2009+ Vibe Oil Consumption?

[b00st]

Hey Genvibe, I was wondering if any of you were having oil consumption issues with your 2009+ Vibe 1.8/2.4 engines.

My 09 Vibe with the 2.4(2azfe) only has 55k miles and im burning a quart and a half every 2500 miles already.
I called two local GM dealer's and they said there "was never an engine warranty/recall for oil consumption for a 2009 Vibe 2.4(2azfe)." and then said that if there "ever was a warranty for oil consumption I should have gotten something in the mail", which never happened. (I have owned it since 2010 and only got two recall papers for the clockspring and passenger airbag.)
I called a local Toyota dealership and asked them if there was a warranty for oil consumption for a 2009 Matrix 2.4(2azfe) and they said there was a warranty and that I would have to do tests to find out if my car was affected by it.

How can Toyota not warranty my 2009 Vibe if I have the same exact engine(2azfe) and trans as a 2009 Matrix that has the oil consumption problem?
It doesn't make sense to me at all. Guess I will have to find a new car before it starts burning more oil as the miles add up.

[vibrologist]

GM is not bound by what Toyota does. It is as simple as that.

[b00st]

GM is not bound by what Toyota does. It is as simple as that.

Very true. GM doesn't want to pay for the piston ring fix since Toyota's engine design was at fault. I just wish Toyota paid GM so we could get the piston rings fixed on Toyota's dollar.
Really crappy on Toyota's part, I don't plan on buying another anytime soon.

[Caretaker]

excessive oil consumption in Corolla engines is as common as the sun rise. It has been an issue with those engines for decades. Sadly people here have reported even higher amounts of oil consumption in their Camry Vibes. I'm down about a quart every 4000 miles with my Corolla Vibe. Pat Goss says that 1.5 quarts per 2500 is within specs. Some of us on these boards claim that they don't have any excessive oil consumption. Good for them. I also know people who never had any problems with their Ford Tempo too. Good for them.

[gtv237]

The 2.4's are really bad about it. 1.8's don't seem to consume as much but they do eventually. Seems like when they start it's only down hill from there. Mine didn't consume at all until I switched to 0w20 full synthetic. Now I loose a quart every 5000 miles. I may go back to 5w20 conventional and see if that helps.

[Zimm]

my 1.8l uses about 1 quart per 7,5000 miles. fairly consistent over the years using synthetic 5w-20.

[mysteriousem]

I haven't had this issue myself, but mine has been used pretty gently. I work from home and drive maybe once or twice a week with the occasional long journey once or twice a year. The previous owner drove it about 3 blocks a day and an occasional grocery run or two-hour trip to see her mother. Not sure if that would affect it, since I don't know what's supposed to be causing the issue.

Anyway, I have a long trip planned for January. Could be I'll notice the oil consumption on a trip like that!

[Vulcan05]

I had 45000 on my 2010 2.4 when I traded it. It never used a drop of oil.

[vibrologist]

I haven't had this issue myself, but mine has been used pretty gently. I work from home and drive maybe once or twice a week with the occasional long journey once or twice a year. The previous owner drove it about 3 blocks a day and an occasional grocery run or two-hour trip to see her mother. Not sure if that would affect it, since I don't know what's supposed to be causing the issue.

Anyway, I have a long trip planned for January. Could be I'll notice the oil consumption on a trip like that!

The issue is being caused by carbon deposits that clog up the recess for and the passages of the piston ring that supposed to squeegee down the excessive oil on the cylinder walls. Those deposits keep the ring from expanding fully and therefore the oil does not get removed. It goes into the combustion chamber. You would expect to see a blue tinted exhaust from that but the catalytic converter keeps that from happening.

[Caretaker]

I think that is all true. I just don't understand why then doesn't the catalytic converter fail prematurely in these cars? I also don't understand why these cars don't fail emissions tests due to the inevitable extra soot that is exiting the tail pipe?

[vibrologist]

I think that is all true. I just don't understand why then doesn't the catalytic converter fail prematurely in these cars? I also don't understand why these cars don't fail emissions tests due to the inevitable extra soot that is exiting the tail pipe?

I don't know for sure why the converters hold up that well. Now and then we hear reports on P0420 (warm-up efficiency below threshold). There are also a lot of people (including me) who do oil changes every 3000 to 4000 miles. I don't know if my piston rings are gunked up or not. But my engine does not require topping off between changes.

[weirdly]

Any idea if the 2010 2.4 liter Vibe has the issue? I am guessing no as the 2010 Matrix seems clear.

Mine doesn't seem to at 85,000 miles, but I do have an possible oil related issue:

I'm generally a pretty gentle driver. But when I rev high (floor it) for a spell (8 seconds) I smell something like oil or deposits burning off. I get the smell with the recirculated air on or off.

When I repeat it I don't get the burn off smell. Unless I wait a couple weeks.

Any ideas?

[JetBlack]

My car when I got it about 6 months ago was running 5w-30 conventional, now thinking back they oil burn was real low. I had switched over to 5w-20 Full synthetic initially and I had about 2 qt burn every 3500 miles, Now I am currently running 0W-20 full synthetic I am seeing slower burn about half as the 20, 1 qt about 3000 miles. JetBlack does have about 121k Miles on him. He is a 2.4l.

[tpollauf]

This topic has come up quite often here and one of our Vibe's is victim to this problem. First off, switching from dino oil to full synthetic DID help curtail the oil burning process for us. TheVibe in question was an early build 2009 GT (build date April 2008). We purchased it right at 35995 miles (probably a lease turn in) and man was it trashed and abused ... thus the great price at the time six years ago. Anyways it was quickly burning a quart every 1500 miles. Fast forward to today and sitting at 85000 miles, it burns a quart every 2500 to 3000 miles. Runs great so we can live with this slight burning issue.

[vibenvy]

The oil consumption issue seems to be mostly in early to mid 2008 built 09 Vibes. Neither of ours use a drop (10.29.08 & 11.17.08 build dates). Both just turned over 72,000 miles and have had Penzoil conventional 5W-20 every 5000 miles since new.

[Owim]

I usually top my oil off every 2-2500 miles. I'd say I add about a quart on my 09 2.4 awd vibe

[j42.snyder]

Mine was built late Feb. 2009. I had no consumption issues until exactly after the warranty was up (160,000km). I never pushed it too far between changes or anything either - about 3 months or 8,000km (5,000 miles). Now it will consume approximately a quart in 3000 miles - depending on driving conditions. Since my wife drives it now - it gets changes twice a year, or about 3,000 miles apart - so I never really need to add.

My brother had an early build 2009 (March 2008), which was consuming a fair bit by that time. He wasn't always that diligent on following change intervals though - and with his being a manual, it revved higher all the time vs my auto. With the 2.4 FWD, the auto actually revs slightly lower in 4th than the manual in 5th. Strange gearing selection on Toyota's part in my opinion for the manual. Made it a bit "buzzy" to me on the highway, where I don't even notice the engine sound at all in mine at the same speeds (65MPH or so).

If I had known about this issue prior to buying it, I may have been tempted to get a 1.8 - but for the bit of towing I needed to do, the extra power and larger brakes made it the wiser choice at the time. I liked the more relaxed feel of the 2.4 on the highway too. Hopefully we still have it around for several more years.

John

[Caretaker]

Again John, the Corolla engines consume lots of oil too. You would not have escaped this issue, which seems to point to a Toyota parts supplier issue with parts less than stellar. While I hate the environmental impact this is causing, my main cause for concern is the extra work the catalytic converter is doing to eliminate the excess soot resulting from the burning of oil. Every time I pop my hood I am greeted with the smell of burning oil. Here's hoping our car's drinking problems don't lead to premature kidney failure.

[j42.snyder]

On the 2.4 I thought I heard there was an issue with a hole in the piston under the oil rings that could plug up and prevent the oil from draining back like it should. I'm pretty sure the previous generation 1.8 suffered the same issue - and I remember hearing of something similar on older Saturn engines as well (although obviously not related).

I've almost been tempted to try a detergent additive to see if it makes any difference - but typically I try to avoid using any "mechanic in a bottle" products. I figure the oil is already a complex blend of additives, and who am I to play chemist and try to outsmart the oil engineers. It would be different if I had bought it used and it had been neglected - but that's not the case. I put all of the first 100,000 miles+ on myself and did all the maintenance myself as well.

I'm not sure about what would be different about these compared to all other engines out there. My daily commuting driver is currently a 1998 Civic with 354,000km on it, and it only uses about 1/2 a quart over 5,000 miles. Perhaps there was an issue with quality of parts used or tolerances. I'm just glad mine doesn't seem too bad now - but my wife mainly does shorter trips around town so it's hard to compare. I used to drive it more in 2 days than it typically sees in 3 weeks now. Perhaps one day I'll get it back - but with one kid at driving age and the other approaching - I'm not going to attempt to try to predict anything. I'm just hoping I can get the old Civic up to 500,000km without any really major issues. At least it's an Si with manual - could be stuck with something worse...

John

[PonchoGT]

I make it a habit now to check my oil level once every two weeks or so. My '09 GT has 138,000 miles on it and consumes oil, too. About 2/3 of a quart every 1,500 miles.

[vibedrivermatt]

My 2.4l base also consumes oil between changes but its no big deal. The engine is still running great at 91,000 miles. It seems to drink about a quart every 5k.. i just top-er off when needed.

[tpollauf]

OK, so i figure this would be the most appropriate "oil burning" thread to resurrect, seeing how there are several out there. Just topped of my sons 2009 Vibe GT AGAIN and was shocked at the recent interval. Attached shows our log report that we keep in the glove box, and it shows 6 quarts of oil added in only 5500 miles. That's burning oil at the rate of one quart every 900 miles roughly. Completely unacceptable Surprisingly the car has thrown no codes, the cat is still good, and no signs of any oil burning coming from the exhaust pipe. Clear exhaust and no oil burnt smell either. We may have to open up the engine and bite the bullet and make the repair over this upcoming winter. It will all depend on his potential future driving plans. He, like myself before I retired, drives a company car and his Vibe now sees very limited driving. Just wondering if anyone else here has this severe of oil consumption on their 2.4L engine!

[ColonelPanic]

I have no relevant experience to provide, but in a case like that I'd be tempted to switch it to a diet of Valvoline Restore & Protect. Seems to be some sort of magical elixir that will cure all that ails 'em.