And I never added a drop to my 2013 in 6 years between one year oil change intervals... The level remained constant. I never reached 10k in a given year. Same for the 2019...

 

So, how do you explain all the oil that the OP burned off "breaking in" his new ES?

 

It is possible that the compression rings weren't fully “mated” with the cylinder walls so it had some blow by. Once the tight seal is achieved the oil consumption stopped.

 

On our sixth Lexus the first one a 2002 with each driven over 100,000 miles and never added a drop to any of them.

 

Does this happen every once in a while?

 

It has been many decades since I can recall ever having had to "top off" the oil in any vehicle that I've owned. And that includes brand new vehicles and vehicles with up to 150,000 miles.

I have to wonder if there is any possibility, in the case of the OP, that oil levels were being properly measured and whether those oil levels were, in fact, low.

 

As long as you're not blowing blue smoke out the exhaust and there's no oil on the floor you're good to go... GOOD LUCK!

 

Lets break this down a bit.

There's three primary ways you could've experienced oil consumption:

1) blow-by by break-in, meaning engine rings seating. Then the consumption stopped.

2) driving aggressively.

3) Permanent blowby (not having to do with break in)

Or a combination of any # of the above.

Keep in mind if it (lets hope not) was #3, then a gentle road trip with no oil consumption could mask the fact you're burning oil when accelerating hard. Do you ever accelerate hard?

I will say even with a perfectly healthy engine, hard acceleration will result in more than less oil consumption--always. In every engine.

Then of course you have to be SURE you measured correctly both times, used the same standard (both times) and came to the correct conclusion (both times).

There's lots to break down here. I'd say keep monitoring and keep a log. Try not to assume one way or the other until you have lots of high quality data to work with.

 

Never had to top off my oil and I stick to the Lexus oil change recommendations although I never drive even close to 10K miles in a year. My oil changes have ranged between 5-7K miles although I only have 25K miles on my car. IMHO most people fall into the category of the 12 month/10K oil change interval. If I went by what my dealership recommended my car would be in their shop every couple of months. My main concern is maintaining the covered warranty and I can do that by adhering to the manufacture's recommendations on service! What's interesting is I routinely watch the YouTube channel The Car Care Nut. He is an excellent Toyota/Lexus Master mechanic. He actually recommends people change their oil earlier than 10K miles. I think it all depends on how long you plan on keeping your car. If you are the kind of person who sells or trades your car every 5-6 years then the 10K interval will be fine. If you are one of those people who plan on putting 200-300K miles on your car, you may be better off doing 5K oil changes. He has a number of videos on this exact topic. I recommend people watch his channel.

 

With car prices having risen so much recently (and most likely to stay at those levels and higher going forward), my guess is more people will be keeping their cars longer than they had been. More conscientious maintenance practices may be justified and will ensue. That's my plan!