Low tension piston rings were encouraged stongly by the EPA as a way to fight pollution. Their reasoning was this: reduced load on the cylinder walls would equate to reduced emissions. It has not worked out very well at all.
These low tension ring designs have struggled from the beginning to keep combustion chamber gases from blowing by in to the crankcase, and oil out of the combustion chamber, where it burns! This causes oil contamination and oxidation, it fouls the plugs, the oil starts to harden into sludge, and begins to plug up the oil removal holes on your piston.
It only takes a little sludge for these rings to start seizing, and they seize and fail far more often, and far earlier, than their higher tension counter parts.
These engines are not doomed to failure, but they must be watched closely, and that sludge must be kept to an absolute minimum whenever possible.
Your mechanic might have an idea what to do, and so might your dealership. But neither of them will likely suggest a simple (but very strong) solution to remove that piston ring sludge and remedy the resulting compression problems.
Our Tune Up, used as an engine flush, has been fixing this serious mechanical issue for many, many, years.
Motorpurr.com, we level the playing field.
