2005 gto burning oil. I happened to check it before getting oil changed at scheduled 5K interval nd realized I was down 2 quarts. It is not smoking or running bad so no symptoms to draw any conclusions from. Any ideas?

just about everyone does with either an old car or a new car with high mileage.how excessive? is oil consumption.well first thing is to check for oil leaks either underneath the motor or any oil lines feed into the motor .any major leaks would be pretty noticeable.if none are present then one would assume that your motor is burning the oil through the exhaust system .check to see what color smoke is coming threw the tail pipe.blue or black smoke indicates oil burning white will indicate engine coolant burning.in any case some color smoke is normal just depends on how much.so lets say your exhaust smoke is normal still could be burning oil just not a noticeable amount.on average you shouldnt have to add anymore than 2 quarts a month or every 1000 miles .depending on your driving conditions if you are having to add more than this there would be a leak some where or heavy color smoke.keep up on oil changes and always add lucas oil usually 1 quart its alot thicker than conventional oil so it reduces engine wear and will handle any small leaks in the engine components like the pistons and rings.if problem still present get to a dealer or certified mechanic as soon as possible good luck.

IT BURNED THE THREE QUARTS OUT THE TAILPIPE IN BLUE SMOKE. CHECK THE PVC. OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD AND LOOK FOR THE PROPER COLOR OF THE COOLANT. SPARK PLUGS ARE FOULED BY OIL

Oil alone is not enough anymore, I use Pennzoil platinum synthetic and add 1/3 of a quart/ litre of lucas oil stabilizer; to bring up to the full mark. (Add the lucas first.;)(I also use the lucas fuel conditioner every 4th fuel-up.). With all this being said, I hope you have checked the obvious, the pvc valve, take it out and shake it, it should rattle or it's bad, and needs to be changed; If that is not it, Make sure you ck the water/antifreeze to see if it is contaminated with oil. If that doesn't find it, there are special additives to add color to help track leaks, Could you have possible had a loose oil plug or filter not quite tight enough? (**** happens) so again don't be surprised...!!! Could you have gotten taken for a ride at some oil change had someone pull a fast one on you? Due you change your oil and service your car yourself? Also, i did notice on one oil change, an inconsistent situation, i always change my own oil, and one time it just didn't look right, at 5000 k's / 3000 miles the oil was blacker than usual, and when I changed the filter, there was more sludge than usual, which really alarmed me. (I chocked it up to maybe possibly time of year winter snows, cold weather, longer warm-ups / -30 temps BBBBBRRRRR, but I think the same can happen with HOT weather causing the viscosity of the oil to be lost, rember when oil loses it's viscosity ,,, it needs to be changed and this is when it's down 1 litre/quart, (If you can catch it just when this happens, throw a little lucas stabilizer in, 1/3 of a litre, i feel an engine is not really broken in until it has 60,000 miles; (of course it all depends on how you drive it) are you the only driver of the vehicle? back in my younger days, dad's old car could really smoke them tires Ugh Huh,,,,,ha ha ha ha ha ha

One quart per month is a bit more than I'd expect but you didn't mention how many miles you drive during that month.If you live where the ambient temps are very warm, it may help to use a good synthetic. Synthetic oils do not burn off or break down chemically as fast as conventional oils do. I'd use a 20w40 grade.
Depending on the miles you've driven you shouldn't have excessive ring wear but the valve stem seals may have dried out and cracked. If the usage remains constant and there is no smoking etc, you could either leave it alone or have new seals installed.
Average driving is approximately 1,000 miles per month so when figuring consumption, use that as a baseline. One quart per 1,000 miles in very hot conditions is a bit high....I'd expect to see 1/2 qt or slightly less. One odd thing though is that generally, especially in an engine that holds six quarts to begin with, at five quarts, the engine should not feel any different!!!
Also.....you use miles to determine oil change intervals. Oil is best changed at between 3K and 4K miles. Only way you use the 3month method is if you don't use it much. (you can run most good synthetics longer than that)

If it is synthetic oil,it depends on what you used.Some are good up to 12K miles.If it is the synthetic and the normal change is at 5K,that should be fine.I am not sure if it is a pre-programmed refernce from the odometer which will turn on the light,but the only alternative would be something which would be able to measure the viscosity of the oil(yet another current unnecessary component to fail in the new technology age,like a check engine light),but I do not think or at least hope that it does not exist.You could call a dealer to see what makes that light come on if you want but if you have 5K oil,5K oil change is fine,if you have 12K oil,12K oil change is fine.Just check your oil level every 750-1,000 miles.
Good luck! Greg

I assume you have no leaks as you say. Your van does hold 5 quarts of 10w30 oil with filter change. The level was 1/4" above the add mark, which is less than 1 quart low. You drove the van 1,300 miles so it is very possible that it could burn that much oil in that many miles without you seeing much smoke. Top it off and have someone else drive it. Have them get up to around 60 mph, then let off the accelerator and let it coast down to 30 mph, then accelerate fully while you follow in another vehicle. If your van is burning oil you will see a big puff of blue smoke when they accelerate after coasting. If you do not I would suspect you were cheated out of about 1/2 quart of oil. You would not be the first person this has happened to. Top it off and check as I described and then check the level after driving another 1,300 miles. If it is still full find another place to change your oil as the place you went are crooks.

Well, if there are no leaks, then it has to be piston rings or valve seals. If it's only burning a quart every 1500 miles, you would barely see any smoke, and by the standards of 20 or 30 years ago, that was normal.

It is not normal for a car with 29,000 miles on it to consume this amount of oil in 10,000 miles. We usually change our oil between 3 and 5 thousand miles and thus may not notice small amounts consumed but certainly not 1-2 quarts. It is more likely that you are leaking oil, but if it is burning it, that is a real problem. If the car was pre-owned do a CARFAX. If it was wrecked, find out was was done. If the odometer is correct, this car needs to be inspected by a professional. I can tell you to look for unburned oil in the tailpipe, smoking exhuast, leaks from the oil pan and drain. Change the oil and filter and closely monitor the level.

your vehicle is serviced in mainly 15,000 mile increments. 30k are the bigger of the 2. 60k is the biggest. oil is changed every 5k. at 15k change oil and spark plugs check air filter and inspect vehicle. at 30k replace trans fluid and filter as well and at 60k replace fuel filter. change oil on schedule and replace your timing chain and guide rails if vehicle has 100k or more miles-at least have them inspected because the chains do break. After oil change disable ignition and build up oil pressure before vehicle fires off. the chain tensioners are hydraulic

This problem sounds like ablown head gasket, this would make the oil mix in with the gas and would result in discolored smoke out of the exhaust pipe.