you could have dried out a couple of valve seals and it is minutely being consumed into the combustion chamber, but not enough to really see any symptoms besides being down a quart every fourhundred miles, I would nt call it being ruined. what I would do is do a really good motor flush to clear out any sludge that may have formed due to running it on low oil, change it and put some seal conditioner in to swell the seals up so that oil cannot leak into the combustion chamber, and take it from there, it should take care of your problem,(depending on how bad the seals are) . I wouldnt be overly worrried
thanx
joe
well, for the flush you would buy a can or bottle of motor flush, and follow direction on back, very easy to do, I would not take it to the dealer, they over charge greatly, I live in connecticut, otherwise I would love to take care of this for you, there are several kinds of seal conditioners, all you would do is ask the clerk at the parts store, the most inexpensive is fine, they all are pretty much the same, I dont know what kind of repair chains you guys have down there, so If you decide to have a repair chain do it , just ask a couple of people who is a reputable shop, if you do it yourself it will be much cheaper, a shop should not charge you more than fifty dollars or so to do it, I also recommend bringing a male friend with you or have them bring it in by their self, because unfortunately, some shops tend to take advantage of women who dont know much about their vehicles, its very sad but sometimes true, just be stern with them, "I want an engine flush and new oil put in" then you can add a can of sealant yourself, just make sure you put it in the oil not anywhere else lol. anything else you need just let me know
joe moore
ASE Certified Technician
ase certifed technician foreign and domestic