It is normal for a vehicle to burn some oil, as a little bit will always get pushed into the combustion chamber each time the piston goes up. If you are burning an excessive amount (like more than 1 qrt every 1k miles) you likely have some other problem like worn rings or maybe the PCV system isn't functioning correctly. But if you are burning 1 quart every 4k or 5k miles, it is probably nothing to worry about, especially if it stays consistent, just make sure you check your oil occasionally. My dad had a challenger that burned 1 qrt of oil every 2k miles from new up to 180k miles and the engine still ran perfect.
I switched to synthetic at 115k miles with no adverse reactions (like leaky seals or anything), and have been running that for the last 23k miles with no trouble. I go by there service indicator lights for the change interval. |