That's what I've had to top-up shortly prior to the last couple of 5K service intervals. A quart brings it exactly up to the "FULL" line on the dip stick.

What's up with that? Surely this isn't normal, correct? Should I switch from synthetic blend to fully synthetic? Will thaat help? Should I be concerned? Should I bring the smackdown on Ford Service Dept's candy ***?

Over 90% of my driving has been highway since day one; I could probably count on two hands the number of times I've been stationary at traffic lights. Could this be a culprit? The truck, otherwise, drives like a dream and I have next to no performance mods [see sig].

I'm about to take it in for a 15K service in the coming weeks. What should I tell em' to look for regarding this problem? Or should I just mention it and see what they say.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Unless there is a quart of oil in your driveway or your truck is smoking like a brush fire, I would guess they are not putting enough oil in to begin with.

 

if everything looks clean underneath i wouldnt be alarmed. your truck is going to naturally burn some oil. a quart sounds a little high but it could be a combo of burning some oil and it not having quite enough to reach "full" to begin with.

 

Where is the oil level before you top it off. Also when you change the oil, do you add until it hits the full mark? If so, that is probably part of the problem. There is no need add any more oil if it is on the crosshatch after putting in the required amount of oil, 6 or 7 quarts depending upon the engine. As for using some oil, it better. Some oil will always get by the rings.

 

My truck uses a quart every 5K. The consumption got WORSE when I breifly used full sythetic. The dealer assures me this is normal. I'm not sure if I believe that or not. My 91 Chevy never used oil at all, Ever. It had 187K on it when I sold it.

KC-10 FE out...

 

Do you let Ford do your oil changes?

I'd check the oil level right before you leave the lot. I hate to say it but thats not right. A little oil is okay but a quart seems like an awful lot for 5,000 miles.

 

I hope you're kidding. That's almost no oil. I would think the service manager would have a difficult time keeping a straight face if someone complained to him about this being excessive. Historically, with most manufacturers, the benchmark has been a quart in 1,000 miles. I've had 15 new cars and many of them used more oil than a quart every 5,000 miles.

 

I'm not trying to be rude or anything but... What kind of cars do/have you owned? I've owned almost 40 cars in my lifetime and the only ones that use that much oil was my 97 Dodge Ram 5.9 (single worst vehicle I've ever owned in my life) & my 2005 F150. A few of those cars were drag racing cars and they didn't use that much.

KC-10 FE out...

 

This was discussed recently in another forum.

See the following post:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=272090

 

My 2004 F-150 never used any oil. My 2006 F-150 never uses any oil. My 1965 Mustang never uses a drop of oil. Not to mention every other thing; 2002 F-250, 2004 EB Expedition with everything but the Mustang has the 5.4L. Not to mention most of these vehicles arn't babied at all. I wouldn't call a quart normal between oil changes normal. Are we thinking about the same thing? Theres a lot of oil in that little bottle that makes up a quart.

Disclaimer: When I said never used any oil, I'm talking about it uses less than 1/4 of a quart.

 

A quart every 5000 miles isn't anything to lose any sleep over.

ETA - And filling the engine oil right up to the full mark is actually a little overfilled - and overfilling engine oil can cause the engine to use a little more oil. Shoot for the bottom third of the crosshatches.

 

One quart every 1000 miles! That would mean 5 quarts over 5000, you would never have to change the oil, it would always be fresh and clean!

 

when i do an oil change i put in the required 7 qts and when i check the level it is showing 1/2 way between the 2 marks on the dipstick. that would lead me to believe that i am low and i just serviced it. at the end of the 5000 miles between changes i have checked it and it is 1/4 the way between the marks.

 

Thank you, I'm glad I wasn't the only one who realized this. .

 

All engines burn off some oil. If all you're losing is 1 qt every 5K miles, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it. I have 3 "new" Ford trucks in the drive way, and they all burn about 1/2 - 3/4 qt between 5K mile changes. The dealer won't touch the engine until you're losing more than 1 qt every 1000 miles. You complain about losing 1 qt every 5K miles and they'll laugh you out of the service department.

On the dip stick, the oil is full half way between the ADD & FULL. No need to top it off.