I have a 2000 Nissan Altima that I purchased new for my wife. About a year and a half ago, I read some of the posts on this forum and decided to try synthetic oil. When I switched oils, the car had about 50,000 miles and I used Mobile 1 with the same viscosity recommended for regular oil, 5w-30. Well, I went through two oil change cycles (3000 miles each) and had to top off the oil about every 1,500 miles, usually ¼ to ½ quart. The car hadn’t used any oil previously, so I checked for signs of leaking and didn’t seem to find any (doesn’t mean I actually looked in all the right places). After the second cycle, I switched back and to regular oil and the car hasn’t used any oil since. I’m curious about what you think happened when I switched to the synthetic, if any damage was done and suggestion about what oil to use in the future. The car has about 70,000 miles on it now and I plan on keeping it for a long time.
Altima began using oil when switched to synthetic
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Some engines use a little oil in a change in oil chemistry. It's rare ..but it happens. If you had stayed with M1 ..or had perhaps used a different synth, the consumption would have probably stopped or never occurred to begin with.
Was the consumption consistent in the second OCI with M1? That is, at the same 1500 mile rate of top off?
Try another synthetic oil, like Super Tech or Castrol Syntec. I say that, not as a bash to Mobil 1, but there have been several reports of higher consumption with Mobil 1 over other petroleums or synthetics.
Triple_Se7en
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Not every engine likes certain brands of oil. Not much different than you and me at the dinner table - when the wife suddenly changes her meatloaf recipe.
It was a good idea to return to your old brand of oil. But doing that takes all the fun out of trying new brands. I recently did similar - being quite happy with Quaker State in my almost new Colorado pickup - then switching to Amsoil because of all the Amsoil raves here at BITOG.
Too early to tell if I made the right switch. Won't know until next spring.
It was a good idea to return to your old brand of oil. But doing that takes all the fun out of trying new brands. I recently did similar - being quite happy with Quaker State in my almost new Colorado pickup - then switching to Amsoil because of all the Amsoil raves here at BITOG.
Too early to tell if I made the right switch. Won't know until next spring.
Quote:
When I switched oils, the car had about 50,000 miles and I used Mobile 1 with the same viscosity recommended for regular oil, 5w-30.
That's all I had to read! That and the thread title!
Mobil 1 5W-30 has caused all kinds of problems with people's engines; anywhere from oil consumption issues to weird valve train noises.
I say drain the stuff out of there as soon as possible and pour in a REAL oil like Maxlife 5W-30. The 10W-30 grade is what I would use if it were my Nissan.
When I switched oils, the car had about 50,000 miles and I used Mobile 1 with the same viscosity recommended for regular oil, 5w-30.
That's all I had to read! That and the thread title!
Mobil 1 5W-30 has caused all kinds of problems with people's engines; anywhere from oil consumption issues to weird valve train noises.
I say drain the stuff out of there as soon as possible and pour in a REAL oil like Maxlife 5W-30. The 10W-30 grade is what I would use if it were my Nissan.
May also be cleanup funk from a cleaning oil making it more volitile this round. Id keep it up for 2 or 3 runs to see if it levels off.
You didn't cause any harm to the engine. If there were not leaks, then it most likely volatized and was burned, either through the rings or PCV system.
After a couple of oil changes with another synthetic oil, try Mobil 1 again and see if the consumption returns. Sometimes there is cleaning that takes place, which makes the oil less resistant to burn off, or it does not allow it to properly seal around the rings and it slips between and burns.
After a couple of oil changes with another synthetic oil, try Mobil 1 again and see if the consumption returns. Sometimes there is cleaning that takes place, which makes the oil less resistant to burn off, or it does not allow it to properly seal around the rings and it slips between and burns.
I am of the opinion that oils can be "engine specific." By that I mean, the same oil performs well in one type of engine, but not all that great in another car. I have no idea why, but it is a pattern I've observed with various cars thru the years.
My '01 Altima consumed M1 5w30 oil the same way Drinkbot described with his 2000 model year. Both cars probably have Nissan's KA24DE engine. I had the same poor experience with Amsoil. But I got some of my best uoa reports in my Altima with plain 'ole Havoline and various GIII 5W30 synthetics like Val Synpower, Hav Syn and QS Syn. Why? Beats me.
Now in my '01 Maxima, I end up adding oil when conventional Hav 5W30 was used. My poorest uoa in that car was with Val Synpower. Best uoa? You guessed it: M1 5W30 and Amsoil 5W30, and no oil consumption with either oil, ever. Why? Beats me.
With my wife's Camry...well, that car gets good uoa's and uses no oil regardless of brand or type. Why? Beats me.
I guess my point in all this is to compare and experiment until you find the right oil for your unique circumstances. Keep an open mind about oils. Don't fall in love with a brand, and don't fight the data.
My '01 Altima consumed M1 5w30 oil the same way Drinkbot described with his 2000 model year. Both cars probably have Nissan's KA24DE engine. I had the same poor experience with Amsoil. But I got some of my best uoa reports in my Altima with plain 'ole Havoline and various GIII 5W30 synthetics like Val Synpower, Hav Syn and QS Syn. Why? Beats me.
Now in my '01 Maxima, I end up adding oil when conventional Hav 5W30 was used. My poorest uoa in that car was with Val Synpower. Best uoa? You guessed it: M1 5W30 and Amsoil 5W30, and no oil consumption with either oil, ever. Why? Beats me.
With my wife's Camry...well, that car gets good uoa's and uses no oil regardless of brand or type. Why? Beats me.
I guess my point in all this is to compare and experiment until you find the right oil for your unique circumstances. Keep an open mind about oils. Don't fall in love with a brand, and don't fight the data.
I used to rationalize that there is no good valid known reason why an engine should consume more synthetic oil than dino oil. If the viscosity numbers are close to the same in either case, why would an engine consume more synthetic ? It shouldn't happen.
Well my own experience after many many oil changes using a variety of synthetics and dino oils is that oil consumption ( in my case) is definitely up with synthetic. Like 100% higher consumption. The highest consumption was with Amsoil TSO, and Mobil 1 HM 10W-30 the next highest. It seems that oil consumption was normal (approx 1 qt per 3000 miles) with regular dino, and just a bit higher with some of the Grp III synthetics (Quaker State for example).
After a year of running nothing but synthetics, I'm on a run of Pennzoil dino right now (just to use it up) and sure enough, oil consumption is way way down. After 2000 miles on this oil, I've added just 1/2 quart. On Amsoil TSO, I would have been through my first quart by now and possibly into the second quart of make-up oil. I can't explain why it's happening, but the correlation is rock solid in my case.
Well my own experience after many many oil changes using a variety of synthetics and dino oils is that oil consumption ( in my case) is definitely up with synthetic. Like 100% higher consumption. The highest consumption was with Amsoil TSO, and Mobil 1 HM 10W-30 the next highest. It seems that oil consumption was normal (approx 1 qt per 3000 miles) with regular dino, and just a bit higher with some of the Grp III synthetics (Quaker State for example).
After a year of running nothing but synthetics, I'm on a run of Pennzoil dino right now (just to use it up) and sure enough, oil consumption is way way down. After 2000 miles on this oil, I've added just 1/2 quart. On Amsoil TSO, I would have been through my first quart by now and possibly into the second quart of make-up oil. I can't explain why it's happening, but the correlation is rock solid in my case.
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