vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

i would call that a misunderstanding...this statement is completely inaccurate....if your looking for a 5w20 conventional oil, then pic the cheapest one you can find...motor oil is motor oil when your talking about dino's...its your car

sgfitzs

I have a 2010 TSX V6 TECH with about 6K miles on it and it hasn't burned any oil. The level is the same as when I took delivery as I checked when I first bought it. I don't think it's normal. Our 07 TL-S also doesn't burn any oil.

JM2010 SH-AWD

The 3.5 liter engine used in your TSX and TL-S uses iron cylinder bores. The 3.7 used in the AWD for 09-10 uses a Nikasil hard coating that is impregnated onto the aluminum cylinder bores.

The 3.7s definitely use some oil when new. Some have theorized that this is a product of the Nikasil liner due to the fact that it takes the rings longer to seat properly.

777mycoolangelo

So far this issue seems to be coming from the SH-AWD owners. I have a 3.5 and just checked....it has been sitting for a week. The oil level is at full. My "!" has showed and is currently at 15% for oil change.

jnc2000

Just checked mine... I was about 1/2 down on the dipstick with 4300 miles on the car so far. MID reads 70% for oil. Gonna keep a close eye on it given the amount of miles I can put on before an oil change.

JM2010 SH-AWD

That's about where mine was at 4300 miles. Seems to be getting better (at 7200 miles now).

Colin

For those that have commented that previous H/A products have never used oil. I would direct you to any S2000, RSX or TSX (mainly 6-speeds) forum. I can say with certainty that some engines DO use oil during the break in period, sometimes extending up to ~10,000 before tapering off. As I used to tell all my RSX-S customers: "this car will use oil, be sure to check the oil and add as necessary"

Yes, I agree that the culprit is the Nikasil cylinder liners. I know that the Carbon Reinforced Metal liners are similarly slow to seat fully.

RSLTSX09XMNAVWX

My wifes 2009 TSX never used a drop of oil and now she has 22K miles. My 2010 TL-SHAWD used about 3/4 of oil first 4K miles, but now with almost 9K Zero oil consumption. First oil at 5.5K.... Before I leave on any long trip I do check oil and top off the tire air preasure... WOW, TONS of rain this week in Southern California.. Taking the SHAWD out on Sunday to have FUN in the rain!!!

Colin

I should have been more clear, 1st gen TSXs seemed to use oil (but less frequently than RSXs and S2000s) , 2nd gen, not so much. Maybe its just the buyer demographic on these cars?

Loli

Just checked my oil level 2010 TL sh awd. I am about 1/8th from the top line or 1/8th qt low. I do not know where it was when I bought it as this is the first time I checked it. Have 6225 miles on the car. (Put 3500 on it round trip from Racine WI to Key West.)

After reading this post I will start keeping an eye on it.

SHAWD10

So now I am at ~15,700 and the oil level is only slightly above the bottom line of the normal operating range. My MMA is @ 70% but is probably getting closer to 60% (since its been at 70% for awhile). My guess is the oil level will hit the bottom line of the normal range in the next several hundred miles or so. So looking where I started and where I am now it appears that my engine is consuming about a quart of oil approximately every 4,000 miles or so. This is my second test and the results match -- the consumption has not decreased as my engine has passed it's break in period. Darn...I plan to bring the car to the dealer after the holidays.

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

update for me, changed my oil at 5k, now at 6300, oil level is still at top mark...will keep posted...

JM2010 SH-AWD

SHAWD, sorry to hear that your issue is not abating. Mine seems to be, but I'm not ready to declare victory yet.

Please let us know what the dealer has to say after you get your car back.

jnc2000

Take an oil sample and send it to Blackstone. I always send my fluids out to Blacksone after every change...

SHAWD10

Spoke to the dealer regarding oil consumption. They said that Acura claims it is not an issue until the oil consumption is more than 1 quart per every 1,000 miles. They supposedly have an info bulletin in their mechanic information system that explains oil consumption. That amount doesn't seem very efficient to me especially for a modern car.

Bearcat94

I don't see a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) for it.

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/4g-tl-technical-service-bulletins-tsbs-701767/

I checked for updates since Nov and didn't see anything for the TL.


Didn't see anything in the 2010 Sevice News issues either: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/acura-servicenews-bulletins-588838/

Teddybear

oil consumption depends on how you drive the car, and how the car was broken in.

if you havnt abused either, then bring it back to the dealer to get it checked out.

goto any lude forum and you'll hear the tales of how people have ludes which had been redlined before break in, and now they're screaming bloody murder when they have to put in a L of oil every week to feed their h22's.

im still on my break in oil in my 2010 TL 3.7. i babied it's break in till 5000km. kept it low revs for the first 3k, then after that, i'd slowly bring up the revs every 1000km or so.

first oil change i'll take it to the stealership so they can check the oil for anything unusual, after that, i plan to use motul until i part ways with this car!

Mr Marco

Synthetic flash point is higher. Hence it takes more heat to generate burn off.

RSLTSX09XMNAVWX

My 2010 TL-SHAWS used about 1/2 quart for the first 6K miles. Changed the Oil at 6K. I now have 10,235 and oil consumption is about 1/8 of a quart on the dip stick if even that and may be how flat the surface is where the car is parked.. So not much if any oil consumption. One quart every 1000 Miles is just NOT RIGHT!!!

JM2010 SH-AWD

SHAWD10 - has your consumption problem not improved? How many miles do you have?

I just turned 8200 and my oil consumption seems to have come to a stop, following an oil change from the factory fill break-in oil over a month ago. Also, I checked on some other threads, and it seems that when you put the specified amount of oil in at a change it only measures halfway up the stick. So some of us may have been overestimating oil usage (unless you began monitoring right after an oil change). Nevertheless, I had my dealer check it and make a note in my car's service record at the oil change - just in case.

(On the other hand, with winter fuel and a very cold winter, my fuel consumption has gone the other way. I'm running about 1 mpg less than my running average).

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

i started at changing my oil at 5k, had about 1/2 qt of usage....now at 8k i have zero usage...

SHAWD10

No, it has not gotten any better. The consumption is still the same, one quart every ~four thousand miles. I have been very gentle on this car since the first day I bought it (getting old I guess).

BTW, i too have gone done 1 mpg during this cold winter.

SHAWD10

No, it's not a TSB. The dealer showed me the oil consumption write-up on their computer monitor. It was some sort of "Job Info" system or something that is internally routed to dealers to help their mechanics with issues.

Obviously if there is a manufacturer write up on oil consumption, I must not be the only one experiencing it. I imagine it is more than one car line, because the write up they showed me had a photo with two different style dipsticks. The TL dipstick and another flat blade type dipstick.

almostatlowner

That's exactly like mine (at 9k miles). I had hoped switching to Amsoil synthetic would help but it didn't.

My experience with oil burning is that your car either burns oil or it doesn't. I doubt it will magically stop after a break in period. I went easy for the first 600mi, but after that, I will admit I had some rather spirited runs. I didn't buy a 300hp car to drive at 2500 rpms all the time! Alot of times I can even smell the oil at 4500+rpms.

The only fix I know of is to go into the engine and do a rebuild, and the dealer sure isn't going to do that for free. For now, I'll just do what I did 20+yrs ago back when I had my 79 Bobcat with 100kmi...carry an extra qt around and add as needed.

Although I do think this car is fun to drive, I will say that the supposed great Honda quality...is horrible. Oil burning and transmission problems at only 9k is unacceptable.

SHAWD10

Go to your dealer and ask them to do an oil consumption test. Even though I don't agree with their 1 quart every 1,000 miles is ok, at least you have it on record that it exists. And watch out, they overfilled my oil. When I got home I was furious. I brought it back the next day and made them change the oil again. Of course they didn't document it but I already drafted a complaint letter to Acura Corp. HQ. And I am still keeping track of the level every 1,000 miles.

SHAWD10

So I decided to search the internet for other instances of oil consumption. If you're interested, just type in acura+oil+consumption or honda+oil+consumption and you will see that many people are also experiencing the same thing. I found complaints about TLs, TSXs, Pilots, Accords, etc...

maddogtheta

I have an update, I changed my oil at 29702, just checked my oil at 31803 and I was 3/4 of the way down on the normal range on the dip stick. I started out right at the top at the oil change. I'm definitely burning oil for some reason.

1Lieutenant

Anymore updates on oil consumption? My 2012 has used 1/3 qt in 2200 miles. Topped it off and will be following this. I wonder if aluminum/silicon cylinder liners require different break-in than cast iron liners.

Tolerances are supposed to be much tighter in the aluminum/silicon liner engines due to better matching thermal coefficients of expansion versus cast iron liners

RSLTSX09XMNAVWX

When I got my 2010 SH-AWD, I used 3/4 of a quart in the first 6K miles. I changed my oil at 6K miles. At 12K I changed the oil again and had no oil loss.. At 16500 I have Zero oil loss.. So it appears that after the initial break in, and first oil change, my oil loss has been Zero...

Edward'TLS

My new 2012 AWD TL has clocked in around 4K km last week, and the oil level was half-way between max and min on the dipstick. So I had the dealership topped it up for me while my car was doing some installation there.

dwest1023

I have been reading these oil consumption post, and it is MY opinion the you guys do not have any problem. First of all to get the most accurate reading of the dipstick the car needs to sit over night and check it in the morning on level ground. If my level was between the low and high mark, I would NOT add oil. Overfilling is just as bad as the being low. I definitively would not add oil if I had not check the oil after the car had been sitting overnight. I have a 09 tech with 16K miles on it and I have only checked the oil once since I have had it. As long as I am not adding a quart of oil between changes, I don't worry about a little oil below the full mark. If it makes any difference, I have been using Royal Purple in all my vehicles since new. My Miata will use a little oil in the hot summer months but zero in the fall. and I always drive it like I stole it.

Edward'TLS

There's a reason for the oil dipstick to show the max and min markings.

The volume of engine oil, as indicated by the dipstick in between max and min, is for safe cushioning. Just in the event that there is an oil leak somewhere or the engine starts burning oil, this extra volume of oil is to buy some time to prevent the engine from oil starvation. So it is best to have the oil level up to the max marking for maximum protection.

As long as the oil level is not above the max marking, there is no worry of oil overfilling.

JM2010 SH-AWD

I have about 14K miles on my 2010 AWD. It's been consuming about a quart every 4-5,000 miles, more in the summer, less in the winter. It seemed to slow down after the initial change, but I can't be sure yet. It's about due for the next change now. From what I can tell in my research, the regular steel-linered V6s (i.e., the 3.5) do not have this issue at all. It seems confined to the 3.7 motors and seems to be a product of the Nikasil cylinder liners used. I'd be interested in hearing if others with the AWD model have noticed decreasing consumption as their cars get closer to/over 20K miles.

dwest1023

My Point is, if you do not get an accurate reading(sitting overnight) you CAN overfill by getting a false reading. Very common on the a Miata.

andvari

Regarding synthetics, they are definitely more stable when it comes to thermal stress. However if you have a leak you will observe oil consumption increase because of the lower pour points of synthetics oils.

With a 0-20W oil recommendation I would definitely want to be using a synthetic. The viscosity modifiers needed to get dino oil to work at this viscosity range are not going to be particularly stable in use.

Some interesting reading:

http://www.vanagonauts.com/All-About-Lubricants152.htm

JLH

andnari,

Very good article.

Edward'TLS

I don't think there's a conventional oil 0w20 on the market. Only synthetic oil can go that low when cold.

1Lieutenant

I don't think oil leaks will be worse with synthetic oil. Based on their weight, 5W or 0W, they will attain a certain viscosity at cold temps, the same as conventional oil. The only difference is they will maintain that viscosity at colder temperatures than conventional oil.

crxman2010

You can do the same thing for Audi, Subaru.... I use to have a bought new 2008 A4 and read story after story about those using 1 quart per 1000-1500 miles and dealerships saying that is normal. So I do not believe that is something special as it relates to Honda, I am starting to think that is an industry standard for IC engine.

Considered getting a Subaru Legacy at one point, read post after post about them burning oil left and right, thought I was back in the A4 forums. (Both thier I4s and V6s..)

My A4 never burned any amount of oil that was noticeable between buying it at 300 miles and selling it at 23,000 miles... My 2010 TL SH-AWD was bought with 100 miles and replaced (after many interior noise issues complaints that were never resolved) at 9200 miles and it never burned any oil. My 2012 TL SH-AWD has 1300 miles on it and it has never burned any oil. (just checked the dipstick). All of them have been manual transmissions, all but the newest one had seen the rev limiter at some point or another, and temperatures that range from -40 degrees to 105 degrees.

You guys keeping the RPM down during the break in period? What about giving the engine a chance to reach running temperature before working it over too hard? That is one of my favorites, see a car sit for 8 hours and then in less than two minutes the driver has the tires spinning at the light or trying to hit 90 mph on an on-ramp... Shutting the engine off immediately after some "spirited" driving? (Think that is more of a coolant issue but eh?)

Edward'TLS

Audi's are known to consume oil ever since the beginning of time. Take a visit to any Audi forum, and you'll know that oil consumption seems to be a norm with Audi vehicles.

But Honda/Acura vehicles are not known to consume oil. They normally don't require to add even a single drop of engine oil in between services. So it is a big deal for the 4G TL's that start requiring toppping up engine oil constantly.