Miamicarfan

Dan when you say your car was broken in "gently" and that all of your driving is highway miles, do you mean that when it was new you frequently engaged the cruise control and kept it at steady speed on the highway? And even if you not engage the cruise control, did you keep the car at steady speed like 60 or 70 mph?


"My car was new and it was broken in gently. Almost all of my driving is highway miles."

Xtremespeed2102

man im just over your odometer, im at 38k 39k miles on the ticker and its an 04
needs an oil change soon, twice a year, winter and summer

Dan Martin

I just got around to replacing the PCV valve tonight and the old one seemed to be in good shape, but it's kind of hard to test once it's out of the car. There was a test they mentioned in the service manual where you can clamp the PCV hose while the car is idling and you should be able to hear a click from the PCV valve, but with the engine is idling, it was too loud to tell. I'd probably need a stethoscope to be sure.

For now, I'll just keep my eye on the oil level and take note of any losses.

When I picked up the car 4 years ago, I was doing a 50/50 mix of city and highway driving as my daily routine. Today it's more like 80/20 hwy/city.
It's not a good idea to cruise for extended periods of time with your cruise control on while you're breaking in a new engine. Try to vary the speed while keeping the revs below 5000 for the first 500 miles, then slowly work up to higher revs as you put more miles on. There's a good thread on the subject here: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1443

loulinjai

holy smokes. isn't 5L of oil...ALL of the oil in the motor? or are you adding oil periodically?

Dan Martin

I check my oil regularly and top up as needed. I just happen to be needing a lot these days.

cor6bro

I have 92k miles on mine. It's using about 1 quart of oil every 2500 miles.

NDLunchbox

I'm an 04 owner who's still around (got it June of 2003) - but not for more than another year or so. 68k and mine burns oil too. Fought with Acura dealerships and corporate for the better part of 2 years, not a pleasant experience. Needless to say they gradually wore my anger down to frustration and finally acceptance. Rather than waste anymore time dealing with them (I found banging my head against a wall is more rewarding) I've resigned myself to just give up and keep dumping oil in.
1qt every 800 miles like clock work - which would be about 9 QTs between oil changes (I've switched to 7,500 mile intervals).

Xtremespeed2102

eh, if you have a minute or two you should fill out a BBB complaint. its all online (at least Orlando's page was). Took me a few minutes and three or four days later i got a phone call back from the dealership saying she wanted to make the situation right.

granted my ordeal was over 200 bucks but its worth a shot.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

Hmm...maybe I wouldn't notice any oil burnage unless it was major. I change my oil every 5k miles (try to follow the "severe" maintenance schedule).

bz268

I have 128,000 miles on mine. I change the oil every 10k. Should I switch to one of those "high mileage" oil?

I talked to one of my friends. He told me not to bother with any of those. They were all marketing he said.

any different opinions for a car that is 128,000 miles old?

TSXrocks

My '04 TSX is at just over 60 K mils now, and running great! Touchwood. No issues till now. Just once at 40 K when the dealer after doing the oil change did not put the drain plug correctly and I lost almost all of the oil while driving and had the oil pressure low indicator come on. I drove about 30-40 miles continuously putting oil in it and went back to the dealer to fix it. Been perfectly fine after that.

Haven't needed to put a drop of oil for 5 K miles until I change the oil. Hopefully it will keep performing that way, since I plan to run it to the ground.

chokin

i have a stupid question...but i just wonder when is the most accurate time to change the oil level?? right after shut off the car or after the car sit for a night...

i found out that the oil level was between the 2 holes right after i shuted off my car..and then i check on the next day, its right about the top hole..

so am i fine, or my car need more oil...i did the oil change myself. i just poured in a 5 Q bottle from walmart

Fox137

just changed the oil on my 04 TSX.. she now has just over 75000miles.. I change my oil every 7500 miles with Mobile 1 5w-30... I forgot to check it before I propped her up on ramps..

when I looked the dipstick showed ~50% - which i'm guessing is a little lower because all the oil is tilted back?

anyways. .if that is true.. looks like i'm burning ~1 - 2 quarts b.w oil changes.

cuse-tsx

Another 2004 stilling running like a champ at 53K miles. So far no worries with mechanical issues. Have not even changed the rear brakes yet.....

-Mark

illinimatt81

My 04 is still running perfect at about 56K. Picked her up 4 years ago this week. Still runs new, smells new and I love it as much as the day I picked it up.

I still have original rear brakes as well! Just replaced the battery since it is 4 years old and given winter in Chicago you can never be too safe.

I plan to drive it 8-10 years. I put on less than 10,000 miles a year now that I have a job where I ride the train. I used to drive a long way to work, now she only gets out on the weekend and for road trips.

Dan Martin

I'm not sure how this thread turned into a "your car is screwed up but my car is running fine" thread, but I thought I'd update you on the results of my PCV valve replacement.

It has been a little over 2,000KM since I changed the valve and I'm still burning oil at the rate of 1500km per litre, or 5 to 6 litres between changes. So the PCV valve was not the problem.

The next step is doing a leak-down test, but I really don't think I have anything to gain. On one hand, the test could come back and show that everything checks out ok, in that case, I still have a car that burns oil. The other result is the engine needs major work. It's a lose-lose scenario.

At this point, I'm just going keep adding oil on a regular basis and dump the car when I see something else that works for us. I've had many products with Honda engines in the past and I've never had an issue like this before. I know it's impossible to put out a perfect product every time, but to say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I was hoping to drive this car for a lot longer, but now I can't wait to trade it in....

miner

Dan,
Sorry to hear about your TSX oil burnng problem. I can't help but think your rings are shot - was your break-in period mostly highway driving? How does you coolant look? I traded my '04 in with 78000 miles and no oil issues. Keep us updated please.

curls

Normally I'd say it's the rings as well, but with my car and a few other on this board, the bottom end (and top end even) was completely rebuilt with new rings, etc... and the problem still persisted.

The only fix in my case was a crate engine (2006 shortblock - complete bottom end). Fixed it 100%.

dom

moda_way

^^x2. As stated before, I'm almost at 80k miles and I'm hoping I can keep my burning to the 1 quart per 3k miles.

crisco

Dan, any updates on your oil consumption issue?

Dan Martin

I'm regularly burning 1L every 1500km, so the TSX is getting traded in first week of June. I'm just tired of buying oil by the case load...

crisco

I'm in the same boat. It's the old joke that when I pull into the service station to fill up with oil, the attendant asks if he can check the gas.
Its curious that a number of us oil consumers have cars in Canada, isn't it.
So, what are you looking at trading for??

Dan Martin

Sadly, I don't think it's a Canada-only problem, because I was on another forum where I saw a couple US drivers having the same issues on their '04s.

I'm getting an '09 Forester 2.5XT when they finally arrive here. I've driven a couple of the new foresters (both non-turbo) and I was quite impressed, but the turbo models are still en route from Japan.

crisco

nice. Good choice!

Power1Pete

IMHO, the turbo Subarus are not as reliable as the non-turbo models.

Good luck with your car shopping.

Dan Martin

non-turbo = non-fun

I don't think reliability of the 2.5 turbo is going to be an issue, but hey, I thought Honda knew how to build an engine and look where I am now...

I guess I'm just going to have to chance it.

Acura Fixer

I would check the valve seals in the head, they can be a major cause of burning oil and cant be detected without removing the intake or exhaust manifold. Its not a common problem on Acuras but I've seen them enough to suspect them.

Mokos23

so what is the update Dan? you got rid of your TSX yet?

curls

More then likely, the low-VIN oil burning issues are all related somehow. Since I have extensive experience with this (because mine was burning like crazy), I can say that the valve seals are NOT the likely cause.

I had a full rebuild (valve seals, all gaskets, and the piston rings), and the car burned as much or more than before the rebuild. After that, the dealerships' head tech decided to order a new short block (w/ all internals) and that solved the problem 100%

His best guess, and mine, was that the cylinders were slightly out of round, allowing oil to enter the combustion chamber.

yuhoo22

perhaps a dumb question, but how can you tell how much oil you guys are burning? I am starting to burn oil now, but I don't know exactly how much. Just by the amount you pour back to get the oil to the top hole on the stick?

Also when are you guys checking the dipstick? After the car has sat overnight or after you shut off the engine.

godfather2

i believe subaru offers a longer/more extensive warranty that honda anyways

dom

Nice choice.

dom

lol.

Its a common mistake.

curls

Yeah, top it up to the top hole while on a level surface. Re-check level in 10-15 minutes to allow the oil time to settle. Mark down the odometer reading, or use one of the trip comptuers to get to about 1000km.

Then at 1000km, or whenever your oil is down to the bottom hole, read the oil level. Add oil until it's back at the top and then not ehow much you added. Then, do the math of L/1000km, or, quarts/600mi.

Acura Fixer

If the cylinders were out of round you could detect that with a compression and leakdown test. It would also smoke pretty good if it was that bad. I have seen and fixed many with valve seal problems and it was only a suggestion since it seems the OP had everything done besides that.

Just because you had extensive experience with yours doesnt mean it will be the same problem with everyone else. Guessing whats wrong and finding out whats wrong is what makes a lead tech. By the way I am the lead tech at my dealership.

Dan Martin

Just waiting for the Forester to arrive in June, then it's gone.

But somehow you can guess what's wrong with my car and that's OK?

I'm not going to spend another penny on this car since it's "within spec" according to Acura. When burning 1L of oil every 1500KM is "within spec" it makes you wonder what the tolerances are for everything else. Maybe it's OK for for the airbags to deploy once every 5 collisions...

Dan Martin

Thanks! We're looking forward to it.

Mokos23

Sad to see another TSX owner go, but hey at least you're sticking to JDM. I know that the Forester is made in Japan too.

Have you seen that new Forester commercial where the guy felt so attached to his old Forester that he kept it and sold his boat instead when they bought a new Forester?

curls

They did both tests (and I did both tests independently myself), and neither showed any signs of bad rings or valve seals.

After a full rebuild by the lead tech at my dealership, the problem was the exact same (actually, a tad worse - 1L/750km or so).

I've seen this problem with a number of low-VIN TSX's, probably 90% here in Canada, and all have been basically the same as me -- NO smoke, no bad leakdown or compression tests, etc.

It was the dealership lead techs' best guess that my block was out of spec, somewhere, somehow, since the new block + internals fixed the problem. He never did get a response from the guys at head office who inspect and test the warranty-replaced parts.