Hi, everyone. My TL just hit 4000 miles. When I open the hood, I found that the oil level was low (slightly below "Min" level) and the level of coolant in the reservoir tank was also low.

My question: Is it ok to top the oil off with regular engine oil considering Acura uses some sort of special oil off the assembly? My oil life is still at 30% (will wait until the light comes on).

Should I also add some coolant into the reservoir tank?

Thanks for your help.

 

Go ahead and top off the oil. I have major oil sludging problems with my 00 Avalon. In the course of doing research I recall reading at one site that allowing your oil to drop by one quart has the effect of changing the viscosity of your oil. In other words, it is a good idea to keep your oil topped up to close to the "max" position on the dipstick.

 

1. Regular engine oil is OK to top off. Recommended weight is 5W20.

2. If the coolant is only slightly below the minimum, plain water will be ok. The little you add shouldn't alter the mixture that much.

3. What do you mean "My oil life is still at 30% (will wait until the light comes on)." There is no light that comes on; you have to watch the MID.

 

Thanks, smoore and Ron:

Ron: I meant MID saying "service due watever".

 

My recommendation is don't open the hood in the first place.

 

You are right, TLGator. After opening the hood, what did I find? A dead cicada!

 

Apparently that is the case since he allowed his oil level to drop so low....check your fluids a little more frequently than every 4000 miles - you could catch a big potential problem early one day....

 

I am confused guys . . .

How do you interpret the MID data . . . i.e. oil life at 30% ? Do you wait until
0 % to change the oil, but still need to check the level every few hundred miles?

Rachel

 

Many people report changing when oil life is around 10-15%. This has nothing to do with the oil level, so you still need to check it occasionally. Using a quart in 4,000 miles seems excessively high, so you should tell your service manager about this, and continue to closely monitor the oil level.

Is this the first time you checked the oil? If so, it could have been low when you got the car.

 

i always monitor the oil level, it takes about 1 minute out of your day. i check the level to make sure that the car is not burning up alot of oil. before my first oil change the car was actually at halfway point. i changed the oil recently and with 1K miles worth of driving it is still at max. if you constantly lose oil you really should have the dealer check it out as it can lead to bigger problems later.

 

I actually HAD to open the hood to fetch out two dead cicada carcasses that were rolling around in the recessed area in front of the wipers.

What do ya know. Nice car under the hood.

So an incredulous friend says to me, "That's the first time you looked under the hood?"

So I says, "Yup."

 

Not that there is much to see under there with all them thar fancy panels!