According to Honda, the capacity of the 2.4L engine is 4.2 to 4.44 quarts. Add 0.2 to 0.21 quarts for the filter.
yep, pretty easy concept to read a dipstick. just like using a measuring cup to bake a cake. add 16oz or 24oz. just look at level mark. but, i would feel uneasy if my motor needed 3 qts of oil. as there was 1.4 qts left inside? gulp. why is there no low oil level sensor on all cars?
Thank you, Cavell!
That must be a typo. They did add engine oil last time on March 1. I suppose they meant to do an engine oil consumption test, because they told me to take it back after 1K miles. But I was too busy to take it back, and I had not checked the engine oil level until yesterday.
I only added 1 quart of engine oil yesterday, not much, because I was thinking of taking it back to the store Monday or Tuesday.
Thanks, jstanders! How do I add that for the filter? I have never done it before. Are there instructions in the Manual?
This is getting to complicated . Vicki , your dipstick has a low and high mark , just keep your level at the high mark and you don’t need to know capacity of anything. Pick a day of the week and check your level before you go any where . Your vehicle is 10 years old and lets hope you have not done any real bad damage by letting the oil get low.
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the oil filter contains 0.2 quarts. When it is replaced, add 4.4 quarts to 4.65 quarts.
Thank you all!
Since I added only a quart of 5W-30 yesterday, which is not the recommended type of engine oil (5W-20), I am thinking of going back to the auto supply store and get 5W-20 today.
My question is ~
If I add around 3.5 qts of 5W-20 to the engine to make it reach near the upper mark, it will then get mixed with the 1 qt of 5W-30 I added yesterday. Will this, mixing two types of engine oils with different viscosity, do any damage to the engine?
Sorry for making this complicated, but I have been trying hard 
Thanks!
No it will not.
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Instead of obsessing about the viscosity of the oil at this point, I think that you should be much more concerned about the level of the oil in the crankcase. If I am interpreting your above words correctly, it sounds like the engine is still over 3 qts low on oil after you added the qt of 5W-30.
Is that correct?
I really hope that I have misinterpreted your words incorrectly, because if I did, then this engine’s days are numbered.
Thank you for the response and for the warning.
I am going to add more oil as soon as possible. I won’t drive it anymore at this moment. I did drive it to the auto supply store yesterday, but it is very close, only 1.2 miles away.
Like Cavell, I am also baffled about this question: Why is there no low oil level sensor, given the fact that engine is the essential part of a car?
Is it because the engine can get really hot when running, so no sensor will work under such a high temperature?
Just curious…
what is the level on the dipstick now?
that’s enough to destroy an engine that is very low on oil. As others have said, frequent checks and keeping the oil level close to the full mark are essential. You engine could have already suffered severe damage.
Hi Vicki:
Your car does have an oil sensor. It will come on when the oil pressure drops to near 0. Which means it will come on when the oil level is so low that the oil pump begins sucking air. When that happens, severe engine damage begins to happen within seconds.
The above apparently did not happen with your car. In your case you drove around with a low oil level. While a low oil won’t quickly harm your engine, as ok4450 noted, it will cause damage as you drive it. With only 1-2 quarts of oil, the oil temperature will get hotter than normal and will begin to breakdown.
Based on what you wrote, if it were my car, I would:
- not get the suggested repairs,
- just keep adding oil as needed,
- check the oil more often trying to never let it get down more than 1 quart low.
That is stupid, isn’t it? I’ve got GM cars, that like all other cars, have oil pressure sensors and LOW OIL PRESSURE warnings.
However, they additionally have oil level sensors and warnings. My warnings never activate because I never let oil get even slightly low. According to my cars’ Owner Manuals the LOW OIL LEVEL warning would activate when the oil is one quart low.
These cars have a rather simple looking sensor switch (with plugged in harness) that screws into the oil pan. It doesn’t look like an expensive addition from the factory.
Why don’t all cars have this? I can’t guess. It’s stupid not to have this critical component.
These are features to shop for when choosing a car. I investigate things of this nature prior to buying a car, not after the fact. If more people did some homework and avoided products that are below par then the manufacturers would probably respond by making them better. Sometimes one has to buy a car with a certain Driver Information Center option.
For crying out loud! I have an emergency generator I use at my house and it not only has a LOW OIL LIGHT, but also has LOW OIL SHUTDOWN that stops the engine before damage would result from oil starvation. Smart.
I believe cars should shut down when oil level is too low. For those who would argue that it would be dangerous to have cars randomly shutting down on the highway, what happens when the engine runs dry and puts a rod or two through the block?
CSA 
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That’s interesting. I didn’t know this, so thank you very much, JoeMario and CSA, for sharing!
Thank you all for the input.
I have another relevant question ~
If you add engine oil by yourself, even if you add 5W-20, as recommended by the auto-maker, how can you make sure that you add exactly the same kind? I mean -
(1) It can be a different brand from the one used by the auto service shop or dealership where you have your car service done.
(2) The Manual recommends “5W-20 detergent oil,” but what I saw in auto supply stores were synthesized oils. Does it matter?
What I mean basically is:
For better protection of the engine, should we ask the mechanic what type of engine oil he is using for my car, so that I can get the same one when I need to add some by myself?
Shutting down a car randomly is a very, very, bad idea which is why manufacturer’s don’t DO this! Why not? because the engine will run way longer than you can possibly believe with no oil pressure at all. Like right here;
This test engine runs at WOT under dyno load and takes well over a minute to toss a rod. It would run way longer under part throttle. That is ample time to pull over and stop the car safely. There are bunches of these vids on YouTube. Some fun to watch.
Your emergency generator won’t kill its passengers if it shuts down for ow oil. A car might.
Most important are the viscosity and the oil API engine oil Service Category.
Your Owner Manual gives you those specifications. I’m guessing that in addition to it mentioning 5w-20 it also mentions API minimum rating of SM. Those designations should appear on the oil container.
The viscosities available will vary and you need to get the right one, but I’m guessing that almost all modern 5w20 oil available will meet your SM, SN (or whatever) requirement. Check the label.
There’s all kinds of good stuff to learn from your manual, albeit a bit boring at times. It would behoove you to familiarize yourself with it.
CSA
That’s running the engine out of oil!
I’m not talking about starving the engine of oil. I’m talking about shutting down while there is still plenty of oil, but low because of neglect, excessive consumption, or a leak.
I for one would want my car to do that. I’ll handle it from there.
CSA