When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Thanks for the update. I don't know how cold, cold is. I do get to see 20-30s for a few weeks and ultimate lowest could be like 10-15 over night etc. I do not have a garage and it will be parked outside.
It's tough to say. You may not experience any issues at all. Seems to be a very intermittent issue. Unfortunately, that usually means a fix isn't on the priority list.
Thanks for the update. I don't know how cold, cold is. I do get to see 20-30s for a few weeks and ultimate lowest could be like 10-15 over night etc. I do not have a garage and it will be parked outside.
I don't think garage matters very much, unless it's insulated and heated ( most aren't ). It's more about how long it takes the engine to reach normal operating temperature, and how long it stays there before it gets shut off again.
When it's below 0°F is when I start to think about warm-up time, and that's when I'm happy I splurged for the Advance with the heated steering wheel. Oil dilution isn't my main concern when I'm freezing my assets.
I shouldn't say that too loudly, or Mee-neh-sooo-ta will revoke my citizenship. Now that's cold. You betcha.
Just did an oil change on my RDX yesterday myself since The dealership wants $145 to do it. and when I dumped my oil I had 5.5 liters of oil. I would say that's diluted. But I'm tired of fighting with Acura. so I guess Goliath wins.
Just did an oil change on my RDX yesterday myself since The dealership wants $145 to do it. and when I dumped my oil I had 5.5 liters of oil. I would say that's diluted. But I'm tired of fighting with Acura. so I guess Goliath wins.
$145 for an oil change? That can’t be right. They must be bundling it with other services. Typically, even a full syn oil change is never more than around $79 anywhere.
As has been pointed out, cold start fuel blow-by is inherent in DI engine design.
Our Gen-3 RDX has about 2000 miles and is still on factory oil fill, so I ran a basic test. (Summer weather, ambient temp 15C)
Cold start, drive time 8 minutes. Oil not achieving operating temp = strong fuel odor on dipstick.
Cold start, drive time 20 minutes. Oil briefly achieving operating temp = weaker fuel odor on dipstick.
Cold start, drive time 60 minutes. Oil at operating temp for 45 minutes = no fuel odor on dipstick.
Checked dipstick level 5 minutes after each run. It was above the top hole on runs 1 and 2, but was just at the top hole on run 3.
This would indicate that the crankcase ventilation system is processing the blow-by fuel as it heats up and vaporizes.
This may not be entirely satisfactory to those with short trips, but we are now stuck with DI engines and their limitations.
ACURA'S STANCE ON OIL DILUTION ISSUE AS OF 6-5-19:
Two weeks ago my dealer passed along my oil dilution report (which showed "SEVERE LEVELS" of fuel in the oil) to the district service manager, who then passed it along to Acura engineers. I just received word that Acura deems this a normal occurrence with direct injection engines, and no fix is available.
No surprise, but there you have it.
Thanks Acura!!!
You're right, it's not a surprise. It took a stop sale in China for Honda to even admit there was an issue on the CRV engine so I wouldn't really expect them to do anything with the RDX unless a lot of pressure came down on them. It took nearly a decade for them to openly admit some of the J37 engines have a oil burning issue and issue the TSB.
Hello,
I just did my oil change this morning, I had 6300km done on that oil.
I just freak out when I was pouring out old oil in my empty containers!!!!! I drain about 6.5L of old oil from the car!!.. Super dark and smell a lot fuel!!..
WTF!!!! my car only have 12 700km at the counter, 2 oil change since I bought the car.. I will call the dealer tomorrow to have this check ASAP..
Am I the only one here having about 1.5L over with just 6300km on a oil change ??. what is happening here!?!?!?!
As stated earlier in this thread, oil dilution is somewhat common with direct injected engines. It happens on a cold start when mixture is rich. Typically the fuel evaporates with a hot engine and is of no concern. If the car is in a cold climate and driven on primarily short trips the fuel does not evaporate and builds up over many drive cycles. Getting to operating temperature is not enough. Running at full operating temp long enough to evaporate the excess fuel is the key. The colder the ambient temp, the longer it takes.
I live in the southwest and most of my drives are at least 10 miles. While it gets cold here this time of year, especially at elevation, my oil never has been diluted with fuel.
Hello,
I just did my oil change this morning, I had 6300km done on that oil.
I just freak out when I was pouring out old oil in my empty containers!!!!! I drain about 6.5L of old oil from the car!!.. Super dark and smell a lot fuel!!..
WTF!!!! my car only have 12 700km at the counter, 2 oil change since I bought the car.. I will call the dealer tomorrow to have this check ASAP..
Am I the only one here having about 1.5L over with just 6300km on a oil change ??. what is happening here!?!?!?!
Hate to tell you, but the dealer (and Acura corporate) will not do anything except tell you this is normal for a direct injection engine...even if you submit an oil analysis showing severe fuel dilution levels. Unfortunately, I know from personal experience.
With that said, it’s still worth reporting to get it on record.
Best you can do is change oil more often during winter months.
Hate to tell you, but the dealer (and Acura corporate) will not do anything except tell you this is normal for a direct injection engine...even if you submit an oil analysis showing severe fuel dilution levels. Unfortunately, I know from personal experience.
With that said, it’s still worth reporting to get it on record.
Best you can do is change oil more often during winter months.
I have to agree. I have taken our RDX in on several occasions with my concerns and the dealership is in total acknowledgment regarding the issue. Acura Canada could give two S**TS about it. I had half a litre extra come out on my last oil change and it smelled like pure gas.
Well... good to know that you guys share the same situation as me!
I've call my dealer this morning and he told me that he was not aware of this problem/situation. I told him that after 6 month 6000km I have 1.5L over the normal 4.8L capacity!!!.
I will bring him my 6.5L diluted oil and have them check and explain to me why..
Anyway, will see what they will tell me as explanation.. Even I know what's is the cause, but at least I will report and have a written proof on a Dealership receipt. I think that Each time I will do oil change I will bring them my oil and a proof of the over capacity I drain out. So If I have an engine failure I will then have everything on my side!!
I have no issue to change my engine oil more often, I already do it a 6000k interval. But damn, I have 1.5L over during a 6month life that's completely insane!.
I will keep update here as soon as I have a feedback from the dealer.
Well... good to know that you guys share the same situation as me!
I've call my dealer this morning and he told me that he was not aware of this problem/situation. I told him that after 6 month 6000km I have 1.5L over the normal 4.8L capacity!!!.
I will bring him my 6.5L diluted oil and have them check and explain to me why..
Anyway, will see what they will tell me as explanation.. Even I know what's is the cause, but at least I will report and have a written proof on a Dealership receipt. I think that Each time I will do oil change I will bring them my oil and a proof of the over capacity I drain out. So If I have an engine failure I will then have everything on my side!!
I have no issue to change my engine oil more often, I already do it a 6000k interval. But damn, I have 1.5L over during a 6month life that's completely insane!.
I will keep update here as soon as I have a feedback from the dealer.
good luck. And please update. I bugged Acura Canada for months about it. My dealer was great and was doing everything it could to help me unfortunately their hands are tied by Acura Canada.
Can someone confirm that GDI turbo engines on other makes do not exhibit fuel dilution during short trips? So if your engine is heavily diluted, long drive will get rid of the gas?
Both my 2013 GTI and 2014 Forester XT, are turbocharged DI engines and both have significant fuel dilution issues if you check after a short trip. Living in SW-VA, a 20min drive at highway speeds resulted in non-detectable fuel in the oil.
I changed the oil for the 1st time a few days ago and will post the oil analysis.
I learned when I took delivery of my CPO 08 Type S from a dealer in NJ that had bent valves, bent rims, and several non OEM parts installed that Acura corporate doesn’t give 2 sh*its about individual clients.
I am looking to replace a 16 CR-V (2.4 GDI) that has some serious oil consumption issues. Was looking to avoid the new CR-V due to the oil dilution issue and we’ve found the RDX to be one of the few compelling replacements. It’s too bad to hear these engines are having the same problems. While this issue may be systemic on modern GDI engines, I think it’s safe to say the reputation Honda built for reliability particularly in the 90s and 2000s has suffered quite a bit.
Having said all that, I haven’t seen it mentioned on this thread yet but an engine block heater could help mitigate the issue for those in cold climates who make frequent short trips. If I decide to purchase an RDX I will be adding that accessory.
Having said all that, I haven’t seen it mentioned on this thread yet but an engine block heater could help mitigate the issue for those in cold climates who make frequent short trips. If I decide to purchase an RDX I will be adding that accessory.
Any idea if this is offered as an OEM part? Thanks for the tip.
I learned when I took delivery of my CPO 08 Type S from a dealer in NJ that had bent valves, bent rims, and several non OEM parts installed that Acura corporate doesn’t give 2 sh*its about individual clients.
I am looking to replace a 16 CR-V (2.4 GDI) that has some serious oil consumption issues. Was looking to avoid the new CR-V due to the oil dilution issue and we’ve found the RDX to be one of the few compelling replacements. It’s too bad to hear these engines are having the same problems. While this issue may be systemic on modern GDI engines, I think it’s safe to say the reputation Honda built for reliability particularly in the 90s and 2000s has suffered quite a bit.
Having said all that, I haven’t seen it mentioned on this thread yet but an engine block heater could help mitigate the issue for those in cold climates who make frequent short trips. If I decide to purchase an RDX I will be adding that accessory.
Hello Everyone,
Well.... my trip to the dealership was a little frustrating. First the service guy start to argue with me say that my 1.5L too much was my fault because I overfill with oil. and then he change is song and say that I did not completely drain my oil before refill it...
He say he never hear about oil dilution and long story short, my dealer did not listen me on that issue.
Luckily I talk with a tech guy that take time to listen to me and he said that an Acura Engineer will be at my dealer for reviewing some issues and he will talk about my oil dilution issue.
now since then, no comeback ... nothing.... I'm still waiting to get my brake fixed and waiting for a call back from the dealer..
Anyway this fight is going noware!.. and since our car is scheduled for a around 12 000km oil change (this is about 1 oil change per year) they don't see enough car that have a oil level problem.
and even that, they drain the oil in a big container and do other stuff during the drain, so they don't know how much they drain compare to us that fill back our 5L oil container with the used oil. and if you have more then what you put in the car then it's fuel!..
Ok so, since about 1 month of cold Quebec winter I did change the way I drive my car. And I think I found the solution because my oil level is exactly where I fill it 2 month ago!!!
I do frequent short trip of about 15km and rarely long trip.
Here is my recipe for people doing short distance:
1) remote start my car 2min before leaving and sometime no remote start but wait about 30sec before driving
2) I immediate switch (D)rive gear to (S) and switch to manual shifting (paddle shift). if you don't put into manual and keep (S) it will not shift before 4-5000rpm since transmission is cold so be sure to be in manual shifting.
3) reach 2500rpm before shifting to the next gear and as soon as you reach your cruising speed keep your rpm at 2500 depending what gear you in
4) the engine temperature rise 2x faster then normal (D) mode. as soon as your engine reach normal temperature you can go back into automatic (S) mode. (car will shift gear around 3000rpm)
5) if it's suuuper cold outside, keep driving your car with rpm between 2000-2500,
6) if your trip is short distance like city driving, keep (S) mode and don't even think going back to (D). Else when you car reach it's normal temp switch to (D) and you are good for a long run!.
Driving within 2500rpm is about 10L/100km as fuel consumption. this is not a big deal and I can confirm that there is no change on oil level on my dipstick. It continue to smell gas but at leas no movement on the oil level!
Well that's it.. we know that we have this ''problem'' so I'm trying to live with it and since I'm using Sport mode shifting I have more fun to drive my car so Win Win..
Trying to be positive here
Our 2019 Acura RDX seems to "make oil" also. You can fill it with five quarts or to the full mark and it will end up with a lot of oil at your next oil change. Is there any fixes or TSBs about this issue at this point? I do see that there is some legal team working on a class action suit about this. On my RDX it looks like there is a lot of gasoline in the oil. Is there any other issues that can cause this that the dealer can fix? I see the class action suite forming at:
Our 2019 Acura RDX seems to "make oil" also. You can fill it with five quarts or to the full mark and it will end up with a lot of oil at your next oil change. Is there any fixes or TSBs about this issue at this point? I do see that there is some legal team working on a class action suit about this. On my RDX it looks like there is a lot of gasoline in the oil. Is there any other issues that can cause this that the dealer can fix? I see the class action suite forming at:
no TSB, if you make a lot of short trips without fulling warming up engine, it will get diluted with gas.
your only remedy is to change oil early, like when MID is 50% or when level raises.
Our 2019 Acura RDX seems to "make oil" also. You can fill it with five quarts or to the full mark and it will end up with a lot of oil at your next oil change. Is there any fixes or TSBs about this issue at this point? I do see that there is some legal team working on a class action suit about this. On my RDX it looks like there is a lot of gasoline in the oil. Is there any other issues that can cause this that the dealer can fix? I see the class action suite forming at:
Many have figured out it can take 5.5-5.7qts after draining to get the oil level to the top mark. (Yes, after running, filling the filter, hot)
I traded a ‘17 CRV for the ‘21 RDX. My CRV oil dilution experience is included in the attached link.
I definitely agree with getting the engine up to operating temperature quickly is part of the fix or resolution.
Once there’s gas in the oil........in winter that fuel takes a long time to evaporate. Most often it never happens.........
On the oil capacity one note on capacity shows up in the factory service manual:
Guess I'll eat crow. Never had the problem of oil dilution in my past oil changes at 1k, 5k and 10k. Always used Mobil 1 0W-20 as recommended. When the car gets taken out, it's normally driven for 15+ mins in mixed driving.
Well, about 2 weeks ago, at right under 15k miles, I decided to give it a go to get away from some jabroni that was tailgating me on the parkway. Got it up to the speed limiter and that's when I smelled it ... burning oil. Instantly got off it and thankfully I was close to home. Took it very easy on the way home and immediately popped the hood. No oil in the engine bay, no smoking on the exhaust, no other signs of oil touching the hot exhaust ... checked under the car, no signs of oil leaking. Checked the dip stick and the level was way overfilled, maybe by a 1/2qt or more. So, likely the burning smell was from blow-by. Absolutely furious. I guess the 2.0T isn't any more immune to the issue as the 1.5T from Honda.
I did an oil change with 2.5qt of 0W-20 and 2.5qt 0W-30. As stated before, oil weight/viscosity is only one part of proper engine lubrication, so it's a band-aid to an issue requiring sutures. I'll keep an eye on it, but if I get the same overfilled levels on my next oil change, I'll likely reduce drain intervals.
Guess I'll eat crow. Never had the problem of oil dilution in my past oil changes at 1k, 5k and 10k. Always used Mobil 1 0W-20 as recommended. When the car gets taken out, it's normally driven for 15+ mins in mixed driving.
Well, about 2 weeks ago, at right under 15k miles, I decided to give it a go to get away from some jabroni that was tailgating me on the parkway. Got it up to the speed limiter and that's when I smelled it ... burning oil. Instantly got off it and thankfully I was close to home. Took it very easy on the way home and immediately popped the hood. No oil in the engine bay, no smoking on the exhaust, no other signs of oil touching the hot exhaust ... checked under the car, no signs of oil leaking. Checked the dip stick and the level was way overfilled, maybe by a 1/2qt or more. So, likely the burning smell was from blow-by. Absolutely furious. I guess the 2.0T isn't any more immune to the issue as the 1.5T from Honda.
I did an oil change with 2.5qt of 0W-20 and 2.5qt 0W-30. As stated before, oil weight/viscosity is only one part of proper engine lubrication, so it's a band-aid to an issue requiring sutures. I'll keep an eye on it, but if I get the same overfilled levels on my next oil change, I'll likely reduce drain intervals.
This oil mixing method, was it suggested by some pro, or you found it on internet?
Guess I'll eat crow. Never had the problem of oil dilution in my past oil changes at 1k, 5k and 10k. Always used Mobil 1 0W-20 as recommended. When the car gets taken out, it's normally driven for 15+ mins in mixed driving.
Well, about 2 weeks ago, at right under 15k miles, I decided to give it a go to get away from some jabroni that was tailgating me on the parkway. Got it up to the speed limiter and that's when I smelled it ... burning oil. Instantly got off it and thankfully I was close to home. Took it very easy on the way home and immediately popped the hood. No oil in the engine bay, no smoking on the exhaust, no other signs of oil touching the hot exhaust ... checked under the car, no signs of oil leaking. Checked the dip stick and the level was way overfilled, maybe by a 1/2qt or more. So, likely the burning smell was from blow-by. Absolutely furious. I guess the 2.0T isn't any more immune to the issue as the 1.5T from Honda.
I did an oil change with 2.5qt of 0W-20 and 2.5qt 0W-30. As stated before, oil weight/viscosity is only one part of proper engine lubrication, so it's a band-aid to an issue requiring sutures. I'll keep an eye on it, but if I get the same overfilled levels on my next oil change, I'll likely reduce drain intervals.
Are you in a cold climate ?
Did the engine run poorly ?
Did this oil level rise suddenly ?
At the very height of the 1.5T oil dilution problem the vast majority:
were in cold weather only (21 states)
owners saw no obvious problem other than the oil level rise and fuel smell on the dip stick, a few noticed a smell.
the level rise took months to rise. 1/4-1/2 qt rise was very common.
In extreme cases a few owners experienced codes and Check engine light.......most never saw a MIL
06-06-2019, 10:41 AM
so Win Win..
