Thomas ander

Just bought my accord after my cousin changed the oil in it. It didn't burn a drop up to the first oil change.

I gave it the first change since I bought it just a couple thousand miles ago (It's at 70% oil life left, not sure what mileage that works out to).

I checked it repeatedly the week I changed it and it stood still at the top of the operating range. Then at 70%, just now, I checked it and it's 1/4- 1/3 qt low. I checked underneath to make sure everything was snug, no oil at all.

could I be doing something wrong? Mobile one 0w-20 full synthetic, (advanced fuel economy) mobile filter.

I'm really confused, I just find it hard to believe that it would all of a sudden start burning a 1/4 qt every couple thousand miles, especially with only 40k miles on it.

Hybridized

It could be a couple of very simple things, such as not waiting long enough after shutting off the car, for the oil to drip back down into the oil pan. Or, perhaps being on a slight hill when checking the oil.

Ideally, the car maker would design the location of the dipstick to be more or less in the middle of the oil pan, to make the reading insensitive to whether the car is on level ground or not. But many car models are pretty sensitive to the "angle" of the car....

One other thing is that if the car is driven only on very short trips, moisture and/or small amounts of gasoline can build up and be present in the oil. Then, if you go on a longer trip or drive, you can "burn off" those other liquids, making it seem that the level has decreased suddenly.

I suppose it could be something more serious, but it probably is nothing to worry about, especially if you see no sign of drips.

One other thing is that if a car has worn piston rings and/or worn valve stem seals (and therefore burns oil at a non-trivial rate), it's possible to hide or temporarily slow down the rate of oil burning by throwing in thicker oil than normally used, or by using additives such as STP that also serve to thicken the oil. But once you go back to the regular oil, the pace of oil burning goes back up. (This can be true, even in the absence of much oil smoke.) So someone selling a car with worn rings or valve stem seals can hide the symptoms with thicker oil or additives..... But this would generally be applicable only to pretty high-mileage cars.

Thomas ander

I know what you mean, I'm leaning toward your first explanation.

I would have to think there is a logical explanation besides it burning.

the car is so new and plus it was my cousin that sold it to me. I definitely wouldn't think he'd hide anything (VERY "well off" doctor).

I was also wondering if the weather could effect it.

thanks for the response. My edits to my typos aren't saving.