2003 Honda CRV 51000 miles, never had problems before.
At 50400 miles, 2000 miles since last oil change, oil light comes on. I check the oil and there is BARELY ANY on the dipstick. I bring it in to Honda and they don't find a leak, but my oxygen sensor is broken so they replace that and give me an oil change.
600 miles and 3 weeks later, no car problems and no oil light, but I have lost 1.5 quarts of oil. I bring it in to Honda again, they don't find a leak again, and say that they will need to do a comprehensive and expensive oil diagnostic check. I haven't gone ahead with it yet because I want to try to get Honda to pay for it.

Where is the oil going? Any ideas what is wrong?

 

oil diagnostic check? I've been working on Hondas for 5 years and have never seen this. What are they wanting to do exactly? You must be burning it if there are no leaks. Does your back bumper turn black near the tailpipe?

 

They are going to do an oil consumption test. First step is to do an oil change and mark the dipstick. Return in 5-600 miles to see how much oil has been lost. More then 1 quart in 500 miles is not acceptable by Honda standards. They may run this test two times to get an accurate loss rate. Be patient this is just standard procedure. After that there is a possibility the head will have to be removed and valve seals,top of pistons and cylinder walls will be inspected. Possible valve stem seal leak,or you are blowing by the oil control rings. You are obviously burning oil and they should look into this. Have you kept up on routine maintenance at the dealership and have history? Has the car been severly overheated? Honda may help out eventually but you may have to agree to all charges for the diag. before they will agree.

 

Yeah that's it, oil consumption test. I've kept up with maintenance and have always brought it to Honda dealerships for service. At 48,000 I got a full checkup and everything was fine then. I contacted Honda and am currently waiting for a response to see if they will pay for this test, as it can get quite expensive if they end up needing to take stuff apart.

 

that makes a lot more sense then. Have you been keeping up with oil changes? Sounds like you must baby the car a lot. I would pull the spark plugs to see if any of them are getting fouled out and that will give you an idea of where to get started. I have yet to see a cr-v or any stock K series engine burn oil

 

[QUOTE= I have yet to see a cr-v or any stock K series engine burn oil[/QUOTE]

Done three motors in the last two years for this exact thing(Two Accords and one Crv). Had a 03 Crv come in just last week with the same thing. Had 96,000 miles and the customer didnt want to take it any further or it would have been #4.

 

I talked to Honda and they basically said there's no way they can pay for this.
How much does this oil consumption test cost?

 

Oil consumption test is simple and could be done yourself. After your next oil change take a sharp screwdriver and scribe the highest point of the oil on your dipstick when warm. After 500 miles check the dipstick. Fill with same 5 w20 oil till level is at scribed mark on dipstick. If you added less then 1 quart within that 500 miles you should be OK. Just keep an eye on your oil level at every fill up of gas and add as needed. If there is a problem,you may be looking at a teardown which could get into the $1000's. Let us know how it turns out.