2009 Tacoma... burning oil

Hi
my 09 tacoma seems to be burning some oil after 5000k miles. I put amsoil signature series for the winter since i put a lot of miles on... I was hoping it would slow down the process and push for 7-10k before changing it... but I just looked at the dip stick... it was just below the full line dot. I didn't do the oil change yet to measure the exact amount. I have been changing it around 5k even since i got it brand new with Synethic oil. Thoughts eh?

 

How many miles on your truck? How much oil does it burn? For example at 5000 miles are you down a quart, a half quart , a pint or what?

 

Just below the full line? Thats barely anything burnt. If you're adding 1 qt or liter every week its a problem.

1 qt/liter between oil changes isn't awful, its pretty normal.

 

I have about 189k miles on the truck... I believe I am down a 1.5 qt at 5k miles... Im about 5500k from the last oil change. I want to change it next weekend, should I add a qt in the meantime??

 

The switch to synthetic will initially cause some consumption. I would also check for leaks. I am not a big fan of going with synthetics with an older motor that has been run on regular oil. You can try another run with the synthetics to see if the consumption drops. I would go 10,000 miles on the interval or 1 year on a normal service.

 

that is what I am aiming for 10k with Amsoil. If my engine is burning at 5k. I rather just use Mobile 1, etc.... thank you for your feedback.

 

I just did the oil change today. nice day! I lost 1 qt of oil. I changed it 5600 miles. Man this is crazy... toyota recommended oil change interval is 5000k. why is it eating that much?? I know I have a lot of miles on it but I have been changing all the oil changes myself....

 

I missed your initial post that you have been using synthetics since new. I would just monitor the level and top off as needed.

 

As long as you don’t have a oil leak and you are not blowing blue or white smoke out the tail pipe it’s nothing to worry about. You have almost 200000 miles on the engine, increased oil consumption is normal, the amount will vary from engine to engine. Using synthetic oil will not affect your oil consumption. You will not get one extra mile out of your engine because you use synthetic as opposed to dino oil. Unless you want to rebuild the engine, new rings and valves, your oil consumption will continue.
So change your oil every 5000 miles and top off the oil around 3500 miles with a half quart or so. Easy peasy. If it were my truck I’d use Dino oil to reduce cost and still change it every 5000 miles and top it off when necessary.

 

I guess I will need to top off as it goes along... kinda annoys me a bit... but it is what it is. thx