My '03 4cyl EXL AT has about 80,000 miles. Over the past year I've noticed that it seems to have less low-end power. Cruises just fine; just a little doggy leaving stop lights and such. I've also noticed that at highway speeds, my impression is that it drops down from overdrive even on fairly gentle slopes. That may not be a change, but it seems like it is.

Coincidentally I am now for the first time experiencing oil consumption. I never had to add oil between changes, but now do so on a fairly regular basis. I've looked for oil leaks and oil spots where I park. Nothing. I've not noticed blue smoke in any of the classic situations - cold start, deceleration down a hill, etc.

I just did a 1,000 mile round trip to Ohio from DC. Highway mileage was about 30. I used to get ~34 but there are a lot of hills on this trip and it was deadly hot so 30 didn't seem that bad.

Any ideas?

 

how do the spark plugs look?

oil consumption is always going to be more noticeable in summer months.

every single car consumes oil, some more than others. new or old.

notice any oil in your radiator? discoloration? should be a clear green color, almost neon green

 

I understand that all cars consume some oil, but in my view normal is what the car consumed over the first 7 years of its life. Something has changed. Now it could just be age, of course, but I would expect that to be a more more gradual change unless a seal gives way or ring breaks or something similar. That's why I posted this wondering what that change might be.

I hadn't thought to check the radiator to see if I'm getting some leakage across those systems. I'll check that. Thanks for that good reminder.

I've wondered about the spark plugs. The maintenance schedule for this car doesn't call for plugs until like 100K miles. Are people finding that replacing the plugs sooner is a good idea? I've been wondering if that might be related to what seems to be less power at lower rpms.