Hi!

Got 2007 Honda Legend // same as Acura RL with 146000 miles on it (235k km). It is correct milage and I am the 1st owner. Car has had 15000km (9322miles) service interval at the Hondas' dealer.
Its 3,5L 217kw engine is eating A LOT of oil. No leaking under the car.

I did a 120-130 mph run for 50 miles and it consumed 1 Litre of oil and 21 litres of fuel (5,5gal) (refilled oil at the start, at finish point yellow oil light went on).
During normal driving, when you don't exceed 5000rpm, it doesen't consume *lot* of oil, maybe like 1 Litre for 3000miles // 4800km. But when VTEC kicks in, oil starts to burn.
There is no burning smell and exhaust fumes are not look blue. Everything *seems* normal.

Has anyone else had the same oil consumption problem? How did you fix it?
Overall the car is good, nothing has broken down. Just some minor rust problems.

best regards,
Kristjan

 

I burn 1 qt between oil changes, about 7500 miles, 106k miles. I'd say you are burning a lot of oil. Sounds like your seals are bad, or getting bad.

 

If I understand VTEC correctly, the VTEC solenoid does something with the oil. I would inspect that unit.

 

the solenoid has a seal in it, but there is usually oil on the motor.

 

Bad Piston rings...new engine.

I check mine every week and add as needed. Luckily only using now as around town driver and so not putting hard and long miles on it. Otherwise, I'm sure I would be adding oil daily. Everything else on the car is perfect. Not willing to drop 4K on rebuilt engine and maybe end up with the same problem. Mine started this burn issue at 150K miles.

 

How did you diagnose that?

Used engines in the U.S. go for a lot cheaper than $4k too.

 

for the "shop said"

 

Had two independent Honda mechanics look at it. They've seen the same issue in the CRV. Took it to the dealer afterwards to see what they would say and they also suggested it was the piston rings. The 4K was parts and labor.

 

Was it a compression test they did? I'm genuinely interested I'm how you would know. It makes sense as a diagnosis for losing oil. I am not sure the K24 in a CR-V compares to the J35 though.

 

No tests done. Just their assumptions based on no oil other leaks and apparently both mechanics have seen this before. Dealer suggested the test but admitted they have seen this before. Not sure what else it could be with that much routine oil consumption.

 

Just called my one mechanic and his response was that the two motors use the same piston rings and compression ratios's. I guess that's how they are similar and have experienced the same issues. But again that was their assumption without doing the compression test.

 

Like I said, it's a reasonable diagnosis. It's probably one the OP should consider too although he may want to get the test if he wants to act on it.

 

Is there any way to add a survey to the top of the post? Just interested to see how many are experiencing this.

 

There is, but what would the survey question and answers be?

 

Maybe a breakdown of issues faced by late model RL's. Head gasket, oil loss, a/c system, etc. While I understand that the '05 models are well into their 10th year of service, I would have thought these cars would have held up better.

 

Who says the 05s don't hold up? Haven't seen any engine failures, trans seem to be holding up well too. A few electrical gremlins, but not a whole lot more than that for 05s.

 

I agree, we rarely hear about oil consumption here. These cars hold up as well as the best. Every model will have isolated issues.

 

I have this problem in my 2004 Honda Accord i4 with 180K miles. There is no leak, but it's burning a lot of oil. I was told that I would need a new engine if I want to fix it but I really shouldn't worry about it, not really worth it. I just have to watch for the oil level and the car should last more than enough.

 

I would suggest for those burning oil to move to a heavier conventional oil if you are using synthetic or the recommended 5W-20. If your temps don't get below 0 degrees, you can use a 10W-30 with no issue. If you do get that cold, try a 5W-30.

The conventional oil has waxes and impurities that can help seal defects, and the heavier oil will be thicker and less susceptible to getting through small leaks.

 

Reviving this thread - I changed my oil 3 weeks ago - then saw smoke coming out of the tailpipe when starting the car which quickly goes away. Got home, checked the oil and there was none on the dipstick.

Added 3 quarts to bring it back to normal. Burned 3 quarts in 3 weeks for around 1200 miles.

Next plan is to check spark plugs for any evidence of which cylinder(s) are leaking. Any other advice?

 

What color is your "smoke" from the tail pipe? White that goes away is condensation buildup from cold weather. White with a blueish tint that doesn't go away is water in the conbustion chambers (very bad). Dark smoke would point to oil, and my guess would be piston rings.

How does the bottom of the engine look? The most common place to lose oil is the valve cover gaskets. That would run down the sides of the engine and accumulate at the bottom.

 

Yea, it's not typical condensation. I opened the windows one of the times and it smells like burning oil - not coolant. It quickly goes away and when driving down the road there are no visible issues.

The bottom of the engine is clean - I checked the oil plug and the oil filter area as well as any other place you could visibly see. I haven't pulled off the plastic pretty cover on the top yet. Will do that when I check the spark plugs.

 

Wow, 120 to 130 MPH for fifty miles?

I don't think I've ever taken my Acura past 90 and while I did occasionally cruise at 80 on the freeway, that was the exception and not the rule. Just too much traffic where I live.

That's insane. You drove it on the Autobahn?

 

My 1999 Acura TL with 260,000 miles doesn't burn a drop of oil. Any oil consumption would definitely freak me out.

 

Hi all,

I pulled out the spark plugs and found 1 plug that was all oily. See pics.

If you're looking down at the engine, it's the front left cylinder. Any ideas?

Thanks!
-kingofbytes

 

Piston rings keep the oil under the piston and out of the cylinder. I'm gonna guess you have a bad ring.

 

King of bytes...Is yours an 06? Can you see it smoke out of the tailpipe after idling at a stoplight and you go to take off?

 

Hi All,

just closing out this thread - it ended up being a cracked cylinder head. I'd like to thank sOLLEx for reaching out to me and identifying the problem as well as offering a solution.

I ended up getting a 2005 RL Front Cylinder head from a salvage yard and replacing that (and all that entails). Once replaced, I drove it 300 miles with NO OIL leak.

Judging by all my research and input from sOLLEx, it appears there may have been more than a handful of bad castings of those front cylinder heads on the 2006 RL's (only 2006 and only RL) at cylinder #4. The head cracks at the exhaust area of cyl#4 and leaks oil in.

If you're idling for a little while at a long red light and pull away when it turns green, there's smoke.

If you turn off the car, depending on where the piston ends up could allow more or less oil in when you go to restart it the next day. That would explain why sometimes it starts clean and other times there was a lot of smoke.

Anyway, it appears the case is close on my car buring oil out the tailpipe