rkan121

My TSX is burning a considerable amount of oil, i love the TSX and dont want to part with it but this problem is killing me inside. I shifted to 6th gear @ a low speed and heard a 'knock'. I checked my oil and it was veryyyyy low. if it was burning a little oil that would be different, but i do like to redline my car and the oil seems to go faster when i do this.

Itchytoe

That's because a little bit of oil is consumed everytime you enguage v-tec. Stay off the high cam and you won't burn as much oil. You'll still burn a little since just about every v-tec engine burns some, but it shouldn't be a considerable amount of oil if you drive a little more patiently.

rkan121

i just dont see the point in having this car if its going to run empty between oil changes.

philliesfan980

There's probably a bigger problem involved if you're going through 4-5 quarts of oil inbetween changes. Like I said, I generally add a quart inbetween changes, but that's it (I don't redline though).

kanonen

I don't have the manual on me.,..but is there an official honda/acura statement about this (that v-tec consumes oil) ?

josh_rohrer

I have a 2004 TSX 6 speed and have been experiencing the same issue, about a qt low in between oil changes, I think someone might have hit the nail on the head with the PCV valve. I am going to try and change this and go from there.

philliesfan980

Please let me know if this fixes it, I have the same model car as you do.

Just curious, but how much would a dealer charge to do this if this is in fact the problem?

Kap

Hi all, I have a 2006 TSX 6MT for two years, it now has 62,000 miles on it. I bought it with 47k miles and changed the oil to Mobil 1 5-30 and have been running it to this day.
When I change the oil at 7500 miles I noticed that I'm down about 1/2 quart which is well within the limits of a 7500 mile oil change. All engines burn a small amount of oil it can't be helped, it's part of the normal combustion process. Oh by the way if it matters I normally drive all highway about 75 mph and like to tach it up now and again usually once a day as this car really likes the high rpm's. I love my car and drive it like it was meant to be driven, but never beat on it.

Simba91102

This smells a little of urban myth to me too. I was never shy about visiting the reline (and/or the limiter for that matter)(before my self imposed 6500 RPM redline once I passed 100K miles) and my car has never used any oil (120K miles). I would say it's pretty obvious that some (but I'll bet you not many) of these cars use a little oil. I'd be skeptical of any statements that claims to offer a concrete reason for it. If there's something in print from Honda on this, I might be willing to entertain it, but otherwise, well.......

rkan121

what does PVC stand for and what is the PVC value. will it fix or help my oil burning problem???

curls

It's PCv, and it stands for "Positive Crankcase Ventilation". Its a valve that allows blow-by gases to be put back into the air/fuel mixture to be burned off instead of creating too high of pressure in the crankcase (my understanding, anyways).

It might help with the oil burning problem, but as far as I know, the TSX's PCV valve is a dealer-only part, and according to my experience, likely won't help with the oil burning problem if its anything mechanical that's wrong with the car to cause the problem in the first place.

If you find the hose leading to it (left side of engine, just above the head gasket, between radiator and engine, screwed into the crankcase, it has a fairly thick rubber tube coming straight off of it and wrapping somewhere to the right)... you can test the PCV valve by pinching the hose with pliers (wrap the pliers in electrical tape, or cover with a short section of plastic or rubber tubing to prevent cutting the hose at all!!). If you hear the valve clicking significantly (with car on and warmed up of course), then it's fine. If you clamp it and there's no clicking at all, the valve might be gummed up and in need of cleaning or replacement.

curls

BTW, here's a pic of the PCV location:
http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

This general area in the pic is located on the front of the engine, left side (not the side of the engine though, its on the front!). Close to, if not tucked under, the intake manifold. The tube itself goes up into the fuel injector base area, tangled in the intake manifold where it meets the engine head.

Stafford

My $.02 worth. My daughter's CPO '04 TSX suddenly developed an oil consumption problem at 95000. The dealer kept saying it wasn't a problem, but at 105000 they finally put in a new refurbed engine under warranty. Odd that although it was doing a qt/1000 mi, never a drip nor a puff of smoke noted. Ran great.

valeratj

Has anybody tried oil catch tank? Maybe it would solve the problem?

josh_rohrer

I had the dealer replace my PVC, it cost me $25 for the part and $40 for the labor. I had them change the oil while it was in to, it was, as usual, about a qt and a half low on oil. I had 3800 miles on this oil change. I will post the results of the next oil change. the valve that came out seemed to be fine. I have 104,000 miles now.
2004 6spd TSX

ck123

thats expensive for a job that requires a plier and 17mm wrench. i changed a friends in 5 minutes. Did it for the reason-Oil consumption but on rsx-s

kanonen

where do we get this pcv piece online ?

ck123

http://www.acuraoemparts.com/delray/...All&vinsrch=no

josh_rohrer

It is a little more than a 5 min job on the TSX. I paid a little over 80 dollars for the pvc, the labor and an oil change. Seems reasonable to me. The best part about it all is that my hands are still clean and my back doesn't hurt from leaning over the fender.

Simba91102

Sorry, but that is huge money. After I started reading this thread a couple of weeks ago, I ordered everything I figured I'd need to do the job for two cars (The link with the picture that curls provided is very helpful). Acurawholesaleparts. com was as cheap as anyone and shipped for free. Now.... that said, after changing the PCV valve on my 05 (123K Northeast miles), I'll offer this: First, I only did it because I figured what the heck, after this much time (over 5 years and 123K miles) I might as well, and it's a pretty easy, cheap DIY. The PCV valve is $17.42, and the washer is 26 cents and I'm quite sure that that's all anyone would need. I ordered new tubes and clips, but that was without looking, and now I'm confident that anyone can use the old stuff. It didn't appear to me that I could use a wrench to remove the valve. It sits right under the alternator and it didn't look like I could get a wrench on it. But..... I have plenty of tools and 17MM deep socket is just the ticket. First, take off the plastic engine cover (the one that as "i-VTEC" printed on it)(a 10MM socket works best, but a wrench might do it, to take off the 2 nuts to remove the cover). Then a pliers (I found needle nose useful) to removed the two hose clamps (once you see it, it's self-explanatory), then remove the hose. Use the socket (w/ a ratchet or a small breaker bar) to "break" the PCV valve, then it will spin right out. Install the new valve and washer (I'd suggest replacing the washer too), then re-install everything else in reverse order. Doesn't get much easier. Also..... this is probably a great DIY job for someone lacking confidence in working on their car. And as far as getting your hands dirty.... surgical gloves work great on jobs like this.

curls

I have a huge box of blue nitrile gloves for working on my cars. Great around oil/grease and have perfect tactile feel. I also find they don't rip nearly as easy as latex gloves.

I also use Mechanix gloves for things like tire swaps, suspension work, etc. Keeps my hands clean(ish), keeps me from getting cut (usually), and they still offer great feel for hand-threading smaller bolts too. They're leather palmed with a fabric/meshy back. Great gloves! Just don't use to remove the oil filter as they'll get oily in a hurry.

ck123

i understand the clean hands and back part, but it really is a 5 minute job after you done it.

http://forums..com/showthread.php?t=583051

ck123

i understand the clean hands and back part, but it really is a 5 minute job after you done it.
DIY for those interested
http://forums..com/showthread.php?t=583051

josh_rohrer

Not trying to turn this into a pissing contest but, if I were to go buy the oil, oil filter and pcv it would cost me 50 to 55 dollars, I paid 82 dollars and this included a 40 point inspections and all my fluids were topped off. So tell me how that is BIG money, cause I don't get it. And I'm not sure you can find a acura pcv for under 20 dollars including shipping, if ya can good job.

Simba91102

Sorry, didn't notice the included oil change. But... as far as the part costs are concerned, read my above post again.

josh_rohrer

Ahh I see now, you thought I paid 82 just for the pvc and labor, ya I can see why you would think that would be ridiculous. I made sure before I took it in that they were only going to charge a half hour labor because of the simplicity of the job. Ill give the acurawholeseparts a shot on my next project thanks.

davieo23

....ok

So does changing the PCV valve actually help with oil consumption?

Simba91102

Good question..... and I have no idea. I have an 05 (123K miles) and an 07 (94K miles) and neither use a drop of oil. I changed the PCV mainly because it's been over 5 years for the 05 and over 3 years for the 07 and just seemed like a good idea (and easy and cheap).

nj2pa2nc

my 06 tsx does not have an oil cosumption problem. Doing your own maintenance on the car is usually cheaper and easy IF you enjoy doing it, know how to do it, have the proper tools to do it and have a place to do it. I have no desire. i will continue taking my car to the acura dealer that I trust and does excellent work.

josh_rohrer

Stayed tuned to this thread and Ill let you know how mine does at the next oil change. I was using 1 to 1.5 qts per oil change, and i usually change the oil at 3800 to 4200 miles. I do 85% highway and 15% in town. I have a 2004 6speed with around 104000 miles

rkan121

im in the process of an oil consumption test and im burning a little over a quart per 1000 miles. obvisously within acura spec. i dont agree with this because the oil light WILL come on every 3000 miles, thus pissing me off. So far acura client services acts like retards and the dealership has said theres no problem. The service manager did say the previous owner didnt change the oil properly and the valves were likely the problem. well see how the process unfolds.......

GeorgeTSX

I am seeing this oil consumption issue in my 2004 TSX that I bought new back in 2003 and currently has 82,428 miles on it. Yesterday my oil light came on and I had to add a gallon of oil. My next oil change isn't due until 9/27/2010 (84,576 miles). My last oil change was 3 months ago at the end on April of this year at 79,576 (so 2852 miles since my last oil change). Just before that oil change I needed to add over 4 quarts of oil as well. Before that oil consumption didn't seem to be a problem, although I admit I haven't been checking my oil levels as often as I should.

Any ideas on what the issue could be with that much oil loss?

kanonen

car use to eat almost a quart per 1500 miles. I changed the PCV valve and changed the oil 3 weeks ago then put on 1500 miles. Checked the oil level this morning and it is in the middle between the dots. No idea how much the mechanic did top it when I serviced it. Will post after some more miles.

Miamicarfan

GeorgeTSX:


Several questions:


1) How did you drive the car during the first 600-1000 miles when you first got it in 2003? Did you drive on the highway mostly or the city mostly? or a combination?

2) When you were on the highway during those first 1000 miles, did you go on long distance trips?

3) Do you remember checking the oil levels during the first couple of years of ownership right before oil changes? Or you don't remember?

nbtx

You ran the crankcase completely dry more than once? - its capacity is just slightly more than 4 quarts, which by the way is a gallon. If you haven't been checking the oil level frequently, you have given the kiss of death to the engine. I seem to remember the owner's manual mentioning that you should check the oil level frequently - don't remember the interval, but once every 1000 miles would be a good starting point.

I've been watching the oil usage of my 06 and see about 1/2 quart between oil changes = 5500 miles or so. So when it starts using more oil, I will check it more frequently so it NEVER runs more than one quart low.

GWEEDOspeedo

I have now experienced a low-oil situation for the second time (go figure it's this morning when it's raining a bit I needed to be early to work). I've been using LubroMoly Fully Synthetic 5W-30 and Fram filters (likely to change) during my oil changes. I have 63K miles now on my 2005 TSX 6sp CPO so I don't have as many miles as others experiencing this issue.

rkan121

begin milage 54 k miles

test 1 - little over a quart low/ 1000 miles
test 2 - 2 quarts low / 1400 miles
test 3 - Pending

current mileage 64k miles

GWEEDOspeedo

I just changed my ool to Amsoil 10W-30 to try a different synthetic oil. I also switched from FRAM to Mobil1 for my ool filter. I'll definitely be more diligent about checking my ool level and report back.

kanonen

10 days later and about 1000 miles. Oil level went from halfway between the dots to the lowest dot. I added 3/4 of a quart this morning.
Kinda ridiculous, I will just keep checking and adding oil I guess...Feels like I am driving an old diesel truck!

GWEEDOspeedo

Well, about 3,000mi after my oil change to a slightly heavier oil, I still seem to have some oil go missing. I had drained and replaced oil to about as close to the middle of the dots as I could, and it was now just above the lower dot on two checks (clean stick, dip, clean stick, dip)(in before that's what she said). Thankfully, a half quart every few thousand miles isn't terrible by any means, but I'd like to know why it's burning. I'll check my spark plugs soon to see if they're getting blackened again like when I checked them first after buying my car c.p.o.