I have a 2006 Pontiac Torrent (Chevy Equinox) with a 4.3Lv6 73,000 miles that just started consuming oil just lest than a quart every 1,500 miles. I bought it used with only 32,000 miles and have done regular oil changes about every 3,000 miles.
Does anyone have any knowledge on these motors burning oil?

My last GM engine was a 3.1Lv6 with 300,000 and didn't burn any noticeable oil.

I do know the 3.4Lv6 was built in China......maybe has something to do with it?

I don't beat on this motor and do regular maintenance........what the heck?

 

My 3.4 Equinox has 71,000 and so far it has been an excellent engine. The engine was built at a fairly new GM plant in Shanghai, which is adjacent to their high volume assembly plant, so I don't think the build location has anything to do with your issue. I have visited that facility and can vouch for their quality levels, and overall the 3.4 does not have a bad history outside of some head gasket issues that some have experienced. By oil consumption OEM standards a quart every 1500 miles is not considered excessive, though mine doesn't burn really anything between oil changes that I have noticed. Are you seeing any signs of oil consumption from blue smoke at the exhaust when first started? If the compression is still OK, you could have worn valve seals, and in this case you should see puffs of blue smoke on a cold start after the vehicle was sitting overnight. The other open question is whether the vehicle received proper oil change intervals during the first 30,000 miles before you bought it, and if some ring/cylinder wear occurred at that time. What type of oil are you using? Synthetic, or other?

 

What have you confirmed so far?
Is oil entering the cylinders and being burnt?
Are the spark plugs oil fouled?
Is there one or more leaks?
What viscosity oil are you using?

Kind Regards
Diane

 

No, there is no blue smoke puffing at a cold start up.
No oil leaks.
I'm using 10W-30 and change it about every 3,000 miles.
I haven't checked compression or inspected the plugs yet but I do get an engine light coming on after a long red light or idleing for more than 10 minutes but goes out shortly after that. Every time I go get it read the light goes out before it can be read.
I have no maintenance history on this car prior to my ownership before 32,000 original miles.
I am concerned about this problem with only 73,000 miles on it. My '01 Malibu went oil to oil change with no loss of oil even at 300,000 miles!
If I understand the GM warranty is that it covers the drive train for 5 years or 100,000 miles........is that correct?
I am very skeptical about Chinese quality control especially when it comes to anything precision like internal combustion engines.......in so-called American made cars like this one.

 

There might be some relationship between your SES (PCM) light coming on and oil consumption if there is an EGR valve issue for example. An EGR that is not operating correctly can cause engine oil to overheat which can increase consumption, and EGR valve failures are not uncommon on that engine with that mileage also due to carbon buildup. Another possibility is whether the PCV valve had been changed by someone and a non OEM part was used affecting the flow rate for instance. GM did have some well documented oil consumption issues years before your car was built, but that involved mainly the Northstar V8, and some truck engines that had piston slap due to incorrect piston sizing as they went to using only one standard size to simplify manufacturing while not maintaining tight engine block tolerance levels. That problem was resolved by 2002 I believe. It might be worth at least checking, cleaning and or replacing both the PCV and EGR valve, especially if you are getting the SES light coming on intermitantly before assuming a worst case scenario of potentialy worn rings/cylinders. While your oil consumption is not what it could be, it is still within manufacturers allowed levels, and likely not something you would want to spend money on correcting at this point if in fact the issue is involving the cylinders, or valve stems/seals. I would start with the PCV and especially the EGR valve potential issues first.

 

I finally got the code read and it turns out that it is the EGR Valve. PO405.
However the engine does not overheat but bucks and runs poorly at low r's when cruising at about 40 to 50 mph in high gear which explains the EGR.

BTW.....my '01 Malibu had to have the piston rings replaced due to bad piston slap.

 

I am glad that you found the source of your SES light issue, and hopefully correcting the EGR issue will contribute also to less oil consumption. Higher oil temperatures does not necessarily mean engine overheating, and I still think that by correcting the one issue you may very well correct the other.

 

Change the PCV valve as equinox suggested. If that isn't it it's probably a leaky intake manifold gasket.