2010 Camry 2.5L oil consumption

[diyjake]

My aunt's 2010 Camry with the 2.5L (2ar-fe) with 130k miles on the car is having pretty serious oil consumption. I changed the oil for her about 2,000K miles ago with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 0w20 and she checked today and there is barely anything on the dipstick.

Are these engines know for that? I know Toyota had a problem with oil consumption with the 2.4L engines (2az-fe).

Should we try using a thicker oil? Any ideas?

 

[buster]

Seem unusual for a 2010. I'm curious what others say....

 

[hatt]

No issue with my 2010 2.5. I've never had to add make up oil with 10K mile changes. It get 10w30 Pennzoil Platinum however.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I'm not trying to put her down , but are you sure she is checking the oil correctly?

When I had my Focus, it would always read extremely low on the first pull.

Also is this something that just started or is it something that has been getting worse and worse; I'm assuming you would have noticed in the past that you weren't getting as much oil out as you should have been.

 

[Danno]

My brother owns a 2010 with less miles. It has consumed 1/2 quart between oil changes since new.
Babies it which I suspect is part of the issue with not bedding in the rings.
IIRC, 5W-20 is the oil cap spec for that engine.
If it was my car, I would run Pennzoil Conventional 5w30 or Pennzoil Platinum in that engine. The 5W would work better in colder weather than 10w30 and the 30 should help the oil consumption.

 

[supton]

I'd first try to nail down how fast it is burning. Quart per 1k? Sounds awful but a number of vehicles have trooped on at that level. I'd also check for leaks. Any engine can go bad, or having something break, but the 2AR-FE's don't seem known to be oil burners. The one I have isn't.

I'm not sure I'd bother with thicker oil. You can try, won't hurt. I tend to use 5W30 in mine these days, but I did a number of 10k OCI's with 0W20.

You put in 5 quarts when changing, right?

 

[TmanP]

Before you start worrying, I'd make sure that you get a good reading for what it's actually using. (Fresh oil change, ensure level is perfectly at the upper limit, run, say 5000 miles, checking each 1000 or so. Note what you add, and I'd not add till you reach the lower limit during this test for consistency.) Also, note that many Toyota dipsticks have 1.5 quarts between low and full marks.

 

[diyjake]

She bought the car used a few months ago. When I changed the oil for her I also noticed that oil level was on the low so something isn't right.

 

[Powerglide]

Look under her parking spot. Could be leaking.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted by diyjake
She bought the car used a few months ago. When I changed the oil for her I also noticed that oil level was on the low so something isn't right.


Have a 2012 Camry 4 cyl which is pretty much the same engine in the 2010 Camry. My brother has a 2014 Camry with 75k miles that he bought new. He mentioned the other week that his was on the low mark. So he went to Walmart and bought some Supertech 0w20 High Mileage oil to top it off. I told him to pour in the entire quart since the difference btwn the low and full mark is well over a quart.

I noticed the '12 Camry using a little bit. I think hwy miles may affect it more. I topped it off with some Valvoline MaxLife High Mileage oil and that seemed to cut the consumption way down. The car only sees about 5k miles per year. So it gets on oil change before it really consumes any. I noticed the consumption at around 60k mark. But a used oil analysis came back with excellent results. I think Iron wear over that period was 5 ppm over 10k miles. Since back then it was getting more miles put on.

Long story short is that it's relatively common for them to use a little bit of oil. So check level often and as mentioned I would go to a 5w30 High Mileage oil. I think Valvoline Maxlife 5w30 would be an excellent choice. Important thing is to check level often and keep her topped off. Maybe even lower oci to 5k miles.

 

[Wildcard]

Originally Posted by diyjake
My aunt's 2010 Camry with the 2.5L (2ar-fe) with 130k miles on the car is having pretty serious oil consumption. I changed the oil for her about 2,000K miles ago with Mobil 1 Extended Performance 0w20 and she checked today and there is barely anything on the dipstick.

Are these engines know for that? I know Toyota had a problem with oil consumption with the 2.4L engines (2az-fe).

Should we try using a thicker oil? Any ideas?


it depends on how much time and money youre willing to invest to figure out the problem.

first thing id be doing is looking in the engine bay and on the driveway for leaks.if you find nothing over the course of a week then id send the oil somewhere that does a comprehensive analysis ( im using dyson analysis currently, pricey but worth it) and see if they can find the problem. could be sticking piston rings, worn out internals, maybe the engine running hot and boiling the oil off, who knows.

if youre not THAT concerned then id just tell her to check her oil EVERYTIME SHE FILLS UP AT THE PUMP AND KEEP IT TOPPED OFF ACCORDINGLY. alot of people with this issue dont check their oil regularily, run low and blow the engine, dont let that happen. but if the consumption increases id be expecting to replace cats and O2 sensors at some point

 

[Gebo]

I agree with most everyone's comments. You gotta check it your self. Make sure it is full to begin with. If it loses oil, first thing I would check for is leaks on ground/garage. Look for leaks around the engine.

 

[diyjake]

She is on a very limited budget so we will just need to keep an eye on it and keep it topped off for now. Although I never have used high mileage oil before might look into using 5w30 high mileage.

 

[Driz]

Yup she better be checking it once a week at least until someone figures it out. If not bad things will likely happen. In mean time how about old school. Compression check, look at plugs. Ect.
If you end up needing an engine you can still get nice warranties low mileage mills imported from Japan. They were priced around 1500 (Customs invoice price) 7-8 years back with around 50k miles Some ageblaw makes them scrap good cars there I'm told. They've been doing this since the 80s at least . Can't remember the name of the companies sellin them though offhand.

CHeck out carcomplaints.com. IT will give you an idea if there were a lot of engine issues around that time if any !

 

[DirectRejection]

I suspect low tension piston rings is a big part of this. These engines seem to like very clean, thin oil. I am generally becoming a fan of frequent OCIs. Good, SN+/D1G2il is dirt cheap.

Valvoline Restore from ryder.com, then preventive maintenance is my suggestion. Otherwise top 'er off Granny, w/ST once a week.

 

[53' Stude]

Originally Posted by Direct_Rejection
I suspect low tension piston rings is a big part of this. These engines seem to like very clean, thin oil. I am generally becoming a fan of frequent OCIs. Good, SN+/D1G2il is dirt cheap.

Valvoline Restore from ryder.com, then preventive maintenance is my suggestion. Otherwise top 'er off Granny, w/ST once a week.


Rings and lack of oil return holes is the other main problem. Thin wont help; trust me, I own a 2AZ-FE powered Camry. 15w40 seems to be slowing consumption

 

[ka9mnx]

PCV stuck open? Happened on my Ranger and it sucked a lot of oil. I'd run 5w30 not knowing the maintenance history (ST or ST HM).

 

[Deontologist]

So let's say someone bought a brand new Camry back in 04 or whatever with the 2AZ. They drained the factory fill at 50 miles and have been using Redline 5w30 ever since. Would the piston oil return holes still get clogged?

Piston oil holes getting clogged sounds like a case of poor quality oil (in conjunction with poor oil ring design).

 

[ka9mnx]

Originally Posted by Deontologist
Piston oil holes getting clogged sounds like a case of poor quality oil (in conjunction with poor oil ring design).

I think it was more poor piston design (oil return holes) and poor maintenance.

 

[The Critic]

The piston rings are likely to be gummed up, probably from the 10K oil change intervals with 0w-20.

You can try the Valvoline Premium Blue Restore. Otherwise, the only other fix is to pull the engine and install new pistons and rings.