I changed my oil about a month ago and since then put about 1000 miles on it...but when I changed it then I noticed when I drained the oil it looked like the amount that came out was not 5 quarts...so I said I would keep an eye on the oil consumption for the month and check it once a week. Well I checked it this morning before I started my car to go to work and it was about a quart low. I am assuming a quart because I added another quart when I noticed it and it went back to where it seemed to be when I changed it. I never noticed oil leaks or anything like that. I always use Mobil 1 5w 30. Do you think switching to a thicker oil will help? The car is an 01 ITR with 46000 miles on it and still under factory warranty. Going to take it into the dealership to see if they can find anything wrong with it before the warranty runs out. Any suggestions on how I should handle this situation? I can smell the oil when the rpm's are high...to me 1 quart is a lot of oil to be burning. I did the search and it seems like I am not the only one having this problem...

 

OK...it seems that M1 burns off in Type R's...why? I don't know...have I ever had this problem? No...I used M1 for about 3k, then went over to Amsoil...

My suggestion would be to switch synthetic oils...Castrol Syntec is not synthetic, unless it's the German Green stuff....I *believe* Valvoline is the only other fully synthethic you will find on wal mart's shelves....

Otherwise, try Redline or Amsoil unless you don't want to spend the cash.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Justin Klemgold &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I *believe* Valvoline is the only other fully synthethic you will find on wal mart's shelves....</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nope....

 

Burning oil - particularly on an ITR that is sometimes driven at high RPM - is common.

If you want to try a thicker oil, feel free - but then you are not likely to get warranty coverage for an oil burning problem if you are using a viscosity other than the two shown in the owner's manual (5W30 and 10W30).

As for other brands of oil, feel free to try them. AFAIK the only brand that is labeled as synthetic but is not, is Castrol Syntec (although the German-made Syntec is). In addition to Valvoline (which I am going to try, since I just got a case for free), I think Pennzoil's is also a true synthetic.

I'm not going to worry about it a whole lot; I'll just check the oil frequently. If mine keeps burning oil with Valvoline synthetic, I'll probably just go back to Mobil 1; if the Valvoline doesn't burn, I'll probably keep using that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">AFAIK the only brand that is labeled as synthetic but is not, is Castrol Syntec (although the German-made Syntec is). In addition to Valvoline (which I am going to try, since I just got a case for free), I think Pennzoil's is also a true synthetic.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The only true (group IV base) synthetics are Mobil 1, GC Syntec, Amsoil, Motul, Redline, etc...

 

OK there, ya go....I figured that's the way it was RJ, thank you for confirming.

 

Thanks for all the input...I am not going to use any oils other than the 5 or 10w 30. Thanks

 

The ITR is an indiscriminate Oil burner, it doesn't care what brand it is lol.

fwiw-I switched to Valvoline and noticed no appreciable change in oil consumption. I ended up just using max life because I was tired of the cost premium of the synthetic.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not going to worry about it a whole lot; I'll just check the oil frequently. If mine keeps burning oil with Valvoline synthetic, I'll probably just go back to Mobil 1; if the Valvoline doesn't burn, I'll probably keep using that.
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Is it just me or did anyone not notice that he said 5 quarts. It says 4 and a quarter in the manual.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdmspoonitr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it just me or did anyone not notice that he said 5 quarts. It says 4 and a quarter in the manual.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I noticed it - but you don't measure the amount of oil in the engine by what drains out; you measure it using the dipstick when it's in the engine. He went on to talk about the oil being a quart low, and I assumed he was referring to the dipstick measurement.

But you're right - since the engine only gets 4 and a quarter quarts, you better NOT have 5 quarts in there...

 

You might run a compression check. If its got low compression and it burns oil, I would think Acura would have to replace the engine. I wouldnt place bets on it though...

 

If you're burning more than a quart every 1000 miles and you're still under waranty, find a decent dealership and start documenting it. You may need to be persistent, and they probably won't do anything unless it gets a lot worse, but the longer and more detailed the history, the better your chances of getting it fixed under waranty.

I first had my oil consumption documented at ~48,000, when it was still just a quart every 1000 miles. It got slowly and progressively worse, and when I was down to a quart every 500 miles (at ~75,000) and compression and leakdown tests verified the problems in the rings and/or cylinder walls, I got a new short block under waranty (got a good deal on a 7 year/100,000 mile extended through HondaCare a few years earlier).

An interesting tidbit I picked up during all this (through a Honda Service Manager friend who wasn't associated with my car or dealership) is Honda feels up to a quart every 1000 miles is acceptable oil consumption.

 

My reply to Honda would be a simple question: if they recommend a 7500 service interval, then how much oil would be left in the crankcase?

 

According to Honda, our motor can consume up to 1.5 quarts every thousand miles under the factory warranty. That is within it's specifications. I took mine in three times for excessive oil comsumption, and they always said that it was still within spec.

J N

 

i work at acura in nj as a tech, i got a itr thats got like 49,942 ( still in warranty )
and the guys been complaining about oil consumption for about a yr... always a qt low every other week or not.
the cars been babied, every minor/major/oil hcange the guys been in, even has a baby seat in the back
well, our DPSM (district parts & serv. mgr) told me to get the head sent out to check the seals & seats - head came back okey dokey. NPF
the damned rep told me to take measurements in all 4 cyls at "tdc" and a "bdc" on both sides of the walls... well cyl 2 + 3 are out of round, i ordered a shortblock up... still waiting, since im in NJ and the blocks in CA...
ill let ya know what happens

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by The Toecutter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My reply to Honda would be a simple question: if they recommend a 7500 service interval, then how much oil would be left in the crankcase?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The owner's manual also recommends that you check the oil every time you fill the car with fuel, and that you add oil if it's low. Assuming you follow that recommendation, the answer to your question is - approximately four and one quarter quarts.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mr. clockwork &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">According to Honda, our motor can consume up to 1.5 quarts every thousand miles under the factory warranty. That is within it's specifications.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow, thats ridiculous, esp. under normal driving conditions

 

I check the oil 2 or 3 times a week....and its never lost a drop, but i got into this habit with my last teg which drank oil as the rings were shot, and it only takes a few seconds to dip it every few days or whatever...