Normal Oil Consumption???

Hello all! Thanks in advance for all of your helpful advice. I bought my '03 996 about 5 months ago, and I have LOVED the car ever since switching from an Audi S4. I have put about 3000 miles on the beauty (12,000 miles on it now), and I am adding a quart of Mobil1 Synthetic every 1000 miles. There are no oil leaks in the garage, so my question is does this seem normal? I have a CPO on this car, so should I take it in to see if there is a problem? I drive the car every few days, and I always take it up to operating temp and drive it for about 20 - 30 miles every stint. I do not abuse the car, but I do drive it with some force. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you! Chirag

I'm not sure if it is supposed to use that much oil under normal driving conditions. I might use 1 quart between each oil change. I think there was something about this a few months back, try a search. If you are in Memphis, try calling Andy Durr at Gossett or Pat Williams Racing. They are also very helpful. If you need the phone numbers shoot me a PM.

I think it is fairly common for these cars to consume oil until they really get broken in. My car was similar to yours until it hit about 18K miles, and now it doesn't seem to use any oil. Another side benefit is that the Porsche Sport Exhaust sounds more delicious every day. Wow.

I do know Andy over at Gossett. I'll give him a call on Monday. Thx for the help!

No problem.

i use less than or about a quart every 10-12K miles. 53K on 2002 C2, daily driven.

i have a 99 that goes thru 1 qt per 1000mi as well. I have brought it to the porsche dealer and to an indy mechanic and they both say that it is "normal". I guess it cant hurt as long as you are not letting it get too low. I dont have any leaks either.

I have 90,000 miles on my 99 C2 and don't use ANY oil in between fill ups (7,500 miles). I recently drove from San Diego to San Antonio and back at 95mph, and I couldn't see any drop in the oil level at all. 1 quart every 1000miles is ridiculous and isn't "normal". This means the rings aren't sealed properly and it's burning oil- plain and simple.

I am not so sure you can be so definitive about this. A lot would depend upon use. For example, it is my understanding that track usage and frequent short trips could result in higher oil consumption. Also, it might be that the oil usage will disappear over time, which was the case with my car. In other words, the car may not really be broken in yet, so, yes, it is burning oil but nothing needs to be done to fix it other than driving the car.

I have an 01 C4 and it burns absolutly No oil... does not drop even one bar on the indicator between changes. I run many short trips... my daily comute is only 5-6miles each way and trips to the gym are only 1-2 miles. Doesnt seem to make a difference. No track use (yet) but i drive it quite hard.

UUURRRRGGGHHH. I am NOT saying that you will necessarily use a lot of oil if you use your car for short commutes or if you track the car. Absolutely not. I am actually saying the contrary: You cannot necessarily assume that the car is broken or defective merely because it does use oil. That's all. Besides, what makes you certain that just because you have a short commute but your car does not use oil that short commutes could not be a factor in oil consumption?

I do alot of short trips 5-20 miles and have had NO oil ussage past year of ownership. I just did 1000 miles all highway 70-85 mph and burned/used about 1/3 quart. ?? car has 15,000miles.

You should burn no oil. I regularly drive Chicago to Vegas (3600 mile round trip) and lose no oil. The only time I add oil is when I drain the engine to put new oil in. Did not burn a drop even when new. Some people's acceptance of burning oil as normal is nothing more than a way to make them feel that their car is fine. You have a problem. You might swap out the Mobil Water (0W40) for some good oil like a Syntec 5W50.

it's normail if it's a two stroke

you are a very knowledgeable poster on this board, but you also have the habit of stating things as if they are absolutes, and you are not always right. There are plenty of people with 996s who used some oil when their cars were new, and then it stopped once the car gets really broken in well and doesn't ever start again, which is exactly what happened with my car and with two 996s owned by my friends. If someone read your post, it would make them think that their engine is defective, and they might not ever get to the point when the oil consumption stops on its own. There are also some cars that consume some oil, but the car otherwise performs brilliantly. That minor oil consumption is no reason to sell a car or tear down the engine or demand a replacement. It doesn't mean the sky is falling, although, of course, it would be better if it didn't. Finally, there are some cars that consume an inordinate amount of oil as a result of some problem that can and should be fixed. In the end, though, the world is never as black and white as you sometimes would like it to be. P.S. Your post arrogently makes it sound like I gave my explanation to try to make myself feel better about my own car. Bull****. My car does not consume oil. Period. So, I don't really have any reason to try to make myself feel better about it. It is just absurd logic for someone to say "my car doesn't leak and I do short commutes therefore if your car leaks some oil it necessarily is indicative of a problems that can and should be addressed" It sounds like the whole RMS discussion. Maybe oil usage is a problem, and maybe it is not, but NONE of us can diagnose that over the internet, just like Doctors cannot definitively diagnose you over the phone . . .

I am not arguing that some cars do not burn oil, only that they are not designed to do so and therefore not normal. This post is not about a new car but one that has 12,000 miles it, so break in is not the problem. Most often, I find that cars that are consuming oil (short of a leak), do so because of improper use of the engine, the biggest misuse being never engine braking at high rpm's which is essential to keep the rings properly seated. For those of you who consume alot of oil, try being a little more aggressive in your use of the rpm range, both on accerlation and deceleration. I would also stop using the Mobil Water in your engine. You'll most likely see a dramatic decrease, if not elimination of oil usage. Obviously there are mechanical problems in some cars where this method will not work. The only absolute point I am trying to make is that your car should burn NO oil.

Look, I think we are in agreement far more than we are in disagreement, but I do think that break-in could still be an issue at 12,000 miles. Take my car for example. I bought it CPO with only 6k miles and a sticker price well north of 100k. The PO was a trophy wife who ended up not liking standard transmissions. So, after only 6k miles and one clutch , her husband traded the car in for a Twin Turbo S cabriolet tiptronic My car ran fine when I bought it, but it did consume "some" oil. I believe the car was babied by the PO. After I got it and started treating the car like all Porsches shouldl be treated -- impeccable maintenance but driving the car vigorously -- the car started to run a whole lot better. The minor oil usage stopped at about 18k. The funny thing is that I have two friends whose oil usage also stopped between 18-21k. So, I am not sure that you can naturally assume that at 12k there is no further break-in to be considered, although I understand what you are saying. I agree with you about aggressive use may be part of fixing the problem (I am not so sure about engine braking, but I definitely agree that our cars should not be babied), I just think we disagree about the break-in point, and I assume it can be higher than you are. If you are stating this as a goal, I agree completely. If you are saying that it is a definite problem that necessarily requires immediate attention (i.e., engine teardown, replacement) I disagree. It might, it might not. As another example, the guys who build race engines have a saying that "loose is fast." A nice very tight motor that leaks not a drop of oil due to very tight tolerances may not be as fast as a well built motor with looser tolerances, despite the fact that the looser tolerances may lead to a higher oil consumption rate. Is there a definitive cause for the higher rate of oil consumption? Yes. Is it a problem? No, it is there by design. Of course, you can take everything too far, and then it becomes a problem, and we are not talking about race engines in this thread, but it just shows that there are problems, and then there are problems. Oil consumption may are may not be a problem worth spending your time worrying about. See a mechanic who you really trust if you do not have the skills to differentiate yourself EDIT: Ignore my short fuse today. Writing checks to various state and federal governments that total more than the value of my P-cars tends to make me a bit "snippy." I know, I know, be thankful that I at least earned enough to generate tax. I am, but it is still annoying.

I have driven mine for about 10K since sept 05.....bought it with 55K on the "clock"...no oil usage whatsoever...my driving style is quite aggresive....and I am driving a lot of short distances (10-25miles).

Just put my last tax filing in the mail too. I am sooo glad I am able to contibute so much to educate and provide medical treatment to illegals.

Sorry to bring this one back from the dead, but did you ever figure out what was causing you to burn so much oil?

Interesting thread especially since the manual that comes with the car states right up that oil consumption is normal. In addition it mentions that depending on your type of use, some folks will accumulate condensation in their oil so although they are consuming it, their level will not drop. In other words there's more to the story than the simple report that one's level doesn't drop, therefore: "I'm not burning any oil".

my car burns a little bit of oil......... it has 60K but not a quart per fill up or every 1K miles....... hope it falls in the range of "normal".........

I add less than a quart between oil changes, which is every 15,000 miles. Not bad, IMO.

Had my car since June and put about 8K on it... when starting, I am missing 2 bars. Guess I should add some oil???

For the record, I just put my 2nd quart in since taking ownership 9000 miles ago. So that's 1qt/4.5k miles.

Some cars use almost no oil and some use a lot. As has been stated on this thread it is not necessarily a problem, but if you are using more then 1 quart every 660 miles you should have it checked out - especially your warranty is close to expiration.

Never ever owned a car, either used or from new, that didn't use some oil between services. All have been German, VW, Audi, Mercedes, Porsche, BMW - and all of them have used at least some oil - and some more than others. So either it's my driving habits, or it's a feature. Either way, it happens, it's never been an issue, and I've done some pretty killer mileage in my cars over the years. Used to average 65,000 miles a year at one point - so I got real **** about checking oil levels and making sure services were done in a timely manner. The 'problem' with the 996 compared to many other cars IMHO... The oil level guesstimate on the dash display. Has everyone in a tizzy - trying to read a 'random level' electronic gauge, rather than using their physical dip stick. It causes people endless stress - when 2 mins every weekend with the dipstick is all you need to see what's really happening. God help the 997 folks - I understand they only have the electronic guess gauge to go on!