i have a new fit now with 10000 miles. i got it about three months ago but i use it as a locksmith vehicle. i drive fairly hard but not ridiculous. i reach 5000 rpm fairly often. with about 4500 miles on the oil change i added 3/4 quart of oil. shouldn't the rings be sealed by now? am i adding oil because of the way i drive or is something possibly wrong? thanks for any input.

 

When driven relatively hard, using 3/4 of a quart in 4500 miles is not necessarily excessive, especially considering the low-viscosity 5W-20 oil that Honda recommends. You could inquire at your dealer about the issue, but I suspect they'll tell you the oil usage is within acceptable levels.

 

thanks a bunch, i had been reading about 5-20 and i thought it may be possible. i noticed when i added more it was so thin...almost like honey colored water, compared to 10-30 anyways. i just topped it off on oil and i will drive easy until i get the oil changed to see if i lose more then i will ask the dealer if needed.

 

at 10,000 miles, you ought to be well along the way to fully "broken in". The recommended first oil change is at 7500. Are you saying that you changed oil BEFORE the 7500 mile recommendation?

The only reason I ask is that manufacturers have been getting closer and closer to perfectly machined and assembled engines. It takes longer now to "run-in" an engine to seat those valves properly. I would expect that the light viscosity would be recommended for "run in" only. After fully broken in, I'd go to a higher viscosity value or "go for broke" and use Synthetic (the individual oil molecules are uniform and longer than regular oil).

If it is accurate that you have 10,000 miles, then I'd go to the higher viscosity and see if the consumption goes down. It can't hurt anything.. worse it could do is prolong the already lagging "break-in" time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RetroCVCC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would expect that the light viscosity would be recommended for "run in" only. After fully broken in, I'd go to a higher viscosity value or "go for broke" and use Synthetic (the individual oil molecules are uniform and longer than regular oil).

If it is accurate that you have 10,000 miles, then I'd go to the higher viscosity and see if the consumption goes down. It can't hurt anything.. worse it could do is prolong the already lagging "break-in" time.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Honda recommends 5W-20 for the life of the engine, and I wouldn't suggest switching to a higher viscosity in an attempt to address the oil consumption. While the use of 5W-20 is most likely tied to a push for increased fuel economy, it is also probable that the tolerances of the L-series are tight enough to necessitate a relatively low-viscosity oil, in which case switching to a significantly higher-viscosity oil could result in lubrication problems.

 

the fit actually has a gauge that tells the life percentage left of the oil, starting at 100% and working its way down. at 15% is the recommended time to change the oil and a led comes on to tell you besides the gauge showing 15%. padawan, it makes sense about what you are saying, whether is is tolerances or economy pushing the use of 5w-20. if tolerances are similiar though, combined with lighter oil, and hard driving, it does sound like a recipe for using a little bit of oil. i think 5w-30 would probably be ok but.... its a $16g car. i am an mechanical engineering student at the university of arkansas and if there is one thing i have learned.....follow directions. the engineers at honda are among the best in the world and im going to do what they say, hooray for fluid mechanics (my final exam for this class is friday)