i heard a rattle in my engine on my way to work, i got to work, check oil level(is this the most stupid design for an oil level stick i have ever seen), anyway i checked the level and there no was oil, i changed the oil of the car at work before i took it home. i barely had oil in it to cover my palm. the car was NOT due for an oil change for another 2 or 3k miles. 6 days after i change the oil change, i check the oil level, im missing half a quart of oil!!! i put 5qts in the car when i changed it.

an issue i already knew with my car is my top cover gasket leak, but its not a bad leak from what i looked at, i had this leak since i bought the car and previous oil changes were on time and fine. eitherway, i think im gonna get the leaking gaskets replaced....even though the leak is small? should i change it anyway?

i heard about oil consumption issues on these VQ35 engines ? my car is a 2006 g35 coupe 6speed with 132k miles.

what should i do ? do i qualify for the recall on the issue ? how does infiniti/nissan fix it ? what do i do

 

The recall only covers up to 70k miles unfortunately. Do you notice any white/blue tinted smoke out the exhaust when you floor it? Easy way to check for excessive consumption is to pull a spark plug and check the tip

 

I have a 2004 coupe 106K miles.

If I dont drive the car for 24 hours, I usually get a pretty big cloud of lingering white/blue tinted smoke when I first start it up. It goes away after that and I may get a small puff when I gun it from a stopped postilion. But I rarely gun it. I seem to be burning a ton of oil but the car drives good and the engine sounds fine.


What does the white/blue tinted smoke mean? What can be done ? Thanks

 

I think milky white smoke is when you have coolant leaking into the combustion chambers, and blue is when you're burning oil.

 

Yea Im definitely burning oil. Im going through a QT every few weeks. Ive heard that these 2004's just burn a lot of oil, but is there anything I can do to cut down on the oil burn?

 

The 05-07 6mt are the ones that burn oil more often. But yes, blue smoke is oil. You have either bad piston rings or valve seals

 

The smoke is only when I first start car after not starting it for like 24hrs. Afterwards the car doesn't smoke when I drive or after I start it again throughout the day. None of my spark plugs have any oil around them and my engine runs fine with good power. I do have a O2 sensor problem, Bank 2 Sensor 1, that effects the air/fuel into the catalytic converter.

just to let you know, I just got this car 2 months ago and Im a novice when it comes to these cars, but Im learning as I go.

 

How could the 6MT possibly have a higher oil consumption issue than the 5AT? The engine can't know the difference. Possibly because while driving the 6MT, most of us would shift at a higher RPM maybe? This has me baffled. I had my heart set on a 2006 MT. But they still bring big $$ and between poor mileage, having to run 91 fuel and having to add oil as often as I buy donuts, it just leaves me a little uneasy to spend 7k on this car. Thoughts?

 

Higher rpm = More wear and tear = leaky seals = more oil going past piston rings

 

A DE compared to a DE is not going to make that big of difference.

Only the manuals came with the rev-up engine, which is the one most commonly known for oil consumption issues. The regular DE is still affected but not as much.

 

The 6MT uses a different engine that's why.

 

I also think you're seriously overestimating how much oil they consume. I add a couple tablespoons per week and mine drinks a "lot" of oil. Across a 3750 mile oil change intervals I add probably 1.5-2 quarts of oil, engine runs great btw. Compression is great, a lot of the OC happens by downshifting to decelerate, the vacuum stroke of the Pistons sucks oil up from the crankcase, coupled with the potential for higher RPMs on the 6MT (more oil vapor in the crankcase) and you have a recipe for a lot of POTENTIAL oil consumption. I drive mine pretty hard, if I putted around I'd likely be under +1qt per oil change.

It's just poor quality factory rings, they all have them, not a big deal.

OC from downshifting can be mitigated.

OC from crankcase vapor being ingested through the PCV can be mitigated.

Just check your oil level weekly and buy the car you actually want.

 

I also recommend adding a lower oil pan spacer, the Z1 Motorsports one is under $100 and it adds .75 qt crankcase capacity. Super easy to install.

 

"A DE compared to a DE is not going to make that big of difference."

Yes. To be more exact. Younger drivers driving manuals will usually drive longer at higher rpms due to more spirited driving. But thats only an assumption and doesnt apply to everyone. Each person is different and each car will driven different.
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As for the leak. Yeah get one online depending on "real" reviews. Dealerships are a rip off. It also depends on how critical the part is like cleric said. I personally wouldnt use aftermarket fluids. To each their own.

 

Just a bit of oil consumption tech knowledge here..

Puff of smoke on start up but then goes away = need new valve stem seals
Continuous mount of smoke even little to alot = need new rings

But everything I have read while researching the G is that all of these engines use oil. Best way to mitigate issues and reduce some of the consumption is to :

1, install the oil pan spacer
2. install a vented catch can
3. check oil atleast once every 2 weeks
4. do regular oil changes every 3000 to 3500 miles

PRO TIP: stay away from using oil additives meant to slow it down.. like the STP stuff etc. Just use a really good synthetic oil like Castrol I think was rated the best for these engines (looking at metal deposits PPM) it had the lowest amount Mobil 1 was the worst.. but the oil additives just create havic in the engine could increase sludge build up, mess with the oil pump etc..