hotwings

The anomaly in the oil level reading (anomaly = 5.7 qts fails to result in a full dip stick) should not be impacting the topic of this thread (oil consumption). What we care about is how much does the level drop over a specified mileage interval and a known starting dipstick reading after an oil change.

As far as engine hot vs cold, as long as the reading are always taken under the same temperature conditions (hot engine or cold engine) it should be accurate to assess oil consumption. In either case the oil all returns to the pan after a few minutes, but allegedly a hot engine causes the oil volume to expand and therefore changes the dip stick level compared with cold oil (same reason as there is an overflow coolant tank, since coolant expands when hot). Lexus has chosen to specify checking level when engine is hot after waiting 5 minutes. I'm not convinced it matters much, I've tried measuring it hot after 5 minutes and cold overnight but really don't see much of a difference but would like to recheck this. I dont understand why this car needs to be checked with engine hot whereas all my other cars for decades had no such requirement. Maybe its because this car takes so much more oil volume (almost 6 quarts vs 5 or less) and the total volume change with temperature is more evident when translated to a level.

I have also noticed you definitely have to wait a while for the oil to settle to get an accurate dip stick reading, the dip stick seems to grab splattered oil from the tube and coats the entire dip stick, making readings difficult. One difference is this is much lighter weight oil than I am used to.

alextv

Did not know Lexus said that. I have always checked mine overnight in the morning. To me that tells you the true amount of oil in the system and after an oil change putting in the exact amount and checking the stick overnight and just keep it at that level.

grp52

In the "Checking the engine oil" section of all the non-hybrid ES Owner's Manuals:
and in the ES 300H Owner's Manuals:

alextv

I probably read that 4 years ago but the way I do it I know all the all has drained and maintain that stick level if it alters which at 47k miles on my car there seems to be no loss between oil changes.

703

‘Never burnt a drop’ is not possible and frankly a figure of speech but BS in practice.

A drop does not register at all on an oil stick. There’s about 19,000 drops of oil in a quart, depending on viscosity. When you start noticing any oil consumption is when the dipstick is 1/8 of a quart low. That’s approx 2300 drops gone.

There is always a film of oil exposed to the cylinder wall which gets burnt.

so please stop saying not a drop of oil between oil changes. There will be many drops of oil consumed by the nature of any ICE, just that it’s not enough to see it register on a dip stick.

alextv

I think everyone here knows that is a figure of speech only but widely used and accepted to show there is no discernible difference. The main point here is that the loss of oil the op is experiencing is not normal.

E46CT

I came here to echo 703. Also to ensure you are "never burning a drop," one has to measure during similar conditions, similar time after-shut down, etc. Liquid expands, liquid flows and pools at a certain rate etc.

As far as 1/2 quart over 5,000 mile OCI (if true, if measured correctly), that wouldn't alarm me, but I also wouldn't be thrilled. This kind of stuff is best measured repeatedly to ensure there's a pattern. Because this could just come down to user-error, unless OP is absolutely adamant his technique at measuring BOTH times is flawless. Also car has to be on level ground BOTH times. So... many... variables.

As for me, I haven't noticed any oil consumption.

Shaboom

OP states,”Bad news is that this chronic slight oil consumption began immediately upon delivery and has continued for three years to the day. Checked on level surface, 10 minutes after shutting engine down or sometimes over night with cold engine, etc. Conditions are constant.
Good news is it’s modest in amount and is not worsening. Service manager says he’s seen this happen until a car hits 20-25,000 miles (Mine’s at 15,000j.
Since it’s supposedly within parameters of corporate “normal,” there’s not much that can be done. Car is beautiful and perfect in every other respect. Ride and all are excellent.
I’ll keep close eye on it, (checking every 10 days or couple hundred miles) and hope it goes away. If it worsens, I’ll make an issue of it while still under warranty (now 3 years old with 15,000 miles).
Well said by you, as you wrote, “Not alarmed but not thrilled, either.”

E46CT

Did you do the thing I do, first oil change at 500-600 miles as break in? like Car Care Nut recommends?

Shaboom

No, I was advised by Lexus at delivery that an immediate (500 mi) oil change was “old school,” from the days when metal particles remained in the engine from production. Nevertheless, I had the first oil change done at 3,000 miles and then after each 5,000 additional miles or less, thereafter.

mikemu30

I never do that and never had an issue.

dklanecky1

I'll admit to being a bit OCD about my vehicles, so take this with that in mind, but if this was mine, I'd think about starting a used oil analysis run periodically. It's roughly $30-35 each oil change, but it helps build a nice 3rd party review/opinion of the contents of the oil after it's used. Might show if there was any variation from change to change, and / or as compared to other ES's with the same power train. I use BlackStone Laboratories in Fort Wayne IN (and have for many years), but there are others out there.

scubapr

Did my 1st oil change at 4 months / 1,300m; and recently received my BlackStone Labs results. I'm now at 2k miles and the 6mo OCI is due mid Feb. 2024. I'll probably also change at this maintenance then keep 6mo OCI as I'm under the severe driving conditions; although low millage driving.

E46CT

every case could be different. here's how i look at it

imagine if engine A was manufactured, cleaned out sufficiently before being installed on the assembly line, minimal to no metal particles.

Now imagine engine B was manufactured fine, however had slight metal particles somewhere hiding in the block. perhaps small enough to get by the filter (think of a fine mesh) just super slight damage only seen with a microscope. Differences in amounts of particles , even if tiny, could come down to metallurgy, manufacturing, machining, assembly, technicians, etc.

now imagine both engines A & B in two scenarios.

scenario 1=oil change at 500 miles. would minimize/mitigate wear just enough, just in time as to not cause irreversible damage later in life. this could only affect engine B positively. Engine A wouldn't need it.

scenario 2=oil change at 5,000 or 10,000 miles. said particles given enough time to grind away at the cylinder walls just enough, as to cause oil consumption later in life, over time, and/OR clog the drains in the oil control rings. This would only affect engine B negatively.

engine A could claim "no issues!" in both scenarios. They would conclude that 500 mile oil changes are unnecessary because their engine doesn't consume oil.

engine B would have a better chance at full health with a 500 mile oil change.

now, no one knows what they get when they buy a car. so it's safest ($40) bet to just do a 500 mile oil change to cover all scenarios.

Shaboom

Could changing brands of motor oil possibly decrease oil consumption. I use Castrol Edge full synthetic. Amsoil?