Just refill the oil and see what happens.

 

Thanks for your reply! I will do that but my concern is why it even happened in the first place.

I should also note that there are no leaks anywhere!

 

At this point, just monitor. I always suggest checking oil on a cold engine when oil hasnt moved in a while for accuracy. These cars are known to burn oil or head gasket issues but can take abuse with low oil I believe. As long as you hear no funny noises, you should be ok but want to avoid this in the future. Its super easy to find on the 2.4 liter. I assumed it was in same spot on 2.5 but not fully sure.

 

2AR-FE has Dual VVTI so I believe one of those solenoids takes the spot of the PCV valve so it was relocated to somewhere behind the engine near the intake manifold.

 

If you had oil change done in September and they filled with proper oil quantity, you have excessive oil consumption. Period. PCV will help you none, you have caked piston rings allowing oil blow by burn out. Go to the tail pipe and stick finger into it. Rub on the inside. If it comes out all covered in soot, there you are.
There was recall on 2.5 hybrid engines for exactly that issue and fix is to replace pistons and rings with upgraded ones. I had that done under recall on my hybrid Camry.
But that was done after Toyota did oil consumption test.
You lost about 2 qrts of oil in 3000 miles. What Toyota may not consider an issue, as they want to lose more than a qrt in 1200 miles.
So, from now on, you are checking oil level every 2 weeks and carry oil cans in the trunk.
And do yourself a favor, switch to heavier oil, at least - 5W20.

 

PCV will help you none, you have caked piston rings allowing oil blow by burn out. Go to the tail pipe and stick finger into it. Rub on the inside. If it comes out all covered in soot, there you are.
And do yourself a favor, switch to heavier oil, at least - 5W20.

Can you tell me why it wouldn’t be a PCV Valve? I’ve done some research, and sites like this say that it can contribute to the consumption of oil if not cleaned or replaced (Scotty says it too).

I will do the tail pipe when I find the time later.

Do you run your car with that oil? I’m a little afraid to switch the oil to a different type considering it’s not the type recommended by Toyota. I’m not car guru but I try to follow what the manu says.

• 2.4 is known to burn oil (2AZ-FE)
  • 2007 -2009
• 2.5 is less likely to burn oil (2AR-FE)
  • 2010 - 2011

Thanks for the verification. I was pretty sure that my engine wasn’t known for this.

I left for work at 6:20 and worked a four hour shift. Before leaving work I checked and the oil was where it last was— no consumption (at least not yet).
I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning but according to the records left in the glovebox from previous owners, they have always used Valvoline 0W-20 and the high mileage when needed

 

• 2.4 is known to burn oil (2AZ-FE)
  • 2007 -2009
• 2.5 is less likely to burn oil (2AR-FE)
  • 2010 - 2011

 

I see others saying that using a thicker oil won’t hurt the engine, but I would rather not risk putting oil not recommended by the manu.

It is normal to have a fair amount of engine wear after 200K miles, and it would be appropriate to use a higher viscosity oil at that mileage to take up the larger spaces (caused by engine wear) in-between parts (like the rings and cylinder walls). If you are afraid of doing that, SNAP OUT OF IT. The car belongs to you and not Toyota (who would prefer to sell you a new car rather than advise you how to fix one you have now with problems). If I were in the room with you, I would slap you silly until you abandoned your worship to the "recommendations" of the owners manual, even in the face of serious problem that calls for a serious remedy.

As far as a High Mileage oil, I assume you have been using it consistently? When you switch to a High Mileage oil, it has additives that swell the seals to help stock leaks, but if you stop using it then the seals will shrink and it will leak worse then before. Hopefully, you have never alternated in the past between high mileage oil and regular oil.

So I would continue using a high mileage synthetic motor oil, probably 5W-30. If that didn't work, I would even try 10W-40. Personally, I would use Mobil 1 if you can it at Walmart for a good price.

 

I have an 03 and 08 camry and both oil caps say 5w-30 but when I went to get oil at advanced auto, the computers suggested 5w-20. It seems harder to notice burning oil than leaking oil so a trade in would be easy but definitely look to see if changing oil will help. My suggestion of trading in car is due to you having an empty oil level only few weeks after getting an oil change, thats just crazy.

 

The main thing I suggest like I did earlier, just fill it back up with oil and see what happens. "Things can just happen" and then never happen again.

 

I could explain why, but let's do this.
Stick finger into tail pipe, rub it inside, and take it out. On cold exhaust, of course.
Is it covered in soot or not?
If it is, I am right and I'll be glad to explain, why modern engines are oil burners. It is simple indeed.
You might, also, ask a buddy to drive behind you on FWY and see, what happens when you step hard on gas pedal. What kind of smoke it puffs out.

 

I could explain why, but let's do this.
Stick finger into tail pipe, rub it inside, and take it out. On cold exhaust, of course.
Is it covered in soot or not?
If it is, I am right and I'll be glad to explain, why modern engines are oil burners. It is simple indeed.
You might, also, ask a buddy to drive behind you on FWY and see, what happens when you step hard on gas pedal. What kind of smoke it puffs out.

See image below. After doing what you said, I walked away with some black stuff on my finger. Not sure if this is the “gunk” you’re getting to. It was dry. I reached as far as I could with my long finger and got that.

Toyota recommendation for low viscosity oil is primary to achieve fuel economy targets they have to meet for CAFE requirements in the USA. The recommendations are not for maximum engine longevity. Toyota recommends higher viscosity oil for the same engine in some other countries outside the US.

That is helpful to know. Thx

 

Add another vote for thicker oil with engines over 150K. It's just common sense as explained earlier 0-20 is so thin when your engine gets a bit worn out a bit, thinner oil escapes faster. I went from a quart in 5k miles of 5-30 to not any consumption with 10-30 full synthetic in my 01 V6 with 245K. Granted, your gen has tighter tolerances and I live in the south, it worries me not to use a heavier oil since we rarely get cold temps.

 

Thak you.
That's soot allright. And lots of it. It's soot, not gunk. a black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon, produced by the incomplete burning of organic matter. Just like in a chimney.
So you DO have blow by burn out. Pretty much, your cat will go out next.
This is why modern cars burn oil.
It's darn race for mpg. And cost efficiency.
What they do, is that they started making pistons mu lighter. They reduced overall piston height and use light alloys, to reduce moving mass, to gain mpg.
This resulted in peculiar phenomena. Those piston heat through very easy, reaching temp of around 400 degrees C at the skirt. This literally fries oil supplied to the piston rings for lubrication. As the result, oil cakes on piston rings, plugging them, particularly, the oil removing one. And there you are - lost piston to cylinder walls seal and exhaust with burnt oil blow by into crankcase. What, in addition, burns oil there too.
Second reason is rather strange to the ear but true. Lack of proper engine break in. Engine has to be driven very hard first about 50 miles. Very hard. What that does, pressure from combustion gas gets between piston and rings and spreads rings into the cylinder walls, thus setting and mating them perfectly. Engines that are broken in driving like a grandma simply do not seal.
Third reason is related to the first one. Short pistons, connected to crankshaft, tend to oscillate inside piston. Tilt just ever so slightly, as they do not have length enough to be guided straight up and down in cylinder bore. That, in its turn, allows another blow by.
Intentional or not. But that's how they are designed and made.
Besides, shorter pistons logically cost less to manufacture. If you place only two less olives into Manzanilla Marinated Olives jar, company saves $250 000 a year.

 

Second reason is rather strange to the ear but true. Lack of proper engine break in. Engine has to be driven very hard first about 50 miles. Very hard. What that does, pressure from combustion gas gets between piston and rings and spreads rings into the cylinder walls, thus setting and mating them perfectly. Engines that are broken in driving like a grandma simply do not seal.

Dude, everything I ever heard about new cars goes against this. I know oil is changed early the first time but everyone says to drive like grandma when you first get car. Driving hard burns the carbon build up but during the beginning, I never heard this as a good suggestion...I want to believe you but like you said, its very strange to the ear

 

What does the level show after it sits overnight?

 

Unfortunately I didn’t check this morning before driving. I will check tomorrow... it’s been driven some pretty distant miles since adding oil. I checked before I went to park and it was lower than before, kind of closer to the first dot. I will check again in the morning to see where it is (I added oil again)

to be sure, you all are suggestion 5W-30 for the next oil change?

 

KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid

Don't make the situation more complicated than it needs to be. The OP was low on oil, he filled it back with oil. We know the oil was low, was it burned? Did it leak? Did the oil change not add oil? There are numerous assumptions that can be made but until oil starts disappearing constantly, the easiest thing to do is to add oil and see if it happens again.

So don't make it complicated, "things can just happen" and then they won't ever happen again. Don't condemn it as an issue until it has been figured out to be an issue after multiple instances of disappearing oil.

Just to say it again, fill it back to full and check it later.

 

5-30 is good, exactly spec for this engine.

 

That’s for the previous 2.4 engine. But I will use this oil, mine was spec’d for 0W-20

thanks.

 

They say 0-20 to meet CAFE standards, still a 5-30 engine really. At any rate won't hurt it.

 

I was watching a really good Youtube video on Direct Inject versus Port Inject, and the guy on the vid brought up the point that the auto manufacturer makes design decisions on meeting some standard they are being pushed with (like CAFE or emissions) and what gives them an edge in selling the tech, but this can leave the owner with something that is harder to deal with over time as that is not the manufacturer's concern (build up on the top of the intake valves on DI/GDI systems). You want to keep a car 200k miles, they would prefer you got a new car when the warranty ran out kind of thing.

Nothing to do with this oil thread other than the oil viscosity the manual says and the manufacturer recommends is not really based on how long you intend to keep the car and likely is flat out a poor option when you exceed a certain wear in the parts. Those specs are for the new car, to meet regulations and market edge, and to only last the "lifetime" of the vehicle as they define it. None of them define "lifetime" as 500,000 miles, for example. 12k a year is considered the average mileage so 120k means you have owned the car 10 years. As far as the car manufcatures go, that is probably 2/3 years longer than they would prefer and want you to get a new car.

 

Updates:

topped oil off Thursday evening (looked a little lower from last time). Checked every morning until today and it has been at the same level. Drove about 40+ miles since and it’s still at same level... oil change is coming soon

 

Yeah
Change the oil and filter at least toyota OEM and then take it from the top again

 

Sorry for no updates... none really to post. Still kind of burning oil. Oil change is approaching, I purchased 5W-30 to use this time. Will update how it goes. Thanks

 

Update: Changed the oil last week (Wednesday) to 5W30. We made sure to fill it to the top dot on the dipstick. Not even a week from changing the oil, it’s barely over the bottom dot. I’m concerned because I’ve only gone 535 miles since, and it’s losing that much oil. I used Valvoline High Mileage Synthetic Oil. Any suggestions? I heard seafoming the engine will help. I’m also hearing mixed opinions on whether or not changing the PCV valve will help

 

I doubt the PCV valve is going to do much of anything, but it's a $4 or so part so easy enough to change. My experience is the hose at the valve end gets brittle and you need to change the hose, which is not something AutoZone carries (different diameters at each end). You may find one locally, may have to order it. At any rate I highly doubt that is your main issue. Sounds like you are burning around a quart every 500 miles, or in that area. If so, redoing the pistons and valves are the only real solution, everything else is smoke and mirrors.

 

did you have a chance to get a engine compression or a cylinder leak down test done?

 

Hmm, the 200k mile PCV has me curios at this point. Sadly that is no longer a simple task to replace.

 

Had a mechanic from work check it out. He found a valve cover leak. I’m getting it repaired Friday. I was confused as to why I didn’t see anything under the car though. He is gonna go ahead and replace the PCV valve as well

 

I would certainly run a 10-30 wgt. oil and give it a treatment of either slick 50 or Duralube I had a 4cyl. with 200,000miles on it daughter drove it 12 miles with no oil circulating due to broken oil pump fixed the pump and car is still running today with probably about 250,000 on it that I think was due to that slick 50 treatment.

 

PCV Valve and hose was replaced. He showed me the hose (which was soaked with oil) and the valve was very clogged. He also replaced the intake gasket and we topped the oil off. Will be replacing valve cover gasket Monday but so far car has been well. Will keep you all posted

 

Good luck and please do.

 

 

After replacing the PCV, I immediately noticed there was no oil loss... we also replaced the valve cover gasket because he thought there was a small leak. Granted it hasn’t been that long, before replacing it, I had been lost so much oil within 3 days of changing it.

 

Glad to hear progress but time will tell if this truly fixed your issues. I look forward to your feedback as well. I am in the same boat monitoring to see how long it takes for oil to burn after replacing pcv.