You should have stopped and checked the engine as soon as the red lights came on, when the light comes on "Red" is ALWAYS stop as there is something major wrong. You have a big bill coming soon, could be tomorrow, could be years away but it is coming......
With the oil down that far it's hard to say how long it's been or how many miles you drove to end up in this predicament. It's not smart to just add more oil. The old dirty sludge in the oil filter will cause problems. You have not been changing the oil and filter every 3,000 miles obviously or your motor wouldn't be burning so much oil. Don't use FRAM oil filters. They are too restrictive and the Mits training center always warns mechanics to not use them.
A lot of oil change places recommend a change every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Some drivers choose to go a little further between changes, but keep in mind that simply filling it with engine oil is not an oil change. If you've driven a lot more miles in addition to those 3,000 then it might be about time.
If your engine is in perfect condition there is no way to consume fluid rather than a leakage, as you said you fill 3 quarters of oil to maintain full level, in my opinion your piston rings become weak and as a result your car is smoking, if yes you have to rebuild your engine.
Good Luck
Here I want to inform you that you should not let you car to be lack of oil because it seems like a man who have not enough energy to complete a work in time. So here no doubt that lack of oil will affect your whole car system. However if you want to know perfect answer it will be best Idea for you to ask this question to a expert. When I found such problem I am not waste time and concern to our near auto repair shop as Tiremania Auto Repair shop in our local Tampa area.
You MAY have got lucky, dude. Run it, think about installing oil pressure gauge (don't call 'em idiot lights for nothin', ya know), keep eye on oil level, look for blue smoke out of exhaust, clicking, ticking, knocking from engine. Fingers crossed, you sure didn't do that engine any favors.
Maybe if you let it sit a few more days, it will give the bearings and rings more time to grow back.
Some drivers
It totally slipped my mind to check my oil during a 3000 mile roadtrip and enough oil burned to the point where the red oil light popped on a couple times very briefly the last 100 or so miles. The next day it was rattling. I filled it up with 3 quarts of oil and let it sit and the day after it seemed back to normal. Should I expect the engine to fail soon or did I dodge a bullet?
