Has anyone here experienced high levels of oil usage resulting from a stuck or broken piston ring?

I have a 2000 Accord Coupe with a 4cyl with 68,000 miles. It started using oil and was going through 3+ quarts in a less than 2000 miles. Diagnosis is a broken ring with a re-ring and hone being the proposed fiz by the shop I use. $1500-$1600 for that with a new T belt and other T belt changeout parts.

There are no leaks and it is not the PCV system those have been checked and double checked. Burns a wif of oil on startup and a good bit under heavy acceleration. Does the broken ring diagnosis sound correct and is the price range along the lines of a reasonable amount for that type of job?

 

You car must smoke all the time? 3 quarts in 2000 miles... SOunds consistent... Price seems ok...

On thing you can do though is to take it to another shop for a second opinion.

good luck

fs

 

Amazing but it does not. I think the CAT is just that effecient. I get a wisp of smoke on startup when the cat is still cold and a decent bit of smoke under heavy acceleration. There is not even a scent or sight of oil at idle or light throttle. That is part of the reason the 2-3 quarts in 2000-3000 miles is so hard to belive and diagnose.

 

check compression. then drop a capful of oil on the cylinder. see if the compression spikes.

 

3 qts in 2k is a ton. you'd definately notice that if it was a leak, so it's gotta be burning it. rings sound like the culprit, but testing like shrekz said should give you your answer.

you can buy a complete f23 for pretty cheap. if you're handy, it's not too bad to just swap the motors. that would save you $1000

 

Welcome to the world of the new generation Honda engine. I have a 99 Accord with a 2.3L VTEC and I have to put a litre of oil in it everytime I fill up. Sometimes on really hot days I put in 2 litres. I never travel without oil now. My car has 230,000KM on it and I don't see smoke out of my exhaust. And no, there are no oil leaks or puddles of oil in my driveway. Before you jump to the conclusion that I have an "old motor" hear me out.
I had an 89 2L VTECH Prelude that I drove and sold in good shape at 360,000KM. This Prelude used amazingly little oil. I loved that car and the way it handled. I wish I still had it. I used to commute from Toronto to Detroit alot at high speed in high temperatures for a solid 3 hrs with little noticeable oil consumption. Sometimes I have commuted 8hrs with the same conditions and under these conditions my old Prelude used as little as 1 litre of oil per trip. This is I thought incredible for an old engine that was run very hard and had well over 230,000KM on it. The point I am trying to get across is that the old engines seemed "tighter" and it turns out they were. The newer generation engine as it has been explained to me is designed to be "looser" and produce less friction than the older engines so they tend to pass/burn oil than they previously did. I am not a mechanic or engineer - this was explained to me by Honda techs and Honda engineers.
I did not know this when I purchased the car. But I did notice within the first 30,000KM that my new Accord used more oil than my old Prelude for the same driving conditions.
So when I noticed my new 99 Accord starting to consume alot more oil than mormal around 60000KM I became concerned. I like to think I maintain my vehicles well. I follow the maintaince schedule and do alot of work on my car myself. Of course I also followed all of Honda's maintenance requirements and had all my service performed and documented at a Honda dealer. I change the oil every 3 to 5000 km because of the harsh enviroment that my car must endure in Ontario. I also payed for a good 160,00km warranty on my car and if something was wrong with my car Honda going to fix it - or so I thought.
I went to my dealer and explained my oil consumption problem. The dealer said they would check the engine compression and look for any oil leaks. No charge, under warranty, to make me feel better I suppose. They said they hadn't seen any oil consumption problems on any other 99 Accords. I drive alot of miles on my cars so I tend to have problems sooner than other owners of the same model year. I explained this fact to the dealer and told them I felt I might be the first of many Accord owners to complaining about oil consumption.
They "tested" my car and said everything was fine. Turns out the engine is designed to consume 1L of oil per 2000KM. No bullshit, this is what they said!
I have worked in the Honda Anna engine plant and while I was there I took the time to talk to some Engineers. They confirmed what every one else said.
So my dealer suggests that I document my oil consumption till the end of my 160,000KM warranty. Hey no problem. I worked right next to the dealer and I would have him check my oil once a week. At that time I commuted about 1100KM a week . So in about 2 years I ran up to 160,000KM. And in those 2 years the oil consumption also ran up. I figure I was using about 1 litre of oil per 1200KM around 160,000KM. The dealer sent all his records to Honda. I figured Honda's reply would be to tell the Dealer to rip the motor apart, under warranty of course,
and fix the damn thing. Nope, they just said the oil consumption level was normal and they weren't authorising any repairs. End of subject.
So now at 230,000KM the oil problem is so bad that I check my level every time I fill up. I almost always have to put oil in. Sometimes 2 litres. I am also considering put a new motor in next summer. I have been told this will cost about the same as overhauling my existing engine.
If there is a problem with oil consumption in 99 Accords Honda would certainly deny it. I think the bean counters see a problem and don't want to pay for it.
I hate to say it but I think the quality of some Honda parts has been lowered over the years. My brake rotors warped within the 1st 10,000KM of use in my Accord. I don't remember my brake rotors ever warping in my old Prelude. I think Honda is thinking they can save money on the steel in your rotors and get more future service out of your vehicle - the result they get more money from you.
As well, everything seems to be breaking sooner in my new Accord than my old Prelude. I have replaced more parts in the Accord than in the Prelude for the same Kilometers.
Good luck and please post the problem with your car when you find out.

I would have the engine ripped apart and looked at but I have been so annoyed with this problem that I felt I might be throwing good money after bad. So I just keep putting oil in.

And I really do pity people who don't take the time to buy a manual and learn how to read their car's diagnostic fault codes. These people are just easy prey for crooked dealers and they readily request service when maybe none is required. I have installed a simple toggle switch on my dash to read the "flashing" fault code. It has saved me a ton of money in shop time. I don't need to pay some tech $90 to tell me why my fault light is on. I also know how to reset the fault light so that I can check that my repairs worked.
I have also found that low oil pressure will not allow proper operation of the VTECH system. I diagnosed this problem after my fault light came on. I am sure that lots of Accord owners will find this out in the future while accelerating around 4000RPM and there car apparently misfires and lights a fault lamp lights on their consoles. The engine runs fine however after when run under 4000RPM. They go to the dealer and the dealer reads the fault and says "VTECH SYSTEM FAILURE" so they waste some more time looking at the engine and then they finally tell you that you were just low on oil and charge you an hour for their services. This is if you get a reputable dealer. Would the average person argue if a dealer told him he had a bad "VTECH SOLENOID"? A bad what? The dealer gets 1 hr for the diagnose, 1 hr (maybe 2 hrs) for the install and gets the markup on the part. And all because you were low on oil.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by skiier &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> The point I am trying to get across is that the old engines seemed "tighter" and it turns out they were. The newer generation engine as it has been explained to me is designed to be "looser" and produce less friction than the older engines so they tend to pass/burn oil than they previously did. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i've heard this as well. true or not, excessive oil consumption is bullshit. the dealer telling you that it's normal certainly only serves to make you feel worse, because now you have an unintended diesel, a small fortune spent in oil, and a dealer telling you nothing is wrong. yeah, that would make me want to run out and buy another honda

 

Well our Accord did not use any oil for the first 60k miles. Not a bit that could be seen on the dipstick. It has never had anything but Mobil 1 since the break in with dino oil. Never used anything but Honda filters. yada yada

It is not a matter of loose tolerences someting went wrong/broke in there. To go from zero oil use to 3 quarts low and triggering a vtec error on the CEL in about 800 miles is evidence of that.

We are not going to bother to fix it. Picked up the new car tonight and the Accord will be wholesaled out to an auction dealer before Monday. Already got one offer just holding out for slightly better so I do not have to take a loss. I just can't belive I bought another Honda after this. At least this one has a D16Z6 and I know those are damn near bulletproof.