I had to nag my mother-n-Law to check and add oil to her A6. Consumption of crappy oil was partly to blame, much better now. Her old Crown Vic had a rusted oil pan that would let oil permeate through. Many a time I would add 3-4 quarts for her, mostly old cans of QS from her basement. My wife's friend, a VW 2.0 owner bought a Certified used car that was delivered 1q low, I topped it and told her to get a change. She showed up after a long hot summer with just 1q remaining. Pennzoil Long-Life took care of her for a while. My wife is not speaking to her now, I wonder. Not always females are to blame. My buddy needed a gallon to top-off his 4-Runner. People buy engines every day from this BS.
Co-worker's car 3 quarts low
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http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sh...f7293d71c1def59c&threadid=38790&highlight=MMO
For my wife's Saturn that did the exact same thing (down to about 3/4-qt in the crankcase) about 50K miles ago. Ended up using high-mileage oils and then finally HDEO until the Saturn Technical Service Bulletin in the above link. It's been 1,000 miles and it hasn't used a drop of oil, and the Mobil 1 5w30 is still light honey-colored. It used to use 1.5-2qt per 1K miles.
Hope that helps, only takes a couple of free hours and works great...I used SeaFoam instead of MMO or GM's Top End Cleaner.
-JamesW
94 Suzuki Swift GT 1.3L DOHC
For my wife's Saturn that did the exact same thing (down to about 3/4-qt in the crankcase) about 50K miles ago. Ended up using high-mileage oils and then finally HDEO until the Saturn Technical Service Bulletin in the above link. It's been 1,000 miles and it hasn't used a drop of oil, and the Mobil 1 5w30 is still light honey-colored. It used to use 1.5-2qt per 1K miles.
Hope that helps, only takes a couple of free hours and works great...I used SeaFoam instead of MMO or GM's Top End Cleaner.
-JamesW
94 Suzuki Swift GT 1.3L DOHC
One big problem I believe exists with Saturns, Kias, Hyundais, and domestic station wagons is that those cars seem to be bought mostly by people who don't know anything about cars, other than that they need one to drive. Those people seem to be the worst drivers on the road, and probably don't do their maintenance any better than they drive.
I ditto that Saturns arriving in my shop are always low, or very low, on oil.
I almost think that car manufacturers are encouraging these trends by "dumbifying" the available information that the driver has access to about the car.
It used to be, many years ago, that oil pressure gauges, actual coolant temp gauges, volt meters, and sometimes even oil temp gauges were standard features on many mid-range and even budget models.
They've all since been replaced with dummy lights, which only illuminate after damage starts occuring.
The fake coolant gauge on my Mazda 6 takes over a 40-50F change before the needle starts moving
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It used to be, many years ago, that oil pressure gauges, actual coolant temp gauges, volt meters, and sometimes even oil temp gauges were standard features on many mid-range and even budget models.
They've all since been replaced with dummy lights, which only illuminate after damage starts occuring.
The fake coolant gauge on my Mazda 6 takes over a 40-50F change before the needle starts moving
It's amusing how some of the people posting messages here stereotype Saturn and Hyundai owners. I own a '02 Hyundai amd a '03 Saturn and have an income about 3 times the national average and am meticulous about the maintenance and oil changes of my vehicles. So much for the stereotype of ignorant poor Hyundai and Saturn owners!
After owning dozens of new cars, I realized that they are an EXPENSE not an investment. Maybe I'm not that smart since it took 20 year to figure this out. I don't think there are any cars on the market today that won't go 200,000 with proper maintenance. After 200,000 the trade in value is irrelevant. Your cost per mile is going to be less for the cheaper car.
Anyway, the newer Saturns with the Ecotec engines don't appear to be oil burners like the original 4 cylinder engines. My 2.2 Ecotec went 6000 miles on M1 and was down less than 1/2 quart.
After owning dozens of new cars, I realized that they are an EXPENSE not an investment. Maybe I'm not that smart since it took 20 year to figure this out. I don't think there are any cars on the market today that won't go 200,000 with proper maintenance. After 200,000 the trade in value is irrelevant. Your cost per mile is going to be less for the cheaper car.
Anyway, the newer Saturns with the Ecotec engines don't appear to be oil burners like the original 4 cylinder engines. My 2.2 Ecotec went 6000 miles on M1 and was down less than 1/2 quart.
To me, the problem is that people just don't know what a good car is.
This is why I buy only new vehicles.
How on earth could a engine continue working???
In my case there was probably just enough of a gooey, somewhat viscous mass left to lubricate just the main and rod bearings......the valve train was probably unlubricated. I don't know how far the guy drove it after that.
Lukey
Lukey
A good car is one that continues to provide reliable service after the last payment has been made.
The likelyhood of which is greatly increased with proper maintenance.
As Ford owner's manuals state, "Regular maintenance is an investment that can pay dividends".
As if anyone who bothers to read the manual needs to be told that.
friends dont let irresponsible or uninformed friends drive around in "those" kind of cars using thin oils. 15w/40 and 20w/50 oils make great gifts for these folks
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No ..then they would look the gift horse in the mouth and actually, for that one brief moment, research the matter and determine that you gave them the wrong weight. They might do this AFTER they've added one of "YOUR" quarts of oil that they remembered was lost somewhere in the trunk when the idiot light came on ...and the engine subsequently seized. They would say, "Every time the light came on before it didn't seize! I've always just added the stuff at the Gas & Go and everthing was fine. Your stuff was too heavy and ruined my engine."
GA, you have a point. let me correct,
friends sneak over to irresponsible and uninformed friends cars at night and install a fresh fill of 15w/40 oil at least once a year.
friends sneak over to irresponsible and uninformed friends cars at night and install a fresh fill of 15w/40 oil at least once a year.
Sounds like he had an oilpan full of something like STP oil treatment
LOL Don't know how I missed this thread.
I do agree that Saturns tend to be purchased by those who aren't car-knowledgeable. Couple that with their propensity to consume oil and you have a dangerous situtation when the owner only refills their oil every 3K at iffy Lube.
Alan, can you get a used oil analysis of your brother's car? That would VERY interesting indeed.
MikeMC, buying new cars is definitely the way to go if you keep them for the long haul. Saturns will last a LONG time, the 1.9L is a good design, save for the oil burning. I've been fortunate as only 1 on 5 of Saturns I've owned consumed oil. My current 96 SL2 consumes nothing on all the oils I've tried. Armed with BITOG knowledge, the crankcase is clean and will remain that way.
KenW, "regular church attendance wouldn't hurt.... " LOL. And maybe going to the Saturn dealer once a year for the "getting to know your Saturn". A good primer for teaching the uninformed public how to simply maintain their Saturn. Great for those who are clueless. The people who attend these free seminars, can easily learn how to check oil & stuff...and wind up NOT being afraid of the engine bay. Those are the kinds of Saturn owners I want to own the car before I do. At least the crankcase will have never run dry and the PCV valve will have been changed every so often...
Solo2Driver, Thanks for the URL link! That's good info for all Saturn owners to print out and put in their owner's manuals. If that's all it takes to add 100K to a car, why not?
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