So, I bought my 03' a little over a month ago, and I have put about 1,500 miles on it. Checked the oil pretty soon after I bought it, and I was really clean and appeared to be on the high side. Then two weeks ago I check the level again and the oil was well BELOW THE LOW LINE!!! Ended up putting 2 1/2 quarts to fill, so it was 1 1/2 quarts below the low line . How worried should I be about it running so low? I talked to a Honda dealer and they said that it wasn't out of the question to use this much oil.

I've come to the discovery that most S2k's use oil, but to me this seems really excessive. I'm not that hard on the car,58k miles on it, usually shift up @ 4k, VTEC occasionally. The dealership I bought it from said it has 5w-30 Mobile 1 Synth., I'm wondering if the lighter weight synth oil might be burning off quicker than the recommended 10w-30. What do you think I should do in this situation. The car has an extended warranty covering the entirety of the drivetrain, but I'm not sure its going to be covered if they find nothing out of the ordinary. What should I do?

 

always check the oil in the same spot, or at least a known level surface. if you checked it in two different spots, not noticing it being slanted then that could skew your readings. I ran mine lower than that 40,000 miles ago. like 3+ QUARTS LOW (I never checked the oil when I bought the car, stupid I know, but it wound up that the prev owner didn't either) I just dyno'd right at 200 RWHP on a all stock AP1 motor. I think you'll be fine. Is the oil conventional, blend, or synthetic?

 

Currently has 5w-30 Mobile 1 Synth.

 

Dont worry man. Honda engines can take a shit load of beating. You can put water in it and itll still b reliable.

 

^ I agree, Honda engines can take a lot of beating but just make sure you don't let oil get below the last X marking.

 

you should be ok, the only downside is you having to constantly refill it. my 02 goes through roughly 2 quarts in 3k miles.

 

No, NO and NO

engine needs oil to run, and that's true for honda and it's true for vw.

run the motor bone dry and you'll have a seized piece of junk 2 minutes later, don't just wishful thinking everything it's okay just because it's a honda.

water in engine huh?

does it lube, clean, cushion, cool and seal like 10w30?

 

m1's Viscosity index is different even tho it's rated the same, some motor might burn more m1 than any other oil.

before you dump out the oil now, go save a batch and have it test.

different metal shaving/content in the oil will tell you what's wrong, let's say you toasted a ring vs scored cylinder vs copper seals

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Still wondering if it is worth getting it checked out. I'm going to keep an eye on the level and if it keeps up at this rate I think I'm going to have to have it checked out. I'm wondering if just changing the type and weight of the oil will cut down on the usage. It's not like the car is leaking and I haven't noticed blue/black smoke so I don't see how any engine can normally use that much oil.

 

I believe there is a video out there of a Honda engine being tortured by running water and other various things. Probably what he was refering to.