I find that my 2011 Honda CRV, when you change the oil and filter, about 0.7 quarts are left behind in the engine.
…and I remember letting cars drain so all the old oil gets out.
Why would anyone design such a thing?
My second identical comment since buying this car.
Liquid insurance against running out of oil. 
Now the chimp cages at the zoos are in an uproar after the comparison…
Presumably the maintenance schedule takes this into account. I wouldn’t worry.
Does it hurt anything?if you dont like the car,my advice is to get rid of it(I didnt like my Dodge for a long time,now that its basically worthless,I love it!)
Well one could hope they thought if someone forgot to put in oil after a change the chance of killing your engine you might have a chance of not ruining the engine. What is your oil capacity? Sounds near as bad as not including a dipstick to check trans fluid as seen in some cars.
Who knows what lurks in the minds of designers… ha ha ha… oooooohhhhhhh…
In truth, there’s no way of knowing the reason. My guess is that the reason is a lot less intense than you think.
In any event, as long as you change the oil on schedule and otherwise don’t abuse or neglect the vehicle I doubt if it’ll have any adverse effect whatsoever. These engines are subjected to intensive reliability engineering analysis as well as intensive accelerated life testing, including under extreme simulated environments (we used to call it “shake & bake testing”). And these vehicles have a well established track record for reliability.
Yes, they do have good reliability stats.
melott
I find that my 2011 Honda CRV, when you change the oil and filter, about 0.7 quarts are left behind in the engine.
How did you learn this?
@melott, if the reliability stats are good, then I think you’re fretting over nothing. Even with my older cars with drain plugs at the very bottom of the pan, there is plenty of residual oil caught in the lifter valleys, bearings, hydraulic lifters, and cylinder walls. I only drain oil until it’s a thin stream then put the plug back in. I never sit and wait until it stops dripping.
BustedKnuckles
I only drain oil until it’s a thin stream then put the plug back in. I never sit and wait until it stops dripping.
Probably not a bad idea. Decades ago I once got out from under the car to let it empty completely(?), got sidetracked (imagine that!), and then a bit later poured at least 3 quarts of oil onto the driveway before I realized the plug was still out. Brilliant!
I’m lying un my back, so I drain it until it’s a thin stream, then I watch it and ponder the dynamics, then I think about putting the plug back in, if the weather is nice I might take a nap, and then I replug the hole. It’s nice to be retired!
You’re draining the oil when it’s hot, yes?
That’s the best way to drain most of it
If you “determined” that the car retains 0.7 quarts by comparing the “fluid capacity specifications” to what you actually add, I might suggest that my experience is that the Owner’s Manual specs bear only a vague correlation to real life.
Short of dropping the pan and seeing 20 oz of oil, I wouldn’t fret overmuch about the discrepancy.
@Merlot / your post is very offensive . What has the common chimp ever done to you to earn such an insult?
I think you may be over-worrying here melott. 0.7 quarts of oil left in the engine isn’t much. How much do you add to fill it, 4-5 quarts? You still have mostly pure new oil then after a change. And remember, for the little of the old remaining, all the oil still goes through the filter before going to the engine parts. If this concern still remains, just change the oil a little more often is all.
What makes you think there is still 3/4 of a quart in the pan after you drain it?
The owners manual specifically states that it has a 5.3 qt capacity but you only get out 4.6 qt if you change it including the filter. This fits my own results, using less than a 5 qt jug to fill it.
Main point is, WHY would anyone design a car this way, when for decades we’ve been able to drain out all the old oil?
The answer is simple. You can pour 5 quarts of oil in any engine and you will not get 5 quarts out. The reason…oil remains behind on everything it touches and it stays in every nook and cranny. Using your calculations…it’s probably about 0.7 quarts.
Not true with any car I’ve owned since 1965.
Have you considered that Honda didn’t want a dry start so they designed the engine to trap a little oil around the oil pump, asks a retired automotive engineer that resembles that remark? 