jwahl16

Hey everyone,
I'm looking to possibly join the Honda community as I'll be looking at one tomorrow. I found a 2001 Accord Coupe 4-cylinder EX with 120,000 miles on it that seems to be in good shape. The guy has been up front with me regarding the history and everything. The only thing notably wrong is the oil consumption. He says it currently burns about a quart every 1,000 miles. I've done some research in the past hour or so and this seems to be cause by wear on the piston rings. Some people have suggested switching to higher weighted oils, replace PCV valve, and not revving the engine so high

I'm just wondering if this is getting to the point where I should walk away from this deal? I'd be more comfortable if it was every 3,000 miles or so but I figured I'd ask the experts here. I only drive maybe 5,000 miles a year so adding oil isn't a problem. I just want to avoid the larger expenses that come with replacing the rings or the motor if the problem worsens.

I'd most likely be spending about $3,000 on a car which seems to be otherwise in great shape. It's a manual too so none of the transmission problems I've read about (hopefully).

So let me know what you think about that rate of oil consumption and if it's even worth it to mess with it.

Thanks!

holmesnmanny

Its possible the oil loss is oil leaks. If you can drive the car and note a lot of oil leaks then its possible you can just replace all the seals and the car buy could instead be a steal for you.

slowcivic2k

The transmission problems are something to pray for... you get the car for 1400-1500 and put 600 into the transmission, tops. Done it 4 times now.

Anyways, if the car does not leak profusely, (meaning there is no oil spraying back towards the rear of the car.) the piston rings, PCV system, and valve stem seals are the only causes of oil consumption.

Verify engine compression against specification, and introduce oil in the event of less than idea compression to determine if this is a problem.

The PCV system also needs to be checked. Along with forcing oil past the seals, excessive crankcase pressure will also cause external oil leaks on the engine block and head.

I would steer clear myself. 120,000 miles + 1 quart/1000 miles is a lot of oil. My 1991 Civic burned half that much and had 200,000 miles when I sold it, in as pristine a condition as you could have a 91. Get the price down, if you own this for more than a few years expect to rebuild the transmission, and replace the engine if it has lower compression.

In my experience, the 4 cyl Accords are beat up, the 6 cyl upscale models have better wear because they are usually owned by an older audience. Even though the automatic may be a turnoff for you, the upgrades you can have for 600 bucks vs a reman that costs between 1500-2400 is well worth it.

jwahl16

Interesting, I didn't know there were modifications available to beef up the automatics.

This has been an older ladies car for about 8 years i think, so I don't think it was beat on but it may have been neglected. He says he has all of the maintenance records. I'll give them a gander and check for any signs of oil leaks.

You're right, if this is really burning that much oil I should walk away or negotiate for a seriously lower price.

Thanks for the advice!