Low coolant and oil

[Mvrck]

Change your oil! It amazes me how long people go without changing oil. Engines consume oil. I would not go past 5k miles without an oil change even on a newer vehicle. For the coolant top it off and keep an eye on it.

Just following the factory estimate that's calculated based on throttle input over time. I also have a 15 year old Nissan Xterra with 140k miles. For comparison I change the oil in that once every 10k miles and the average consumption over 4 oil changes is less than a 1/4 liter.

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[KevCuRaoi]

No, my oil life is still over 50%

Probably best to have changed by 10K miles (despite what oil monitor says). I usually change at 7500 miles on hybrids (which ends up being every 6 months for me). That way I'm more likely to catch any issues that it may have.

As someone else has mentioned, if you check after you've been driving the vehicle, you do need to give it some time for the fluids to drain back into the pan before you check. Workshop manual recommends 15 min drainback period before you check the engine oil level.

 

[Mvrck]

Probably best to have changed by 10K miles (despite what oil monitor says). I usually change at 7500 miles on hybrids (which ends up being every 6 months for me). That way I'm more likely to catch any issues that it may have.

As someone else has mentioned, if you check after you've been driving the vehicle, you do need to give it some time for the fluids to drain back into the pan before you check. Workshop manual recommends 15 min drainback period before you check the engine oil level.

That makes sense, but it is a new vehicle with a factory warranty so I was just planning on following the electronic meter schedule. Also, I did check the fluids when the engine was cold.

 

[KevCuRaoi]

That makes sense, but it is a new vehicle with a factory warranty so I was just planning on following the electronic meter schedule. Also, I did check the fluids when the engine was cold.

Yeah, you'd probably be ok doing that. But I'm sure the owner's manual says to check the oil level monthly anyway. If you monitor the fluid levels yourself, you can probably just follow the meter.
Service intervals shorter than 10K can also help you catch tire-wear issues in time to do something about them.

Many dealerships are backed up w/ service appointments now. But maybe one can get you in sooner than Feb?

They'll check for external leaks first. If none, they'll need to check for excessive oil consumption. Basically, they'll change the oil. Put 1 Q short in and mark that. They put the last Q in and mark that on the dipstick. Then they'll want to monitor once a week/every 200 miles to check and see if/when the oil level drops.

The dealership may want you to come back for these checks. So you'll probably want to find a close-by dealership!

 

[pgstick02]

I agree with some of the other posts. Change the oil or at least top up your fluids. Keep an eye on it, and if it starts to drop again, make a note and plan accordingly.

Good possibility it was never full to begin with. Never hurts to change your oil early. It's cheap and since your engine is new wouldn't be a bad idea to flush the break in oil out anyway.

 

[rlhdweman]

No, my oil life is still over 50%

DEFINATELY get that oil changed, 7600 miles on break in oil is too much, I know the motor doesn't run as much as the EB, but still. If you have been checking the oil what does it look like? Clean like new or getting darker? I had my first oil change (not a hybrid) done at 3500 miles & the oil was getting darker at that point & I wanted to do it sooner but it took a couple weeks to get an appt.

 

[Mvrck]

DEFINATELY get that oil changed, 7600 miles on break in oil is too much, I know the motor doesn't run as much as the EB, but still. If you have been checking the oil what does it look like? Clean like new or getting darker? I had my first oil change (not a hybrid) done at 3500 miles & the oil was getting darker at that point & I wanted to do it sooner but it took a couple weeks to get an appt.

The oil is actually surprisingly clean at the moment. Coolant however has a lot of aluminum filings in it.

 

[Gpp]

IF the dealership you called to have it looked at sold you the truck told you February to look at it i would be seeing why.nobody is that busy.they could have took ten minutes to look at it.

 

[Mightybeast]

If you have a blue ultraviolate lite you can spot coolant easily, even dried up. Check from the top and from the bottom. For oil use tissue around engine block also bottom. I bet that original levels are low. Alto they fill oil and coolant automatically with out deep stick. It still can show as low.

 

[Mightybeast]

I remember when I changed transmission on my car coolant was on max lv. After driving for a week it was bellow min. No leaks. Just air bubbles.

 

[Mvrck]

If you have a blue ultraviolate lite you can spot coolant easily, even dried up. Check from the top and from the bottom. For oil use tissue around engine block also bottom. I bet that original levels are low. Alto they fill oil and coolant automatically with out deep stick. It still can show as low.

Didn't realize the coolant had uv dye in it. I'll check that tomorrow.

 

[Mav101]

Can you confirm all fluids were at proper levels prior? Is it possible coolant & oil were low to begin with?

Assuming fluid levels were full at delivery, the coolant is a bit easier to explain, as air can often get trapped in the system, purging out over time, lowering the level slightly.

The oil however, is a lot tougher, *IF* it was full at delivery. and there are no leaks, the only other option is consumption. Neither is good.

If you can't confirm fluid level at delivery, you'll need to top everything up, and watch it closely for a few thousand miles, to confirm what's going on.

Air can not be trapped in the system when new. They are vacuum filled at the factory.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

Air can not be trapped in the system when new. They are vacuum filled at the factory.

Fwiw I had a bone dry radiator burp tank when I got it home with about 30 miles. Forgot next am and put about 50-60 miles on it. Thought about it and checked and WALLA Burp tank at full line so I guess my fluid was "shrunk wrapped" somewhere in the system?
Also FWIW someone posted that he lost fluid and it was found to have leaked into (not sure but if I remember correctly in the heat recovery exhaust unit?).

 

[dalola]

Air can not be trapped in the system when new. They are vacuum filled at the factory.

Things don't always go perfectly during a 56 second cycle time. Ask me how I know...

 

[Mvrck]

Well I was able to get get the car into a different Ford dealership. After 4 days they determined I needed a new radiator. However, I think that's an incorrect diagnosis since I looked everywhere and couldn't find a leak. It also doesn't account for the missing oil.

This seems like it's going to a very long process at this point while the dealer replaces suspect parts before actually finding the cause.

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