Engine burning oil

Question

My Toyota vitz 2007 burns engine oil. I replaced the PCV valve but there is no difference.

I usually have to add about 1 or 2 liters of oil for 5000km (between two oil refills).

One of my friends told me to use a thicker oil next time I refill and it will reduce the oil burning.

So, would it be OK to use a thicker oil next time?

Is it actually "burning" oil or is it "leaking" oil? Look at the engine (up/down/sideways) and see if there is gunk on it. Just because an engine is leaking does not mean there will be drops of it on the ground where you park the car. Knowing if it's actually burning or not will help with answering a question. As for thicker oil (oil with higher viscosity), this isn't a good choice as you can cause a certain amount of oil starvation, the engine has to work harder (less fuel mileage), and start up wear will increase. — Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2♦, May 21 '16 at 17:16
@Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2, I checked the engine and I cannot see any gunk, a sign of a leak. One more reason why I think that the engine is burning oil is that when I rev up the engine, a white smoke comes out the exhaust. — Lahiru Chandima, May 21 '16 at 17:23

Moab · Accepted Answer · 2016-05-21 21:25:56Z

5

3 places where oil gets into the combustion chamber

Thicker oil will not solve the problem. There is no easy solution to 2 and 3

answered May 21 '16 at 21:25

Moab

6,19810 silver badges27 bronze badges

Do you have any idea how to identify whether it is piston rings or valve seals? – Lahiru Chandima May 22 '16 at 1:16
If it's the piston rings, you may get a lot of combustion gases blowing into your sump past the rings. You might notice this when you run your engine with the oil cap off. Maybe someone else with more experience than me could confirm this. – Rimian May 22 '16 at 11:37

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