04 Tahoe with 160k+ miles - has the 4.8L and have never had any issues with it. Right before the last oil change -a message came on stating "OIL LEVEL LOW"...figured just error, but then shop said they drained out about a quart or so less than what it should have had in it... change oil about every 5-7k miles and here we are again at 7k miles and the light comes back on. The only smokin I've noticed is a little white smoke - ususally in the mornings only (hot or cold).....
any thoughts? read several different ideas..

 

Did you check the oil level to confirm the sensor? It's not unusual for an engine w/ that many miles to burn a quart or more in 7K miles. Should check oil at every other fill-up.

 

yes --- we put it on a store parking lot that was level and the oil was just barely registering on the dipstick...had read somewhere that changing the weight of oil would maybe help... or could be the valves - or like you say --- just the norm with this many miles....

 

Seems like I ready in the forum that servicing the PCV can address some oil consumption issues... given the age of the vehicle this might be something to look into...

 

i'll look into the pcv issues--- something else that may be affecting it--- we changed lube places within the past year and figured they all used "name brand" oils....just tell wifey to go and get it changed. told her to ask and see what they are using and she said it was called "Coastal"... which may be fine, but i;ve never heard of it... may have to change places again.

 

If you are going to "Jiffy Lube" type places then there's no telling what you're getting including a full fill. A friend always extolled the savings of going to those places 'til one time when they mixed up the crankcase and tranny. Needless to say he had to get a new engine and tranny while the lube place said they hadn't done anything wrong. Just another example of you get what you pay for.

BTW GM won't warranty oil consumption on a new vehicle unless it's using more than one qt/1,000 mi.