Ellas9

I have 8,000kms on my 5AT TSX, a buddy of mine has 35000km on his 6MT TSX; neither of us have oil consumption. The dealer is putting 5/20 in it - which seems to do quite well up in the Canadian winters - quick oil pressure (based on timing of light coming off on dash) and no tappet or other metal noices coming from engine during cold start up.

Driving: I baby the car (perhaps you could call me the carbon king if it wasn't for the highway driving I do) - I cruise at 110km/h on the highway and don't rev past 3000rpm, mostly around 2300rpm, during city gear changes -99% of the time. My buddy usually shifts at 3750rpm and cruises at 125km/h on the highway - again no oil consumption. Even the oil colour stays rather golden. I had my first oil change at 6,200km - he does his every 8,000km.

I would never support changing my oil past 5,000km on my subsequent oil changes (I waited on the first based on the oil being designed for longer use/break in). Try changing the oil quicker; by the way neither use Synthetic.

peter_bigblock

Wait a minute! You put four quarts of oil into your car? It only takes 4.4 quarts. That means you were down to 0.4 quarts!? Without question, contact Acura (not the dealership, the company) and, if the dealer is shrugging this off, take the car to a mechanic. You ran your car completely out of oil, dude. This is a huge problem any way you look at it. Forget about the line on your headlights or the buzzing sounds. Figure out why your car ran completely out of oil!

For anyone out there, you should be checking your oil at every gas fill up. It takes about the same time as filling your tank. If you wait for the oil light in your instrument cluster, you're down about four quarts and have very likely done real damage to your engine.

Colin

Hold on here. I agree that if you were regularly checking the oil at each fill up and you went from "full" to 4 quarts low in one tank of gas, that you have a serious problem. (I suspect you'd also have an oil slick under your parking stall) However, although this wasn't specified in the original post, I don't think this is the case here. If the generally accepted rule of thumb is 1 qt/1000 miles, then he's WAY under that. He's using 1qt/1800 miles. His ONLY problem (IMO) is that he never checked it during the break in period as specified in the manual.

sauceman

Honda considers anything better than 1/1000 is within spec. But you already knew that.

aaronng

Does that mean that within the 6 month/10,000 mile service interval, it is fine to go through 10 quarts (3.5 bottles) of oil as long as I keep topping it up?

Colin

Yes and No. It's 6 months or 5,000 miles (severe) or 12 months or 10,000 miles (normal). Yes, you just keep topping it up. Owners responsability.

mikef

I have an 05 TSX 6MT NAVI that I purchased May 19. I did the first oil change at 1500 miles and than at 5K and 10K, I currently have 13K. I check the oil every fill-up. I also check after every change to be sure, it takes just a few seconds and will give you fair warning of potential problems. I am using very little oil, maybe 1/2 quart every 5K. I have not had any problems including rattles or squeaks. I had very high expectations prior to purchase and I have been very pleased. I currently also own an 02 Carrera and a 99 MB CLK 320 cab and both those cars made visits to the dealer for problems especially the MB. Let us not forget that a car is a machine with many components. To not open the hood for 10K miles borders on insanity. Do that with a Porsche and you will be really sorry. How many attempts has the dealer had at addressing your rattles and squeaks? If you are unhappy with Honda/Acura quality you are not leaving yourself many alternatives. Lexus/Toyota are your only other choice. Forget the Americans, Germans, English and Korean cars.

jkozlow3

My TSX hasn't used ANY oil in over 2000 miles and I've broken it in fairly hard (lots of high revs, downshifting frequently to create compression, etc).

aaronng

Waitaminute.... You mean if you follow the normal schedule, the TSX's service schedule is every 12 months instead? Our normal schedule is 6 months/7500 miles! Severe is also 6 months, but the mileage interval is shorter.

sauceman

Honestly, personally I believe the normal service schedule is risky. I have a difficult time seeing who and how one would qualify for it. I sure as hell don't, and I'm not hard on my car, it's just highway mileage (except for those occasionnal trips to the tracks).

Colin

The likely reason for the "normal" schedule is to keep service costs down in Consumer Reports. It gives us a great advantage to only require 4 service visits in 4 years. The fact that few people fit the "normal" profile does not matter. IMO most people should go with the "Severe" schedule and continue to check the oil at every fill up.