Engine 2002 Corolla burning oil

2002 Corolla burning oil

my uncle has a 2002 Corolla CE with 50k miles on it...and he was telling me that he's been filling up the engine oil and after a doing some driving, the engine oil light comes on.
he says there is no leaks and i know cause when he came over...i checked...he said the fluid was empty and that he put in 1/2 a quart before leaving to come to my house...it was dark...so i couldn't do any real intense inspection...but i checked the fluid before i started the car and then after, and the fluid level did decrease...and i only had it on for like 5 mins....and also the engine did sound a little weak from the last time that i drove it(a couple months ago)...what's wrong with the car...could it need a tune-up (this early?)...or could it be something else..
let me know what you guys think

2002 should still be under warranty, bring it in... if its burning that much oil, there is definitely something wrong... if it was just a small amount,i'd say do a tuneup, but to burn that much oil, there's something wrong, could be any number of things too...

Also, follow him for a drive during a clear, sunny not windy day, and see if you can see any blue smoke coming from his exhaust...

what does it mean if there is blue smoke comming from his exaust

my uncle went to california for a year and he bought the car from there, won't he have to take it there

blue smoke is burning oil... ummm, he might be able to reach an agreement with the local dealer for any warranty issues, just get him to go to his local toyota dealership, tell him to explain where he bought the car, and what the car is doing, and they should inspect it at the very least...

Well, look, it's the infamous 01-02 Corolla with oil problems. I'm sensing a serious trend here.

Alright, first. Do an oil pressure test. Next do a power balance test, if you have access to an OBD II scan tool. If not, do a compression test. Seeing as you're loosing that much oil and it's not outside the engine, that means it's a leak inside the engine.

Poor fuel economy? Does the compression test read lower than factory specifications? If so, perform a wet test. This is the same thing only where before hand you put about a tablespoon of oil in each cylinder, turn it over a couple times and then perform the compression test. If it gets the numbers you SHOULD have been getting to begin with, then it's bad rings. Replace them.

In fact, before I list every possible test, maybe you should do those and tell me how they turn out.

BTW - is the oil light on when there is no oil in the engine and is it knocking?

the engine oil light comes on