Saw a poor 1.6l Gamma engine go to an early grave today, check your oil people!

When GM was still in denial that their resurrected Displacement On Demand (IT'S ACTIVE FUEL MANAGEMENT, SALLY!!!!) was a problem I thought their official standard was 1 quart every 1000 miles....pretty sad for what were effectively new vehicles at the time, and disturbing if you figure the average consumer might not check for 3000 to 4000 miles....then you're down 3 to 4 quarts!!
 
We put a man in the moon in 1969….and can’t develop some dashboard “loud or bright” signal that the engine is a quart low? Planned obsolescence?
 
We put a man in the moon in 1969….and can’t develop some dashboard “loud or bright” signal that the engine is a quart low? Planned obsolescence?
Ford had a 1 quart/litre low light in the 1980's. Both my dad's (later mine) '89 Town Car and my '87 Mustang GT had it.
 
My car doesn't burn or leak oil. I just put 4,000 miles on the last change, and the level is right where it was on day one. I know the engine is good in that respect.

Still, I check it frequently. Takes but a moment in the morning. An engine can spring a leak, a hose become disconnected, maybe the coolant is low ... frequent underhood checks just make sense to me. It's not just the oil level that gets checked.

I want to stay ahead of problems, not fix something that might have been prevented by a simple peek under the hood.
Agree. I check my oil level, wife’s oil level weekly. Her daughters anytime they come over

Air pressure weekly
 
Really?

How many cars actually have an oil level sensor?

Most* cars have a pressure light and that’s it.

You get no warning for low oil level.


*Some cars do have an oil level sensor, they’re mostly high end, very expensive European cars.
Not sure if it is along the same lines, but my 2012 Honda Insight ran low once and it said check emission system. I didn’t know what was wrong, I went onto the www, and a suggestion was to check the oil level, and that’s what it was
 
It doesn't matter that my Mustangs seem to use zero oil in 5,000 miles, I can't simply ignore the oil level for that long. 2 weeks without popping the hood is my limit. If an oil control ring or PCV suddenly decides to quit it's job, I'd like to discover it before more damage is done. On most cars, there is literally no excuse for not checking the oil. Apathy, or laziness is hard at work (heh) with most folks .
 
I have a 2016 Accent 6spd manual with the 1.6L that i bought new, its been on 5k OCI with PUP 5-20 since new (mainly hyundai filters some fram xg), around 90k it started burning oil, about a quart every 2500 miles, after years of not burning oil I really didn't check it either, i only noticed it was low when changing one time with an extractor. Now that im aware i check it and add every 1000 miles. All I know for sure is it isnt leaking the oil... About to roll 130k on it, daily driver almost all highway driving.
 
I have a 2016 Accent 6spd manual with the 1.6L that i bought new, its been on 5k OCI with PUP 5-20 since new (mainly hyundai filters some fram xg), around 90k it started burning oil, about a quart every 2500 miles, after years of not burning oil I really didn't check it either, i only noticed it was low when changing one time with an extractor. Now that im aware i check it and add every 1000 miles. All I know for sure is it isnt leaking the oil... About to roll 130k on it, daily driver almost all highway driving.
Just curious, why would you not check your oil?
 
I have a 2016 Accent 6spd manual with the 1.6L that i bought new, its been on 5k OCI with PUP 5-20 since new (mainly hyundai filters some fram xg), around 90k it started burning oil, about a quart every 2500 miles, after years of not burning oil I really didn't check it either, i only noticed it was low when changing one time with an extractor. Now that im aware i check it and add every 1000 miles. All I know for sure is it isnt leaking the oil... About to roll 130k on it, daily driver almost all highway driving.
My '07 F150 was the same. Nothing then one time I found it a quart low so I figured I'd better be more regular about checking then.

Again, the reason *I* wasn't regularly checking this vehicle is that it's my beater/daily driver. It just feels like an appliance to me: start and go.

There's also an element of "do as I say, not as I do".

-I check the wife's truck because I don't want her to have problems.

-I check the tow rig because I don't want problems 3 states away

-I check the Jeep because I don't want to be stranded in the backcountry with no cell reception

But the truck I drive almost exclusively ALONE and run to Home Depot, O'Reilly and the LWS??? Nah, flog it!!!!
 
Just curious, why would you not check your oil?
I changed it myself every time, relatively short OCI, I did check it sometimes, just not frequently or on a schedule, I change my oil every 3-4 months due to mileage. So I guess gradually just stopped checking it between changes over the years, lulled into a false sense of security I guess?
 
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Last year we had a Hyundai get dropped off at my body shop on a tow truck from and accident. Car also would not start and nothing from the accident would have caused a no start condition. It was a bumper and headlight job. Initially thought it was the battery but it was okay and after looking at a couple thing we realized the engine was locked up from no oil. It was then taken to the dealer and sat there for 6 months waiting on a new engine. That ended up being nightmare with customer and insurance company because the customer stated it was not like that and insurance company was not willing to pay for a new engine.
 
I have a 2016 Accent 6spd manual with the 1.6L that i bought new, its been on 5k OCI with PUP 5-20 since new (mainly hyundai filters some fram xg), around 90k it started burning oil, about a quart every 2500 miles, after years of not burning oil I really didn't check it either, i only noticed it was low when changing one time with an extractor. Now that im aware i check it and add every 1000 miles. All I know for sure is it isnt leaking the oil... About to roll 130k on it, daily driver almost all highway driving.
Pennzoil must of cause excessive wear in the piston ring area . Wouldn’t of happen if you used Valvoline 😎😎
 
When GM was still in denial that their resurrected Displacement On Demand (IT'S ACTIVE FUEL MANAGEMENT, SALLY!!!!) was a problem I thought their official standard was 1 quart every 1000 miles....pretty sad for what were effectively new vehicles at the time, and disturbing if you figure the average consumer might not check for 3000 to 4000 miles....then you're down 3 to 4 quarts!!
That long pre-dates AFM, and IIRC, it has been the standard for marques other than GM as well.
 
As long as humans are responsible for their own equipment, this will never end. Some people are ignorant, or they know and just don't care.
My Tacoma does not burn any noticeable oil, but I still check the dipstick (and everything underhood) every 600-700 miles.
 
Let's say that they had put that oil in and the engine started just fine, would it have been wasted then?
But it wouldn't. Ever. I am surprised the OP went ahead and added the oil. Doesn't makes sense.
The customer is NOT always right - especially sTEwPid customers.
 
When I started working at a Full Service Station in the early 70's, I don't recall seeing a car terribly low on oil. Maybe one quart at the most. We topped off oil with a "watering can" with a flexible spout. I was taught to always perform a complete under-hood visual and tire pressure/tread check - even hot radiator level checks (!)

Those good oil levels must be attributed to the fact that motorists gassed up at Full Service stations !

oil can.jpg
 
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