this anymore, I tried to clean out the engine by topping the tank with premium gas running it for 100+ miles of 70+mph highway. Ran like a top. But blue smoke the next morning, however not the two mornings after that. I suspected valve seal failures. Today the Lexus mechanic said the engine was obviously well maintained by how clean it was, including under the #2-4-6 valve cover. He said that he thinks the #2 piston rings are "sticky" and that is where I am burning my oil. Cannot be sure without a tear down. I refused the complete tear down job and the $5.5-6K it would cost, and I am looking for the best additives and procedures I can try to clean those "sticky rings." Haven't changed the PCV valve yet. That's next, too. By the way, the dash warning light is a low oil pressure light, not a low oil level light. Seems that it only flashes on when the oil gets so low that when you go around a corner and slosh what is left, the oil pump gets starved...low pressure.
