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Anyone with idas on an SV6 using oil. Just over 12mths old, 44,000km and it averages 2.5L of 5W-30 per 10,000km. Raised the issue at last service and the comments was keep an eye on it an bring it back to us if it uses anymore - a bit hard when you check the dip stick and you are 500kn from the dealer. Have been topping it up and keeping track of all receipts and km readings. Another 1L today and booked in for the 45k service next week.
Any ideas - no smoke, no leaks???
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You poor b'stard, you are about to go through the Holden dealers let's fob you off until the warranty runs out scenario. First thing is that they will tell you to keep an oil consumption log and monitor it until the next service, doesn't matter that you have done that already. Mate, I feel sorry for you having been down that road previously with a new VS V6 Berlina. Once I got sick of the game I went to the dealers "Service Manager" and got him to log on my cars service history that there is an oil consumption issue. I then went as far as getting only Holden dealers wherever I was to top my oil up and I made them give me a receipt detailing the K's, date and oil uplift. I can't tell you how the story ended because that car was stolen & written off before the issue was settled. Best of luck and I hope you have better luck than me. Edited by user Sunday, 21 October 2012 8:29:14 AM(UTC)
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You did not pussie foot it when running it in did you ?
As that will cause it to use oil.
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they are a bit of a anbarasment lol, oil use timing chain issues, up there with kia carnivals and predigo vans lol god sake goin to buy one buy a v8.
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In my experience modern alloy engines which have thin piston rings & use thin oils will consume more oil than older designs, especially if it has a manual transmission.
Firstly, a bit of background.
ALL engines consume oil, 1 to 1.5 litres per 10,000 km was considered the industry norm a while ago. If the car sees a lot of traffic, then it will 'appear' not to use any oil at all. You will often hear proud car owners boast that their car uses no oil at all, but what is happening is that as the oil is used up, it is being replaced by the various liquid pollutants which get past the rings etc. Then, as soon as the car does a good run up the freeway these pollutants are burned off & the real consumption is quickly revealed. It is not possible for an engine to use no oil at all.
The higher the temperature & the thinner the oil, then the more oil is consumed, so 2 litres or more is not that bad, over that time, especially if it sees a lot of open road mileage. The reason manual trans cars use more oil is that when you down-change at revs for engine braking, very high manifold & cylinder vacuums are created meaning a bit more oil will be sucked up past the rings. Autos don't see these high vacuums. When the Gen3 V8s were having their oil usage dramas back in VT & VX days, we noticed that 95% of the complaints were in manual trans cars, but they only represented 25% of the Gen3 V8s out there.
A couple of litres of oil consumption between 10,000 km services is OK, but if it concerns you, go to a slightly higher viscosity of oil, say 15W/40, your engine will love you.
The main reason thin piston rings & thin oils are used in modern engines is in an effort to gain fuel economy. Personally I'd use a slightly thicker oil for a longer life & put up will a few less kms to the fuel tank, it certainly won't do it any harm.
Dr Terry |
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quote:
Originally posted by castellan
You did not pussie foot it when running it in did you ?
As that will cause it to use oil.
Wow, are you related to my missus? she makes all sorts of assumptions too. If anything I am too gentle on my cars if thats possible. That VS was a Series 11 demo and it had 10k on it when I bought it, I traded an '82 VH in on it so to me it was as good as a new car. Like the Doc say's it normal to use oil in alloy engines, that's why they take 6 litres. My VS was using more than the average (1.5 litres between Sydney & Adelaide) and to my mind that was an issue.
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quote:
Originally posted by 80569K
My VS was using more than the average (1.5 litres between Sydney & Adelaide) and to my mind that was an issue.
It's only 1,600 km from Sydney to Adelaide, so 1.5 litres of (presumedly fresh) oil for that distance is definitely an issue. That's the equivalent to 10 litres for 10,000 km, yikes !! Didn't VS Ecotec V6s have a problem with valve stems or their seals. Dr Terry |
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Yep, IIRC the issue was with the heads and at the end of the day the dealer/GMH was going to have to change the heads under warranty. It must have been a common problem because the dealer in Adelaide did not bat an eyelid when I wanted a full receipt for the oil uplift. I know I sound a bit grumpy about car dealers but I had other issues with this car, there was a problem with the engine management computer which I informed them about before the warranty ran out, they fixed on the next service after the warranty had expired and tried to belt me for $700, luckily I had made them note it on their records before the warranty expired. Edit. I should point out here that the oil consumption issue was long term and went for over 12 months, also the car was written off not long after the warranty had expired. It was stolen and had the full interior and climate control/aircon system completely removed, nothing was left inside and the car it was untouched on the outside except for a small hole punched in the bootlid. Edited by user Tuesday, 23 October 2012 7:43:45 AM(UTC)
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Thanks for the information. Dr Terrys' description explains why the rate of oil use varied so much. It would use a lot on the trip out West (NSW) and then after a top up only a little coming back.
It went to the dealer today. The request to use a heavy grade was meet with a blank look and complex no decription explaination of the oil they use?
The commnet back was I'm not sure why these new engines use so much oil but it is quite normal - Dr Terry seems to know!
When they reviewed the oil use log the official comment written on the bottom of my service receipt was;
"Vehicle using an average of 2.1L per 10,000km - this is well within Holden tolerances of 2.5-3.0L per 10,000km'
Damn - they dont put that on their bloody brochures or web site do they.
It will be going to my favourite mechanic next time and getting a does of heavier oil - instead of Holden. It was previously under a Novated lease so I didn't have much choice - now I do.
Dr Terry any suggestion on best step up in grade - I see Penrite have a semi synthetic 10W-40 - or should I use the normal 15w-40?
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I use 15W/40 Castrol Magnatec in my shop. It is a semi-synthetic oil, probably very similar to the Penrite you've mentioned & I'm very happy with it for most cars.
It's not just Holden who specify this type of oil usage. As I said most modern alloy engines use this amount, so there's nothing wrong here. It s supposed to happen.
By way of comparison, for the sake of used car warranty, the yardstick is 1 litre per 1,000 km. Any less is considered OK. Any more becomes a warranty claim under NSW consumer law.
A few litres seems small change now, doesn't it ?
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Last Fridays Herald Sun Cars Guide (Victoria) in the used car section had a review of the VE Holden Commodore with the Heading Buyer Beware, as stated the V6 seems to have issues with oil consumption and timing chain noise some even breaking them! Final comments were approach with caution. Food for thought
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What year is your SV6? I have a 2008 model and bought it in 2009 with 34K on the clock. First time I have heard about the oil consumption issue but I have heard of the timing chain issue before.
Thankfully so far I have not had any issues with both. My SV6 is now at 122K and still good. I always keep up with the services as per the log book every 15K and I don't ever recall having to top up the oil.
I don't know if there is a difference with the SIDI engine to mine or not.
Anyway good luck with it.
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i wouldnt let a car (that I planned to keep for a while) do 10,000 k's on a sumps worth of oil anyway.
oil is cheaper than a rebuild after the warranty has expired :)
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I have a 2011 VE II SV6 and in the manual it say's oil filter change every 15000k's. I'm doing them every 7000k's. They do have big sumps, but I still wouldn't go much over 8-9000k's without a oil/filter change. Was there much change betwen the earlier series 1 to the later series 2?
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I couldn't answer that Keith. My issue is that it is too big for my wife and she keeps on hitting things with it.
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They do have a few blind spots HQ Sandman. So can't blame your wife for hitting things.
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My wife says yes, and thank you.
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quote:
Originally posted by 80569K
quote:
Originally posted by castellan
You did not pussie foot it when running it in did you ?
As that will cause it to use oil.
Wow, are you related to my missus? she makes all sorts of assumptions too.
If anything I am too gentle on my cars if thats possible.
That VS was a Series 11 demo and it had 10k on it when I bought it, I traded an '82 VH in on it so to me it was as good as a new car.
Like the Doc say's it normal to use oil in alloy engines, that's why they take 6 litres.
My VS was using more than the average (1.5 litres between Sydney & Adelaide) and to my mind that was an issue.
Rubbish. my old VY SS use about 1 mm of oil on the stick in 10,000 KM and is driven like 200 km a day. It's just short trips with the engine not getting hot enough to burn up the water etc that you get a problem with seeing the oil drop drastically once you have hit the highway on a trip. The 6L sump is mainly because of higher temp reached in modern cars. I had one of the first VS ecotec manual and she used oil from the top of the stick to the bottom in 5000KM and we had one of the last VS V6 auto and it was about 6000 KM but the stick had a wider range then my old one. And i service all my cars.
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im just spit balling here. could they have different size pick up tubes. my Gem 3 had a thicker pick up tube and needed 6Lts of oil to fill it. i found out when i changed the oil and checked it right after an oil change. found it down. put in another litre and it was fine again
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