Ok, we purchased a 2008 Saturn Outlook XE with just under 50k miles on it. We recently had noticed that it is using over a quart of oil per oil change and their is oil in the air intake. It would seem that the oil consumption is related to the air intake issue... but on the other hand there could be two different things going on here. There is less than a month left on the warranty, and the dealership we got the car from (Bradbury Auto in Gibson City, IL) is working with the shop servicing it on warranty. The first time that we took it in (Bradbury'* took it to the shop for us) we were told that it is normal to use a qrt of oil per oil change. We were at 1.6 qrts per oil change, so I don't buy that as an acceptable excuse, and it DOES NOT explain the oil in the air intake. Now, after pressing the issue... the shop is going to replace the piston and rings and look for any other issues on tear down. This still does not make me feel warm and fuzzy because I would not expect there to be oil in the air intake due to blowby but I would expect their to be an issue with the PCV system, or even a bent baffle in the valve cover. Any thoughts on this?

I don't understand what pistons and rings has to do with oil on the intake side. If it was oil in the exhaust, maybe it could be pistons and rings. My first thought would be to check the PCV valve, but I would be shocked if the dealer hadn't done that already.

I often hear 1 quarter consumption per oil change is normal, but personally I don't buy it. 1.6 is definitely on the high side.

When you say you have oil in the air intake, where specifically are you seeing the oil? The logical thought is the source of oil will be upstream from where you are seeing it.