I just hit 4,500 miles and began to notice that at 6500 rpm's I no longer felt the VTEC "kick in". I did not realize that this car sucked oil. I decided to check the oil just out of dumb luck and noticed nothing on the dipstick. It was DRY. I took it to the corner gas station and it ended up taking 4 quarts. I drive it pretty hard. A lot of toll booth "take offs". Now that it's full of oil, the 6500 rpm VTEC is more subtle. It's still there, but not as strong as before. I took it straight to the dealer after filling the oil up and they told me that it should not burn oil at all. THEY'RE CLUELESS! Has anyone else had this happen. Do you think that something got ruined by letting the oil go soooooooo low, or will the VTEC get stronger again.

HONDA should let buyers know that this car guzzles oil if you drive it hard. Why else would you buy this car, but to drive it hard?

 

Your owner's manual specifically tells you to check the oil level at EVERY fuel-up. So, in essence, Honda did tell you about it.
If you had to add 4 qts, that meant you only had no more than 1.5 qts left in the engine. You may have lucked out but on the other hand, your engine may never again be the same.

 

They do use oil. I have to add 1 qrt very 3000 miles. The guys at honda say its normal.

 

I know that the manual says to check the oil at every fuel fill-up, but so does the owners manual for my 2000 Acura 3.2TL. I've checked the oil maybe twice in the last 3 years, always do the regular services, and that has NEVER been low on oil. All I'm saying is that the HONDA should make the dealers aware of this so that your salesperson can stress that you should definately check the oil A LOT.

For all of you who did check the oil every time you filled your car with gas, congrats........good job...........but don't bust on those of us who didn't. I also had a 1983 Honda Accord in college with 234,000 miles that needed a valve job before I sold it for $500 that didn't burn oil this fast!

 

First I don't think I or anyone else was "busting" on you. I was just stating that since it's in the owner's manual, Honda has an "out". Should you develop engine problems later, make sure you don't say anything on this forum that might disclose your identity. Honda spies here for this exact sort of thing. And since you just admitted to reading the owner's manual and ignoring what was printed there, if they can link that to you, "busting on you" will have a whole new significance for you.

 

I don't think anyone is busting on you. I think its more or less that a lot of people simply don't read their manual or don't listen to whats in there.

I admit, I don't check my oil at every fill up, but I do check it often enough to know how much oil my car burns (only about 500 mL every 5,000 KM).

 

I only just started burning oil, but I'm watching it carefully now.

I decided this time to skip an interim oil change (5000km) because 3500 of those km was done on a long interstate trip and I figured contaminants were less likely on a trip like that. Oil still loses viscosity though, and the weather has been pretty hot lately, so I'm wondering if that's why I am burning a bit of oil.

I am going to revert back to 5000km changes after this next change, unless I do another long interstate trip.

Prior to this, I have NEVER topped up oil between services.

 

even hondas "recommended oil check interval" is not good enough for me, i check my oil level after every long drive...i respect and care about the car.

 

You're right at the mileage where so many other people have also posted about their high oil consumption rate. This is a performance car and they do require more attention then a normal car.


In the fall of 2001 Honda sent this Service Update to its dealerships. Please note the right hand column.

 

Personally, I can't believe that anyone would acquire a new (to them) automobile and not keep tabs on all the fluids until there was an established pattern. Now that I've put 10k miles on my used S2000, I don't watch these things like I did before I saw a clear pattern.