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5.3 Afm And Oil Consumption


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I had one of the 5.3 AFM oil sucking engines. Never buy another GM with AFM. Only thing that fixed it was new rings and pistons.

Does Chrysler have the same issue in their DOD (displacement on demand)) equipped HEMI engines? (DOD is essentially the same thing as AFM)

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  • 2 years later...

I've experienced unusual and excessive oil consumption from a 5.3 litre LC9 aluminum engine. I purchased a 2013 Chevy Avalance 4WD truck new. I estimate a quart or more of oil consumed in 2000 miles each oil change since new. The tail pipe is also coated with black soot. The dealer recently replaced #7 spark plug (misfiring with codes) due to oil fouling - they say. The truck currently has 17,000 miles on it. Except for the oil fouling the truck runs good - decent power response and relatively smooth transition from 8 to 4 cylinder operation and back.. Gas mileage average since new (per display) is 17.5 MPG. I'm told by the dealer service person to keep track of oil I purchase to replenish. I've was asked to come back in 2000 or so miles for them to check the oil level. The same dealer has always changed the oil. I'm puzzled as to why such a new vehicle consumes so much oil? The truck has no motor oil leaks. I believe this engine is defective and should be replaced. Maybe other owners of this engine have the same problem? Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

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I've experienced unusual and excessive oil consumption from a 5.3 litre LC9 aluminum engine. I purchased a 2013 Chevy Avalance 4WD truck new. I estimate a quart or more of oil consumed in 2000 miles each oil change since new. The tail pipe is also coated with black soot. The dealer recently replaced #7 spark plug (misfiring with codes) due to oil fouling - they say. The truck currently has 17,000 miles on it. Except for the oil fouling the truck runs good - decent power response and relatively smooth transition from 8 to 4 cylinder operation and back.. Gas mileage average since new (per display) is 17.5 MPG. I'm told by the dealer service person to keep track of oil I purchase to replenish. I've was asked to come back in 2000 or so miles for them to check the oil level. The same dealer has always changed the oil. I'm puzzled as to why such a new vehicle consumes so much oil? The truck has no motor oil leaks. I believe this engine is defective and should be replaced. Maybe other owners of this engine have the same problem? Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

It's obvious you did not take the time to read anything in this topic. If you read only one post, you would not be asking if anyone experiences oil usage with the AFM engine.

I would suggest going to the beginning of this topic and reading the posts others have made.

 

It's well known that GM's 2007-2013 AFM engines use oil, more than a regular V8 engine. GM has come up with a different style valve cover to help combat the issue, that information should be in this topic.

You feel that your engine should be replaced because it uses oil.....GM will tell you that it's normal and there is no problem and the oil consumption amount is acceptable by their standards.

 

Tuning out the AFM function on these engines seems to completely stop/not allow oil usage. There are not many complaints, if any at all from people who have AFM turned off about oil consumption.

 

Both of my trucks (5.3L & 6.0 Vortec Max) have AFM and have had it tuned out within 1,000 miles of being brand new and neither truck uses any oil. If you can afford to tune it out, that's your best option. If not you are going to have to just deal with adding oil.

 

 

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I've experienced unusual and excessive oil consumption from a 5.3 litre LC9 aluminum engine. I purchased a 2013 Chevy Avalance 4WD truck new. I estimate a quart or more of oil consumed in 2000 miles each oil change since new. The tail pipe is also coated with black soot. The dealer recently replaced #7 spark plug (misfiring with codes) due to oil fouling - they say. The truck currently has 17,000 miles on it. Except for the oil fouling the truck runs good - decent power response and relatively smooth transition from 8 to 4 cylinder operation and back.. Gas mileage average since new (per display) is 17.5 MPG. I'm told by the dealer service person to keep track of oil I purchase to replenish. I've was asked to come back in 2000 or so miles for them to check the oil level. The same dealer has always changed the oil. I'm puzzled as to why such a new vehicle consumes so much oil? The truck has no motor oil leaks. I believe this engine is defective and should be replaced. Maybe other owners of this engine have the same problem? Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

My thoughts would be to go to page 1 of this thread and read all of the posts in the thread

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I've experienced unusual and excessive oil consumption from a 5.3 litre LC9 aluminum engine. I purchased a 2013 Chevy Avalance 4WD truck new. I estimate a quart or more of oil consumed in 2000 miles each oil change since new. The tail pipe is also coated with black soot. The dealer recently replaced #7 spark plug (misfiring with codes) due to oil fouling - they say. The truck currently has 17,000 miles on it. Except for the oil fouling the truck runs good - decent power response and relatively smooth transition from 8 to 4 cylinder operation and back.. Gas mileage average since new (per display) is 17.5 MPG. I'm told by the dealer service person to keep track of oil I purchase to replenish. I've was asked to come back in 2000 or so miles for them to check the oil level. The same dealer has always changed the oil. I'm puzzled as to why such a new vehicle consumes so much oil? The truck has no motor oil leaks. I believe this engine is defective and should be replaced. Maybe other owners of this engine have the same problem? Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

Good luck with getting GM to replace your engine. They would not do so on many thousands (if not millions) of the other GMT900 trucks with this AFM oil-usage problem. Seems that most of the dealers, perhaps with the assistance of GM corporate, like to drag their feet until your powertrain warranty has expired.

 

The main thing to do is to turn off the AFM function via a Range V8 module or other revised PCM tuning (like Blackbear). But if the oil-control rings on your pistons are stuck because they are oil-fouled, turning off AFM will not entirely solve your oil-usage problem. You'll need to try to clean the piston rings with AutoRx or something like that. Running Techron Fuel System cleaner or equivalent could help to clean your oil-fouled spark plugs. And installing an oil catch can in the pcv system has helped many on this forum to reduce the oil fouling. In the worst case scenario, you may need new pistons and piston rings on top of the above fixes, in order to get the oil usage problem stopped. Most of these items have been beat to death on this forum and can be easily found using the search function.

 

Because of this widespread AFM oil-usage problem, my family will not own another GM vehicle that has an AFM (or DoD or whatever they want to name it to disguise their latest ill-engineered disaster) system.

 

Cheers, and I sincerely wish you the best of luck in getting your truck fixed.

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  • 1 month later...

After the oil consumption test, the GM dealer is going to replace rings and pistons. Stay tuned.....

Once they get into the engine, you may be getting much more than piston & ring replacement.

 

The AFM issues are usually followed by replacing the valve cover with the updated/improved part. You may also see the lifters replaced as well. The consumption issue is usually caused by the AFM lifters failing, that's what leads to the ring damage.

 

Hopefully they replace everything so you don't have to worry about other issues in the future.

 

It would also be wise to have the AFM disabled after all the new parts are installed. That's the safe bet, a tune should be in your future.

 

 

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using Tapatalk

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I am on my 2nd 5.3 w/afm. 2013 sierra 1500 4X4 Currently @70,000 miles and I use approx 1/2 quart between oil changes.

 

Mobil 1 since 1000 miles and using the OLM I change it at around 6500-7000 miles. I am not to concerned with this amount, I would be more

 

concerned if it did not use any oil after those miles.

 

My first truck with AFM was a 2007 sierra 2wd, it was almost the same and stayed that way until I traded it with 140K

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a 2007 Chevy Silverado 5.3l Flexfuel with 137,000 miles on her. She burns oil about 2500 miles after oil change the infamous light comes on saying check oil/add oil this weekend i am dropping the oil pan and going to change the oil pan gasket and pray for the best. I hear the ticking noise also when i first start up the truck too i thought i was just loosing my mind when i heard it

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  • 2 months later...

I've experienced unusual and excessive oil consumption from a 5.3 litre LC9 aluminum engine. I purchased a 2013 Chevy Avalance 4WD truck new. I estimate a quart or more of oil consumed in 2000 miles each oil change since new. The tail pipe is also coated with black soot. The dealer recently replaced #7 spark plug (misfiring with codes) due to oil fouling - they say. The truck currently has 17,000 miles on it. Except for the oil fouling the truck runs good - decent power response and relatively smooth transition from 8 to 4 cylinder operation and back.. Gas mileage average since new (per display) is 17.5 MPG. I'm told by the dealer service person to keep track of oil I purchase to replenish. I've was asked to come back in 2000 or so miles for them to check the oil level. The same dealer has always changed the oil. I'm puzzled as to why such a new vehicle consumes so much oil? The truck has no motor oil leaks. I believe this engine is defective and should be replaced. Maybe other owners of this engine have the same problem? Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

After new rings and pistons were installed per GM warranty I've driven for 3200 miles with no oil consumption. AFM is still active and no after market tune. Truck runs very well, Thanks for your feedback on this. I relied on my dealer to fix instead of altering the truck with a tune. Thus far I'm pleased with the outcome and I relayed this to the dealer service deptartment that completed the repair.

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