30th Jun 2003, 19:16
I own a 1999 olds intrigue with the 3.5 v-6 engine and have also been complaining about oil consumption for over a year. My car has 80,000 miles and is consuming 1 quart of oil every 600 to 800 miles. The dealer has found no exterior or interior leaks and has no answer. The dealer is going to contact oldsmobile and get back to me. I owned a 1993 olds cutlass which I gave to my sister. The vehicle has 170,000 miles and does not use any oil between 3000 mile oil changes.
17th Mar 2004, 06:52
I have a 1999 Olds Intrigue, 3.5L V-6, 67,000 miles.
For over two years, have been down two quarts of oil between oil changes (every 3000 miles). Dealer says within specs. There are absolutely no oil leaks anywhere.
Mechanic friends say it is likely the rings. The dealer will not do anything about it and my very expensive extended warranty will be running out soon. Realize there is likely nothing to do about it except say I was right after the warranty runs out and they tell me I need to have the engine overhauled.
Definitely my last GM car.
6th May 2004, 15:28
My 1999 intrigue consumes oil at about 1qt per 400mi. There are no leaks and the motor runs well. It is disappointing. I would greatly appreciate an entry from someone who has actually discovered the problem with his or her car.
22nd Jul 2004, 13:47
I too own an Oldsmobile 1999 Intrigue V6 with 3.5L engine and have to add oil about every 1500 miles, especially on long trips. My mechanic says this is normal and that this car just uses a little oil. No leaks can be found. He said it is the same engine as used in a Caddy - I forgot which model (started with an E, I think). My car has over 100 thousand miles and hasn't given me any problems.
2nd Aug 2004, 16:23
Guys, the oil consumption is due to the design of the piston and rings. From what I have learned at cadillacforums.com, the ring lands on the piston won't break-in or seat without an aggressive break-in. The Northstar engine is the same way, and if these engines are "babied", they will not fully break in and oil consumption is the result. The recommended method for breaking in the rings is to perform a full-throttle acceleration/deceleration sequence in D2 while on the interstate. Do several sets of three while letting it cool a little between sets. My 3.5 burns less than one quart between oil changes and I use the oil life monitor. By the way, the oil consumption is more annoying than a sign of a problem. You can add oil and leave it at that, if you want.
23rd Jan 2005, 10:30
I have also had problems with mysterious oil consumption. After taking it to several different mechanics, I was told that the rear main seal needs to be replaced. The parts are relatively affordable, but the labor fee is outrageous because the engine has to be removed to get to this seal. What a brilliant design on GM's part!
My 1999 Intrigue only has 61,000 miles on it. Other than this problem, it's been a good car. I have had friends who have had to get the transmissions replaced, which worries me.
Jeff
Michigan.
12th May 2005, 13:51
I have a '01 Intrigue with the notorious Shortstar that is also burning a bit of oil between changes. I've noticed that if I drive it hard, and use regular oil (not Mobil 1), then the oil consumption is lessened.
I also found a site that explains, in detail, why this is really not a problem for this engine.
http://www.cadillacforums.com/cadillac-tech.html#noil
Makes sense, so I guess we'll see if we can hit 3 or 400000 kms!
11th Aug 2005, 22:27
Me too! A quart every 1500 or so! I'm so glad my car isn't broken! I can tolerate adding the oil!!
12th Jun 2003, 20:07
I also have a 1999 Intrigue with 3.5L engine. It's always used about 1 quart of oil every 1000 to 1500 miles. I've complained to Oldsmobile and to the dealer, but they say it is "normal". Well, after reading the other comments, I guess it is "normal" for this engine, but Oldsmobile won't put this "fact" in writing, probably for legal reasons.