SDSU Aztec wrote:
What year is the car? Besides the warning light, the newer ones hardly leak at all. When I first started driving, I had to add a quart every once and awhile, but never in the last 20 years or more.
The warning light is for oil pressure. If you don't check the oil level until the oil pressure light comes on, you could be running the car low on oil for a long time.
Many newer cars consume oil between oil changes for several reasons. Low viscosity oil (0W-20, 0W-16 are common now) and light oil control rings used to improve fuel economy also cause more oil to be consumed. Longer oil change intervals means that even within-spec oil consumption can mean running out of oil between oil changes. For example, a common limit is 1 quart oil consumption per 600 miles for Toyotas before the manufacturer will do anything to help you under warranty. Yet the engine in a small Toyota might only hold only a bit over 4 quarts total and the oil change interval is 10,000 miles. Check your car's oil level regularly.