theres break in.... 1st 500 miles.

and then theres WEAR IN. which can go to 12,000 to 15,000 miles.

Wear in can be seen on Used oil analysis... where metal counts are high and slowly drop to a steady state. over several oil changes.

I have several UOA on my 3.6 where this is the case.... once it reaches steady state... metal counts should remain fairly steady-- unless something happens to cause a spike...


though-- do keep good track of how much oil you are adding-
Either buy qt bottles and use them exclusively to track.

when you change your oil- make sure the correct amount goes in- and check the true FULL oil level on your dipstick... to monitor when it drops.

My 2013 3.6 uses very little oil in between oil changes-- maybe 0.5 qts in 7000 miles. (now at 65,000)
my 2010 3.6 uses about 1.5 qts every 5,000 miles. now at 132,000.

 

Checks
Causes

DEFINITION: Excessive oil consumption (not due to leaks) is the use of 0.946 L (1 qt) or more of engine oil within 3 200 km (2,000 mi).

The causes of excessive oil consumption may include the following conditions:

Preliminary
•External oil leaks — Refer to Oil Leak Diagnosis.
•Incorrect oil level or improper reading of the oil level indicator
With the vehicle on a level surface, run the engine for a few minutes, allow adequate drain down time (2–3 minutes) and check for the correct engine oil level.

•Improper oil viscosity
Refer to the vehicle owners manual and use the recommended SAE grade and viscosity for the prevailing temperatures.

•Continuous high speed driving and/or severe usage
•Crankcase ventilation system restrictions or malfunctioning components
•Worn valve guides and/or valve stems
•Worn, missing or improperly installed valve stem oil seals
•Piston rings broken, worn, not seated properly
Allow adequate time for the rings to seat.

Replace worn piston rings as necessary.

•Piston and rings improperly installed or miss-fitted to the cylinder bore
If you used 1qt or more in 1500miles with no visible leaks you got a piston ring problem--head for the dealer and tell them how much oil you used and they need to take a look inside your engine,Good luck--MikeZ

 

Checks
Causes

DEFINITION: Excessive oil consumption (not due to leaks) is the use of 0.946 L (1 qt) or more of engine oil within 3 200 km (2,000 mi).

The causes of excessive oil consumption may include the following conditions:

Preliminary
•Crankcase ventilation system restrictions or malfunctioning components
•Worn valve guides and/or valve stems
•Worn, missing or improperly installed valve stem oil seals
•Piston rings broken, worn, not seated properly
Allow adequate time for the rings to seat.

Replace worn piston rings as necessary.

•Piston and rings improperly installed or miss-fitted to the cylinder bore
If you used 1qt or more in 1500miles with no visible leaks you got a piston ring problem--head for the dealer and tell them how much oil you used and they need to take a look inside your engine,Good luck--MikeZ

I'm headed home in a week for thanksgiving break. Even though I'm at 45% oil life, I'm going in to get a service. After further discussion and monitoring, I would agree with bad piston rings... My dad managed to talk to someone in power train and they said this (being the oil consumption) was normal... I don't believe this one bit as that would mean a majority of people who bought a terrain and didn't notice this would have run their vehicle on very low oil for the first 5,000 or so mi...

 

svpracer

When the terrain had facelift? In 2015? or 2014?

 

Facelift occurred for 2017 and 2018 Terrains and Equinox both. Just a different front end fascia, grille, headlights and tail lights. Also some rear tail gate trim changes.

All new for 2018. .

 

How many miles each way are you driving? I'd be carrying a 5-quart jug of oil with me if I were you (and checking the oil level on the dipstick at quarterly intervals).

 

Its 500mi each way (9 hours :surprise so 1,000mi round trip... I'm going to check before I leave and add what I have left if needed. Once I'm home I'll definitely taking a look and letting the dealer know. I'd check during the trip if it wasn't 20 degrees (F) out side and if we didn't have 6" of snow already.

 

You gotta do it. I've driven up and down the East Coast for over 20 years now, and every winter. I agree - it sucks gassing up in that bitter cold - even worse if there's snow (amazingly, I've only hit snow once - and only light flurries IIRC), but you just cannot allow the engine to run hard on the highway with reduced lubrication.

Stop every 175 miles, 1st stop check oil, 2nd stop check oil and gas up. I might even take a picture of the dipstick, too...

 

I'm definitely going to check after I get gas on wed/ thrus to see if what I put back in last month is still there. If it's drained again then I'm documenting it and will fill once more. If it's not consumed any since I last checked then I'll be checking when I get gas (which would be about 1/2 way). As I mentioned in my first post, I have noticed that the engine seems to have more of a rattle to it at idle when the oil is lower than it should be.

 

I'm interested in what you find. I just checked the oil in my 2015 3.6L Terrain this weekend after noticing a ticking sound from the motor. After letting it sit overnight, the oil barely registered on the dipstick. Checked it 5 times, just to make sure I read it correct. I've put 2500 miles on it since purchasing it. It's going to the dealer next week (Soonest it could get in.) We'll see how it goes. I also have noticed no leaks, spots on the ground, or other issues.

 

Sounds like we may have the same problem... Do you have AWD equipped on yours? Let me know what the dealer says on yours, Although I'm assuming you have many more miles on your car than I do...

 

Oh oh JayTee, "the sky is falling".

 

On the new vehicle I'd get it serviced at the dealer - quick. Then check the oil regularly and when it gets a quart low, back to the dealer for oil addition and documentation of the oil consumption. A quart in 1500 miles is not good. And having to check the oil constantly is absurd too I think. My old Chevy truck with 300K miles uses half a quart in 4000 miles. (wish I could buy a new one just like it) Can't even remember having a late model vehicle that required checking oil weekly.

 

Well it's getting serviced sometime next week, I have done my own documentation so far, will definitly make note of whats in the car before I drive ~500mi home on Friday. As to what the dealer will do, who knows. I'll keep an eye on it once its serviced to see if they fixed it or if the engine has settled in by then. Unfortunately, there is not a GMC specific dealer up here (I know it doesn't matter between the Chevy/ GMC dealers) so if the problem isn't fixed it won't be until the end of December for the dealer to get a 2nd look at it (we are trying to only get services done at the dealership we leased from). I noticed that Sabkyle04 on youtube did a review on a 16' 3.6 AWD Denali and his sounded like mine does at idle... Very loud, like something mechanical is rattling/ loose (thus the low oil discovery). If mine sounded like this when driving off the lot (and my moms two other cars with the 3.6 (a 12' Acadia and a 14' SRX)) I wound't have noticed/ been worried.

 

Status update: drove 500mi in 8hrs on Saturday and let my car sit overnight. I noticed I was barely getting 20mpg on the tip back which was odd because I had easily got 25mpg the first time around... Same style of driving as the first time, but somehow 5mpg less... Well I know my oil was just under the full marking before leaving and I decided to check today to see if the oil level had finally settled. It was just above the empty marking, meaning it had consumed what I (had) put in within 5-600 mi. I'm scheduling a service tomorrow for (hopefully) later this week. This is so strange... It sounds terrible at idle (at least much louder than normal) and it didn't like the cold start as I moved it into the garage. More on what the dealer says when I have more.

 

Mine is currently at the dealer for a list of things, including this. The dealer said it looks like I have a leaking oil pan gasket, so they are replacing it and obviously doing an oil change. The Service Manager in my case said they might not have topped it off properly, but I am sure I checked it after I bought it and it was fine. They are going to record the mileage and have me drive it and follow up, similar to the check for the 4 cyl consumption issue as well to make sure it isn't consuming it.

 

Just dropped my car off for a scheduled service, getting oil changed (at just over 4k mi) and notified dealer about oil consumption. The car is now on an oil consumption test with the dealer. I will put on 1,000mi by the time I come home for Christmas so we should find out a little more by then.

 

Yeah, I am keeping an eye on mine as well now that I have it back.

I got the Transmission software updated and it helped with some hard shifts, and the radio updated to not always display the weather alerts. Also had the afterblow turned on so I am ready for AC weather again. Hopefully there is no issue with themotor before then.

 

Following up with this. I checked the level today and it was still full. Must be whatever gasket seal that they fixed was leaking. been roughly the same mileage as it was when I noticed it.

 

jimmyfloyd--thanks for the update. I wonder what spvracer has experienced since his last post. I'm following this because I have a Camaro with the 3.6 engine in it (assuming it's the same 3.6).

 

I had similar issue when i first got my equinox new. I as well have an 2014 V6. On my first 2 oil changes were conventional oil and this was done every 3-4k miles. Then on my 3rd oil change i went full synthetic. when i was reaching about the 3k mark my oil light came on. checked it out and my levels was low like you have experienced. I threw in 1 qt just to level it out and it went away. I went ahead and did an early oil change after that happened. Since then levels stayed consistent. No oil loss and never had an issue after that. Guess it was still in the break in process and maybe due to the change of oil it wasn't use to the synthetic yet? I now change my oil every 6k miles and haven't had an issue since.

 

What happened to @svpracer? He had bought his 2017 GMC Terrain V6 brand new in April/May of 2017, noticed some loss of oil, started this Thread, then ultimately dropped the vehicle off at the Dealer for an Oil Consumption Test in November of that same year. The last thing he posted said he’d be back with the results before the end of the year (2017), but then ... nothing! The Forum stats say he was “Last Seen” mid-2018, but apparently no Posts about this problem (or anything, it appears). What happened???

 

What happened to @svpracer? What happened???

Life happens and some people can be flaky. . .

 

I also gave a 2017 GMC TERRAIN.... and after the last four oil changes, my oil life % gets to about 48-61%, and the engine starts knocking louder, and it gives me a dash warning of LOW ON OIL, PLEASE ADD MORE. NO oil on the ground and no noticeable engine oil leaks per the techs that do the oil changes....what could this be from?? I've been having to add anywhere between 2-3 quarts of oil in between oil changes. For example, my car is not due for oil change until 137,533 miles. Oil change was just done August 26th, 2024. And on September 29th, I got a LOW ON OIL, PLEASE ADD MORE dash message. I had to add between 2-3 quarts of oil to fill it, and it didn't register on the stick when I read it before filling. Please advise??

 

If the engine is knocking, you are most likely doing additional damage. Do not let your oil get that low.
If there are no leaks, it is burning the oil. It happens. Knowing you have oil loss, you should be checking your oil with every fuel fill up. We have to add about 1qt every 2000-3000 miles on our 2015. I just carry a qt in the back anytime we go on a trip.
Also note, the "oil life %" is just a counter, nothing to do with actual oil level.

 

Better yet, check every weekend after its sat overnight and top off to the full line.