No oil usage
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,059
Likes: 0
From: NoVa
with the warmer weather and good road adhesion comes higher-rpm driving. i've got 16K miles on my MY03 and didn't consume a drop of oil during the 20 or 25 times i drove it this past fall, winter and spring. however since last checking the level (two fill-up ago OOPS) i'm down about 3 or 4 X's. clearly, the heavy dose of VTECing is burning up the oil.
prior to the first oil change, i added just under two qts. it was down some at each and every fill-up. the usage has evened off, but it's definitely AT LEAST one quart per 3K miles.
prior to the first oil change, i added just under two qts. it was down some at each and every fill-up. the usage has evened off, but it's definitely AT LEAST one quart per 3K miles.
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,204
Likes: 0
From: Burnaby
I don't believe in the correlation that VTEC burns oil. I've seen many S around here driven in a much nicer manner than mine and they burn oil. I find every possible excuse to catch up with traffic when I'm merging onto the highway every morning. And again when I'm merging into the HOV lane. At least 1-2 gears in the sweet spot.
Banned
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 940
Likes: 2
From: Toronto
I'm with you on that Indecision. I take the car up to redline all the time and use NO oil. It is changed every 5000kms and has never been down one x. When I hear others complain about oil usage my first thought is what brand and grade of oil are you using? Don't assume that just because the dealer does the change that they are using what Honda recommends for the engine. Make damn sure they are using the right oil and it wouldn't hurt to make sure the right filter also.
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,660
Likes: 2
From: Midlothian
It may be that the VTEC oil eating is a myth - running any car that has some wear or out of spec part allowing oil to blowby the rings, and then is taken up to redline will eat more oil. That it happens on a VTEC car may just be a coincidence, not a proximate cause. Perhaps one of the more engineering-oriented members with earlier cars can explain why VTEC, alone, would cause an increase. There do not seem to be oil components in the VTEC system itself that either could cause loss of oil by volatility, or would cause oil to be "consumed" or blown into the PCV system. Certainly, a lot of mineral oil will simply boil off in this car, from the high temps in the piston areas from high RPM.
As a casual observer for less than a year on this topic, i does seem that the later model year cars have had less oil consumption, so Honda clearly has made continuous improvement. But I assume nothing, and check the oil frequently. In my case, now that the weather is right, I will be racking up more miles and will post if I have something more to offer.
As a casual observer for less than a year on this topic, i does seem that the later model year cars have had less oil consumption, so Honda clearly has made continuous improvement. But I assume nothing, and check the oil frequently. In my case, now that the weather is right, I will be racking up more miles and will post if I have something more to offer.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 819
Likes: 0
From: bronx
early my 02 w/ 28k, consumed oil early between 2nd and third oil change, and recently needs a sip when shorter drives and higher reving seems to require it. Day to day commuting seems to be no problem. Just came back from a meet, drove nearly 600 miles in one day...high speed +/- 450 miles, another hard 150 on country backroads w/ stops on a hot day, cooked a quart when I checked the next morning.