I have around 35K miles on my 06 Accord. At the 30K mile oil change interval I switched over to Mobil 1 5W-20. Prior to that I was having it changed at the dealer for $25 a pop, figured I might as well since it was under warranty. At 30K miles I put in the 4.5 quarts, changed the filter etc. At 33K miles I checked the oil, it was at the lower dipstick marker. I put in the rest of the quart remaining from the oil change, and it was about halfway up the dipstick, which is what I expected. Now at 35K miles I checked it, and the oil level was about .5 cm below the lower dipstick line. So I put a half of quart in to hold me over until I change the oil in a few weeks when it hits 36K miles.

So I have taken out the confounding variables here, car was parked on a level surface over night, oil was completely drained, as accurate as it could have been. Likewise when I changed the oil it was full to the top point on the dipstick. Why would this excessively be burning off? Is it the switch from Dino to Synthetic? The dealer was putting 5W-20 Dino oil in, so its probably not that it is too thin, although I have been told the weight in a Synthetic is marginally thinner than that of a Dino. My driving style consists of an 80 miels daily commute, mostly highway. Car is taken to redline maybe once a month, it isa daily driver, I have a 335i for fun

What should I do from here? Switch to a Mobil 1 5W-30? Make a blend of 5W-20/30 mix at each oil change interval? I had no issues with burn off prior to the switch. But I have had issues with Mobil 1 in the past with two DSMs I owned.

Any Advice, this is really pissing me off. I should not have to go through 6-7 quarts of oil in 6K miles to keep the sump full in this car. Should I bring it into the dealer with 1K miles left on the factory warranty?

Thanks.

 

i used royal purple 5w-20 and i have the v6 and i burned off a quart. i had to refill with a full quart, and now it is better and i get better mpg's. i do drive it hard sometimes and dats why i think

 

It's normal for a synthetic oil to burn off faster than natural oil of the same rated viscosity.

Honda is not going to do anything for you.

You have 3 choices:

1. Run synthetic 5W-20; check the oil level constantly and keep the sump topped off.
2. Run synthetic 5W-30 and hope that it doesn't burn off as quickly. If you absolutely must run synthetic, this is what I would recommend.
3. Run natural 5W-20. You already know that it doesn't burn off as quickly. This is what I would personally do.

 

That amount of oil burning is not normal. Take it back to the dealer and have them do a oil consumption test.
1qt between oil changes is normal.

 

Honda representatives have stated on multiple occasions that 1 quart per 3,000 miles falls under their consideration of "normal" consumption - and that's with natural oil.

Most dealers are going to use natural oil. "Between oil changes" is not a standard measure, because nowadays there are countless opinions of how long an oil change interval should be.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I have 5 more quarts of Mobil 1, well now 4.5 I am going to do the next change with the same oil, and keep an eye on the level. I do 6K mile intervals when the MM hits 30% life. Do you think the consumption issue will get better? Also, if I switch back to Dino after the next interval what adverse affects will my motor undergo after 12K miles of Synthetic? I always have heard never to switch back to Dino after Synthetic.

I plan on keeping this car forever so I decided to run Synthetic in this car, not sure if I regret it now...

 

Doubtful if you continue running the same oil.

No; it's not a problem. You can switch back and forth freely with no adverse effects.

 

I will probably switch back after the next oil change interval. Not saving any money in any sort of longer interval period if I have to buy two extra quarts each time.

Or Maybe I will take four of these quarts back and swap them for 5W-30 and see if it gets any better, temperatures will be rising and the hot viscosity bump in rating shouldn't really affect my MPG that much lol.

 

With a full change of Mobile 1 synthetic I go through about 2 quarts on my K24a8 in 6K miles. It appears to be normal. I'm moving towards a 2 quarts synthetic / 2.5 quarts mineral oil mix and keeping a close eye on consumption.

Do not mix weights of oil.

It is ok to go back to mineral oil at any time. I laugh every time I hear people say they heard it was bad because I did it all the time on my Mustang and it rolled over 200K before I sold it. It had 100K when I bought it and it didn't leak any more oil at 200K than it did at 100K.

 

Why not? It doesn't matter.

 

Mixing weights is perfectly fine I have always been told, assuming its the same product or brand. I always made a blend in my DSM of 15W-50 and 5W-30 to obtain an approximate Synthetic version of 10W-40, common DSM practice, or you run Castrol 5W-50 and your covered. But, I am not going to mix Castrol Dino and Mobil 1 Synthetic even if they are the same weight.

 

I just did my oil change yesterday and only got 3 1/2 quarts out after 4k miles. So that means I also burnt a quart.

 

I was even too generous.

 

Are you saying that 1 Quart per 1K miles is Normal Consumption? Do you have a Direct Link to that, or PDF?

 

Oil burns off... it's normal.

:/Thread

 

It's a PDF but I'm a little worried about posting it because when it was written API was not in effect yet and it still calls for SF1 oil. But Honda still uses that guideline I posted. I can send it to you if you'd like.

 

It's not "normal" per se, but it is the extreme of Honda's acceptable range of consumption.

Honda representatives have stated that exact number on multiple occasions when dealing with oil consumption cases. If consumption is less than 1 quart per 1000 miles within the warranty period, you will have a very difficult time getting them to do anything for you. I've heard a couple of stories of an owner successfully getting Honda to replace the engine, but it's not common.

It's not unique to Honda either; other industry players have the same policy. I'm almost certain that I've heard about Toyota representatives using the same figures.

I've been berated for making this point on the internet before, but the fact is that it stands as policy. Just because some people don't want to hear it doesn't mean it isn't true. Those same people often like to claim that an engine should never burn any oil, but that's just plain wrong. Anyone who has worked in and around the industry knows it.

If they have changed policy at all, then it has been within the past 36 months.

 

I'm at almost 40K miles and have used Mobile 1 5W20 every since I bought my 06 with 10 miles on it. I have never had to add oil in between changes...

I used to own an Isuzu Rodeo that needed a quart every couple of weeks. Complained to the dealership. They did an oil consumption test, and gave me the BS 'it's normal to burn a quart every 1000 or so miles.' And this was at an Acura/Isuzu dealership.

 

I can't make an official statement of course. But it's my opinion that no amount of oil loss in a Honda (except H22 preludes) is acceptable. I've changed enough oil over my years as a Technician to know that 95% of the Hondas I work on burn no noticeable amounts of oil between oil changes. The 4% that do are thousands of miles overdue for an oil change or have oil leaks, the remaining 1% have legitimate oil consumption issues.

 

How often do you change your oil?

 

I just go with the MM. It's usually around 4 months in between. I picked up the car (had to order it in Tafetta white with 5 speed manual) in December 2005 and I'm almost at 40K.

 

my teggy was burning syn oil a quart a month, i put in some lucas treatment and never burned any oil. i was usung royal purple but now i use kendall

 

5W-20??? is that what is recommended on K's?
If not, any reason on why you're running 5W-20?

 

All new Hondas/Acuras run 5W-20. Thinner viscosity, less friction, equates to a better gas mileage in the long run.

 

have you tried different type of oil? mobil one has had issue in the past with oil usage. Try castrol synthetic. i run castrol syn in my 01 teg and 06 tsx and they both dont burn any oil. i also notice the engine runs smoother with castrol(maybe in my head)