jazzpicker

I am down to 30% on my current oil change and checked the oil level tonight. I was suprised to find that my oil level was low about 1/2 quart. I use Mobil1 5W-20
with a honda filter. No sign of a leak. Is this amount of oil consumption normal? I maybe have 5K since the last oil change.

carguyrob

I am certainly not a mechanic, but that sounds pretty normal. I have heard of cars that consume significantly more oil than that over 5K miles. One of the worst is the Mazda RX8 (rotary engines are terrible for that). Besides, since this is your first oil change, you really don't know for sure that it was absolutely full when it was first filled.

JDM5lugHatch

This is normal as vtec engines burn oil. There is nothing to worry about. I also noticed that Mobil 1 burned easier in some previous cars more so than other brands. That's why I switched and stopped using it 3 cars ago.

Toasterthedog

Will that oil consumption/oil life? gauge...the one that does percentage, understand the difference between Synthetic and Normal? Is it the amount of fluid, or how much it has broken down. Thanks.

The reason I ask is my current car I go about 10k between oil changes <<< mobil1 5W-30. I do alot of Hwy driving and rack up miles kinda quick. But oil has never been a problem.

My 6TM TL will be delivered the end of this month.

Legend2TL

That oil consumption seems a bit high. After the first 4K miles before I changed the oil in my 05 6MT with the factory fill I could not see any drop on the dip stick reading.

Even though all internal combustion engines use a small amount of oil under normal operation, half a quart in 5K milesfor a new engine in good working order seems a bit high.

nfnsquared

I've made 3 oil changes, each at about 7,000 mile interval and the oil level didn't appear to move at all. '04 6MT.

I don't think I'd be overly concerned, loosing 1/2 quart in 6,000 miles seems pretty normal.

JDM5lugHatch

1 quart of oil in 3k mile intervals is and can be considered normal. It's in the manual. He is using 1/2 that so how is that high on oil consumption? Also we don't know how he drives. If he spends a lot of time in Vtec he will burn oil.

JDM5lugHatch

The gauge is just a preventative maint. thing. It doesn't know what kind of oil or what viscosity you are using. It analyzes the oil by how you drive the car. Check out these threads for more detailed answers and recommendations https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/tl-cl-video-105573/ & https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84831

Legend2TL

Depends on the engine manufacturer, for a Honda/Acura engine that is on the high side of oil consumption. I agree that alot depends on the driving condition, if the engine spends long periods under constant load (highway driving at 70-80MPH) then it would consume more.

However I've never seen any Honda/Acura motor consume no where near 1 quart oil per 3K miles in 22 years of working on them. My wife's 1986 Integra with 240K miles and my 1989 Legend with 220K miles both were at ~1/2 quart per 4K miles and some of that was not consumed but very small oil leaks.

Joe5.0

Remember that the molecules in synthetic oil are smaller, thus tend to get burned off easier than regular dino oil. 1/2qtevery 3k is considered within the normal range, but if it concerns you maybe switch back to dino oil and I'll bet you dont burn as much, or any at all.

JDM5lugHatch

Your comparing this car to a PRE-Vtec car. That's an apples and oranges comparisson. Vtec engines are known to consume more oil than non-vtec honda engines. Not to mention that this car has 270hp compared to a 100hp integra and whatever small amount of power the legend had.

I am also going to assume since he has a 6speed he probably gets on it a bit harder than if it were say an auto. If your read the manual for any of the new cars 1quart in 3k miles is to be considered normal.

I also agree with jtkz13 where synthetics will burn faster than dino oils. Hence a reason I like Havolines dino oil. So far I have had good luck with it.

I have had several hondas and they have all burned some amount of oil. So to say this isn't normal for Hondas isn't really true. This is actually the first Honda that I have owned that doesn't burn oil. Maybe that's because it's an auto and I am not beating on it like all my previous cars.

SodaLuvr

I'd like to know how many total miles are on the engine as Honda engines do tend to burn some oil when they have <10,000 miles.

Michael

Toasterthedog

Thanks for the links.

Bluenote

Doesn't sound abnormal given my 15 years experience with Honda engines.

Legend2TL

We have a Honda Pilot with a similar Vtec engine as the TL, it also uses very little oil. We've also drive it straight for ~1.5K miles at 80-85MPH as still it shows very little oil consumption in 4K oil changes. I'm not sure how Vtec would affect oil consumption, as far as I can think about Vtec operation it would have not effect on oil consumption.

What matters more than anything else is the clerances of the components that have direct contact with combustion and oil (valves, valve seals, pistons, and rings). Air cooled engines then to use more oil than water cooled engines since the clearances can be large and allow oil to enter the conbustion chamber. Also Rotary engines deliberately inject a small amount of oil into the intake to lubricate the apex seals.

Despite all this, Bluenote who has probably seen more Honda/Acura engines than all of us combined said it sounded within range to him so that's probably the best opinion on this.

empathy

ALL engines burn oil. it's just how much..

you burn a lot more oil when ur in vtec. stay out of it and ur oil levels will be pretty consistant. if it's a lot of oil, your piston rings or valve seals maybe bad..but i doubt they are bad this early on..

pettydw

My car uses 1/3 to 1/2 quart per 5K miles and my wifes CRV is similar - Nothing to worry about. I know the domestic manufacturer's freaked when they went to 4 valve engines and found the oil consumption nearly doubled as well. My previous Civic Si 1.6L appeared to use none (some gasoline dilution may have bumped up the level), but that is an exception with the cars I've owned.

SodaLuvr

jazzpicker,
Still waiting for you to tell me the total miles on the car.

Michael

jazzpicker

Oops!! I have near 8K now..

Xpditor

My FIRST oil change at 3200 miles, I was down one pint (1/2 quart). This is normal for a new engine that is breaking in. New parts are still mating and tolerances are burning in. Rings are honing themselves to cylinder walls.

In the next 1,000 miles (currently), there is no movement on the oil level. It has gotten darker in color, but level remains the same- a smidgeon over full.

The darker color tells me it is still breaking in. Honda engines need about 5,000 miles to get 90% broken in.

ComptechType-S

The oil capacity of a TL is 4.5 qts. When a new car is delivered to a dealership it will only have 4 qts in it. When dealerships do the oil changes the usually put in a little over 4 qts in. What you see is right on par for a new TL.

I worked for Acura 3.5 yrs. So my source is pretty good.

sparky57

That is not at all like my experience. My '04 has 21k and burns zero dino oil. Not sure if your lower than recommended viscosity has any effect.

Now, my wife's S2000 does go through about that much every 4,000 miles!

rw

SodaLuvr

Jazzpicker,
It may take 10-15K on the engine for the consumption to finally "level off" or stop. XPditor, the darker color is probably from more blow-by, since the rings haven't fully seated yet.

When a car has <10,000 miles, the rings haven't fully seated and there is greater contamination, blow-by, etc, which is why I specifically warn AGAINST doing drains past 5K since the oil is suffering from more rapid degradation during this period.

Michael