We are aware of the login problems affecting the forums, and appreciate your patience as we work on a fix.
Did you recently purchase a new Tesla, Rivian or Lucid vehicle directly from the manufacturer and willing to share how your experience compared to previous vehicle purchases made through a traditional dealer? A reporter would like to speak with you; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 2/19 for details.
Needs More Oil - 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG Long-Term Road Test


Our long-term 2005 Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG has a twin-turbo V12 engine that produces a lot of power, but it also seems to be burning a significant amount of oil.
0
Comments
And yeah, usually check the oil at every fill. Like today.
Owning an older performance car is definitely not for everyone. Personally, I really enjoy it. My old 911 constantly requires my tinkering in one way or another, but I love it. You really develop a bond with cars that are, shall we say, high maintenance. You get totally in-tune with the car and every little sound or sensation it makes. You know immediately when something is off and how to fix it. That is not ideal for a daily driver, but for a weekend car it's actually kind of fun.
On an unrelated note, I guarantee you that your TL is burning some oil by that age unless you have meticulously replaced every seal or component at the first sign of wear. The oil change intervals are just short so you aren't noticing it. All engines burn oil as they age.
You can't compare diminutive, rudimentary 4-cylinders with a massive 6.0-liter, biturbo V12. That AMG engine is 3 times bigger in all regards with more moving parts. V12s burn oil. That's life. It doesn't make a V12 "dumb". The sound, refinement, and thrust from a good V12 more than makeup for their unusual maintenance requirements.
I'm in agreement with you on the PCV system. That seems like the only plausible explanation (plus, MB's of this vintage are known for poor PCV design). Furthermore, V12's in general have a much higher instance of cat failure than all other engine types. Why do the cats fail? Oil contamination.
As to your Honda, I still believe it was burning some oil by that age. That doesn't mean it was guzzling it, but it was certainly burning through oil in a way it did not do when it was brand new. However, Honda's typically have 3,000-5,000 mile oil change intervals so it would be hard to tell. Draw that out to 10,000-15,000 miles like most German cars and you start to clearly notice oil consumption.
My understanding is that combustion byproducts can keep your oil level "topped off".
My AC finally died and I lost a timing belt at 185k (non-interference engine) and I had a couple of distributor problems over the years, but the engine never hiccupped and I never had to add oil to the crankcase. And it wasn't even the VQ engine that Nissan was famous for in that era.