My car is burning a lot of oil - do oil additives actually work to fix this issue? | Ask Honest John

My car is burning a lot of oil - do oil additives actually work to fix this issue?

My 2005 Ford (petrol engine) has started burning quite a lot of oil and I can't find an external oil leak. The car has done 100,000 miles and has been serviced regularly. I'm not keen on embarking on expensive diagnostic work or engine rebuilds. I have seen oil leak additives which soften the engine seals, but they have very mixed reviews. Would you recommend giving an oil additive a go or is it a waste of money?

Asked on 31 January 2018 by Pete

Answered by Honest John

The oil thickening additive could also damage the engine. The engine is probably using oil because the valve stem oils seals have failed. It's either them or the piston rings. A compression test will tell. If it's the valve stem seals they can usually be replaced in situ for about £250.

Tags: technical issues oil leaks older cars

Similar questions

Cam shaft fault due to bad engine repair by Audi - what are my legal rights?

I own a 2005 Audi A4 Convertible 2.0 TFSI, the one renowned for the problem with oil consumption. My Audi garage repaired the piston rings and, I think, got Audi to pay for it. Since they did the repair,...

A well known fault was diagnosed in my 2003 Mercedes-Benz SLK - should it be recalled?

I have a 2003 Mercedes-Benz SLK 230 auto that we've had serviced regularly at our main service centre. The last service cost £600 and, for the first time, they said there was a problem with an oil leak...

My car misfires every few weeks - why does one spark plug always get oil on it?

Every few weeks I have to take the same spark plug out to clean oil off of it because it starts misfiring. Could you please tell me what the problem may be?