Hi

My XJR X350 model has clocked over 200,000KM and I use about a liter of oil a month to top up. There is no oil leak or any signs thereof under the vehicle.

Is my consumption normal for a car with that kind of mileage or should I start tweaking the engine?

 

If it's not blowing out the tail pipe and it's not on the ground........ leave it alone. Seriously if you drop a qt before your next scheduled oil change I would consider that normal. Sorry I can't be of more help. I'm not a metric guy so I really have to think about it and I usual get it wrong. LOL

Average will have to be an individual assessment based upon quanity versus miles. everyone will be a bit different.

 

My shop rule is any less than 1 qt per 1000 miles is acceptable consumption. If it's blowing blue clouds or running down the driveway, that's different.

 

A litre a month seems quite a lot, but you haven't told us your monthly mileage, so it's difficult to judge. Actually the old XK engine of 1948 used to drink oil, like about 1 pint every 200 miles !! This thirst for oil was finally cured when Jaguar put seals on the inlet valve guides. Special oil control rings made some difference, but not enough. Modern engines are normally superb on oil consumption but after big mileages can start to burn it

I would say your inlet valve guide seals are now worn and hardened-up after that sort of distance. You can either replace them or just buy more oil !

 

Time is irrelevant. You may be driving 10000 miles/month or 100 miles.

 

My 05 XJR at 60,000 miles used 7/8 of a qt. every 5,000 miles. I thought that outstanding as I changed oil every 5,000 miles.

 

I do about 2,200KM (1367miles)/ month on average with an average cruising speed of 70KM/H (43.4MPH).

 

1400 miles a month needing a litre of oils sounds about right for the mileage of the car. 200k kms = 125k miles.

The last car I had which got up to this sort of miles, (a Mazda Xedos 9), was using about that amount just before I sold it. In fact I enquired on the consumption and was given the answer I outlined earlier - valve guide seals. Modern cars are now so good we tend to think they can go on and on forever, and most do but will usually start to burn oil when the miles get to about 100k. My wifes New Beetle burns oil and is on 60k, but these 2 litre VW engines are renowned for it, apparently !

 

I don't think I'd worry about 1 L oil consumption in 2200 KM. Not cost effective to fix what's not really broken anyway.

 

+1 Mikey

 

every engine consumes oil. every engine is designed to consume some oil. if your engine is not consuming ANY oil, there is likely something wrong...

of course, every engine consumes varying amounts of oil. engines that utilize turbos consume even more, for obvious reasons.

do not make the mistake of using thicker/heavier weight oil to try and remedy the problem either. using a heavier oil tends to lessen the lifespan of aging oil pumps.

again, stay vigilant for signs of excess oil consumption (i.e. blue smoke) as this is usually attributed to failing piston rings, and/or valve stem seals. it is normal for the exhaust side valve (or valves) to harden and crack/fail on most any older or higher mileage engine. the replacement of the valve stem seals is not as daunting a task as most would initially believe it to be.




i wouldn't worry about your oil consumption problem. Your kitty has plenty more miles to go, assuming that you are proactive with routine preventative maintenance.

 

My car is basically the same,a 2004 XJR 215000km on the clock.
Im using 0w40 Mobil1 new life oil.
Consumption on short distances is around 1L 3000km
A 3400km round trip trough Europe last month with lots of very high speeds (240+) autobahn driving resulted in almost no usage of oil at all.

I should not worry about 1L 2200km.. drive it harder and they use less

 

Thanks to you all for the advice. I am now at ease and I'll ignore the issue for now. It's probably caused by many short distance driving, and I should try to use the car more on open roads/ freeways/ motorways.

 

Won't help. Probably valve stem seals.

 

I change my oil every 7500 miles and she uses 1-1.5qts in that time. 2004 Xj VDP with 108k