Brand New Accord Euro eating oil

[DOHCVTEC]

Hi all,

My FY06 euro auto has been eating oil like mad!

since the first service after 1000km run in period, it has been using up engine oil at an alarming rate.

The engine oil level would drop from max mark to low mark in less than 3000km over a period of less than 2 months! The oil pressure warning light and sound will come on during cornering. If I don't top up the engine between the 5000km oil change interval my engine would have been dead.

Any one has a similar issue?

I have other hondas and that problem would not exist on a well look aftered car, let alone a brand new one...

[aaronng]

When you start your car first thing in the morning, do you let it idle for 30 seconds before driving off? Also, do you limit your throttle to maximum 1/4 and a max of 3000rpm until the temperature needle reaches almost the middle of the gauge?

[tony1234]

That's a worry!Get in touch with the dealer ASAP.There's definitely something wrong.I've got an 06 with 19k on it and it's never used any oil from day 1.

[EuroAccord13]

New car can still have valve and piston seal problems... Maybe you never let the car warm up/run in properly to seal them in nicely...

[Spicey]

How many k's are on it now? It is normal for an engine to use a bit of oil for the first 8 to 10,000kms. If your concerned, check with the dealer.

[aaronng]

BTW, if the oil pressure light comes on when cornering, then your engine is on the way out since it has already run dry without oil in certain parts. Contact your dealer anyway.

[tron07]

Maybe the dealer didnt fix the washer/seal properly after they drain the oil.

[aaronng]

The washer doesn't seal the sump. The threads in the plug seal the sump. The washer just serves to prevent cold welding from overtightening.

[tron07]

Just check under the car, any oil stain on the floor??

Black exhaust?? with lot of soots?

White smoke? Not the normal water type of smog...

[EuroDude]

Are you using Honda oil or your own oil?

If you are using something like 15w60 synthetic, say goodbye to your warranty.

[sendok]

Check any possibility of oil leaking, and then make a habit to warm up your car every morning... if not resolve, dealer is the way..

[che_ryan]

Are you using Honda oil or your own oil?

If you are using something like 15w60 synthetic, say goodbye to your warranty.

euro dude intresting with the waranty void...can i know why? since i'm planing to use my own oil (not yet - thinking of the next service)

[JasonGilholme]

i think its not the fact of using ur own oil but more so using an oil with the incorrect viscosity.

[DOHCVTEC]

The car has only been serviced by Honda mechanics.

Got the car from Hornsby Honda. The car was sitting in the dealership showroom for a few months before sold to me but it's not a demo.

It's my mum's car, she always warmed it up before she drives off gently and none of our new honda cars have problems like this.

there's no oil stain on the floor, suggesting that the oil is burn off.

car has done 14000 kms now.

[DOHCVTEC]

I run in the new cars (had run in at least 4 new cars) properly the same way, none of my new cars had any problems like this and they were very healthy even though their milage got high.

[EuroDude]

Sounds like it could be a fault in the engine from the factory.

Take it to the dealer for warranty repair

[aaronng]

euro dude intresting with the waranty void...can i know why? since i'm planing to use my own oil (not yet - thinking of the next service)

You must use what is specified in the manual.

I think this is the chart (it is off the Euro service manual):
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/1200/viscosityfo1.jpg

[yfin]

The oil pressure warning light and sound will come on during cornering.

Never knew the console made a sound for such a warning... good to know.. There is definately something wrong with your car though.

[yfin]

euro dude intresting with the waranty void...can i know why? since i'm planing to use my own oil (not yet - thinking of the next service)

You can use your own oil. I always used my own oil save for the 1,000km service. It is fine as long as you keep within Honda specifications in the chart above.

[aaronng]

Never knew the console made a sound for such a warning... good to know.. There is definately something wrong with your car though.

I think it's because his Euro has the multi-info display.

[ok2]

I have 06 Euro and no problems with oil consumption. I agree that you should get it looked at by the dealer as soon as possible. The longer you leave it the more "wiggle room" you leave for Honda to do nothing / blame you.

If you have


Used oil that meets Honda's requirements
Had it serviced "properly" at the correct intervals
Not "abused" the engine (e.g. racing, over revving)
Run it in properly (bedded in the rings)
Don't have lots of modifications e.g. super charger ;)


(and it appears that this car is OK on these points) then you have a good case. Have seen various threads on www.acurazine.com forums discussing cases like this and the posters usually get it sorted (rebuilt engines under warranty) but for them it can be a struggle to get there. If I remember correctly, one was for a user under the name of sauceman who had a "long engine" rebuild after proving excessive oil consumption. He was at 141,500 miles (226,000 km) in his 03 TSX as of January 06) so it can be OK after a rebuild !

Hope yours is easier.

[aaronng]

Have seen various threads on www.acurazine.com forums discussing cases like this and the posters usually get it sorted (rebuilt engines under warranty) but for them it can be a struggle to get there. If I remember correctly, one was for a user under the name of sauceman who had a "long engine" rebuild after proving excessive oil consumption. He was at 141,500 miles (226,000 km) in his 03 TSX as of January 06) so it can be OK after a rebuild !

Hope yours is easier.
I don't think Sauceman had to rebuild his engine. It was Curls who got it. They rebuilt it but it still consumed oil. They replaced the short block and that fixed his oil consumption (1 litre per 1000 km!)

[DOHCVTEC]

If you have

Used oil that meets Honda's requirements
Had it serviced "properly" at the correct intervals
Not "abused" the engine (e.g. racing, over revving)
Run it in properly (bedded in the rings)
Don't have lots of modifications e.g. super charger ;)
Yes I have stuck to the things above,

1. all oils were changed by honda service and they used FEO only.
2. it was only serviced earlier than later as i'm anal about my cars,
3. mum drives it. Track days is my Type R's duty, the euro is given the luxary treatment,
4. I believe it was run in property, i ran it in just like my Type R, which has no problem at all. Gave it some load progressively without going hard on it. Although the car sat in the dealership for 4-5 months before I bought it, I dun think it is a demo, cos it doesn't have much kms on it anyway,
5. euro is totally stock.

I will book for the next service asap and see what is causing the problem.

[DOHCVTEC]

i have a stupid question...

does parking outside all the time exposing the car to weather has anything to do with engine oil consumption?

[EuroDude]

No that wouldnt cause excessive oil consumption.

Are you sure there isn't a small oil leak somewhere?

It could be something simple like a mechanic not screwing in the oil filter properly. Or perhaps its something like a small metal fragment entering the cylinders and damaging the piston seats

[mastcell]

How was the car used? I suspect heaps of stop-start driving in peak hour traffic increase oil consumption. I had similar problem with my Euro and told my dealer. On the dip stick, it dropped about half way from 'Max' a while back, but that has not happened since because I don't use that car for commuting anymore. Also, we are now monitoring the oil consumption.

I don't think the dip stick level correspond to the actual amount of oil in the sump. Though I did not measure it, around 500ml of oil raise the level back to the 'Max'.

Is this the experience of others on this forum?

[EuroAccord13]

I don't think the dip stick level correspond to the actual amount of oil in the sump. Though I did not measure it, around 500ml of oil raise the level back to the 'Max'.


It doesn't the level of the oil between the top fill mark and the lower mark is normally between 500ml and 1000ml. It it not a representation of the total amount of engine oil in the engine.

[DOHCVTEC]

A little bit of stop and go i suppose, but lots of cold starts.

The engine oil looks kinda dark cos of the contaminations.

I topped it up with FEO last sunday. Oil haven't disappear drastically over these few days.

[mastcell]

Dark oil can be interpreted two ways. It means the engine had worked hard, but you should be glad to know that the oil is doing its function properly, i.e., absorbing all the contaminates and protecting your engine.

In my case, the oil remained mostly 'syrupy gold liquid' until it was near 10000km service mark. Oil consumption occurred during the time when it had lots of cold starts and peak hour driving. But I did not get the low oil pressure warning, probably because I checked the oil level regularly.

Same oil consumption thing also occurred to my other older car. I thought it was because that car was worn out...

I reckon you need to monitor it for a while (weekly dipstick check, under car check for leaks) and then decides what to do.

[aaronng]

i have a stupid question...

does parking outside all the time exposing the car to weather has anything to do with engine oil consumption?

Nope, because my car is parked outside about 95% of the time.

[ok2]

I don't think Sauceman had to rebuild his engine. It was Curls who got it. They rebuilt it but it still consumed oil. They replaced the short block and that fixed his oil consumption (1 litre per 1000 km!)
Thanks yfin, I stand corrected ! :o I knew it was one or the other and when I couldn't find the details quickly in search I guessed and got it wrong.