Oil use

On the 25th of April the Frau had the winter wheels & tyres (aka tires) exchanged for the summer set.. At that time the Porsche grease monkeys told her that she (actually her automobile) was a liter low, so they added a liter of Mobile1 (and boy-o-boy they charge EURO 21.00/Liter). So this past week we did a couple of hundred mile one day trip from Frankfurt am Main to Trier and back again, and the wife got it up to 135mph for a while, and I got it up to 110mph, and it was a beautiful day, blue skies, birds, flowers... and I checked the oil level before we left by pulling the dip stick on a cold engine, it was full to the top. Good to go. So, yesterday, I again pull the dip stick on a cold engine, and it's down a bit (no miles put on since we put it back in the garage). So I add 0.4 liters of Mobile1 this morning. Does this sound normal (it's a '03, with a bit more than 13,000 miles on the clock)?

My 2002 owner's manual states: "It is normal for your engine to consume oil. The rate of consumption depends on the quality and viscosity of the oil, the speed at which the engine is operated, the climate, road conditions as well as the amount of dilution and oxidation of the lubricant". "If the vehicle is used for repeated short trips, and consumes a normal amount of oil, the engine oil measurement may not show any drop in the oil level at all, even after 600 miles or more. This is because the oil is gradually becoming diluted with fuel or moisture, making it appear the oil level has not changed." "The diluting ingredients evaporate out when the vehicle is driven at high speeds, as on an expressway, making it appear that oil is excessively consumed after driving at high speeds". I bet your owner's manual says about the same................

So the question: do you normally drive short distances or nice long trips on the autobahn? What was the distance after you had to add the 0.4 liter?

Shoot, my owner's manual has lots of information about checking the oil but little in the way of normal oil usage. Seeing that we added a Liter on Aprti 25th, and I'm dropping another 0.4 today... Thanks for the heads up.

Mixture of both, really; 40% of the miles we put on are journeys and the remaining 60% is just the local area and 40 minutes one way or less.

You car is not designed to burn oil, leak oil or lose oil in any other way. It is a copout for Porsche to claim that it is normal. If you are having to add oil regularly, then you either have a leak or there is a problems with your valves or rings. Burning oil does not mean that the engine is bad, but it is not normal and, although it mught be unmeasuarable by the seat of your pants, your performance will suffer due to lower compression in the cylinders. Losing oil because of a bad head gasket or other leakage between the cooling and oil system will be confirmed by looking at the coolant and oil. If you are looking for peace of mind that burning oil will not damage your engine...it will not as long as it is not too extreme and you maintain adequate oil levels. But do not accept as fact that this is a normal condition, because it is not. It is common in cars that are babied when broken in, but not as common for cars that break in the engine properly and aggressively.

21 Euro per liter? Ouch! Why?

that's what I'm asking, Chicago. And should a new oil spot / stain on the floor of the garage the size of a lemon give me any cause for concern? (wasn't there two weeks ago when I swept out the garage)... The Frau's auto is under full warrantee

I would watch the oil drip and see if it gets worse. It could be a one time event. You can always get it fixed before the warranty runs out. Take a look at the driver's side cam actuator cover. This is the plate above the plugs (closest to the front of car) with a wire coming out of it. This cover love to sweat oil and sometimes leak. If the leak is bad enough, the oil can finds it way down the front of the engine and drop to the ground right at the cross member where a leaky RMS will also leak. As a practice...always check your oil level in the same conditions and when parked in the same spot. Just a slight difference in the level of the car or how long the car has sat will show a great difference in oil level. It would be easy to overfill the crankcase because of an incorrect reading. Overfilling the crankcase is far more toublesome for the engine than is running a quart down. Personally, I fill mine so the electronic gauges shows 1 bar below full. When I change the oil at 3,000 - 4,000 miles, the gauge reads the same. Many dealers are careless in the the amount of oil they add to the engine.

much sage advise there, Chicago... Thanks. The Cheese

because. that was a good enough for your parents to give *you* as an explanation, and in the Bundesrepublik *because* is still used in the same manner. Satisfied? Well neither am I.

I would find out where the oil on the floor is coming from. Have the dealer get the car on a lift and check under the engine. Sounds like a Rear Main Seal to me....

I made an appointment with the Porsche Zentrum Frankfurt the day I started this thread, and, believe it or not, today was the soonest they could work me in, so I drove the automobile to town, and they say they'll have to drop the gear-box minimum, and they may have to drop the motor and replace the seal / gasket between the two engine halves. They're also going to do the 20.000 Kilometer / 2 year check as well replace the brake pads while it's up on the lift not going anywhere. I'm glad it's under warranty.