I have the same issue with my 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan. According to Dodge it is normal as I e-mailed them to find out if the dealership was telling me the truth. I now plan on trading my Dodge in and will never buy another Dodge product. I have copied the response below.


Dear Rachel:

Thank you for contacting the Chrysler Customer Assistance Center.

Chrysler relates that the use of oil depends on the durability of the
vehicle and how the vehicle is being maintained and used. The estimated
oil usage from Chrysler is estimated that for every 1000 miles, a quart
of oil is used.

We regret to hear of your dissatisfaction and your inconvenience in this
matter.

 

We are having the same problem with our 07 dodge grand caravan. It has 65,000 miles on it. The ERG valve has been replaced on it just recently. It is crazy the issues that we have had with this van. We are scheduled to start an oil consumption test next week. It is just crazy that they are having this many problems with this!

 

Oil consumption with the 3.8L is an interesting topic. The problem likely started in 2005 when Chrysler changed from recommending 5W-30 and 10W-30 oil for this engine, to the newer "energy efficient" 5W-20 oil. Did they change the engine (better seals, etc) to accomodate this change? Did they change the transmission to shift sooner and put less stress on the engine oil? Don't know, likely not considering who owned Chrysler at the time.

It's a known fact that heavier oil provides a better boundry layer for moving parts. Europeans have been using a steady diet of 10W-40 for years, so nothing new there.

A 30 grade oil has been considered the standard for normal operating conditions for engines for years. So what happens when yor engine is under load, such as my Jeep's engine when I run it (it has tons of torque) at less than 1000 rpm in 5th (high) gear. It could likely stand a bit of 40 or 50 grade then (it takes 10W-30 per Owner Manual). With automatic transmissions there's less strain on the engine for sure, but the "above normal" strain occurs from time to time still. You are likely using less oil when cruising at highway speeds than stressing around town.

A fairly common Mobil 1 oil use by Chrysler Minivan owners (from another Forum) is their Mobil 1 0W-40. Here's what Mobil 1 says about that @ http://www.mobiloil.com/usa-english/...l_1_0w-40.aspx
So, there's a little extra stress capacity there with the 40 grade.

Castrol makes a 0W-30 PAO (Group lV base) Synthetic oil that has a good reputation. That's worth a try.

For my 2007 GC, based on some recent research, I am tending toward Valvoline Premium Conventional 10W-30 as a good all season oil with a Pour Point of -36C.

Bottom line: If I used 5W-20 oil in my Jeep's engine, I would surely expect it to use oil that it doesn't use now. My opinion is that as long as 5W-20 oil is used in a 3.8L, there is a greater chance that it will use oil at an uncomfortable rate. Would changing to a 5W-30 or 10W-30 cause any problems? Certainly not, with a name brand quality detergent oil ..... well, maybe an infinitesimal drop in fuel mileage. Take some lead out of the foot and that will be compensated for in short order.

Note: The new Pentastar 3.6L is not using any mickey mouse 5W-20 motor oil. It calls for 5W-30.

 

Good point regarding the 5W-20. I have not changed the weight of the oil used yet. Just an update on the van since the dealer worked on it a couple years back, we are averaging about 1 quart every 1,000-1,500 miles at this point. Certainly nothing to brag about, but this is what Chrysler calls normal so we will leave it at that.

Steve

 

Just to throw a little extra in here but with our 2001 3.8L with 185,000 miles, I have never added oil to it and that's with 6-8,000 miles between changes. I use either 5W-30 or 10-30 depending on the season and for the last few years, I've been using Mobil 1.

 

We just purchased a 2007 Grand Caravan with 100,000 km on it and it has used 1 and 1/2 litres of oil in less than 3000 km. The Chrysler dealership told us the same story about oil usage. We have a 2001 Grand Am with 247,000 km on it and it doesn't use oil. What in the world is wrong with this 3.8 L motor????!!!!! We have been looking for a stow and go van for over a year and finally found this one at a price we could afford, or maybe not???!!! Very disappointed to say the least.

 

I have a 2008 Caravan with 3.8 that had the same problem. I also developed a coolant leak near the front head. Thought I had a head gasket problem, but actually it was something else. Here is how I solved it. I changed the intake plenum gasket. Oil was leaking by here directly into the intake. This is a metal gasket that is only about $25. It solved both problems.

 

have you found the oil loss to be linear? I have been running oil consumption checks with my dealer for a year now. One check ago (that they said was invalid because not done over 1k miles) was a loss of 2.5 to 3 quarts during a 3k mile period. Last check was 1/2 quart low over 1k miles.

I have had the check engine oil light go on there was so much oil lost over a 3k period. Other 2k periods had only 1.5 quarts lost. No real difference in driving habits?

I just can not see loosing 1/2 the oil capacity of the engine between oil changes. Has anyone had Dodge do something? Or do they just say... ya we screwed up with the engine... just deal with it.

 

Very interesting how the high oil consumption is only with the 3.8L and that one user had their rings replaced and it resolved the issue. That is a pretty strong indicator of where the problem is in my opinion (and I've heard this proposed here before).

Chrysler's official response is a big pile of BS as far as I am concerned. No modern engine should consume anywhere near that much oil. My 3.3L goes through less than 1L/8000km right now and I am running 12,000-14,000km oil changes on 5W20 castrol syntec. Burning oil at the rate allowed by Chrysler has caused and is going to continue to cause catalytic converter failures. It sounds like there is a problem with the piston rings and as much as it sucks to pull the heads, drop the oil pan and yank the pistons, changing the rings is probably the right fix.

 

Nothing informative to add other than I, too, am thoroughly disgusted with the oil consumption of my 3.8. I noticed a blast of smoke when I passed a truck on a 2 lane recently but thought it was just blowing out the cobwebs... after reading this I'm sure it was oil. I also got the BS from Dodge about how a quart per thousand is normal. I laughed in their face and told them that's just Dodge not owning up to a faulty product.