roastbeefmike

i'm on several forums for my truck and bmw, i just know nothing about hondas...

my girlfriend has been having problems with her 08 accord 4cyl using or burning excessive amounts of oil.
she has taken it to the dealer a few times, and they have acknowledged she has some sort of issue with the oil.
allegedly, honda performed a recall service that involved new ecu software- and indicated that the computer was reading the oil level sensor wrong.

however- every time we check the dipstick after about a thousand miles, it reads low.
-the car does not leak oil, there is no oil on my driveway, or around the bottom of the engine bay.

this car has about 67,000 miles with regular service. after about 1,000 miles, it reads low, and the oil has "disappeared." any ideas?

GoLowDrew

I assume they already did TSB 11-049 VTC timing. That was my first answer.

BTW, just wondering what is "low"? As in just below the top dot? Or at the bottom dot?

Type Stephen

What kind of oil are you using?

roastbeefmike

i'll have to check the service receipt from what the dealership to see exactly what they did.
it reads "low" on the stick as in; just a little bit of oil around the "low" dot on the dipstick when the car was warm, but had been sitting for a little bit.

she takes it to the dealer for the changes, so whatever honda specifies.

an idea i had was to try an oil change with full synthetic and see what happens. i don't think full synthetic would "burn" as easily, but i don't know if it would help if the oil is just getting consumed by the engine somehow.

i know my bmw burns oil if i drive it hard for a while, but its nothing like the way my girlfriends accord is drinking it... and she has a really light foot.

roastbeefmike

i did a quick search using the terminology above and this thread is the only thing that came up.
i looked for a troubleshooting sticky for something like this, but didn't find anything? is this a common issue that i can read about somewhere on this or another forum?

matt96ex

I've seen quite a few of the 08+ 4cyl Accords burning oil. I personally think it's a design flaw in Honda's blocks and/or rings.
It's a very good thing you keep an eye on the level, because I will see customers come in with CEL's on and zero oil on the dipstick and maintenance minders in the negative numbers(poor maintenance).
Worst case, the valvetrain will become noisy or the timing chain will become stretched.
It's quite a shame because the Accords are nice cars and pretty reliable, except for the 2.4L engines.
Hopefully Honda will fix this issue on future motors.

roastbeefmike

thanks for the response, she has taken it in several times for this, and she gets all her service done at honda, so there should be a good paper trail on this. she has taken it to honda for this issue before, and i think they "swept it under the rug" stating that she was due for an oil change or something like that.

she has had an off and on "chatter" that lasts for about one full second on start up. it sounds like someone dragging a screwdriver over some fan blades for a second. i'll have to keep an eye on her oil and take note of the sound and if it is relevant to her oil level at the time.

i forgot to mention, this is a southern california car, so no special oil is being used for colder weather (some people use different weights in the cold months).

anyone come up with a solution for this since it seems like honda is playing dumb?

matt96ex

I think Honda knows about it for sure.
Dealers have a "Oil consumption test" now where they keep track of how much oil is being burned over a certain amount of miles.
Honda says burning a quart of oil every 1,000 miles is normal! I can't even believe it! I think that's total B.S.
That's quite a bit of oil gone over a short period of time.
But maybe have the dealer try that. If your getting about that, they probably won't do much for you.

As for your noise on start up, is the engine cold when it does it? If so, sounds like the VTC actuator is bad. There is a service bulletin on that and all 08 4cyl Accords fall under that.

Hope this helps!

roastbeefmike

it does help, thank you very much. we'll start a paper trail with a dealer around here with that terminology. one quart for 1,000 miles is totally ridiculous, bmw M cars don't even come close to that. i'm even worried about farther down the line when the catalytic converters start to clog and go bad because of the excessive oil passing through.

the sound i described does occur on a cold start up. forgive me if i didn't search thoroughly enough, but is there a thread about the VTC actuator, or a DIY for it?

v8killaz

damn what happen to good old hondas. me and my family have since switched to toyotas. a lot more reliable especially the newer ones.

only thing i love about my honda is parts are basically free.

roastbeefmike

through further research, looks like she has the vtc actuator issue. i'm wondering if anyone has done this and completely fix the issue, or if the issue has already caused the piston rings to quit and this will remain a problem even after a vtc actuator replacement.

spinigan

spinigan

My 2008 Honda Accord (4 cyl) has been going through oil to the point that I have been asked to bring it to the dealer every 1500 km - every 2 weeks. Honda extended the powertain warranty to 160,000km. Fortunately the car lease is up in 3 months and I won't chance buying it out. There is a problem according to the Honda dealer reps - no solution yet.

Fredman

FWIW I have a 2008 Accord 4 cyl, I live where it can get to zero degrees in the winter, and 100 in the summer, I have used only Castrol Syntec 5w20 since day one, with oil changes every 6-8,000 miles, and I have not 'burned' a drop of oil. The dipstick never changes. I have about 42K on the car.

Mechanic

In the brief span of a dozen posts there are so many incorrect assumptions and conclusions in this thread that it's beyond redemption.

roastbeefmike

well if you start it, and it sounds like someone is holding a screwdriver against fan blades, standby for some shananagins.

explain.

tradosaurus

Random post of the day.

Fredman

WTH is that supposed to mean?

I've had no problems, none, zippo, and I check my oil every other weekend like clockwork.

The_Head

Is this a widespread problem for the 8th gen Accord? I'm looking to get a 2012 LX 2.4L Sedan and was wondering.

GoLowDrew

Nope. Considering this is the same K24 used in the past, like 7th Gen Accords, one will hardly read an issues with oil consumption. The engine was consider bullet proof. I was a past owner of a 2006 model.

Not sure exactly what changed (on the 8th gen), and then Honda now uses a 0 weight oil for the engine. Overall it's not a common problem, and like anything else, when there is one, it's all over the web (rightfully so).

I would think the 2012+ would have address whatever was the cause.