mgordon18

Just got my car about 7 weeks ago. The history printout from the dealer (car is CPO) shows that the 20,000 mile service was done 1250 miles ago - at 20,250.

Up until today the oil level has been at the optimal, "one down from the top line" line. This evening it lost a line (i.e it's now one line up from the bottom line).

Is it reasonable for the engine to burn one line's worth of oil (whatever that is...) over the course of 1250 miles? And if so, how much oil should I be adding to get back to the "one down from the top line" line?

Thanks in advance,
- Mike

mgordon18

Before anyone responds "RTFM" I just noticed the owners' manual states each line on the oil level indicator represents approximately .4 liters.

But I'm still curious as to whether or not a .4 liter loss is ok after only 1250 miles.

gpjli2

What means "OK" You haven't done a search have you? 3000 miles on a quart would be no problem for me. Also note that by the nature of the digital gauge a small loss can result in a change of a "bar" so you have to monitor it for a while. Do a search for the reams of threads on this. Bottom line: your car will use what it uses so it matters little what others use. Drive and enjoy it. Great car.

Kdude

Just a thought but I checked my oil level a couple of times over the last several days. Sometimes when i take a first reading it looks like its down a couple of bars... if i take a second reading it goes back up to full. Same spot just two separate checks... maybe that is your problem too... try taking two reading in the same spot and see if you get two different readings..
H.

gpjli2

Oops, it's late and I screwed the maths up but the idea is right. Btw, you may just be seeing the result of burning off condensation in the oil, or the car may not be perfectly level. Some burn a little more than others and drivers are different. Do the search, it's all there. Good luck.

mgordon18

No - I haven't done a search yet. I've noticed that the standard search function on this brand of board is...let's say "sub-optimal." I'm not even really sure what search terms I would use to get back valuable results.

That depends on when the gauge is programmed to move to the lower bar. Does it move as soon as the actual oil level falls below the upper line or does it move when the actual oil level gets down to the lower line? In other words, if there are three lines, 1, 2 and 3, will the gauge read "2" when the actual level is at 2.9? Or will it read "2" when the actual level falls to 2.0? Or maybe it's somewhere in between - 2.5?

Thanks!

Mike in CA

Oil consumption is also listed in the manual; up to 1.5 quarts in 662 miles (1.5 liters per 1000km) is considered "normal". The oil gauge is not that precise. It's possible you had just enough oil to trigger the last bar in which case you might not even have used a full .4L. Also, as mentioned in the manual, condensation build up and burn off can skew the apparent use of oil. In any event, one bar or .4L in 1250 miles is of no concern.

wwilliams88

I did the search using "oil consumption". This is one of about 224 threads on the subject

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...il+consumption

Bottom line, oil consumption ranges from high to hardly any in these engines. You seem to be in the middle. My Toyota Sienna consumes more than my 997.2 Carrera over the course of 5000 miles.

mgordon18

Thanks, all, for the responses. Glad my car is not out of the ordinary (at least compared to other P-cars!).

So in theory I should be able to add .4 liters (.42 qts) of oil without the gauge showing an overfill. To be safe, I'll add it in .2 qts at a time to see how much it takes to get back up to that 1-below-the-top-line line.

And yes, the exhaust tips are pretty black with soot...

MICHAELWWW

I bought my car 09s with 21400 miles, approximately 1400 miles after the 20 k service. It initially seemed to burn through the oil right away. Got an oil change and 5000 miles later I have only added .5 liter. I chalked this up to the car sitting on the dealers lot in GA during August and September and moving it to Ohio in October. Obviously drove it very hard in the beginning since it was my first Porsche. I doubt what I burned off was oil. Nice car!

Oh yeah, I have very sooty tips also.