Odd oil consumption problem.

My 'TE will use a quart of oil about every 2,000 miles. What is odd is that according to the dipstick, there is 0 (zero) oil consumption between an oil change and about 2,000 miles out from the oil change, and then according to the dip stick, a quart disappears at just over 2,000 miles. I always check the oil in the garage with the engine cold. I check it the night before a trip. The cold half of the year (between November and May) I use the car about twice per week to make a trip of about 170 miles per trip. The checking procedure is always the same: pull the dip stick, clean it, re-insert it, count to 3 and pull it again. Is it just a quirk of how the dip stick measures the amount of oil in the oil pan that causes this seeming disappearance of oil?

Many thanks!

BTW the oil and filter are changed at 3,000 mile intervals

…tracy
'91 300 TE 4-matic
'88 528e
'80 928