Hey everyone, I’m new to posting in this forum so please excuse my format. I drive a 2013 Kia Optima LX and I have the engine warranty. Despite having high miles, I haven’t had any knocks yet and my gas mileage is still good. I always keep up with maintenance and keep my receipts since I do everything myself and I know how dealerships operate. Despite this, I’ve found myself changing my oil every 5,000 miles and needing to top it off a lot due to high oil consumption. I can say for sure that it’s not an external leak because I’ve checked thoroughly. At first, I thought my engine was about to fail and that I’d need a new one, but that hasn’t happened after many months. I’m getting tired of spending so much on oil to keep it running well. I want to avoid voiding any warranties, but I’d rather not have other mechanics handle my car. Does anyone know if checking the gaskets or other parts would void my warranty? I want to investigate first before going to a shop for something serious like piston rings. Or am I just delaying the problem by topping it off so often and should I just let it burn?
The warranty extension for the engine only covers specific issues like rod bearings. The dealer won’t help with oil consumption under warranty. You have two options, you can keep adding oil and driving until it possibly fails or let it run out until it starts making noise and hope it fails in a way that’s covered by the warranty extension. If there are no leaks, your engine is likely burning oil. Engines can run a long time burning oil without obvious problems as long as they stay full. You might need to replace spark plugs more often, and the PCV valve might need to be checked too.
@Emmy
Thanks for the info! Honestly, I don’t know why I haven’t checked my spark plugs yet since I bought the car used and haven’t looked at them.
@Emmy
Not necessarily true. My engine was replaced for oil consumption at 150k.
Basil said:
@Emmy
Not necessarily true. My engine was replaced for oil consumption at 150k.
You might have been consuming oil when you got your engine replaced under warranty, but I bet the warranty claim didn’t mention oil consumption. There is no warranty extension for that. There is a TSB that outlines how to verify oil consumption, plus a cleaning procedure. If the consumption rate is still high, then engine replacement can be authorized under some conditions and for specific models. For repairs outside the factory powertrain warranty, it would need a goodwill approval, which they were somewhat flexible with for a while. Some Soul vehicles got new engines if they had damage related to the catalytic converter issue, but that was under certain conditions requiring special approval. Most others with oil consumption issues experienced rod knock, qualifying them for the warranty extension PI1802/3YZ, provided they had enough oil when inspected and no one mentioned consumption on the work order.
I had the same problem with my 2012 Optima. Call Kia customer service and start a claim for high oil consumption. Go to the dealer and ask for an oil consumption check. You pay for an oil change, and they put a sticker on the cap. After about 1,000 miles, if it’s down 1.5 quarts or more, you should be able to ask for a new engine. I had this done at 150k miles. It was using a quart every 500 miles. For the cost of an oil change, I got a new engine that goes 7k without needing any oil! I mentioned that clogged passages can hurt other parts of the engine, causing extra wear. By the way, during the test period, I really drove the engine hard.
@Basil
I responded to your other comment before I saw this one. Don’t mention oil consumption to the dealer if you’re outside the factory warranty—it isn’t covered by the warranty extensions. In the early days of the engine issue, we saw engines replaced due to oil consumption if they developed rod knock from being run low on oil. However, oil consumption as a root cause for engine failure isn’t covered. They’ve become much stricter about the engine’s condition and history than they were even a year ago.
@Basil
Today, I verified what Hi-Scan-Pro mentioned. The dealership can check the high oil consumption if I ask, but unless my car shows a specific code, they can’t really get me a new engine since my factory warranty is long expired. I also expect human factors like how the dealership is run or their mood can play a role. Thanks for the advice!
Don’t listen to all these armchair experts. I drive a 2017 Optima EX, and I’ve faced oil consumption issues as well. I took it to a local dealer and asked them to perform an oil consumption test. They changed my oil (and charged me) and asked me to return in 1,000 miles. They kept it overnight and ran tests. They topped it off and told me to come back in 1,000 miles again. It was still low by 3 quarts. They opened a case with Kia and asked for proof of regular service. I was approved for a new engine after that. They even gave me a rental car. The moral of the story is to go to the dealer and talk to them. Good luck.
For new cars, adding oil every 1,000 miles is pretty normal these days. They are built in a way that some oil burning is expected. Your car seems to be doing well given its mileage. Whatever you’re doing is working.
Brady said:
@Cary
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You must not be familiar with new cars. And Toyota has one of the worse reputations for burning oil—they burn it faster than you can pour it in. I frequently work on those and have replaced a lot of them. Ford burns oil too, but most end up failing before the oil issues become a real concern. Honda is not too far behind with their oil dilution and other problems in newer models. There’s not much good stuff out there these days.
Brady said:
@Cary
[deleted]
It’s really a case-by-case situation. For example, I’ve heard Honda had a recent issue with connecting rod bearings seizing and had to recall many vehicles. I agree though, older models were better. My rusty 2001 Kia Sephia was running like new with nearly 400k miles. I’m not a Kia fan, it just happens to be lucky that I’ve had two in a row.
Don’t listen to all these armchair experts. I drive a 2017 Optima EX and I’ve had oil consumption problems. I took it to a local dealer and asked them for an oil consumption test. They changed my oil (charged me) and told me to come back in 1,000 miles. They kept it overnight and ran some tests. They topped it off again and said to come back after another 1,000 miles. It was still short by 3 quarts. They created a case with Kia and asked for proof of regular service. I was approved for a new engine. They even let me use a rental while the work was done. Just go to the dealer and talk to them. Good luck.
@Brady
I’ve been fixing Kias for almost 25 years. I appreciate this forum!
Emmy said:
@Brady
I’ve been fixing Kias for almost 25 years. I appreciate this forum!
This is off my dealer invoice. Nothing else was mentioned except for oil consumption!
90872 engine oil is burning and low; the vehicle came in for oil consumption concern, checked oil level, and found the car was 3 quarts low. Did an oil change and marked the dipstick, setting the vehicle to return in 1,000 miles.
The vehicle returned and was short by 2.5 quarts.
Performed combustion chamber cleaning and let it sit overnight, set for a return in 1,000 miles. The vehicle returned for the third visit, still down 2.5 quarts.
Opened a tech line case, removed and replaced the engine as authorized.
Transferred all applicable parts to the new engine. Verified normal operation.
Performed a long road test to ensure everything was fully functional.
The vehicle operates as designed. No wiring harness signal interference test available with KDS.
Scanned the vehicle after repair and confirmed no check engine light or stored codes.
@Brady
I believe you. Your case is different than the person who posted this. Your car had under 100,000 miles and is less than 10 years old. The original poster’s car has 177,067 miles and is over 10 years old. There’s no warranty extension for oil consumption. For warranty coverage, the vehicle must still be under the original factory warranty. At 177,067 miles, the only hope for engine replacement is through PI1802/3YZ. They won’t do an oil consumption test at that mileage since it wouldn’t be covered under PI1802/3YZ; only rod bearing failure is covered.
@Emmy
I can confirm. The dealership technician was nice and answered my hypothetical questions today. If it isn’t linked to the specific recall code, it won’t be covered. For now, I’ll just have to manage it. Thankfully, it won’t void my recall warranty if I check things myself unless I break something. I’ll keep the forum updated when I can.
@Ash
I’m glad you were able to clarify your situation. In the past, I’ve heard of people being told to just wait for their car to develop rod knock or seize, then make sure it has oil when towed to the dealer. It should be covered under PI1802/3YZ. Technically, Kia used to care less about how the oil looked, focusing only on how much was in it. Now they’re asking for pictures of the dipstick, oil fill cap, and inside the valve cover to check for signs of sludge or varnish. That seemed like a risky idea before and even more so now.
Brady said:
[deleted]
I’ve had my car for a while now, and I’m starting to think a lot of the complaints come from not properly maintaining the vehicle. I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous about the oil burning because of the engine recall, but I’ve avoided many other issues by frequently inspecting my car and replacing or fixing problems as needed.