Honda2.4

For those that have the 2.4, either in the TSX or Accord, does your car burn any oil between oil changes? In about 5,500 miles I've used about 1/2 quart or less and was wondering if this is normal. Also, how do you drive and do you have a manual trans? Thanks

Dan Martin

it's pretty common for the K24 to burn some oil. Nothing to worry about, just top it up.

CJams

Now is that for the first 5K or every 5k? We burn that much oil?

ianS

1/2 quart for 5k miles is nothing! My old Prelude burned 1 quart per 6k km and my 328i burned 1 quart per 2k km!

Honda2.4

From 5k miles to 10,500 miles, I've used about 1/3 to 1/2 qt somewhere around their. (some spilled out and that is why I'm not sure exactly how much). I guess what I'm getting is whether the K24 2.4L found in the TSX or Accord burns a little oil? Other variables like how you drive will effect oil consumption as well. VTEC engines in general will burn a little bit of oil.

Tsx536

Maybe JTso has some info on this.

I wonder how much oil his oil can catch collects every 5000 miles.

scheißterhöffer

Mine burned almost a quart in the first 5K miles, then about 1/3 to 1/2 between 5K and 10K and about the same between 10K and 15K.

Still Water

11,800 miles on the odo - zip oil loss. I keep lookin' and no need to add oil and no movement on the dipstick. Running Royal Purple Syn after 5K mile break-in.

Honda2.4

Mine is identical to yours. Do any of you guy's have 5/6spd manual trans? Bringing the rpms up on any engine will sometimes result in some oil loss.

scheißterhöffer

I have the 6 speed and exceed 5k maybe once a day, have probably redlined it maybe 5 times in 15K miles. In most of my in traffic driving, I shift between 3 and 4K. So I'd say I'm generally not too harsh on the car to the point that the oil use is the result of me abusing the car, but for that matter, is revving to redline on every shift even abusing it?

sauceman

Well that's pretty handsome for oil consumption. My TSX will burn a quart of oil anywhere between 1400 and 4000km, depending on temperature and the way I drive the car.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

My catch can collects measurable amount of oil but not that much. I'd say approx. 3 tablespoons every 3k miles. It's considered normal to use a little oil especially during the break-in period. I noticed the oil consumption went down slightly after my first oil change and switched to synthetic.

aaronng

Mine hasn't burnt oil in the past 6000miles. I do redlines about 4-5 times a week.

Black_6spd

I still have my factory oil and I've already added 1 quart from 2000 miles of driving.

I never redlined my car. However, I do hit vtec about every other day.

aaronng

I think that during the running in of your car, giving your engine a little more load to seat the piston rings does wonders for the oil consumption. But long term longevity is still a question. My engine might not burn oil now, but might only last to 100k miles while those who babied their engine could last til 200k miles but still burn oil. Which do you prefer?

Alin10123

It depends, if you Vtec a lot you may loose a bit of oil in the process. But if you're a conservative driver i would say you probably dont burn much.
It is normal to burn a little bit of oil during break-in.

Still Water

I was told many years ago by an old & wise mechanic, "use it but don't abuse it and don't let anyone else drive the car." What he was saying is that if you baby an engine it won't age correctly and will in time be an old "loose" engine and suck oil for breakfast. If you whip it like a bad dog it'll crap out on you in short order. He said drive it under load and keep it on the up curve especially when catching it on down shifts. Using this advice I once put over 300K mile on a SAAB 1.9 engine that didn't burn oil and only needed two reseated valves/guides during its life. I'm planning on taking care of the TSX the same way. Besides, the TSX has too sweet of an engine to needlessly abuse & trash-out not to mention the $$$'s to fix it.

poltergeist

"VTEC engines in general will burn a little bit of oil."

"if you Vtec a lot you may loose a bit of oil in the process."

Where do you guys get this stuff? iVtec function has nothing to do with oil consumption.

Dan Martin

It's just a different cam profile.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

It's probably another myth. When the cam profile is switched to vtec mode, it means the engine rpm is higher, valves and pistons are moving faster. If the engine has slightly worn valve guides, seals and piston rings, I suppose one can associate oil consumption with vtec mode. If you think about it, how many ways can oil enter into the combustion chamber?

Btw, the PCV system will cause a little oil entering the combustion camber during normal operation, but not much.

STL

I'm not sure about the TSX (since I don't have one yet), but I can say the oil consumption in my S2000 seems to be directly proportional to how often/long I spend at higher RPMs which means in the VTEC range.

poltergeist

Granted high RPM running can increase oil consumption to some degree, but this is true of any engine. The Vtec spool valve uses oil pressure to lock the rocker arms to use a different cam lobe, but when Vtec is de-activated this oil is bled back into the crankcase.

STL

I'm not saying it's VTEC itself that uses the oil, but VTEC allows Honda to extend the power curve of an engine upwards to higher RPMs -- and it's those higher RPMs that increase oil consumption.

SodaLuvr

Very possible that the rings haven't fully seated yet.

Remember that this fill of M1 EP 10w-30 went in at 5K, when the engine was still breaking in. At <10,000 miles, any oil will suffer from more rapid oil degradation since the rings haven't fully seated and more "blow-by" will occur. Often times, with more blow-by, the oil will become "dirty" more rapidly, and will not seal the rings as well.

Add that to rings that haven't fully seated and you may get some consumption. I bet that the consumption will drop to close to zero once he changes oil at 15K.

Of course, what oil he's going to use next is still debateable.

Gold GC, Schaeffer's 5w-20, RL 5w-20, any other suggestions?

Michael

Howard911s

zero oil lose here. at least none that i could see and my mechanic could tell. 22000 miles and going strong!

calgary_tsx

my oil loss is really random. At times, Ive had to top it up by 1/2 a litre between changes (8000 km). This time around, doesn't seem to have consumed any oil, I checked it this morning, been almost 8000km since change, and the oil is to the top marker on the dipstick. I drive my car moderately hard, it sees redline at least once a day (unless its winter, then it sees 3k!!!) and its all pretty much city driving, mostly rush hour

sauceman

Just a few minutes ago, I practiced a drag race launch (like I often do.. ) at the last light before home (about 1/8th of mile). This time, when looking in the rearview mirror, I was amazed to see a dark cloud from where I left. That was me.

I also noticed traces of soot in the area around my exhaust pipes.

curls

Sorry to bring this one back from the dead...

I bought my car w/ 72,000km (44,000 miles). Used mainly on highway from what I could tell.

Anyhow, the dealership changed the oil when I bought the car (72,000km service), and in 3500km, I was down about 2.5 - 3.0 liters. I filled it back up (I wouldn't consider that "topping it up"... it was filling it back up). Anyhow, 1000km since then, I was down another 1 liter of oil.

Granted, I drive the car moderately hard (redline once or twice a day at most, shift at 4500rpm unless just doing the daily commute, then it's 3500rpm).

I noticed some black soot forming around the tailpipes, and the nicely-cleaned exhaust tips get black within a week or two of driving.

What is considered NORMAL for this engine in terms of consumption, and what is EXCESSIVE?

Also, what is the best way to bring this up w/ the dealer, as I still have about 25,000km left on the powertrain warranty. I've mentioned it "burns about 1L/1000km" and they say that's normal. I asked if they would like to come to my house every 1000km and top it up with a liter of oil... they didn't really respond. I think it's excessive myself... and even my 1991 Integra BEFORE the rebuild didn't burn quite this much (about 3/4 of a liter every 1000km)

Opinions / thoughts?

Thanks,
~Eric

aaronng

1L/1000km is excessive. The most I've seen is roughly 1L/10000km and that was not in top nick. Was the Acura warranty transferred to your name? If so, then go to another dealer that doesn't give the "it's normal" crap.

sauceman

NO. 1L per 1000km is excessive. Ask them to perform an oil consumption study. On the study sheet they have, it is specified that anything below 1L/1500km is considered out of tolerances and must be looked after. I know. I did that study.

curls

Thanks sauceman... I will definately being that up in about 2500km when I'm due for the 80K service. In the meantime I'll monitor it myself.

I assume they tell you to come in every 1,000 km and they check the levels, etc... and then after the 8000km interval, they decide if its excessive and will determine where it's going?

First thing's first, however -- I plan to change my PCV valve on Sunday just in case it's sticking.

Master47

I checked mine last night after it had time to drain to the bottom of the pan. I was missing about .5 L in about 1200 mi. I switched to synthetic @ 3600mi. It now has 4800.

paulff3

My previous Acura, 95 GSR, started to burn oil during the last year I owned it. I sold the car in 2002 with 76,000 miles on it. When I went to my dealer and asked about oil consumption the said "Honda considers less then a quart per 700 miles normal". My car was using half a quart per 1,000 miles. The dealer also recommended High Milage oil like Valvoline Max Life which by the way I use in my second older car and I must say it is good oil.

I drove my GSR hard, very hard. The car was built to be driven hard and I did so. I'm not surprised it started to burn some oil around 70,000 and being 6 years old. By the way I sold my GSR after 76,000 and owning it for 7 years for $9,300. Unbelievable!

On a side note, my buddy owned a Prelude, the last model, and the thing drank oil like crazy. I'm talking at least a quart per 500 miles.

My current Acura I drove moderatley for the first 5,000. No high RPM blasts. After 5,000 miles I switched over to synthetic and drive agressively periodically. Nothing like I use to do with the GSR. My CLS-6 uses no oil.

Paul

Bill Hook

Get a leakdown test done.

curls

I plan to do that next time I'm at my mechanic friends' house... and if the results are not good, I'll be getting Acura to do one and see for themselves.

Bill Hook

I'd skip that step and ask that Acura do it, on their dime, to confirm the cause of oil use.

curls

Nah I'd rather have my friend do it anyhow... I'll likely be there getting a rear sway installed anyhow.

I trust him w/ my cars more than ANYONE... and he has the tools, etc... to do it properly.

I plan on telling the dealership at my next oil change, anyhow, as I mentioned earlier.

sauceman

Yeah, but if you want to have a solid warranty case with Acura, let them handle the issue from A to Z.

You won't be disappointed, you can be sure of that.

Leak-down and compression test would be good things to do.

And yes, they ask you to come in every 1000km to check the oil levels.

SodaLuvr

To curls and everyone else,
If you guys have followed Curls' car buying experience with this car, the cause of this oil consumption is easily guessable.

First, this car was purchased used, and there were signs that it was a lease vehicle. If I recall correctly, the tires were worn out quite badly since they weren't rotated regularly, and the CEL was on for a period of time. These are all some signs of neglect, poor maintenance.

First thing that comes to mind with poor maintenance, and oil, is infrequent oil changes. This is a very common cause of stuck ringpacks, which can cause excessive oil consumption. We've seen many cases of this on Bobistheoilguy (BITOG).

Run two cycles of Auto-RX, with a conventional 5w-30, then the consumption will go down.

MW

sauceman

I have the exact same problem, and I have followed religiously the suggested maintenance by Acura...