google "what does 10w30 mean?". My understanding is that 5w30 and 10w30 would have similar viscosity at operating temperature. Hard to see how this change would help.

good luck

 

my 08 I4 had the small block replaced due to excessive oil consumption. Also the VTC actuator replaced because of cold start noise. It took about a year of monitoring and arguing but Honda eventually ponied up

 

2008 Honda Accord Excessive Oil Consumption | CarComplaints.com

A MUST SEE POST READ LETTERS

 

Has it been determined that the VCT turning cylinders on and off during highway is the sole cause leading to excessive oil consumption?

If so and our car is at 32,000 miles with no oil consumption and has been driven mostly in the city and had the VCT programming fix; are we probably not going to be seeing any excessive oil consumption with out car?

 

VTC (Variable Timing Control) is not the same as VCM (Variable Cylinder Management). So, if your car is a 4 cylinder, it doesn't have VCM which turns cylinders on and off. 4 cylinder Accords should always run at 4 cylinder, unless there is a problem.

The software update (Honda TSB 11-049) to improve fuel injector and VTC Timing was for the 4 cylinder, not the V6.

If you have no excessive oil consumption right now, you may or may not have oil consumption problems in the future.

 

Excessive Oil Consumption in Honda Engines | HondaProblems.com

This was the source of my confusion. They have the TSB for the 6-cylinder listed as the fix on the 4-cylinder complaints page. I reviewed my Dealer Invoice and Redbull-1 TSB reference and explanation is correct. Thanks for clarifying. I have seen reports that the fix worked but the majority seem to indicate that it had no effect and a few indicated oil consumption increased.

So what is the cause of oil consumption and is there anything a consumer can do to prevent it? After all my reading I am not sure anyone has defined the exact cause and fix of excessive oil consumption in the 2.4L 4-cylinder Honda engine.

 

I just wanted to share a quick update! About a month ago I spoke to a certified Honda Technician through a website called justanswer.com. Before the website allowed me to chat with the technician I had to agree to a $29.00 deposit. If I was satisfied with the response, then the website keeps the money. If I'm dissatisfied, the $29.00 is returned.

After agreeing to pay the deposit, I chatted with a technician for about 45 minutes. He agreed that in his opinion that Honda's claim of burning through 1 qt/1000 miles is unacceptable. He recommended that since my car was still under warranty to take it back to the dealership and have them perform a Leak Down Test.

The whole point of the Leak Down Test is to measure air pressure in the cylinders. The results are as follows:

• Cylinder 1: 15%
• Cylinder 2: 8%
• Cylinder 3: 10%
• Cylinder 4: 12%.

Apparently anything over 10% is considered unacceptable.

In order for the dealership to determine whether the problem was caused by an inherent problem with the engine or something that Honda would consider that I was the cause, I had to agree to pay $1200 to cover the labor. From what the mechanic could tell, it looked to him as though the issue was inherent, but he would not make any promises.

The heads were removed and the engine was inspected. They determined that I was not the cause of the issue and all of the work that was done on the engine would be covered by Honda.

What was done?

• Heads were resurfaced
• Piston Rings were replaced
• Guides were replaced
• Gasket was replaced

The dealership ended up keeping my vehicle for 18 days and in that time I had to get a rental. The dealership covered 7 days, HondaCare covered 5 and I was responsible for 6. The truth is I’m kind of annoyed that I had to pay anything towards the rental, since I was not the cause of this issue, but better to pay $136.00 towards a rental, then $1200 to cover the labor.

It’s still too early to determine whether the issue is resolved. Prior to having all of this work done I was essentially adding 1 quart of oil every 21 days. Ideally I would like to add none, but we’ll see how things go.

Another conclusion will be coming, but for now let me say this! Whenever you buy a car, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS pay for the extended warranty! If I didn’t pay for the 5 year/100,000 miles I would be screwed (Maybe/Maybe not? You’ll see below)! And if you honestly believe you’re right, do not give up! I’ve been chasing Honda down to help me with this problem for 40,000 miles over a 2 ½ year period! I wrote letters, made phone calls, sent emails and visited multiple dealerships! If the technician through justanswer.com didn’t suggest the leak down test, then I would still be at square one. And the obvious answer is “No”. No, Honda will not proactively perform a leak down test unless you ask them to do so.

Not sure if any of you have come across this link, but there is a pending class action lawsuit against Honda for excessive oil consumption in the 2008/2009/2010 Honda Accord.

Here’s a link to the article: Honda Accord Oil Defect Class Action Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed on March 19, 2012. Here’s a link to the actual lawsuit: http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/03/20/HondaCA.pdf

I’ll let you know how this story concludes in about 2 or 3 months, unless a response is warranted sooner.

Good luck to all of us!

Stu

 

i can't believe you had to go through that to prove to Honda that its burning oil. I guess when I think about it now Honda Canada and the dealer were pretty good about it

 

Unfortunately I think my experience is the norm. Had I been having this problem with a Chevy, Ford or Toyota I would've still had an uphill battle. They're always looking for an out. At the end of the day they just want to sell you a car and for you to just disappear. The dealership was awesome and I really can't complain about that experience. Honda corporate (american honda/hondacare) is a completely different animal that could care less about their customers.

That's been my experience.

Stu

 

part of my problem is that you don't expect these things to happen with a honda. it's probably old hat for gm, chrysler