1L every 10,000Km is quite normal, especially these days with 5W and 10W oils. 1L/4,000 is still tolerable, but getting worse and needs to be monitored. From every 5 cylinder engine I have ever seen, the rings and sleeves are still perfect 99.9% of the time - I have seen 2 with ring failures, and all of these engines have more than 300,000Km.

What does wear are the valve guides which eventually let oil slip past and that gets burned. The valve guides are quite expensive to repair - 20 of them - and people 'live' with the problem because there is no drivability issue.

At your next oil change, pull the cover off the timing belt and verify that the forward cam seals are not leaking again. I doubt it, because that usually makes a mess! The cam seals on the driver's side can leak on to the exhaust and burn off, but it is easy to spot.

When the valve seals leak, idling for long periods of time will show smoke in the exhaust and a very black exhaust pipe.

So, if you are burning oil, remember that your car is now 11 years old.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic