Recently my 2002 Kia Optima has begun to use oil. It is not a leak
and the Kia garage did an oil consumption test and found that it is
using 1 and 1/2 quarts of oil per 1000 miles. They advsied me that
this is within Kia specs and are not going to do anything. Has anyone
else had this problem and if so what was done if anything.
Burning/using oil is NOT "normal", and using 1.5 quarts of oil every
1,000 miles is very excessive oil consumption..
I assume the car is under factory warranty... I would strongly suggest
you go to another dealer and get the car checked out by them.. If that
fails to gain your satisfaction, contact your state's attorney
general's office of consumer protection and file a complaint.
JM
>Recently my 2002 Kia Optima has begun to use oil. It is not a leak
>and the Kia garage did an oil consumption test and found that it is
>using 1 and 1/2 quarts of oil per 1000 miles. They advsied me that
>this is within Kia specs and are not going to do anything. Has anyone
>else had this problem and if so what was done if anything.
mookie89 - 18 Nov 2004 20:14 GMT
FWIW our 02 Optima uses none, zero oil according to the dipstick between oil
changes (3,000 miles). As JM said, pursue this big time.
mookie
> Burning/using oil is NOT "normal", and using 1.5 quarts of oil every
> 1,000 miles is very excessive oil consumption..
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>>this is within Kia specs and are not going to do anything. Has anyone
>>else had this problem and if so what was done if anything.
Jay - 18 Nov 2004 20:42 GMT
> Burning/using oil is NOT "normal", and using 1.5 quarts of oil every
> 1,000 miles is very excessive oil consumption..
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> >this is within Kia specs and are not going to do anything. Has anyone
> >else had this problem and if so what was done if anything.
In speaking with the Kia garage they advised me that it is not
their decision but Kia's decision as to whether they are going to try
to found out why it is burning oil. They said that Kia will not
approve the warranty work because the oil usage falls within their
specs. I have called the Kia corporation directly and lodged a
complaint. They advised me that they would have to verify my
complaint and would get back to me. I have not heard from them yet.
mookie89 - 18 Nov 2004 23:26 GMT
>> Burning/using oil is NOT "normal", and using 1.5 quarts of oil every
>> 1,000 miles is very excessive oil consumption..
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> complaint. They advised me that they would have to verify my
> complaint and would get back to me. I have not heard from them yet.
I find it hard to believe a quart a thousand is "in spec". But whatever.
FWIW again, I sent an e-mail to KIA corporate about an unrelated issue and I
got a phone call 48 hours later. Let's hope they are still as aggressive in
addressing customer concerns.
mookie
take out the PCV valve and put a "q" tip in the threaded pipe where it was,
you'll find it is full of black gritty stuff.
clean it out. you should be able to blow on the PCV from one side only,
and it will click. if not replace it. Otherwise your actually pressurizing
the crankcase. The PCV lets the pressure out. when does not work, it
pressurizes the crankcase, even if it's a pound or so of pressure, it
forces the oil past the rings. the cat converter will clean any smoke to
an extent, and the engine computer will compensate for the extra oil and
you won't notice what's happening. it's a common problem, with an easy
fix.
Mine once was using oil like that. But there was no smoke. No mechanic
could find the problem. I found it by trying to tighten the oil filter
and it was loose. You never say the leak at when the car was not
moving. Under driving vibration the filter seal opened up enough to let
oil out.
Jay - 27 Nov 2004 18:09 GMT
> Mine once was using oil like that. But there was no smoke. No mechanic
> could find the problem. I found it by trying to tighten the oil filter
> and it was loose. You never say the leak at when the car was not
> moving. Under driving vibration the filter seal opened up enough to let
> oil out.
I received a call back from the Kia representative and she said that
Kia engineers confirmed that my oil usage was within specs. Therefore
Kia is not going to do anything. Thanks for all the advice but I think
I will be trading my Kia for a different brand.
mookie89 - 28 Nov 2004 15:01 GMT
>> Mine once was using oil like that. But there was no smoke. No mechanic
>> could find the problem. I found it by trying to tighten the oil filter
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Kia is not going to do anything. Thanks for all the advice but I think
> I will be trading my Kia for a different brand.
Thank you for the feedback. Sorry for your loss.
mookie