Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

Hello,



I don't see any blue smoke yet. in winter I can see some black smoke.



We just came back from Yellowstone park, our 11xK miles 2000 sienna lost about 2QTs oil ( Castrol GTX 5w-30) after 1100 miles.



I am in Wisconsin, you know it's very cold in winter, sometime below 0, which oil is good for it? I change oil ever 3000 miles, I am using Castrol GTX 5w-30.



Thanks,



Derick

Reply 1 : Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

I have a '98 Sienna with 240K and have used synthetic oil for the whole life of the car. We took a trip with it last March from Arkansas to Utah and back (with a blizzard on the way) for about 3,000 miles total. We did not burn any noticeable amount of oil. I had switched to 0W-30 weight which I was using on that trip. I change every 5,000 miles. The 0W-30 would be good in your climate. However, it's really hard to compare one car vs another, especially when they get a lot of miles on them. It's not uncommon for even new cars to use a little oil.

Reply 2 : Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

tfelton,



Thank you so much. your information is very helpful. So I learn from you, I knew when have a new car should use synthetic oil from the beginning.



I will try synthetic oil 0w-30 in the winter, if it works good I will put 10w-30 in the summer.



Thanks,



Derick

Reply 3 : Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

Don't use 10W-30 in the summer. 10W-30 does not meet Toyota specs. 0W-30 will work well in the summer and is designed to help on mpgs. The 0 is for winter, the 30 is for summer.

Reply 4 : Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

use mobil1 0w-30 ( green bottle) all year round in DC area, no oil consumption from our 2002 Sienna with 105K miles.

Reply 5 : Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

On my 2000 Sienna, it says on the cover to use 5w30. I'm seriously considering using 0w30 since I live here in Michigan. Does anyone here use the recommended 5w30 for their vehicle? If so, any difference you've noticed from the 5w30 to 0w30? For the record, I've been using 10w30 which I know now that is a no-no. Thanks in advance.

Reply 6 : Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

My 2000 Sienna has made some oil vanish in the past. Right now it has a leak from the valve cover gaskets. It's been dribbling really slowly onto the exhaust manifolds so that you don't notice any drips. Sometimes vans are sneaky because of low engine compartment visibility. There is a rather large vanishing oil thread in the 1st Gen area.

Reply 7 : Is our car burning oil? What oil is better?

have your pvc valve replace if you have not done that,



i used valvoline 10w30 in my 2002 van for 123K trouble free miles, ran just as good when we traded it for a 2008 model van as it did when it was new.



changed oil at 5K intervals,

i always use toyota filters until the warrenty was out, then used wix filters.



If you are using some type cheap oil filter (fram) that could cause you problems