Excessive oil consumption?

Mine is also using a little over a quart in less than two thousand miles. Waiting to see what the dealership tells me.
 
2300 miles here.. I guess I need to check my oil now!
 
ACP said:
I was able to check mine without removing anything. There is a foam cover on top of the cam cover that blocks the label. By carefully lifting that foam a bit so I didn't rip it (I used a flat plastic piece about the size of a large popsicle stick), I was able to get my phone in there and take a picture. I was able to zoom in on the picture enough to get a look. If you look at the cam cover in that link above, you can get an idea of where the label is. It'll be on the front passenger side corner of the engine (just to the left of the oil fill cap as you look at the engine).
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Thanks for this info. I was able to push the foam top back a bit with my thumb to reveal the sticker. I had burned through 5 quarts of oil while on a 5000 mile trip pulling a 7300# camper. My cam cover is not one of the ones within the date ranges of the "suspect" cam covers. Keeping a closer eye on it now. We'll see how much she burns through without towing.
 
ACP said:
Hi guys, I have a 2020 and I've recently been going through about a quart every 600-700 miles. Took it into the dealer but they reported everything looked fine (no codes, etc). So I'm currently doing an oil consumption test (having to stop in there every 500 miles...) so we'll see what that reveals. I mentioned the PCV valve as a potential issue but they said codes would be thrown if that was bad. Did the PCV valve end up fixing the consumption issue for others? Any other suggestions or bulletins anyone is aware of I could reference?
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Is your rate of oil consumption of a quart every 600-700 miles while towing?
 
St8fan said:
Is your rate of oil consumption of a quart every 600-700 miles while towing?
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Yes, I was using a quart every 600 miles while towing. After doing the oil consumption test over the course of 5k miles, I average a quart every 1200 miles. Apparently "within spec" for the engine is an oil consumption rate up to a quart every 1000 miles. So because I was outside that range, there is nothing further for me do other than do another consumption test if I think it's using more. The whole process has been quite frustrating for me and although I do like other aspects of the engine, using a quart every 1200 miles and GM stating that is normal for this engine has left an overall bad impression on me.
 
Travo2020 said:
I was incorrect about the oil consumption, truck burned 5 quarts in 3000 miles. Only had two left in it.
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Have there been any engine issues since the oil has been filled and maintained? Ran into a similar situation myself but everything seems fine now that the oil is at the proper level.
 
Ironically, this happened to me yesterday. Went into limp mode (reduced performance mode), while merging into traffic.
So, there was no clear indication of anything from the status message (just the reduced mode). After finishing up my errands, I limped home, plugged in my Bluedriver and it put out a "P06DD" code (Engine oil pressure control circuit performance / stuck off).
Starting with the basics, checked the oil. Oil level kept showing on the stick as nearly bone dry...... (just the tip), after adding about 2 3/4 qts, it was full again.

I last changed the oil right about 4k miles ago (been doing about every 4k miles for oil changes). I do not drive it much, however I did a road trip from Maryland to Wisconsin (1,140 miles each way, constant 18h drive each way). That is the only explanation that I can come up with, although I do not know the exact tolerances when it comes to this. I got the oil back to a full state and the check engine light cleared, limp mode disappeared, so I can only assume that it was low on oil and triggered the limp mode.

After a quick google search, typically engines running severely (like high mileage fleet vehicles) would average 2-3qts burnoff. I certainly do not have any visible leaks, either in my driveway, or when I venture out, so I do not believe that it is a leak, I do keep a close eye on this.

Perhaps this is normal if it is run hard?

One a good note, at constant highway speeds (75mph - 80mph), I could easily get 39mpg (or at least what it showed). Close to 700 mi on a full tank!
 
I noticed a member on facebook posted his dipstick was dry as well right at about 4-5K miles. I just had my first oil change, but I'm going to keep an eye on mine in about 2K to see if it's dropped any.
 
jrickett said:
Ironically, this happened to me yesterday. Went into limp mode (reduced performance mode), while merging into traffic.
So, there was no clear indication of anything from the status message (just the reduced mode). After finishing up my errands, I limped home, plugged in my Bluedriver and it put out a "P06DD" code (Engine oil pressure control circuit performance / stuck off).
Starting with the basics, checked the oil. Oil level kept showing on the stick as nearly bone dry...... (just the tip), after adding about 2 3/4 qts, it was full again.

I last changed the oil right about 4k miles ago (been doing about every 4k miles for oil changes). I do not drive it much, however I did a road trip from Maryland to Wisconsin (1,140 miles each way, constant 18h drive each way). That is the only explanation that I can come up with, although I do not know the exact tolerances when it comes to this. I got the oil back to a full state and the check engine light cleared, limp mode disappeared, so I can only assume that it was low on oil and triggered the limp mode.

After a quick google search, typically engines running severely (like high mileage fleet vehicles) would average 2-3qts burnoff. I certainly do not have any visible leaks, either in my driveway, or when I venture out, so I do not believe that it is a leak, I do keep a close eye on this.

Perhaps this is normal if it is run hard?

One a good note, at constant highway speeds (75mph - 80mph), I could easily get 39mpg (or at least what it showed). Close to 700 mi on a full tank!
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I had to reply to my own post.........

I posted on youtube on a video "known 3.0l duramax issues", he replied to my comment (much like above) and he mentioned that it seemed like alot more than oil burning. He had mentioned that GM says that 1qt per 2k miles is acceptable, unloaded, not towing or racing. He had suggested inspecting the rear main seal and if that was leaking. I had mentioned that I have no visible oil leaks at all, so it may not be the issue. He had said that *some* 2020s have had this issue.
 
jrickett said:
Ironically, this happened to me yesterday. Went into limp mode (reduced performance mode), while merging into traffic.
So, there was no clear indication of anything from the status message (just the reduced mode). After finishing up my errands, I limped home, plugged in my Bluedriver and it put out a "P06DD" code (Engine oil pressure control circuit performance / stuck off).
Starting with the basics, checked the oil. Oil level kept showing on the stick as nearly bone dry...... (just the tip), after adding about 2 3/4 qts, it was full again.

I last changed the oil right about 4k miles ago (been doing about every 4k miles for oil changes). I do not drive it much, however I did a road trip from Maryland to Wisconsin (1,140 miles each way, constant 18h drive each way). That is the only explanation that I can come up with, although I do not know the exact tolerances when it comes to this. I got the oil back to a full state and the check engine light cleared, limp mode disappeared, so I can only assume that it was low on oil and triggered the limp mode.

After a quick google search, typically engines running severely (like high mileage fleet vehicles) would average 2-3qts burnoff. I certainly do not have any visible leaks, either in my driveway, or when I venture out, so I do not believe that it is a leak, I do keep a close eye on this.

Perhaps this is normal if it is run hard?

One a good note, at constant highway speeds (75mph - 80mph), I could easily get 39mpg (or at least what it showed). Close to 700 mi on a full tank!
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Mine also seems to only happen on long trips. I'm afraid it's gonna be difficult to prove that to the dealer.
 
Hello. I bought a 2020 3.0 l diesel last summer in a Chev LTZ half ton. I love how the truck drives and it gets excellent fuel mileage! I changed the oil after the first 100 hours as is the recommendation with most engines. We farm and have a lot of machines and lots of engines of every size. I check the oil religiously. I noticed the oil burning issue after the first oil change when I left it the recommended 10,000 km. At 10,000km (150 hrs) the oil was nearly off the dipstick. It was low 2L! I started the oil consumption log. The engine continues to burn in my opinion excessive oil! It burns 1L every 2100-5400 km ( 34.5-105 eng hours! ) my engine falls outside of the serial number required to change the camshaft cover ( PIP 5762). Within that PIP it says if this is the case to refer to PIP 5751. This is just a more detailed oil usage log. It says on that bulletin that .946 L/ 1600 km is acceptable! This is not acceptable oil usage! We have only had one engine use that much oil in my 30 years of farming! It was a 4 cylinder Cummins in a swather. #3 cylinder was scored and the turbo was totally wrecked! Cummins addressed it right way. They put in a brand new short block and turbo on warranty. My dad has the same engine in his truck and I personally know of two others in our area that burn excessive oil! Every dealership says the same thing as well “we haven’t heard of any problems with burning oil”! The reason is that the quick lubes never check the oil before they dump it. If the customer doesn’t check his oil ( which many people don’t) they won’t know that their engine is using oil! GM does not know why these engines are burning oil obviously! They need to address this issue! I have a very poor impression of GM due to the fact that they are not actively addressing this issue!

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There was a post earlier in this thread that a dealer replaced the PCV valve but unfortunately he didn't post a follow-up. All you can do is push your dealer. If he won't do anything, find another one.
 
At about 25,000 my 2020 Silverado threw a code and started using oil like crazy. Took it in and found out the exhaust gasket on the blower was leaking. It took several weeks to get all the parts in but they finally fixed it. It hasn't used a drop of oil since.
 
I saw that thread at BITOG but there's too much chatter to really add my 2¢ there. Here's my take.

This is an all new engine and that warranty will save my bacon if it were to ever blow up. A replacement engine would be quite costly and I'm sure they would want proof that approved oil was used throughout its life. They might even send the oil in for analysis. If they can get out of spending $10k to replace it, they will. Since we haven't seen any with high mileage yet, we don't know either way what the effects of using this or that oil.

You would think that GM would have done validation testing on this oil and engine combination. Anybody else notice that the oil pressure is not linear with engine speed? It doesn't follow engine speed like any other engine. It's electronically controlled. It goes up and down in steps. Above a certain RPM and load, it goes up a step, above another load and RPM, it goes up another step. While cruising, it's at its lowest constantly. And within each step, it's steady, it doesn't go up or down. As my oil is getting older (original fill at 6500 km, 45% OLM), I haven't noticed any loss of pressure. In fact, it's been slightly higher but that could be the colder weather. There's a lot of tech in this engine and I wouldn't be surprised if it compensates as the oil gets older.

Just like anything, run what makes you feel better. Who knows if these things can run on bacon grease but would I? Nope. I'll stick to the recommended dexosD for my peace of mind.
 
I have a 2020 Silverado High Country. My first hint of an oil consumption problem was when the truck went into low power mode. Took it to dealer and after 4 days diagnosed low oil. The dealer blamed me because I changed the oil myself. Said I must not have filled it completely (I bought the Amazon kit with 7qts and filter so I knew I filled it completely. I can't believe there is no low oil light:( Had same problem occur again and this time It was after they changed the oil. They started a consumption test and I am using about 1 qt per 1000 miles. GM says that is within normal limits for that engine. I find it hard to believe that this is the same engine that is being put in Cadillac and Yukon and they all were designed to burn oil.

Also I see that some people are getting pretty good fuel mileage. I am in SW FL and I drive mostly flat highway, 80 mph, minimal stop and go and yet I have never averaged more than 23.4 mpg. How can there be that much variation?
 
That’s absolutely insane for them to say that using 1 quart of oil in 1000 miles is NORMAL!

If you are running 80 mph, your mileage will probably suffer. I do mostly country driving to work that involves stop and go and speeds generally around 60 or less, hills, etc and get about 26.7 MPG. I’m happy if this is the mileage I get for my type of driving. It’s a full size 4x4 truck. Best I have gotten so far on a 110 mile run with minimal stops is 30.5.

Do these engines not have a low oil level indicator sensor/light...? Did the dealer confirm this?
 
There is no low oil indication that comes on. There is a sensor, though, as it can be seen with a scanner.
 
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