I am very pleased with my 2009 C4S performance but remain very concerned about how it literally "drinks" oil and the soot that accumulates on the exhaust. Is anyone else experiencing these problems? Is this "normal"? The dealership says yes, but my intuition tells me any vehicle you pay $117k should not do this. What is the real deal here? Should I keep data on mileage and how much oil this car is consuming for any potential unknowns yet to be discovered because this a "new", unproven model. Help!
From what I've read of the new DFI engines, they all seem to either use more oil or put more soot in the exhaust tips, but I think the jury is still out if its a real "problem" or just part of DFI. You may want to check out these threads:
http://www.planet-9.com/911-complaints/39887-oil-consumptionon-09-911-carrera-4-cabriolet.html
http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-chat/16308-black-soot-exhaust-tips.html
http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxs...m/cayman-boxster-complaints/41254-crikey-my-dfi-just-blew-huge-plume-smoke.html
I would keep data of oil comsumption tabulated neatly preferably in a computer table with dates. The dealer will give you a stock answer unless you can provide solid information in writing. After that if your dealer still ignores you go up the lader to Porsche of North America.
Oil consumption will be high during break in period, it is designed that way for the DFI engines. As the mileage increases your oil consumption decreases and so will the soot output. My '09 Cayenne doesn't drink any where near as much oil as it used to, after the first oil change. And at the moment am still breaking in my '09 CS, and as suspected, as the mileage grows the oil consumption reduces. IMO, unless you've gone through the first oil change on your C4S, I wouldn't worry.
Don't baby the engines. Drive hard to properly seat the rings. Babying these engines do more harm than good. They are built to be driven at high rpm for extended periods of time. I am not saying you should trash them but don't baby them either.
I just hit 5K miles (delivery 4/09) and had my first oil change. Oil consumption was minimal, less than one quart according to mechanic. I did not wait until 2K miles to start increasing the revs, and I typically shift manually at 3-4K rather than leaving PDK in auto. I don't think these DFI engines should be lugged around at low revolutions for long periods of time. The car is not my daily driver/commuter so when I do drive I always give the engine a little work out. My take from reading other posts on this subject is that it's variable from car to car and even those with high initial oil consumption experience a decrease w/ the increase in miles. I agree w/ others that if you are concerned you should keep a record of your oil consumption which will provide documentation down the road if there is a problem.
This mirrors my experience with my 09 CS. I've been through about 5 liters of oil in the 36,000 km. The rate of consumption is now way down. I was still using oil at (to me) an alarming rate up through about 17,000 km. Soot is a minor issue. The two dealerships I've brought it to here in Germany have both indicated theis is a normal situation.
