You really need to start checking your oil on a regular basis. Going from July to now without checking is not a good idea. It doesn't sound like you have excessive oil wear, but it needs to be kept topped off. I think I would change the oil a little more regularly, too. Since most of your driving sounds like short trips, I'd start going by time, and not mileage.

 

It sound like you're still learning your way around mechanics and the functions of engines. No problem, we can help...and you made a good call in refusing the engine flush.

The first point I want to make is this: CHECK THE OIL!! Learn the oil consumption rate of your car, and check it often enough that you never get as low as you indicate yours was. With some cars that means once every 1000+ miles, with others it means every tank. Going months without checking is asking for engine destruction - because any new problem can result in disaster.

Second: if it uses oil, feed it oil, and as much oil as needed. You can diagnose an engine that's still working, but if you let it run out of oil, you have nothing but a destroyed engine. It doesn't hurt anything to check oil every tank and feed it as needed - oil is cheap and it helps you do two things: buy time while diagnosing the cause, and determine exactly what the consumption rate is. (Personally, I'm not that concerned until the oil consumption exceeds 1 quart per thousand miles, but at that point you're probably risking the cat converter.)

Third: Keep an auto record book. Note EVERY quart of oil, oil change, lube, repair, etc. Without records you have no information to go on, because memory is faulty. Get a record book *today* and use it religiously.

None of your photos show enough oil to matter. You need to check it every tank until you are confident that you have established its rate of oil consumption.

Remember that with the Murano, it takes around 10 minutes for the oil to run down into the crankcase (idiotic design flaw) even when warm, so pull in for gas, fill the tank, go in and hit the restroom, THEN come back and check oil before you start the engine. The fill level shown will be as accurate as possible.

The "tech" was selling you snake oil. Oil is SUPPOSED to be dirty before it's changed. If it's not picking up contaminants and combustion byproducts, it's not doing its job. An engine flush is wasted money under the conditions you describe...although it may be justified under different conditions. It doesn't hurt anything, it just wasn't needed in this case.

So - take a couple of months to check oil after each fill up, keep careful records, add oil any time the fill level hits the low mark, and report back when you have determined how many miles elapse between the need to add oil.

 

A quart, or even 2 between changes isn't a lot. I've had cars that used oil, and others that didn't use a drop between changes. Like Pilgrim says, you have to check it. When we had full service gas stations they checked it for you. Now you are on your own.

 

Thank you all for the replies and feedback.

Yes, I do take blame for not checking the oil between oil changes. I will be sure to do that now. My understanding was that unless the engine was burning oil or had an oil leak, the engine wouldn't be low on oil. Boy was I wrong.

Halwg, you stated I should start changing the oil by time (months) and not mileage. I don't mean to disagree with you on this, but what if the vehicle is not driven much. As I stated before, since July I only put about 3,500 miles on it. I would be changing the oil at about 1,200 miles. Would switching to synthetic oil be a wise idea based on my scenario where the vehicle is not driven much and can go many months between oil changes. Thanks for you feedback.

Pilgrim, I do have to learn the oil consumption rate of my MO. I will stay on top of it and check the oil level on a constant basis; adding oil if I see that it needs some. Also, you stated the pictures don't show enough oil to matter, but the oil that is there, where can it be coming from? I doubt any oil should be leaking from anywhere. Please correct me if I'm wrong though.

I was trying to hold off to change the spark plugs on my MO until 105k miles, as it is the recommended interval to change them. Can I still hold off to do this, or since I want to replace the valve cover gaskets, should I do it now? I guess what I am saying is, can I hold off on changing the valve cover gaskets until I HAVE to change the spark plugs at 105k? And the PCV?

Finally, those two green connectors I asked about in my OP, where it shows most of the leak coming from, what do they connect to?

Thanks guys.

 

I think I would hold off changing things until it time to do everything you listed.

 

Ok, so I can wait to do all of the things I mentioned when it hits 105k miles? The drive belts look pretty bad. I've never replaced them since owning the vehicle. Bought it when it has about 44k miles on it. Going soon on 94k miles.

 

I don't see that you told us how many miles are on the car, so i have no idea how long it will be until you hit 100K. Unless the car isn't running right, I wouldn't rush it. My bet is that you're not leaking enough oil to make any difference. Just a few drops of oil will spread out and look much worse than they really are. I can't ID the green connectors - maybe someone else can.

 

Sorry for missing that. The MO has almost 94k miles. The MO is running great from what I can see and feel. I want to try to keep I that way.

The ride is a bit rough when going over bumps on the road. I replaced the struts myself in January 2012. Also replaced the outer tie rod on the driver's side around the same time. Passenger side one seemed to be ok then. Haven't checked it since then. Will check soon.

Gas consumption seems high. I want to say that's because of the spark plugs, but I could be wrong. Air filter is good.

Aside from the high gas consumption and rough ride, no other problems. So far...

 

Interesting, I'm running into the same condition right now. I'm a few thousand miles away from my 105k tune up. I crawled under my car and notice some oil around the oil pan that looks like it could be from somewhere else but i'm not sure. I've filled up with some more oil and it seems to be running fine now so I'll give it a bit and have the mechanics look at it when i bring it in for a tuneup.

 

Just an update, It seems like that was a one time thing. My oil consumption is less than a quart with over 5k miles between oil changes. I use Mobile1 extended performance 5w30 because im over 100k miles now. The dealer mentioned that they fixed a faulty seal for me during the tuneup and that may have been the cause? You could always get a more thorough check during your 105k tuneup.

 

You're on the right track. The pattern that shows up over multiple oil changes tells you more than the usage at any single oil change. Sounds like you're OK.

Whether the seal made a difference depends entirely on where the seal was. If it was on an axle or transmission, it had nothing to do with oil consumption.

 

My Murano drank oil like Norm from Cheers drank beer.

 

Norm!

 

I still have the record. When I got my '66 GTO it had been run so hard that it got hot and the oil rings lost their temper. It consumed a quart of oil every 50 miles. but it never fouled a plug - just killed insects with the smoke screen it generated.

 

UPDATE: Been checking the oil level on my MO regularly. 1,300 miles since my last oil change and the oil level on the dipstick is on the H, so I guess everything is looking good so far.

 

That's definitely good news. Keep up good records and you'll always have great info to work with.

my GF's 07 Murano (144k miles) is drinking oil as well. She always on the road, but this is ridiculous....it goes through 4 quarts a month with no external leaks....

That's definitely bad news! If she's not driving 10K a month then she may have a substantial problem. However, I'll offer he same advice I did earlier in this thread - get a record book, note the mileage at each oil change and when each quart of oil is added. You can only get a useful consumption pattern with records.

But on the cost/benefit level, oil is a lot cheaper than an engine rebuild. You can drive a car a LONG way after car starts burning oil, as long as you don't foul plugs or torpedo the catalytic converter.

 

my GF's 07 Murano (144k miles) is drinking oil as well. She always on the road, but this is ridiculous....it goes through 4 quarts a month with no external leaks....

 

Bit late to this. My wife's Mo (now mine) had the same issue. Took it in for a regular oil change and the oil was very low (wife never checks it) and the dealer couldn't find any leaks. Changed the oil, and was told to bring it back to after 500k to check it again. There were NO indications of drinking oil, no leaks, no blue smoke, nothing...

Took it back in after 500k and the oil was down to 3/4 on the stick!!!

Obviously it was burning oil, but I was told the emission system on cars now-a-days is so good that if you actually see blue smoke coming from the tailpipe there is something REALLY bad going on!!!

Dealer called Nissan Canada and they OK'd a replacement engine! :29: I had the extended waranty! Basically a new engine cost me $50.00!
Nissan wanted the old engine back to tear it up see what was going on.

We originally bought the car from a dealer in Toronto, the car was a 1 year return lease and I suspect the oil changes when it was new were far and few during that time! We got the car with 80k on it, had 120K at the engine change.

All I can say is that Nissan treated us great. Got a new engine (put on 20K since then with no issues) with no fuss at all. My wife just bought a new Acura and was going to sell the Mo, but I decided to keep it. No rust and a new engine... makes no sense to get rid of it. I'll park my truck in the winter and drive the Mo instead since I really LOVE this car. I'd buy another one in a second.

 

Goes to show - there is no substitute for checking oil and keeping records.

Unfortunate that the V6 in the Murano has the worst dipstick functionality in the history of automobiles.

 

True but still better than no dipstick, like in late model BMWs. :28:

 

I wake up at night in a cold sweat thinking about that friggin dipstick.

"No, please don't make me check the oil. I have no idea how to read this!!"

 

Wife's 2007SL consumes 1qt. for every 5Kmiles, same as my 2004Maxima.
So I normally add oil every 2.5Kmiles.
A few months back, the Murano was loosing oil rapidly and I found the bottom
of the oilpan was soaking with engine oil (somehow, not a drop on the driveway). It costs ~$75 to replace the oil-cooler gasket ($60 labor + gasket) at an independent repair-shop.

The techguy (Nissan-trained) said it' common for the Murano, among other issues.

 

Wife's 2007SL consumes 1qt. for every 5Kmiles, same as my 2004Maxima.
So I normally add oil every 2.5Kmiles.
A few months back, the Murano was loosing oil rapidly and I found the bottom
of the oilpan was soaking with engine oil (somehow, not a drop on the driveway). It costs ~$75 to replace the oil-cooler gasket ($60 labor + gasket) at an independent repair-shop.

The techguy (Nissan-trained) said it' common for the Murano, among other issues.

You could always do it yourself... http://www.nissanmurano.org/forums/68-maintenance/11864-oil-cooler-gasket-change.html

-njjoe

 

Our "Mo" also had to have a oil pan replaced early on. Apparently the pan got "scratched" somehow and then it rusted out. Was found during an oil change. Don't know how a OIL pan rusts out on a (at the time) 5 year old car but it happened!!!

 

The oil pan on my MO is pretty rusted as well. Hope it lasts through this coming winter as I wont be able to replace it until Spring time. Had ankle surgery so I wont be able to do any work to my MO until about that time.

 

I wanted to bring this thread back to life because I noticed that the amount of oil or whatever it is under and around the two green connections I mentioned before (see pictures) has somewhat increased.

I will take a new picture and post it tomorrow.

Anyhow, I figured out where the two green connectors plug in to. Its the camshaft sensors. From looking at a diagram of the parts the camshaft sensors have an o-ring.

Could my problem be the o-rings? Looks like the sensors are only held in by one bolt, looks like a 10mm. Was thinking of removing them both and checking to see how the o-rings look.

Anybody replace these two o-rings before?

 

Kind of an old thread but wanted to add some new info.

I bought the o-rings for the camshaft sensors but haven't gotten around to replacing them. Now that the weather is better I plan to replace them real soon.

Also, I checked the oil on the my MO today and it was at the L mark on the dipstick. I hate the dam dipstick on this engine; then again, we all do.

Last oil change was back on 12/13/13 @ 99,437 miles when I replaced the rusted out/cracked oil pan. Current mileage on the odometer is 101,502, so 2,065 miles since I changed the oil. I remember checking the oil about a month ago and it was in the middle between the L and H on the dipstick. I didn't log the mileage then. Sorry Pilgrim, I know you always recommend to keep a log.

Wife is the one who really drives the MO, so I forget at times to check the oil level.

So I added about 1 quart of oil and this brought the level right to the H on the dipstick.

I checked under the MO for any oil leaks around the oil pan, oil pan drain plug, oil filter, but didn't see any oil leaking. I know of the oil cooler gasket problem on this type of engine and plan to replace it just to be safe

Where is the oil going on my MO? Or is this OK. Is it odd that adding just one quart of oil brought the level up to the H when it was at the L?

 

I was able to look back and found that I actually did note down the last time I checked the oil, it was back on March 7th @ 100,689 miles. This is when it was right in the middle between the L and H marks on the dipstick. So in a difference of 893 miles the level went from the middle of the H and L marks to the L on the dipstick.

So if my calculations are correct, the MO takes about 5 quarts of oil, the halfway mark on the dipstick would be about 2.5 quarts. So in almost 1,000 miles my MO consumed almost, give an take, 2 quarts of oil?

Are my calculations correct/making any sense?

 

Not quite. The difference between high and low marks on the dipstick is ONE quart, not the total capacity of the crankcase.

Therefore, you're using about 1 quart of oil per 893x2 miles, or 1800 miles of driving. That could vary up or down, as the way you drive will make a bit of difference in oil consumption. If you drive harder or do a lot of city driving with start and stop you will use more oil, but if you're driving easily or straight highway cruising you may use less. Most of us drive in changing circumstances so it averages out.

Provided there's no evidence of oil leaking, then it's going through the cylinders. Frankly, I don't find this alarming. That rate of oil consumption could easily last for another 50-100K miles with a gradual increase in consumption. I don't worry about it much ntil you're using more than a quart every 1000 miles.

For that matter, you could run a slightly heavier weight oil and you might decrease the oil use, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble at this moderate rate of consumption.

Overall, I'd classify this as "check oil every few fill-ups, add oil as needed, go on with life."

Keep a record book in every car for things like this so you can track the behavior of the vehicle. This is the one I have used in every car for 20 years...

Amazon.com : Auto Record Book, 3 3/4" x 6 1/8", Black, AAG8013505 : Appointment Books And Planners : Office Products

 

Bump...

Pilgrim, help me out here

 

Glad to help.

That book is rather expensive, but it has the right tabs and categories for the records I like to keep. I figure it's worth it.

 

Price is not too bad actually. The way I have my log book set up on my computer is very similar but I don't have a tab for Gas and Oil consumption which I am learning is probably one of the most important to have.

 

So the green plugs...are they both camshaft sensors or am I missing something?

 

Cross your fingers on an answer - the thread is 10 years old.