I have posted here from time to time about my lowly Kia Soul from 2015. We’re currently at 91,450 or so in mileage. I just found out thanks to a helpful Valvoline tech that we’re burning oil at an accelerated rate. Apparently, my stupid behind doesn’t know how to properly check oil, because when I checked it 2 weeks ago it appeared to be full. However, yesterday the guy said the oil was barely registering on the dipstick. There’s absolutely no sign of leaks, so this mother freaking GDI engine has to be burning what’s missing.
This is all backed up by the fact that towards the end of an oil change interval, I’m getting a periodic knock on acceleration. It appears that this was my poor 2.0L engine starving for oil. After the oil change, there’s magically no noise at all. In the back of my mind I kept thinking that the noise sounded like sucking too little fluid through a straw, and it seems like that’s very close to what was happening.
I have an offer in hand from CarMax from an appointment yesterday, and they’ll give me $5,500 for my current car.
This leads me to go looking for alternatives. I’m trying not to have a huge payment, so I’m trying to stay under $10,000. That prevents me from considering any Toyotas or Hondas unless they are very old or very high mileage.
Looking around, I found a 2015 Ford Fusion hybrid ( titanium edition) with 115,000 miles for $11,000 from a local Honda dealership that I trust. I also found a 2017 Ford Fusion hybrid at a Ford dealership that I do not know about 40 miles away at $9,880 with 109,000 miles.
I know Fords are not generally well regarded these days, but all my research points to Fusion hybrids being reliable, lasting up to 250,000 miles or more. Given that I’ve put less than 92,000 miles on my Kia in 10 years, it seems like either of these might be a good buy for me that would be well within my budget.
With all that said, I invite you guys to play: Is it better than my 2015 Kia Soul?
The fusions under consideration are 10 years and 8 years old respectively, so I’m thinking all original warranties are invalid. Given that they are dealerships, I would imagine there would be a three to five thousand or 60 to 90 day warranty for these used vehicles.
Like I’ve said elsewhere in the comments, I’ll be monitoring levels and adding as needed going forward. If I never get my knocking again, I think it’s a pretty good indication that my working theory about this whole thing is right. However, I am interested in the oil testing you mentioned. How would I go about doing that? Do the testing facilities provide some sort of kit for collecting the oil? I know I can Google this stuff, but I’d be interested to see what your recommendations are.
As for the methodology of checking the oil, I’ve always pulled the stick, cleaned it off, stuck it back in, and then read it when I pulled it again. It’s been suggested that since I haven’t necessarily checked it when the engine was cold that I might be getting a bad reading. I have not tended to read it cold because my driveway has a pretty steep grade, so I always need to move the car to make sure I get an accurate reading. It’s also possible that I’m not reading it right, but when I read it as full, it looks the same way as it does when I’m presented with the dipstick after my oil changes, with the oil covering the section between empty and full on the stick.
God, I feel like such a flipping idiot. Who doesn’t know how to read their oil dipstick?
If you do decide to test, something like this would be what I’d use: https://www.blackstone-labs.com/standard-oil-testing/
For reading the dipstick, yes, hot/cold can have a difference, but usually not enough to cause the condition you’re describing, unless you check it IMMEDIATELY after turning off the engine. Don’t be too hard on yourself, you’re asking all the right questions. Checking on a flat surface vs a steep driveway is far more important.
Out of curiosity, do you have a photo of the dipstick as you’re reading it?
I’ll check it soon and take a picture to share. I have zero pride left in this area, so I’m willing to do it to double check that I’m doing it right!
I’ll send off for that testing kit, too. That seems like exactly what will help me get a better picture of what is really happening.