erikprimebeef

erikprimebeef Hey SirCarroll not all 3.7 will have the high oil burning problem. The ones that does, Acura Dealerships should have had a solution for the problem, at least a recommend option for who having issue not saying its normal. You SirCarroll I hope your spreading sharing your insight with other TL 3.7 AWD Owners, who could be having this issues with there car. If it doesn't work for them Acura should have a viable alternative and not leaving a customer with holding a wet heavy paperbag at the Service counter. TL are great car

Thermoguy

The question here is, what is normal oil usage? I had an oil change earlier this week. I brought my log of when I check the oil and if I added oil. I presented this to the service guy who proceeded to tell me that all engine manufacturers suggest your vehicle should use about 1 quart of oil per 1000-1500 miles driven. He also suggested that everyone should check the oil every time the get gas. So, with that said, I really don't have much of an argument except that I told him of all the cars I have ever owned I have never had a car use oil other than years ago when I used to own cars with over 100K miles.

His basic excuse for why some engines use oil and others don't is simply that not everyone checks. Most people don't know how much oil is on the dipstick when they bring it in, they just bring it in. I also explained to him that the service techs at this dealership used to tell me to bring my car in when the MID says to bring it in, now they say every 3500 miles for oil change. He didn't have an answer for that, just that that sounds like a good idea. If I were to wait for the MID to tell me to bring it in, my oil would most likely be dry...

So, what to do? I will keep checking the oil, adding when necessary, then sell the car when I am ready and NEVER buy an Acura or Honda again. Seems simple to me. I like the car a lot, but that is a deal breaker.

Booya4139

Thats ridiculous and unacceptible. Glad to read this thread. I am likely grabbing a CPO MDX and will now not consider anything before '14 when they switched to the 3.5DI.

sockpuppet

I have trouble buying some of this, as the math doesn't seem to add up. Your service guy is saying that by the time one gets to 3,500 miles, one should expect to be 2 and a third to 3 and a half quarts down, and the oil light has not gone on? There's only 4 and a half quarts in there to begin with.

jim_c

1. Please look up the correct use of "there" vs. "their".


2. Service advisors know nothing at all about cars; they are just service salespeople, so why do we quote them?

JM2010 SH-AWD

A lot cars use oil these days. Consumer Reports did an article on this a few months ago (not mentioning the TL). The service advisor had it about half right - Acura and most other mfrs say that some oil usage is "normal" unless/until it exceeds 1 quart/1000 miles. I would not be happy if my car used a quart every 1100 miles, but this is not an issue confined to Acura. How much does yours use?

Thermoguy

Yes this is ridiculous. Mine is not bad, in a little over 5K miles, I checked my oil many times, but only put 1 quart in. It was in need of another quart when I took it in for service. So, based on the info, yes, my car would have been in desperate need of oil and my oil warning light should have gone on had I not been checking and adding oil when necessary.

I just started reading these threads and checking my oil last spring when I had about 64K miles. Now I have almost 80K miles and using about 1 quart every 2500 miles isn't horrible, but as I have said, I have never experienced any oil use with any car I have ever owned. Mostly Toyota's and GMC's.

I will continue to check my oil when I fill up for gas and I will continue to give Acura a hard time as I feel this is not right. Specifically, if you are reading this thread and you are not checking your oil on a regular basis, you should be. At the end of the day, it is your car and Acura is going to say some oil usage is normal and you need to maintain your car.

csmeance

Oil consumption hasn't been an issue in the past for many automakers, but with tighter EPA regulations thinner oils are used to boost MPG. Thinner oil breaks down faster and naturally doesn't protect as well.

BMW has spec'ed that a quart every 600-1000 Miles is normal. Most automakers stick by this rule even though most of their fleets never burn more than a 1/4 quart of oil over oil change durations.

Riboflavin

I'm about to start my own dealings with Acura to get my oil consumption fixed with 87k on my motor. I've been spending the past couple of months monitoring my oil levels and documenting it with pictures of the dipstick and mileage every couple hundred miles, and I've just gone from fully topped off to the low dipstick line in 1,723 miles as of today. Before the last top off, I forgot to check for a couple weeks and the dipstick was bone dry after about 1,900 miles.

I have a 5 qt jug of Mobil 1 5-20 that I keep in my trunk and since my last oil change 3,647 miles ago, I've used at least 4 qt of it...

I've called Acura Corporate Relations today to have them document my issues, and I have an appointment with my dealership on the 23rd to start an official oil consumption test. My dealership seemed very understanding and even told me that it's a common issue that they've seen many times before, so I'll see how that goes... At least it'll still be a warranty fix as I got mine CPO with the 100k powertrain warranty.

edog76

I have around 45K miles on my 2011 shawd. Im at 50% oil life and the dipstick reads completely full. Has it been established that all 3.7 engines are affected by this issue? Also, does the condition manifest itself at a certain mileage?

JM2010 SH-AWD

Not everyone experiences it. Keep an eye on your oil level.

HondaOwnerForLife

Your dealer is key here. There are good ones and some not so good ones. The dealership in this situation has to be your advocate with the home office. You seem well prepared with documentation.


I hope you get a new short block out of it and hope it is one that does not consume oil. There's no other solution here.

HondaOwnerForLife

What he said...

CostcoFanAUS

My J37 is around 27,500 miles on the odometer. Over the last 5,000 miles since the last oil change, I've added 3/4 of a quart to keep it near the high mark on the stick. Engine is a little thirsty I'd admit but manageable thus far. Hope it won't go downhill from here.

TL_PIHL

Would you say you regret going after acura for a new block? My 10 6mt burns a ton of oil as well. Brought it in and they basically blew me off the first time, and replaced the oil pressure switch. Told me to come back if anymore issues. Still burning oil so I was gonna ask for a consumption test.
If yours is still consuming oil though and the trade value is diminished, seems like I should live with it and keep adding oil?

I am a service advisor for Mercedes-Benz, and I know it makes me a hell of a lot more money to replace an engine than it does to blow someone off, especially if theres a risk of them coming back for the same issue.

HondaOwnerForLife

Well I did it. Multiple reasons, but I traded my 2010 6MT. 66,499 miles when I traded it. Got $19,000 for her on the trade. Wanted $20,500. They started at $16,000. One side of me really blisters at the profit margin dealers want to make. The other side of me blames only me for walking into a dealer to do a car deal.


My beloved 6MT is no longer mine. It is going to take a good amount of time to get over that fact. If I was going to get anything of substance monetarily out of the car, now was the time given the new short block and clutch.


Anyone interested in a great, meticulously maintained, 6MT, it will be for sale in the KC area next week I'd guess.

Nexx

oh no, a business trying to make a profit? how dare they!!!! did you pay full price for the car you bought? no right? then why would you expect them to pay full price for yours?

HondaOwnerForLife

Good points and thanks for sharing.........No freaking clue what I was thinking when I posted the above. Thanks for calling out my extreme stupidity. Kudos to you for standing up for the poor, poor little dealership. I myself am a massive corporation and should be ashamed of myself. At least you had the good sense to call me out. Again, thanks much.

hadokenuh

??????

Hey I am selling you my 2013 TL for a great price, $40,000. But since you are such a great customer, I am going to knock off $3,000. So your drive out price will be $45,283.11 with everything included (tax, title, fees, insurance, warranty, etc). It's only good for today.

SilverJ

I only have 14000 miles on my car (not my daily driver). I've checked my oil initially every month but haven't in a few months( I am going to check today).
Is there a specific pattern that shows up for cars that may have the oil burning issue ? I have a AWD-Manual shift 2012 TL.
Another question I have to all who have the oil issue, lets say you have to replace a quart of oil every 2000 miles or so. Is that really a big deal to do if that is all you ever have to do ? Or is the concern that i will suddenly start burning a lot more oil than that ?

JM2010 SH-AWD

^^ The only pattern I know of is that some report (and I've experienced) that consumption is negligible for the first thousand or two miles after an oil change, but seems to pick up the more miles you put on that particular load of oil. When you change the oil, the pattern refreshes.


Understand that not everyone with the 3.7 motor reports oil usage. A few have had extreme cases where consumption was a quart or greater per 1000 miles. More often, for those who have observed it, the rate seems to be a quart or two every 3000-4000 miles.


As to whether these rates will increase with mileage, I don't know that anyone can say. A few seem to have experienced that, but there aren't any real data on the issue.


For those that have experienced extreme consumption, Acura seems in some cases to be willing to replace the short block and perhaps cylinder heads.


Just keep an eye on the oil levels. For some, it's not a fill and forget it item like it is on some cars. More cars seem to be experiencing oil usage today, perhaps because of the ultra lightweight oils now being used to increase fuel mileage.

Tony Pac

I have 2010 TL SH-AWD AT with 75,000 KM on it. I didn't experience ant oil issue yet.
Should I manually check the oil level? or I can relay on the monitor that shows the % of old used?

thanks guys!

Riboflavin

You'd have to manually check the oil level every now and then. The oil life gauge calculates the oil life based on how far you've driven, and shows nothing about how much oil is in the engine.

SilverJ

I just checked mine and it looks fine. Oil level is about half way up the grid on the stick.
I guess I will just keep checking periodically.

Thermoguy

^^ That means you are down about 1/2 quart or so from your last oil change.

As was mentioned in a different post - make sure your engine is warm when you check - the oil will show lower when the engine is cold.

The MID is not a gauge that shows actual oil levels, it is only a calculation based on driving habits. It also gives the service department a guide as to what service you need when you come in. (If your breaks need checked or if you need to change your air filters, etc.) You should not use this as a guide for oil changes. Ask your service department as well as many on this forum, your oil should be changed every 3500 to 5000 miles depending on how you drive. I followed the MID for the first 60K+ miles and recently learned that this was not the correct method, even though my service department originally told me to follow it. It's really only correct for the first couple services.

Tony Pac

Thank you for the info. Much appreciated!

Tony Pac

Thanks for sharing this info. Very helpful.

SilverJ

Thanks for the info. Actually, I have not changed the oil since i got the car. I got it with 11k on the ODO and now it is at about 15. I am not sure if it is down oil or not. Only way to find out would be to change it. Maybe I will do that while it is still under warranty. (for another 3 months)

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

Or to top up the engine oil now, until it hits the dipstick top marking.

LubDub

I have had 2 4G SH-AWD (3.7 motor) both with the 6MT and BOTH burned through oil faster than an RX-7. I had oil consumption tests, lost oil pressure a few times (VTEC shuts off). Nothing was done for me by AHF//Acura. The second TL had the head replaced at the end of its third year because of a worn camshaft. This is the reason why I did not buy my TL when the lease was up. Otherwise I would have bought it in a heartbeat. 4 door sedan that is quick, handles great, AWD that is unstoppable with Sottozeros, AND a 6MT!

sympley

Just need a quick clarification. Comments are made in the oil burning threads that the engine will be no good and it will fall apart and have issues. If I am burning oil but replenishing the oil as I check will the engine still fall apart or only if I miss topping it off.

JM2010 SH-AWD

The damage to structural parts like camshafts, pistons, etc. will occur only if you let the oil level fall so low that it doesn't provide sufficient lubrication to these parts. Keep it in the factory-recommended marks on the dipstick and this won't be an issue for you.

csmeance

damage happens when the engine is starved of oil. With it burning oil, you should keep an eye on the oil level to make sure it doesn't go below 3.5 quarts. That's pretty much the limit as far as I know with oil starvation and VTEC issues.

Edward'TLS

My god. The RX-7's rotary motor is designed to burn oil.

Anything else that burns oil faster than a RX-7 has to be really, really bad.

SAKozicki

Mobil 1, 5-20, by definition, is synthetic.

SirCarroll

Ohh..Well pardon me..I meant I run Super Mobil conventional 5w20. Feel better now?

Geez I would hope you got more then just this out of the thread

kixo

The only way the repair would show up on a Carfax report is if the dealer is reporting it.

Does it burn anyone else that the dealers are selling your repair and other data to Carfax without your permission?

I explicitly write on my service order that the information cannot be transmitted to Carfax. I had a nightmare once when a dealer's service dept transposed numbers on the odometer reading, and when it came time to sell the car, Carfax reported my vehicle has having a suspect odometer...

NJnorth

New to this forum...just wanted to know if there were any updates on this ongoing saga?? Have had our 4th eval on our 2012 TL oil consumption and they tell us we are now in line for a new engine.
thx

jdmjess

Im starting the oil consumption test 2 weeks ago. In 1000km my stick goes from high to low tech says its 1 liter . Will see how it goes . I will let u know

Mr Marco

"...and now on my 3rd "new" engine.."

OP, I hope you sold this car on CL and walked away.