GR86 Oil consumption

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GRpirate

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Hi all

I have clocked up close to 20k miles during that time I have checked the oil level every two weeks. It’s been spot on apart from on three occasions including today when it been on minimum. I realize boxer engine tend to us a bit of oil having had Porsche and Alfa before.

Seems a bit odd has anyone else noticed something similar? I am not overly concerned as minimum is not a disaster. There no change in the type of driving I do. As it’s winter I have not really been using all the revs and have been on motorways mostly for the last two weeks. Seems odd that it stays completely at the full level for months and then suddenly drops.. The cars completely standard and is running really well.
Any thoughts from the zoo collective
 
Main thought if you're going from full to minimum in a week or two is it's a reading error - either the full level isn't accurate or it's taking longer to return when you're getting the minimum readings. Could be temperature changes too.

Would expect higher consumption from new, then should settle. At about 2k miles in mine had moved from full to 2/3rds
 
kalniel said:
Main thought if you're going from full to minimum in a week or two is it's a reading error - either the full level isn't accurate or it's taking longer to return when you're getting the minimum readings. Could be temperature changes too.

Would expect higher consumption from new, then should settle. At about 2k miles in mine had moved from full to 2/3rds
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Definitely not a reading error. I always do it the same engine hot stop wait 10 minutes. Remove dipstick clean off put in back in take reading re check 3 times when it was low on tow occasion I have waited and checked again the next day. Prevouse readings were all completely to the full line. The three times it was low it took a liter of oil. After topping it up, checking every other weeks for months after the level is perfect. If I misread the dipstick it would later show as over full. I even time the 10 minutes but don’t tell anyone 😉
 
GRpirate said:
Definitely not a reading error. I always do it the same engine hot stop wait 10 minutes. Remove dipstick clean off put in back in take reading re check 3 times when it was low on tow occasion I have waited and checked again the next day. Prevouse readings were all completely to the full line. The three times it was low it took a liter of oil. After topping it up, checking every other weeks for months after the level is perfect. If I misread the dipstick it would later show as over full. I even time the 10 minutes but don’t tell anyone 😉
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Doesn’t the manual tell you to wait five minutes? That’s what I’ve been doing..
 
I’ve found with all my Subaru that engine oil level on the dip stick is very sensitive to whether the car is level or not. In the first 4,000 miles my GR86 oil level fell from ‘full’ to around ‘2/3rds’ on the dip stick. Consistent my my ‘16 Outback when new. At over 80k it is now starting to consume around 0.5L between 12k services.

But if you are adding oil several times - 1L is diff between lower and upper marks on the dip stick - this suggests something else.
 
Suby16 said:
I’ve found with all my Subaru that engine oil level on the dip stick is very sensitive to whether the car is level or not. In the first 4,000 miles my GR86 oil level fell from ‘full’ to around ‘2/3rds’ on the dip stick. Consistent my my ‘16 Outback when new. At over 80k it is now starting to consume around 0.5L between 12k services.

But if you are adding oil several times - 1L is diff between lower and upper marks on the dip stick - this suggests something else.
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Hi Suby

I always measure it in my drive reversed in so the readings would be the same. Also if an error was made it would show as overfilled at the next check. I Have had the car since beginning January 23 so 64 weeks is 34 oil level checks and all but the three times it’s been on minimum it’s been perfect. No track work or any other factors makes it hard to think that in certain circumstances oil is passing the piston rings. Not stressing it has the warranty to fall back on.
 
If you have seen a sudden change in oil consumption and it's still using oil now, I would consider checking the PCV valves. A guy in the US had a similar situation and it was caused by a faulty PCV valve, this causes excessive blow by increasing oil consumption. The fact it's a step change seems suspicious.
 
Mine does not appear to be eating oil, the level has pretty much stayed constant.

I most definitely use all the rev range :-)
 
Same, use everything Toyota gave me and the level is unchanged. I'm only at 2500 miles so early days. Have had an oil change already
 
FRAJ said:
The level on mine hasn't moved between changes as far as I can see. Currently on ~ 8k
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After sitting at max since the oil change it suddenly needed about 450ml. It's the first time I have used the top up bottle I bought ages ago.
I admit I hadn't checked for a month, >1k miles.
 
FRAJ said:
After sitting at max since the oil change it suddenly needed about 450ml. It's the first time I have used the top up bottle I bought ages ago.
I admit I hadn't checked for a month, >1k miles.
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I intresting that would be in line with my drops as 2 weeks is about 1k miles for me,
 
I decided to start tracking my own oil consumption after reading this thread a couple of months ago. My GT86 never used a drop between services, so I hoped the new car would be the same. But it does seem like quite a few complain about these engines burning oil, and given their sensitivity to low oil levels, maybe it's prudent to keep an eye on it.

Here's what my oil level looked like back in April. Perhaps a hair under the full mark.

1000026222.webp


Just measured it again tonight.
1000029650.webp

Roughly a month and half, and 1037 miles later. To my eye, it's barely gone down, perhaps a tiny bit...these dipsticks are notoriously hard to read accurately anyway. But not alarmingly so.

Would be interested to see how this compares to others. I'm not unduly worried, i may pick up a top up bottle, but I won't put any more in. I'll check back in another 1k miles or so and see
 
Mines the same. I check it and have a litre in the boot to top up if ever needed.....but have never needed to.
 
sbc_uk said:
Mines the same. I check it and have a litre in the boot to top up if ever needed.....but have never needed to.
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Mine has not had to be topped up since and all seems to running fine. Not sure what causes it to suddenly use all but as long as I keep checking it can’t see it being an issue. Changes at work mean my milage has gone down considerably. Probably only going to be doing 10k a year going forward down from 15k
 
I checked my oil level at weekend and it's way over the top mark. Engine oil temp was around 90 deg. It's about 15mm above the top mark. I checked it cold earlier and was about the same. I am taking it back to the dealer on Friday as it was only serviced a month ago. I am not convinced they believe me as I was passed to 3 different people....
 
shiftspark said:
I checked my oil level at weekend and it's way over the top mark. Engine oil temp was around 90 deg. It's about 15mm above the top mark. I checked it cold earlier and was about the same. I am taking it back to the dealer on Friday as it was only serviced a month ago. I am not convinced they believe me as I was passed to 3 different people....
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Isn’t the tip to run slightly over max on these engines to reduce the oil surge/starvation issues?
 
Itcaptainslow said:
Isn’t the tip to run slightly over max on these engines to reduce the oil surge/starvation issues?
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Again, this is another myth that’s not been proven.
Ive always been told not to over fill an engine with oil because it can over pressurise the system and put pressure on the crankshaft.
I’m happy to slightly go over the line but adding quarter of a litre extra I won’t.

Once again, by doing this you will be going outside of the manufacturers spec and putting your warranty in doubt.

Just do your own research before taking random advice. Just my opinion again.
 
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