I am consuming oil at 4-5 quarts between 5000 mile oil changes. there was a recall for this problem but my car didn’t meet the requirement during the 7 year 120000 mile period. What should I do at this point? car has 145000 miles. should I pay for the repair or trade it in? Honda has said if I do the consumption test and burn 1 quart or more in a 1000 miles they may help with the cost.
It’s not going to hurt anything to do the test.
If it is determined that there is a problem, see how much help they will give you. Then make your decision.
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Keep adding oil until you get to 1000 miles per quart and then go ask Honda what they might do for you money-wise. This assumes you want to keep the car. If you want something else trade it.
This is nothing but a minor inconvenience at this point.
does the repair hold up or will it just prolong the agony.
A ten year old Honda with a 145,000 miles? And only consumes a quart of oil about every thousand miles?
That’s not bad. I’d just keep driving it, and keep an eye on the oil level between oil changes.
Tester
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Depends on the repair. If it is a new engine, yes.
I think the dealer will be repairing the original engine not replacing it.
I don’t know if this applies to that engine, but one fairly common reason for excessive oil use due to engine design problems in econobox engines was the piston rings. In particular the gaps, even if staggered at installation, would rotate in use and line up with each other, allow oil to get past. Piston rings aren’t really rings, they couldn’t fit over the piston if they were. They are more like a magic trick ring, each is circular shaped but has a small gap in it. So if piston-ring-gaps-lining-up is the cause of the oil consumption, very good chance just replacing the rings will solve it.
I’ve heard this from somebody else. makes a lot of sense.
The question I asked on some of the used vehicles I looked at was not "Does this car use oil’? but “How much oil does this car use?”
I would have been happy with some of the cars I used to own if I only had to add a quart of oil every 1000 miles. I bought a 1971 Ford Maverick in 1973. It used one quart every 300 miles until I had the valve stem seals replaced. It then used about a quart every 1250 miles. To me, that was acceptable.
If the spark plugs on your Honda aren’t fouling up with carbon, I would buy the correct viscosity oil in the brand I could find on sale and keep on driving the car. Of course, you should change the oil at the interval specified in your owners manual. One other thought: some brands of oil seem to give better oil mileage than other brands. On my Maverick, once I had the valve stem seals replaced, I could get about 1000 miles per quart on Sunoco oil. I found Valvoline on sale and decided to give it a try. My oil mileage improved to 1250 miles per quart.
You also may want to try synthetic oil if you aren’t using it. I cut the oil consumption on a lawnmower engine by 75% by switching to synthetic oil. I can purchase 10W-30 full synthetic oil under the Harvest King label for $2.79 a quart. Even at a quart every 1000 miles, that is only $13.95 per 5000 miles for the oil that needs to be added.
I can’t recall ever owning a car that consumes this much oil. also given the fact they issued a recall tells me its not acceptable. Its getting progressively worse with each oil change.
Your previous experience with cars in general doesn’t change the fact that this one uses more than your earlier cars. If you don’t accept that fact and deal with it, the car will stop running.
I got this same argument with my deceased father when I checked his car and found no oil reading on the dipstick. Either check the oil and add regularly or expect the engine to seize.
It isn’t acceptable to consume more than a quart in 1000 miles. Yours isn’t to that point, yet. Additionally, you’ve got this car to a mileage point many never reach. Accept the fact that the engine is worn and will need work. If the Honda is willing to foot some of the bill, be happy about it!
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Understood. My question is do I bother doing the work or just trade it in even if Honda helps pay for it. How much does the fix usually cost and how much has Honda offered to others in this situation.
The repair cost would clearly be a question for your Honda dealer.
As for keeping the car, if it were me, I’d sell the car privately and buy something else.
The cost can only be estimated by the place doing the work . The location of the shop and the type of shop all make a difference . Plus just how much work actually has to be done will effect price . As to what Honda put toward the repair cost could vary a lot from one vehicle to another.
Frankly I can’t see you having piece of mind after this is repaired so I think trading it for a new or newer vehicle is your best move.
It doesn’t matter what it costs or how much they have offered others, each case is different.
Do they oil consumption test and see what they offer you, then you can decide if it’s worth it.
My guess is will cost you somewhere between $1.00 and $50,000.00 only you can decide if it’s worth repairing.
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point taken thanks.
roger that thanks.
got it thanks.
My neighboor had this problem.The dealer replaced the piston rings at no charge after the oil consumption test was done. Seems like a common problem with these engines.