So I've had my 2010 SXT since March 2012, I got it at just over 18,000km. It now has almost 70,000km. It's eating oil like crazy. I tried the valvoline fully syn for high mileage (I was tricked into thinking it was for extended miles, not cars with high miles), and it burned down to 1cm below the min line on my dipstick in less than 2000km. Topped it up and ordered my usual Quantum Blue. Had that put in, and the place tried to tell me I was due for a change (which wasn't true, I went in at 4000km ish, instead of the 5000km they told me). The Quantum Blue has done slightly better, but I've topped it up twice now.
My car never did this before, nothings changed. Same tune, same gas station, same wheels and tires..... should I sell this car before something catastrophic happens? It's my first car, so I'm kind of attached to it, it's given me no other real trouble...
What do you guys think?:frown2:
What octane gas are you using? I have run into this on a few of these, and read online on a tech forum about it too. My uncle has a 300 AWD with a 3.5L also with a slight consumption problem. My local police department had bought 2 2007 Charger Police Packages and had been asking about checking for excessive oil consumption. In these 3 cases, the all seemed to have heavy pinging (spark knock) on light acceleration. The cause, they were using 87 octane regular fuel.
While 87 is "acceptable" to use, 89 is the recommended octane for the 3.5L. What happens is carbon deposits develop on the top of the piston at a faster rate with the lower octane gas. Besides the top of the pistons it also develops in the piston ring lands, most specifically the oil ring lands. This causes the oil rings to not seal right or stick, causing a slight increase in oil consumption, not very noticeable from the tailpipe surprisingly.
One thing you can try (besides using the correct 89 octane fuel), do a combustion chamber cleaning. This can be done a few different was, some are done with an aerosol can, some through the fuel rail like a fuel injector service. Seafoam has been on the market a long time, it is one form of an engine cleaner, but it only comes in a can, you'd have to rig something up from the can to a vacuum port on the intake, but you can't have the engine suck it in all at once. Possible hydrolock because you're sucking a liquid in the cylinder. An easier way is get a can or two of Mopar Combustion Chamber cleaner. There are two versions of it, the fuel injector service type, and the type that comes in an aerosol can. Get the aerosol can.
Take the air cleaner tube off at the throttle body (leave the IAT sensor plugged in and set the tube aside). With the engine warmed up, have assistant raise the rpm's up to around 1,000 to 1,300. Shake the can well before you begin and every so often while performing the procedure. With the rpm's raised spray the combustion cleaner into the throttle body in short 2-3 second bursts, waiting a few seconds in between sprays. While you are doing this you may notice the rpms start to drop and the engine run a little rough. This is normal. Just have your assistant keep the rpm's raised to the appropriate level. DO NOT EMPTY THE CAN OUT IN ONE CONTINUOS SHOT! This will hydrolock the motor. As long as you do the short bursts and wait in between, you will not have a problem.
Keep spraying the cleaner in short bursts, shaking it occasionally, until the can is near empty or empty. Have your assistant let the rpm drop to idle for a few seconds, then shut the car off. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Put the air cleaner tube back on while you wait. Start the car and let it idle another 5 minutes. Now originally, the Mopar combustion cleaner directions had you put it in manual first, then mat the gas and let it rev into near oblivion a few times (not over 4,000 rpm I think it was). They omitted this step, but you really need to give it a hard drive to blow out any remaining cleaner and burned up deposits. So take it for hard drive. Initially you may notice it almost fall flat on it's a-- (a big multiple cylinder misfire with a flashing Check Engine light). This is normal, as there may be a small amount of cleaner left in the intake getting sucked through. You will see some smoke from the back too. This will subside.
Top off your oil and watch your consumption for a while. If the consumption only slightly improves, get another can of combustion cleaner and try it one more time. If there is no significant improvement then the next step would be going deeper and inspecting for any internal leaks.
