Heavy oil consumption in '03 Honda Accord
 

Hi, everyone!

So I have a 2003 Honda Accord EX 2.4L I4 with automatic transmission. I'm just short of reaching the 150,000 mile mark.

I've had the thing for a couple months and overall I love it. I have had to have quite a bit of work done to replace the timing chain, the motor mounts, and starter, but now that all of that's been done, it seems to be running great.

The only thing I've noticed now is that the thing is using oil like crazy. The consumption rate is probably 1 qt. every 1000 miles. I've seen places on the internet where some say this is normal consumption for this vehicle/engine with high mileage. But can that be possible? That seems like a buttload of oil to me.

I've had the car checked at my local import mechanic for leaks (whom I've known for years and trust) and he said the engine looks clean/no leaks anywhere. The car doesn't smoke at any time or doesn't run roughly. It passed a compression test with flying colors. There is no evidence I can find to point to where the oil in the car is going.

Anyone know what this could be? Is this a problem that could get progressively worse or is it just normal aging? I CANNOT afford to put any more money into this car, so if you guys think it will be something expensive to fix and it needs to be fixed, I will most likely sell it.

Thanks! :)

Re: Heavy oil consumption in '03 Honda Accord
 

There is a PCM update for oil consumption.... But they sometimes don't work. How long do u go between oil changes? Why was the timing chain replaced? Was the vtc done at the same time?

Re: Heavy oil consumption in '03 Honda Accord
 

Just for giggles, have you replaced the poor old PCV? When you replace it, watch out for the little washer.

Re: Heavy oil consumption in '03 Honda Accord
 

Thanks for the replies, Lost and Racer!

I have not replaced the PCV. I actually thought about this, but would the PCV be causing it to burn that much oil?

Between oil changes I typically do it every 3000 miles, which is usually every 2-3 months. Or if I haven't gone 3000 miles in 3 months, I'll go ahead and do it around the 3 month mark.

The timing chain was replaced after the computer threw the P0341 code around the 147,000 mark. The dealership determined the timing chain stretched and replaced it. That cost around $1300. I'm not sure they actually did anything to the VTC. I think they checked the timing to make sure everything was running correctly, but I don't think they actually did any work involving the VTC.

Again, thanks for the responses!

Re: Heavy oil consumption in '03 Honda Accord
 

YES. If really bad even more.