Hey all-

New to site, had my acura for 2 years (2004 tsx 69,000mi)

Wondering: I blow through oil. It does not create the burning smell, there is no leak. I've had it checked out and the mechanic said that it is just "going out the exhaust." I change it 3-5k mi with full synthetic, the oil always looks clean (not gunky). I have to replace at least an extra quart of oil every 2k mi before I completely change it. Anyone experience the similar?

and one more thing, thought to be unrelated....it's just now emitting a burning rubber smell (different than burning oil) beginning a few days ago. I looked through the manual and there is not a recommendation on when to change the timing belt. there is no noise associated with it. oh and oil is ok :-)

thanks!

 

How hard do you drive the car? If you spend a lot of time on the higher cam (iVtec), the oil will go that much faster...

 

I'd have to agree, you're probably burning it. Good way to check is to put a big piece of cardboard under the car after you park it. If there's oil on the cardboard in the morning, you've likely got a leak. If not, you're likely burning it somewhere. My POS Neon burned about a quart between changes (3k miles) and I never smelled a thing so you can't always use that as an indication.

Also, the TSX uses a timing chain, not a belt. You don't need to change it at 50 to 70k like a belt. For piece of mind I plan on changing mine at about 110k, but even then its probably not necessary.

 

I had this problem with my ole '99 Prelude all the time. Honda's response, "VTEC Motors Consume Oil". Now the word "consume" is very vague, yet they do say that if the car doesn't smell like it's burning oil or there isn't excessive soot around the pipes then its not burning the oil. They just eat it I found out over the years. I have had the techs tell me this too. Very common, yet unexplainable.

 

Yea mine does the same thing... it sucks. I'm usually down a quart or so by the time I reach 2000 miles, but everything else is fine.

 

is there any problems that could happen down the line from having it exit through the exhaust?

Reason I ask this is my old 98 Integra used to lose a quart every 3k, and soon after I found this out, my O2 sensors and failed after 100k. Is this a possible cause; oil or its combusted product in the exhaust?

 

I think my oil consumption (burning) problem w/ my TSX caused my O2 sensor to give up the ghost. $220 later my car was OK, but the sensor was not covered under warranty even after the engine was replaced due to my oil burning problem.

Adrenalinechic - Do a search for a thread started by me for "burning oil - got my car back" or something like that. The long story short is that mine was burning considerable oil and I fought w/ Acura and finally got the engine replaced under warranty. This was close to but not past my warranty expiration mileage, though. I think at 69,000 miles (sorry I'm a Canuck), you might be out of warranty?

Does your VIN number end with a low number? (Mine is 00032 which means a very early production car, and I think the others on this forum with the same oil consumption problem all had VIN's that were well below 00300 or so.)

 

is this a major problem as bad as the G35's?

 

 

Infinity G35s have oil burning problems? if so, what year models?

 

Disregard that post as he/she/it decided to post that all around the forum. He/she/it has been warned.

 

STOP using the synthetic and go to a convetional 10-30 like castrol and 3K oil changes with new filter, something I have noticed with Synthetics is that at full operating temp they get VERY thin and can easily be pulled past the rings and valve stem seals.

Did your mechanic do a compression and leak down test? Did he pull your plugs and inspect them for sighns of oil buring?

 

Balderdash ! Viscosity is independent of oil type - 5W30 synthetic and non-synthetic has the same viscosity.

 

^Ok, keep believing that, I have collected data using a oil pressure gauge that at full operating temp at idle showed a 6-8psi diff between castrol 5-30 and mobil1 5-30 and more like 10psi using 10-30.......

 

This is 3rd time I hear about this problem occuring with 04 TSX's Friend, I think u need to check with your dealer ASAP. others had their motors replaced.

 

You are absolutely correct - a couple of simple shade-tree mechanic measurements completely nullify the long-standing SAE specifications for oil viscosity. I bow deeply to your knowledge ... (sarcasm intended).

 

Same car, same engine, same AEM gauge, oil was all new, numbers don't lie....

Also you seem to forget that I said after full operating temperature is reach, oil viscosity is mesured at room temp, not at 180-200F......

 

Oil viscosity is measured at 0 ºF and 212 ºF.

 

I would give Auto-Rx a try.

 

I just hit 75,000 miles on my 04 and for the first time I noticed a low oil level. I switched to mobil 1 for older vehicles so I'll see how this works. If a bunch of us are experiencing it then it's an issue. The car runs great, no problems, I will just check my oil level more frequently. If you have over 50,000 miles I suggest paying close attention to your oil level. Waiting for the oil light to come on may be too late because that comes on below 2 quarts and there are only 4.5 in the engine.

 

I would seriously give Auto-Rx a try.
http://www.auto-rx.com/

There is a ton of information at BITOG including pics of internal engine components and oil analysis results regarding Auto-Rx usage.
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

From my own personal experience, my wife had a '96 Odyssey that had the oil and filter changed routinely between 3K - 6K since new. Sometime at over 100K it developed a tiny oil leak that would leave just a drop of oil on the garage floor. I did a Basic Application of Auto-Rx and it completely eliminated the oil leak. We ended up selling the car with 180K+ miles on it and it didn't consume or leak any oil. Don't ask me how, but this stuff worked as advertised for me.

Also, how much oil are you filling the crankcase with when doing an oil & filter change? A lot of members here (myself included) use the full 5 qt. jug and it measures right at the top fill mark of the dipstick.

 

I took my '06 TSX Auto w/89Kmi in to have the tech look at why my car was plowing through a quart about every 750-1000 miles. Just got a call that AcuraCare(Extended warranty) authorized a replacement engine, so they are putting one in this week. I don't know what the exact cause was, but I'll post that once I get my car back.

 

Hmm...never heard of this until this thread. It interests me...

 

I have never heard of a 2006 TSX needing an engine replacement because of excessive oil use.

 

New engine in a few weeks ago. Well a certified used with a few thousand miles on it. Fully covered by AcuraCare extended warranty. Service rep said my piston rings were warped. I'm guessing it's cheaper to just replace the engine than rebuild the old one? Either way my TSX with 89K on it is driving just like new. Probably going to stick with synthetic oil for the new one.

 

2004?

Good luck with the new one.

 

When they were diagnosing my disappearing oil issues a few years ago, a full valve and ring job didn't solve the problem -- they figured it was the block (cylinders) it(them) selves that were warped or 'out of round'.

Glad to hear your issues were solved under warranty, that's awesome!

 

Nope 2006. Replaced engine with a recertified 2008 engine.

 

I currently have this problem. my car is not leaking oil and its not in the rad. fluid, thus by process of elimination my car is burning oil!!! however, lately, i have been consistently been between the 2 dots on the dip stick but have gone very low on oil a couple times. I have been driving my car moderate and not like an a$$hole. this bothers me and my mechanic told me to go 10w30 because its "thicker". i keep you guys updated

 

Once you get over a certain amount of mile in the tsx, just get used to checking your oil more frequently. I'm almost at 90,000 miles and I just check it often and change it on time. I haven't had any engine problems. They just burn oil. Common problem amongst tsx.

 

The biggest thing you failed to test, however, was oil brand. Different brands of oil perform differently despite SAE viscosity ratings. A $6/quart bottle of Mobil1 crap will not perform nearly as well as well as, say, a $60/quart bottle of Shell Helix oil (the oil they run in the Ferrari Enzo), despite them both being full synthetic oils at the same SAE rated viscosity. Certain things other than the RATED viscosity (the number on the bottle) of the oil affect its performance (see: Shearing).

This may explain your observations. It has little to do with synthetic vs. non-syn oil and more to do with the oil breaking down and losing some of its viscosity in the motor (ie. the QUALITY of the oil).

 

Where you fail is that I NEVER said this was a comprehensive test of all oils, let along some exotic synthetic,just threw out my observations, now go get your post count somewhere else.

 

Take it easy, man. I wasn't trying to attack your post or anything like that. I was just sharing my experience on this matter, just like you were.

I do admit my response was pretty far off the original topic of the thread, so I apologize for that. I should have started a new thread on this matter.

 

replace the pcv, its only a few bucks and could potentially reduce the oil consumption significantly.

if your rings are gunked up, run auto rx, it will clean that out.

 

so far the 10w30 is doing well, i am right below the 2 dot on the dip stick, yet im still unhappy @ 59k miles. A 3 g Tl is on the horizon.

 

I've been on the site for awhile and I wouldn't say that oil usage is at all common. I would have said just the opposite is true. That said...... let the flood gates open and let's hear about the oil using TSX's (or any Honda for that matter). I've been driving Honda's on and off for 30 years and none have used any oil. And that goes for the 2 TSX's in the driveway right now. My 05 has over 120K miles on it and the 07 has close to 90K. Neither car uses, or has ever used, a drop of oil between changes. I'm pretty confident that this is the norm for this engine. If you're using oil at (and before) 59K miles, there's a problem with the motor, period. But.... that's probably the only problem: it uses oil. Oh, and that's regardless of a dealer telling you the usage is "within spec" (and if you haven't been told that, others have).

There are always a few engines built that use oil. All manufacturers face this problem and they deal with it by adopting the stance that oil usage of "a quart every thousand miles is normal". Though there are very few cars that actually experience this rate of oil consumption, the company line covers them on the ones that do. That's allot easier and cheaper than possibly having to replace even a few engines that have no problems other than that they use oil.

 

I have the oil changed on time and also check the level-no problems with the level-never have to add any. My tsx has almost 105k miles

 

I like to think I baby my car (04 MT), and I always use Mobil 1 Full Synthetic, and change it every 5-6K miles. Normally within this interval, I'll have to add a quart to "top it off". Not really sure what the explanation is, as I don't drive the car hard either.

 

my oil level is fine always at second mark at 3k.. when time to do oil changes. but when my car hit 80k, i noticed this sporty or racing engine is starting to burn or eat engine oil. no leaks anywhere. my tech say is normal. all sporty or racing or racy engines will eat oil. for me... instead of add half quart or up to 1 quart of oil .. I just DO AN OIL CHANGE... so now, i just do my oil changes at 2500 mile mark. I use OEM honda oil filter s15400 PLM A01. I think this one is better built and better quality than 15400 PLM A02. This is only my opinion. A02 is MFR by Honeywell. and A01 is heavier and can see the by pass vlv on the bottom of the filter and mfr is FILTECH.

 

i never checked my oil level in between oil chnages (every 3k) until one time I got the low level oil red light blinking, at around 80k. So I switched to synthetic and I add about a quart sometime midway before an oil change (every 5k). The car runs smooth though. So same story.