2020 Toyota Tundra Burning Oil?

Hello, I bought my Tundra last year, with 60k miles or so, Before I bought I made sure the truck received regular service which it did.

One morning good morning before my hunting trip, I turn on my beautiful tundra with my remote starter, and see a small cloud of smoke, which i had not seen before. I proceed to let it warm up to operating temp, then turn it off, wait 5 mins, check oil and sure enough there is anything at the bottom tip of the dipstick, added about 1QT to bring it back to the second dot or so.

so I’ve been keeping an eye on it, and yes, it is burning oil, just did an oil change 15 days ago and it is already at the second of the two dots.

I’m just trying to figure out if this would classify as normal? Because from what I’m reading online, Toyota says it is okay for their vehicles to use up to 1qt every 1,200.

I’m wondering if I should get rid of it or what should be my next step.

I’m at the dealership right now having them check it, but I highly doubt they will say it is a problem based on what I have been reading online.

let me know your thoughts please

 

Until you get this sorted start checking your oil at least every fill up preferably every day. Try to check it before driving, in the same spot. In other words remove any possible variable.

This will give you a much better idea of your oil consumption rates. You'll probably find Toyota will do nothing to correct the problem even though we all feel that is unacceptable.

Who did the last oil change and what oil was used.

 

1 qt every 1200 miles seems excessive IMO.

Have you crawled underneath to make sure you don't have a leak anywhere? Pulled spark plugs to look for oil?

 

Yes, no oil leaks anywhere. I haven’t pulled the spark plug though but the motor looks dry all around.

 

I'd pull the plugs and take a look around.

Also, you said the motor looks dry all around, have you specifically checked out the common areas for the cam tower leakage that's common?

 

Yeah, I agree. Something is definitely wrong. My 2016 now has almost 40,000 miles on it and I pull a bass boat pretty much every time I'm in it and it doesn't use a drop of oil. I'd suggest you have someone do a compression test. Sounds like you have a piston ring with some excessive wear or something.

 

They came back saying that there was no issue and oil levels were perfect. So i guess I’ll keep an eye on it for now.

i might replace my pcv valve which is known to clog up and see if that helps too. I’ll keep looking at the oil for a month or two and report back

 

Oil burning issues seem to creep on Toyotas mostly early on ...Either not enough drain holes on the piston or too narrow. Toyota will probably address it with upgraded pistons and rings in a couple of years like they have with the Celica and Camry.

 

Pretty sure they aren't going to upgrade the 5.7 anymore.

 

Any powertrain warranty left? The toyota dealer can do a consumption test. Basically the oil is changed then the drain plug is marked and the oil fill is secured. You cone back in a couple thousand miles and the oil is checked.

 

I’ll mention that to the master technician. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

We did it all the time on Rav4s because they had a issue with burning oil. Before replacement Toyota required a consumption test be performed.

 

I meant the pistons only, since they may be shared with some other model. The Celica got upgraded pistons it's last year before it was discontinued for the early 2000-02 models.

 

If the suspicion is the oil is being blown back into the intake to burn, a catch can would at least isolate the oil from being reingested by the motor. It's a bigger problem in most GDI engines as they do not self clean the intake with fuel. The new 3.4TT has GDI, but also has a 7th injector to help clean the intake from what I have read.

 

Easy stuff first. Does the 2020 have a pcv valve? Is it working correctly if so?
Edit... nvm you said that

 

Ah, interesting. I was not aware and stand corrected.

 

Try switching to another brand of oil. This may sound too simple, but there is an explanation on why switching a different brand of oil from what the engine originally used before will cause you to burn oil.

 

I find this interesting since it appears as if Castrol oil gets darker quicker than what the Toyota dealer used. It may be Castrol is darker out of the can, is allowing blow by or just simply cleans better than what the dealer used.

One popular video here is the car care nut talking about a Camry serviced by a dealer at 10k intervals that started using oil due to carbon buildup under the piston rings.

I will continue to use Castrol and stay with 5w-30 since my 21 tows a trailer south for the winters and seldom sees temps below freezing.

 

To FrostyTundra hoe often was the oil changed since you found the records? 5k or 10k? I'm guessing 10k since your burning oil.

 

I have owned my 2016 since new. Oil changed with Toyota oil every 6 months which is always under 5000 miles. Started burning oil about a year ago, currently have 56000 miles. Toyota did consumption test and its burning 3/4 quart per 1000 miles. Pretty frustrated they consider this "acceptable"

 

56,000 miles is actually really low miles for a 2016. The reason for your oil burning is carboned up oil control rings. If you drive short distance, idle for long periods of time and never really work the truck hard it can happen. I just took possession of a 2016 Tundra that has about 30,000 miles on it. It was owned by my 83 year old father in-law. He drove it very short distances and never worked the truck. When I got the truck the first time I floored it, a huge billow of black smoke came from the tail pipe. First thing I did was decarbon the motor with CRC then added a engine decorbonizer to the oil to clean up the rings. I also drove it like I stole it for the first couple of weeks.
If I were you I would have the cylinders decarbonized professionally, do an engine flush and change the oil. Drive it hard for a few weeks and see if it improves. Doing nothing will result in more oil consumption and eventually an engine rebuild.

 

Also check the PCV valve

 

I was just about to suggest this. It's a 13.00 part that can cause all kinds of problems.

 

Oil burning became a pretty normal thing since the introduction of 0w20. So much so that manufactures had to come out with an acceptable amount of oil being burned. I learned this with a previous vehicle by only using 0w20 for 60,000 miles and by then is was burning a quart every 3,000 miles. When I bought my Tundra the first thing I did was drain out the 0w20 and fill it with 5w30. Im currently at 50,000 and take out exactly what I put in every 5,000. Unfortunately switching to a heavier oil after oil starts burning will only mask the issue, it will burn less but the build up from the previous burned oil will still be there.

 

Thanks for the tips. I'll check the pcv valve and look into carbon cleaning. With the traffic around here the truck doesn't get worked hard. I appreciate the feedback!!

 

https://youtu.be/TJhFAwFv-O0

 

Put in new pcv valve today, so we'll see what happens. There's a very slight difference in the sound when shaken. Hoping this will fix the issue.
I'll report back in a few weeks with results.

 

Did you give the PCV valve the shake & rattle (or not rattle) test??? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

Well, as suspected the dealership was wrong. They were saying the truck was not burning/using oil, so I wanted to believe them but I checked this morning and it’s definitely using oil.

I’ll change the pcv valve when is not so cold outside and report back.


@Monix - hope that resolves your issues. It’s been a few days have you checked recently?

 

An Italian tune up once a month sounds like it's in order.