Question Not a car guy here, but what the heck?

[Wolfshadw]

As I said, I'm not a car guy. The only thing I know about changing oil is what I've seen in YouTube videos, so I let a professional handle that. Here's the thing though,

1) Yes, it's been seven months since my last oil change, but I've only driven 2000 miles in those seven months. Last time I went in for an oil change, I had only driven 1000 miles and the guy looked at me like I was crazy.
2) Been having issues with the ignition the last couple of days and my semi-knowledgeable brother said he'd take a look at it. Among his checks he noted there was NO OIL on the dipstick. NONE!

I checked it myself and he was right! There are no obvious leaks, there's no pool of oil under the vehicle anywhere I park, so how the hell do I go from a full five quarts after my last oil change to NOTHING in seven months, again, with no obvious leaks?

Any advice would be welcome!
TIA
Wolf sends

 

[USAFRet]

Bad head gasket.
This can allow oil to push out into the cooling system.

What does the antifreeze look like?

Or, the oil change place screwed you last time.

 

[kanewolf]

As I said, I'm not a car guy. The only thing I know about changing oil is what I've seen in YouTube videos, so I let a professional handle that. Here's the thing though,

1) Yes, it's been seven months since my last oil change, but I've only driven 2000 miles in those seven months. Last time I went in for an oil change, I had only driven 1000 miles and the guy looked at me like I was crazy.
2) Been having issues with the ignition the last couple of days and my semi-knowledgeable brother said he'd take a look at it. Among his checks he noted there was NO OIL on the dipstick. NONE!

I checked it myself and he was right! There are no obvious leaks, there's no pool of oil under the vehicle anywhere I park, so how the hell do I go from a full five quarts after my last oil change to NOTHING in seven months, again, with no obvious leaks?

Any advice would be welcome!
TIA
Wolf sends

"Ignition" issues and oil disappearing could be fouled plugs. You need to have someone check your spark plugs. If you have fouled plugs, then you could have bad rings, or valve seats.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Nothing on the dipstick does not necessarily mean no oil. It could be just low (1-2 qts. low). But just because you don't drive a lot does not mean you should not check fluid levels every week. And yes, that means not just oil.

As others have stated, there are many ways to lose/use oil in a car. Not all require a visible leak.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Bad head gasket.
This can allow oil to push out into the cooling system.

What does the antifreeze look like?

Or, the oil change place screwed you last time.

No idea what the antifreeze looks like.
Being screwed by the oil change place (JiffyLube) isn't out of the question.

"Ignition" issues and oil disappearing could be fouled plugs. You need to have someone check your spark plugs. If you have fouled plugs, then you could have bad rings, or valve seats.

What exactly would "Fouled Plugs" look like? I'm not completely inept, so I probably could check this myself.

Nothing on the dipstick does not necessarily mean no oil. It could be just low (1-2 qts. low). But just because you don't drive a lot does not mean you should not check fluid levels every week. And yes, that means not just oil.

As others have stated, there are many ways to lose/use oil in a car. Not all require a visible leak.

Oh Yeah! Another Saturday chore!

Thanks all!
-Wolf sends

 

[stonecarver]

What exactly would "Fouled Plugs" look like? I'm not completely inept, so I probably could check this myself.

They will be full of oil like gunked up.

Your water in radiator will be milky.

 

[USAFRet]

No idea what the antifreeze looks like.

When cool, take the cap off the overflow tank. If it is kind of milky...oil where it should not be.

 

[NedSmelly]

What exactly would "Fouled Plugs" look like? I'm not completely inept, so I probably could check this myself.

Exhaust may also blow bluish smoke, especially upon cold startup.

 

[USAFRet]

In any case, running for weeks(?) with low oil needs to be looked at.
It may not be a case of 'no oil' but rather 'quite low'.

Or, it could be very very serious.

 

[kanewolf]

What exactly would "Fouled Plugs" look like? I'm not completely inept, so I probably could check this myself.

There are lots of pictures of fouled plugs on the internet. This one is from NGK (a spark plug manufacturer) -- https://ngksparkplugs.com/en/resources/read-spark-plug

 

[Wolfshadw]

Thanks again, folks. I have an appointment set up for Monday to have it looked at.

-Wolf sends

 

[Joseph_138]

The number 2 cylinder in my truck keeps throwing a code for a fouled spark plug. My mechanic looked at it twice, and said it's most likely one of the rings starting to loosen up a little, and some oil is getting by. It's not enough to worry about running out of oil yet, it's losing less than half a pint every 6 months, but we're monitoring it. He recommended using a heavier grade of oil at the next oil change, to see if that does anything to stop it throwing an error code. If it was a major leak, I'd need that piston to be reringed, but it hasn't reached that point yet, and may not ever, fingers crossed.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Hey Guys/Gals. Sorry for not updating. Never did make it to that Monday appointment.

Just added some oil until it registered in the safe zone on the dip stick. Been driving most days and checking... well more often that I used to. All seems good. Was a quart low when I checked this morning (another Saturday chore), so I dropped in another quart.

The ignition issue I was having turned out to be due to a failing battery. Got that replaced and those issues disappeared. However, that brought up a new wrinkle that I just discovered this week.

Got cold up here this past week and frost on my windshield. Grabbed my trusty remote start fob and attempted to start her up. Didn't hear it start up like I usually do, but when I looked out the window I saw the tail lights flashing. Figured, OK, she's running!

Ten minutes later, I'd walking out the door and the engine isn't running. The windshield is completely frosted over and I'm like, "WTH"? Apparently, replacing the battery wiped the coding for my third party remote start fob. Kind of weird as my other fob (Ignition Key/Lock/Unlock) works just fine.

Fast forward a few days and about 30 minutes of Google searching and I find out the fob may just need reprogramming. Find the instructions online, head out to the Jeep, 30 seconds of actual activity, test... VROOOM!

I felt like Sir Robin at the Bridge of Death. "That's Easy!"

Just wondering what it would have cost me it I had taken it to my usual repair shop to have them figure it out.

-Wolf sends

 

[USAFRet]

Just wondering what it would have cost me it I had taken it to my usual repair shop to have them figure it out.

Same thing with my Mini.

Replace battery, car and keys needs to be "reprogrammed" to recognize the new battery.
Most new cars are like this.

The installation for me was $200. But that includes ALL the dumbass shrouds and covers.
Just the new AGM battery was $250.

New tech AGM is mostly required on cars with auto start/stop function.

 

[punkncat]

In spite of being this old a thread, I note that there is no mention of the make and model of the auto.

From some of your description my thoughts go to either bad oil control rings, or leaking valve seals. Either one of those issues would present with some smoke but due to other unknown factors may not be visible to you driving in the daytime. At night the "fogging" would show and alongside this there should be black soot on the back of the car on the exhaust side.

 

[Gururu]

Keep checking your oil, like say every 100 miles. If it noticeably creeps to the lower line, then you might have to find the cause. Fresh oil will appear fresh for a long time. Mind the seam around the valve cover or on any of the components or tubes around it.

 

[Wolfshadw]

In spite of being this old a thread, I note that there is no mention of the make and model of the auto.

From some of your description my thoughts go to either bad oil control rings, or leaking valve seals. Either one of those issues would present with some smoke but due to other unknown factors may not be visible to you driving in the daytime. At night the "fogging" would show and alongside this there should be black soot on the back of the car on the exhaust side.

2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4

Sorry about that.

No noted smoke from the exhaust; at least none you wouldn't expect from a cold start on a cold morning.

-Wolf sends

 

[Wolfshadw]

Keep checking your oil, like say every 100 miles. If it noticeably creeps to the lower line, then you might have to find the cause. Fresh oil will appear fresh for a long time. Mind the seam around the valve cover or on any of the components or tubes around it.

I have. Like I said, "Saturday Morning Chores". Dropped one quart over the last six months.

-Wolf sends

 

[Math Geek]

checked the oil in my last car before it went to the great junk yard in the sky, and noted that it smelled like gas. not good...

pulled the plugs and noted that second cylinder had oil in it. bad piston ring of course but odd thing was it was not burning that oil like id expect. no smoke or lower oil level. made sure it was firing and it was which still makes no sense to me at all. firing fine but oil not burning (no smell or smoke in any way) and loss of almost 25% of my mpg (4 cylinder so that would be loss of one hole, yet it wasn't??). was too lazy to pull it and redo the rings so went all Roadkill on it and put a couple bottles of ring sealer goop in it. it actually stopped most of it and brought back most of the lost gas mileage.

didn't get a chance to rebuild it since it got wrecked but i'm still baffled as to what exactly was going on there. goes against everything i know is supposed to happen in a working engine.