GR86 Oil Consumption and Pressure Issues?

Bobocop

Bobocop

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Jan 12, 2026
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Have owned my GR86 for a year now.

On taking ownership the Toyota dealership told me it had its fluids changed. Just to be cautious I took it to Fensport for an oil change and Lanoguard treatment.

Between then and my first Toyota service (6 months / 6k miles) I had to top up about 1L of oil (bought car at about 4k miles). I gave it the benefit of the doubt that it could be a new engine just burning off some oil. I have not noticed any blue smoke coming from the exhaust.

Earlier this year I took it to C-Tec for a new exhaust and Ravenol fluids. As soon as it was on the lift they said they could see oil leaking from the top or sides.

Took it to my local Toyota dealership and they were convinced that anything resembling oil was underseal and to monitor usage. I spoke with Fensport to enquire how far up they go and they confirmed they go quite high up when Lanoguarding.

Checked my oil about 350 miles later and unless I'm misreading, it's consumed about 0.5L in that time. I drive the car for a bit then leave it parked for 15 minutes before checking. I took the oil filler cap off with the engine idling and it was blowing quite aggressively. Okay, surely a bad PCV valve.

I contacted my local dealership to enquire about getting a PCV valve and hose. They were not sure what parts I was referring to exactly and told me I'd receive a call-back, which I did not. In that time I ordered a couple of valves online.

Went to fit one last night after driving only in the dry since my last oil check and the engine bay is covered in specks and patches of something dark. Oil vapor/mist? Not wet but rubs off as a fine black grit/dirt. I also noticed a faint whistle which is new.

Tried changing the valve hoping that was the culprit. No joy; still whistling and oil filler cap still pushing positive pressure.

I have booked my car in with Toyota for the 22nd and will give them a fresh PCV valve and plan to leave it with them for as long as needed.

I have to say, this has got me quite stressed. I owned a GT86 for 5 years and it never consumed oil and never had engine troubles. My GR86 is just over two years old with 12000 miles on the clock.

I keep the revs below 3k rpm when cold and let everything warm up for 20 minutes before pushing past 3.5k rpm. I never let the engine lug, I only use 99ron, when pushing I never let the oil go beyond 110 degrees and I check the dipstick religiously so I'd like to think that nothing has been induced by my driving habits. Using 0w20 oil.

Any advice or feedback would be appreciated but I have a horrible, horrible feeling this may be the start of a great deal of bother in resolving. As such I'll also be updating this thread with my progress to document it for posterity.
 
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I've never had to top up the oil between services. I did 5k miles in each of the first 2 years of ownership, didn't see any oil consumption whatsoever and I'm less cautious than you - I certainly don't keep it below 3.5k rpm for anything like 20 minutes. I can't help but wonder how your car was treated for the first 4,000 miles of its life.
 
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craig_16 said:
I've never had to top up the oil between services. I did 5k miles in each of the first 2 years of ownership, didn't see any oil consumption whatsoever and I'm less cautious than you - I certainly don't keep it below 3.5k rpm for anything like 20 minutes. I can't help but wonder how your car was treated for the first 4,000 miles of its life.
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That is my concern too. I had to clean some coffee stains out of the cupholder and the gearknob was terribly scuffed presumably from someone wearing rings.

I have worries about it being ragged during break-in and damaged cylinders and piston rings. Would abuse from a previous owner be covered under warranty? 😬
 
I expect it would depend on what shows up when Toyota scan it, and where you bought it from. If it was Toyota approved used I would think they’d have to honour the warranty as long as you’ve not done anything abusive since you took ownership. If it was from an independent dealership I expect they’d want a clean record all the way back to when it was new.
 
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craig_16 said:
I expect it would depend on what shows up when Toyota scan it, and where you bought it from. If it was Toyota approved used I would think they’d have to honour the warranty as long as you’ve not done anything abusive since you took ownership. If it was from an independent dealership I expect they’d want a clean record all the way back to when it was new.
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Fortunately from a Lexus/Toyota dealership - Toyota approved used.
 
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Bobocop said:
Went to fit one last night after driving only in the dry since my last oil check and the engine bay is covered in specks and patches of something dark. Oil vapor/mist? Not wet but rubs off as a fine black grit/dirt. I also noticed a faint whistle which is new.
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Can't be oil vapour if it is dry & gritty, it would still be wet unless it was somewhere hot enough to burn/carbonise.
Could it be an exhaust leak, as that might also account for the whistle?
 
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In my experience there's no point telling a main dealer what part to replace to fix a problem you've diagnosed yourself.

Just tell them about the problem (oil usage and misting) and let them do the diagnosis themselves.
 
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leosayer said:
In my experience there's no point telling a main dealer what part to replace to fix a problem you've diagnosed yourself.

Just tell them about the problem (oil usage and misting) and let them do the diagnosis themselves.
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I'm not having a great deal of faith. Last time I saw them they said "these engines do tend to burn oil" and couldn't see an issue.
 
Took the car to get a little fuel before dropping off to Toyota Wednesday. Thought I'd take some pics of the dirt under the bonnet and noticed a fresh spot on the engine. It certainly feels and smells like oil.

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Had an initial call after dropping the car off this morning.

"Had a look, checked the inlet and PCV hose, found no excessive oil and engine is running fine. No oil leaks. Might be worth running heavier oil if you're having consumption."

"Okay, where's the oil on the engine cover from? And if it's running fine, why is there positive pressure coming out the oil filler?"

"Ah yeah...."


Seems like we're going to have to wait for their master tech to return to work before I can get some answers or options.
 
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The location of that small oil patch is near the PCV pipe that connects to the intake manifold, if the crankcase is being pressurised then there is a small chance it can push oil out I suppose, but that pipe is tight, surely its more likely to push out the dipstick. The spatters all over the engine bay isn't normal, it should be dirty but dry.


You need to push the master tech to do some more proactive testing, leak down, crankcase pressure/vacuum measurement, compression wet & dry, even a boroscope. These are going to be more definitive.
 
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At the end of the day main dealer techs ‘should’ all be trained to a good level, esp the master techs no matter which MD you visit, however we all know that this is far from reality.
Agree engine bay can be dusty but not covered in specks like that, inlet manifold cover is not like that for the hell of it either.
Hope you get a good MT on the case otherwise can you look for another MD to visit?
Have you checked to ensure that current MD has GR trained/qualified techs? Where a number of the Scottish guys take their GR’s only the MT is qualified and trained on GR cars I believe.
 
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Bobocop said:
Looks like I'm not going to have any updates until Monday when their head tech is back in.
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Yeah, until then it's all really just supposition and speculation from the internet. I'd avoid taking too much advice from the Reddit keyboard warriors (I saw your post there) as most are US based and just regurgitate the usual RTV blame-game. It's strange that there is so much contaminant over the top surfaces, like it's been 'misted' or something - is the bonnet sound insulation soaked in it too?
Anyway, here's hoping that the Master Technician can get to the bottom of it. Good luck and keep us updated.
 
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This might be a stupid suggestion, bit did you check the oil filter was tight? Looking at the spray pattern, its on the front right of the engine and over the intake and core support. If it was PCV valve the oil would be at the back of the engine. Also check the engine temp sensor on the front of the block.
 
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I'm planning on speaking with the tech Monday and going from there.
Will300 said:
This might be a stupid suggestion, bit did you check the oil filter was tight? Looking at the spray pattern, its on the front right of the engine and over the intake and core support. If it was PCV valve the oil would be at the back of the engine. Also check the engine temp sensor on the front of the block.
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I'll be checking everything is tightened down and then cleaning the bay. The spray is very recent so I'm quite confused. There is some white spray residue on the underside of the bonnet.
 
So my local dealership said they could find nothing wrong. Any mess was from someone else apparently.

They cleaned the bay and topped up the oil.

They've told me to keep checking levels. They said the best way is when it's cold. Also, air blowing out the oil filler is normal behaviour and that the engine couldn't work any other way.

I asked for documentation of everything discussed and was told they cannot provide anything. Apparently I'll receive an email or letter in a week.

I think I may have shot myself in the foot not demanding what was discussed in writing.
 
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