JfromTheBay

First I wanted to ask if the g37 has had any documented oil consumption problems. The reason I ask is because I just had to add half a quart of oil with 1k miles left until my next oil change. This is my first interval with synthetic Mobil 1 5w-30 with a Mobil 1 filter, previously i ran pennzoil with the nissan/fram filter. My driving habits can be described as sprited but i didnt think this would induce any oil consumption especially now that i am running a fully synthetic oil. I called infiniti and they said i am required to use ester oil and the fact that i am using sythetic maybe the root of my problem, of course i made it clear to the service manager that ester oil is recommended not required in my lease. Anyway that with being here nor there he suggested i come in switch to ester, and have them start an oil consumption test, he explained it as marking the oil filter, dipstick and filler hole and running it for 1500k with no interference (i.e checking the dipstick, adding oil) kinda a given anyway, I wanted to hear some input from people on the forum, whether i should switch to ester? Whether 1/2 - 3/4 of a quart of oil gone during a interval is normal or something to worry about? Whether i should start an oil consumption test ? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

fangyooo

what kind of mileages is on your g37? mine is just 800 miles, so i could not tell you about consumption but its should not consume that much. i had this kind of problem with my Toyota 4 runner and its turn out to be warped head. the car company is not going to admit that its their fault. make a long story short Toyota took their 4runner back.

JfromTheBay

I'm at about 18k

Staples

iTrader: (9)

You have to check the oil when the engine is completely cold, like first thing in the morning otherwise all the oil is still going to be in the head and other components and it won't drop back down into the oil pan until it starts to thicken.

Where did your dipstick measure before you added oil? Every time I change my oil it will be at the full level when I'm done, and by the time I'm finally ready for another oil change interval it'll be in-between Low - Max (5,000 miles for me with full synthetic).

sbmwg37s

iTrader: (1)

I have the same issue.
It just happened to me that i had to add a half quart of oil 3000 mile after the last oil change. I've been using redline 5w30.

oh and I'm tired of hearing "it's because you didn't use nissan ester oil" every time I go to any Infiniti/nissan dealerships for any engine related issues.

j784wrx

kinda related, but maybe not. it's up to you to decide. the mobil1 synthetic stuff gets burned up by the subaru boxter motor; any other full-synthetic and the motor is happy. If you want to continue running synthetics, keep reeding. I've tried different full-synthetics from mobil1, pennzoil, castrol, quaker, royal purple to red line all using the oem filter. Red line has performed the best from what I've noticed on my oil pressure gauge and oil temp readings. The oil temps ran slightly cooler and oil pressure was slightly higher; even when it was time to change out the oil comparing to the rest. I wish I had done oil analysis to solidify my findings, but I'm going by what I've seen on my gauges for 75K plus miles with 3,500mi oil change intervals.

hopefully ester oil or another brand synthetic solves your problems. my wifes 08 g37s with 10k miles has been on ester drip and its doing fine (knock on wood)

amf25

iTrader: (3)

mine burns oil too, I add a half qt usually 3/4 of the way thru my oil change cycle. 14k odo. I thought it's the way Nissan engines were, last car was a 2005 G35 and it burned oil. lots of threads on g35driver on it, nothing bad happens, just top it off...

JonfromCB

"documented" is a moving target. There are plenty of posts here,
on the other Nissan, and oil forums from owners stating they need
to add oil between changes in sometimes seemingly brand new
engines. My guess would be it's all in how an engine is broken
in, driven, and the oil being used. I've had two VQ35 engines
and now have a VQ37. I can tell you that my first VQ35 used
oil between M1 changes and had elevated wear metals...not
bad reports...just not nearly as good as many others using
different oils. I also noticed the same "not so hot" results from
other VQs using M1 and have noticed the same thing now with
the VQ37s using it. I have also seen many posts of Nissan Ester
user's having to add oil between changes. Alot of warmer climate
drivers switch to a 40 weight, but I don't advocate that because
of reduced mileage and the availability of true synthetics that
have as good or better adhesion/viscocity as a 40weight without
sacrificing the gas mileage. READ THE INEXHAUSTABLE NUMBER
OF OIL RELATED THREADS ON THIS FORM and you'll get lots
of useful information. Good Luck

Mike

iTrader: (1)

Since you describe your driving as spirited, are you aware of any blow-by? This could be the source of your oil loss.

SkyMG37x

FWIW I'm going in for my 15K mile service this Friday. I have my car serviced by Infinti using the 3750 interval and they use conventional oil - they don't require Ester and only use it if needed to address the noisy VVEL issue that was more common on the '08s.

I've experienced virually no oil consumption since I've owned it. I did use M1 in prior cars and had one that had no consumption (Corvette LS1 engine) and one that used oil (Subaru non-turbo engine) but the latter was more related to the engine design than the oil since it consumed conventional oil as well.

You didn't say what your OCI is - 3750 or 7500. If the latter then 1 quart low at 6500 is not excessive. If the former then it is signficant and should be verified with a consumption test.

g37musings

I am sure that many will flame me on this, but there have been many documented cases of the VQ burning oil when using M1. Some do, some don't. But it seems to have been an issue for years (saw it a lot on the Maxima boards as well).

I personally will never put M1 in this motor for that reason.

YMMV.

dillyyo

It is not uncommon and many times expected for an engine to consume oil. I believe the service manual even states this, but I could be mistaken. The amount varies by oil source and engine design. New engines burn oil due to rings being seated in the cylinder walls and older engine burn oil due to rings getting worn down and allowing more opportunity for oil blow by.

If you suspect a problem due to excessive consumption then you should do one of two things:

1. At your next oil change you can use regular non-synthetic oil and watch for oil smoke. One must realize that when synthetic oil burns it is barely if at all visible coming from the exhaust. If you have a real issue with blow by the regular oil will show as a bluish-white smoke out of the exhaust.

2. The best thing for a mechanically inclined person would be to pull your plugs and read them for combustion activity. Then you can easily run a compression test on each cylinder. Service manual will give you specs for compression and its relation to adjacent cylinders. Further problem isolation might require a leak down test to pin point where the problem is in that cylinder and it's related valves.

All in all no one should be worried about burning some oil between oil changes as long as the car does not exhibit other symptoms that could be indicative of internal issues i.e. valve seat issues, damaged ring lands, cracked rings, etc.

AKG37

Here is a TSB for oil consumption:
https://www.myg37.com/forums/tsb-tec...b10-048-a.html