Root16

I brought my recently acquired Civic VX to a local shop in New Hampshire on Dec. 26, 2012 to have the oil changed. I called the shop and explained I needed just the oil changed--I didn't need fluids checked or topped off and I didn't need anything else checked. Just the oil changed with the GTX High Mileage blend oil and filter I provided. He said he could do it but that I needed to hurry to the shop since he was leaving at noon or something. So I got there in good time and left the car there and came back and picked it up an hour or so later. The guy left the key behind the front wheel.

I then embarked on a cross country road trip through a myriad of weather conditions (mostly snow and cold as I took I-80, the northern route). In Ohio I visited Rusty94cx from www.gassavers.org who was kind enough to check various things on the car for me. The oil looked pretty clean at that juncture, about 750 miles into the oil change and the oil level was a little high. I had told the mechanic that it needed a little less than 4 quarts but he put all 4 quarts in. I continued driving to California, over the mountains etc., and then drove around California for awhile. Somewhere in the trip I checked the oil again and noticed that the oil level dropped, which was surprising because the person who sold me the car said it wasn't using oil and the remainder of the 'oil change' the car came with when I bought it (about 2500 miles or so into that oil change since I owned it--don't know when he had changed the oil before I acquired the car) the oil level did not drop at all. But now the oil had dropped. I checked it again a little later and it had dropped some more. It dropped all the way to the bottom of the range. I added GTX high mileage oil at a jiffy lube and they checked for leaks and found none. They said I should use 10w not 5w oil on an old car, but the former owner was using 5w 30 and it was working very well for him as it wasn't burning any oil (and wasn't burning oil before I did this oil change in NH). Oh, the car has 250,000+ miles on it.

Now, it is pretty well known that if you put in non-synthetic oil into an engine that has been using synthetic oil that it is bad for the engine. The Jiffy lube guy said it's bad for the seals. So I'm thinking, man... is it possible that the guy I brought it to in NH actually put in cheap oil and kept the stuff I gave him? It would explain why the oil was black now that I'm home again (about 8000 miles on the oil change) and was using oil. I realize 8000 miles is a lot, but the oil color didn't change much if any at all when I acquired the car before I changed the oil before going across country. Also, these were mostly highway miles at 65mph most of the time, so does it really make sense the high quality GTX oil would break down so quickly? My friend said he read online that people said they have had this happen to them; where they bring their own oil and the shop keeps their mobile 1 and puts in some cheap crap.

So before I call the shop or visit to complain, I am going to change my oil and monitor it to see if the level drops and how quickly it loses its amber color and becomes black.

What are your thoughts?

Oh, and one very important question I have. If the shop did indeed put non-synthetic oil into my engine have I permanently damaged the engine by driving with non-synthetic after a life of synthetic? Will it continue to burn oil from now on regardless of the oil I put in? Or should I expect the engine to not burn oil when I put in the GTX high mileage back into the engine with the next oil change? :sigh:

Former User

As the engine has 250K miles on it, I'm not very surprised by your observations.

PerfectionIsKey

I've heard of shops doing this. Not saying your dumb for doing it, but you should really start changing your own oil or get REALLY close to a mechanic and gain trust. i have a friends(3-4) that own shops and Chad barber lives maibe 15 mins from me and i can have any of them do it. Or just learn to do it yourself it's your best bet. So you don't have to deal with problems.

doctorake

My synthetic gets black after 8k miles.

strategy400

All cars use a little oil especially after 250k. Your piston rings likely worn. Changing back and forth between oils won't hurt, however synthetic is superior at reducing wear. It's likely worse to mix 2 different brands of oil than to switch to different oils at a change. As long as the oil meets minimum manufacturer requirements it is fine.
I always do my own changes as oil is critical and I don't want a loose or stripped drain plug or improperly installed filter to kill my car. Plus you get a good look at your undercarriage while you're down there, leaks, dings, broken stuff, tire damage etc.

jbpnoman

You went 8k, and you're wondering why the oil is black?

Root16

I do have wheel ramps and will probably do the next change myself. Thanks for the replies. Hopefully no damage to the engine. But it's still odd the car suddenly started using oil after a life of no oil use. I'm really hoping going back to the regular gtx high milage oil (again, here I am assuming the mechanic put in diff oil) will result in no more oil use.

EDIT: I suppose driving 3000 miles nonstop might cause an engine to use oil whereby 120 mile trips may not. What do you think about it?

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Considering you also drove across country in various weather conditions... none of what you describe surprises me.
Change your own oil from now on.

GPC91

iTrader: (1)

im just curious if you just bought the car. did you ever think that maybe the guy lied about the engine not useing oil? dont mean to doubt you but people do that stuff all the time

Ryan96GSR

I don't trust oil change shops. I've heard too many stories of people getting screwed, wrong viscosity used, payed for work never being completed, the list goes on.
Buy a jack, and some stands and with 20 minutes of your time you know the oil change will be done right


Driving for long conditions like that might explain the consuption, also given the mileage it's not surpising as other users have mentioned.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

My wife does her own oil changes.

strategy400

And loosens the filter by hand, no doubt.

Root16

yes, and I even half expected the oil level to drop in the first 2500 miles I drove before the sketchy shop changed my oil. The oil level did not drop an iota during the first 2500 miles of ownership of the car. So I am hoping it's a combination of shady oil change and extended driving period.

sde780

Perhaps the previous owner used some kind of product that thickened the oil and thus slowed the rate of oil burning.

I don't think the mechanic screwed you over although it may seem easy to blame him.

Root16

I think it'd be kind of weird for the mechanic to do so to gain a few bucks in oil, but it just seems like the oil didn't perform as well as it did before I got the change.

dirty19

iTrader: (1)

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

PerfectionIsKey

LMFAO shes a keeper. I want to teach my mom how to change her oil(Convinced her in getting an RSX Type-s). If not i'll do it, cause EVERY ******* TIME a shop rips her off she never knows.

Root16

Oh, well, maybe I did some damage to the motor when the temp gauge went up since the radiator fan doesn't come on. Driving up the steep and winding hollywood hills (all 1st and 2nd gear, no 3rd) the temp gauge went all the way up more than 3/4 right below the white line. The temp gauge has gone up on other occasions, but that was the highest and for the longest period of time (maybe a minute at a time before coming down again at intervals, by running the heater). When I opened the hood at the worst of the overheating there was no sign of overheating (no smoke from the engine, no excessive heat coming off the motor or any other signs of overheating I could detect--though I am no automotive tech in the slightest). Maybe after this overheating episode the car started using oil? I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think the oil level had dropped by the time I had reached Southern California (nearly 4000 miles after the 'shady' oil change in NH).

dL_EG6

It's more likely that the oil change wasnt shady. How shady can an oil change be? Seriously now. It's really that basic. I don't see how a shop can be shady on it? Not change your oil filter? That's not going to make you burn oil.

It's more likely its because the car has 250k+ and the motor is no longer in great shape. It's burning oil and the most likely cure is a rebuild of the motor.

HondaPartsHero

Uh really? Yeah how long has the fan not worked? Overheating is a killer of both engines AND oil. Is there any other issues you didn't mention?

Root16

I guess the fan hasn't worked for 10,000 miles (how long I've had the car). First time I saw the temp gauge go up was about 2,300 miles after owning the car, shortly before I did the cross country trip.

The other issue: there was an oil leak I noticed that rusty94cx from gassavers.org diagnosed as vtec selenoid leaking (if I recall right). However, since I visited him in Ohio going out to California (about 7000 miles ago) I haven't noticed any oil on the engine, which to me is pretty weird, because why did the leak show up (quite suddenly in fact) in the first place and then disappear?

Also, sometimes (I think only twice in fact) the CEL comes on when engine breaking down a hill (when the RPMs go up while engine breaking down a hill). I haven't jumped the CEL jumper with a paper clip, so I don't know what code the CEL was throwing.

Root16

I would say it is shady if the shop used cheap, non-synnthetic oil after the car had been accustomed to GTX High mileage synthetic blend oil.

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Then start doing your own oil changes. If you can't prove it, then move on and stop whining about it. There's feedback you can give on the merchant here.
http://hondamarketplace.com/forumdisplay.php?f=157
'Cause right now it sounds like you're whining.

Do your own oil changes and minor things that are easily bolt-on/bolt-off. My wife also knows how to change out her own brakes and has swapped out her rad when the old one developed a leak. She knows how to pull and read CEL codes if and when they come up and does her own FULL tuneups. She knows what the proper firing order is. And she's helped me swap out the suspension at all four corners of HER car (only because some of the bolts needed more muscle to get them off or she would have done THAT herself also).

What Me and everyone else is saying is to do these simple things yourself and not allow yourself to be at the mercy of any shop, shady or otherwise.

deschlong

iTrader: (8)

PICS or it didn't happen. Haha, just kidding, grumble. That's fantastic that she does all that!!

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

I got tired of working on two cars at the same time. I showed her how to do it and told her she was responsible for it from then on. She even took notes. Scribbled up some pictures to help her remember. I mean, I have a manual but she doesn't like searching through it. I went so far as to program a schedule to check fluids and so forth into her phone.