Help! I know enough about cars to follow directions pretty well, but I'm not experienced at trouble shooting!

My daughter's 99 Accord had been using a lot of oil lately -- a quart or more every few weeks, and it wans't dripping out anywhere. Then it wouldn't start some days, and would frequently stall and sputter when accelerating in various gears (not always the same gear or RPM). The Maintenance Light has been on for a long time, and a few months ago the CEL came on when it was really low on oil. She's not the best at checking oil levels.....and it was 3.5 qts low that time.

I read a few forums and did a few things, and now I'm down to just the sputtering/stalling problem and a CEL with codes P1259, P0171, P0170. I thought the sputtering might be the EGR valve going bad or clogged passages, but not sure about these codes?? P1259 says VTEC system malfunction, and 0171 is Fuel system too lean on Bank 1 (cylinder 1?), but doesn't give me enough info to assist my lack of experience

Here's what I've done so far:
1. I added a quart of oil treatment to help with the oil consumption issue and made sure the level stays OK now.
2. Replaced distributor cap, wires, cleaned the rotor connections, and cleaned off the plugs which were still in good condition, just blackened with crud.
3. Removed and cleaned the Throttle Body - it was pretty well coated on the inside also.
4. Checked the PCV valve - it rattled and had vacuum, so believe it is fine.
5. It doesn't have a fuel filter, just a screen on the pump, so I added some Seafoam to a tank of gas to clean things up and remove any water in the tank.
6. Checked the upper O2 sensor connection, which was snug and didn't look damaged or anything.
7. I didn't see any loose, cracked or damaged hoses, wires, etc.
8. Finally, I cleared the CEL by removing the negative battery terminal for 15 min to give it a clean slate.

After doing all this it still sputters/stalls briefly in various gears and RPMS, and the above CEL codes popped up. I thought my next step was to check/replace the EGR valve and look for clogged passages, but these CEL codes have me scratching my head. My daughter is in college with tight finances, so I'm trying my best to handle this without taking it to the dealership where I'm sure I'd face a large bill. Any and all tips would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Sorry -- to clarify #2 above where I said I "cleaned the rotor connections", what I meant to say is that the rotor cap was in good condition, it just needed cleaned up a bit. The distributor cap was new, the rotor cap was cleaned, spark plugs cleaned, and new plug wires.

 

This could be a leak or the engine burning oil due to bad rings on the pistons.

I would start with something simple like checking the pcv valve. It is pretty inexpensive and simple to replace.

Look for signs of oil on the engine block on all four sides.

Has any other work been done recently on the car?

 

Thanks for the response! Yeah, figured the oil consumption was bad rings or valve stem seals - definately something internal as opposed to leaking out. It has a few areas of minor oil seepage around the engine, but never any dripping or oil spots on the ground.

I checked the PCV valve -- it rattles and there is suction - but I think I'll go ahead and replace it anyway.

The only other work that's been done in the past few years was when I replaced the left front CV axleshaft a few months ago.

 

Mine was using oil. Smoking when coasting and then would accelerate and see smoke. Previous owner had wrong pvc valve in it. Inlet hole way too big. Needs a small hole. Sucking oil from in the top of the head. Also it skipped pretty bad and jerked around some. Ended up taking vtec selinoid off and trying another one from friend. Stopped skipping. It works off oil pressure. Hope some of this helps.

 

Well, I tried a few more things (see below), but it's still stumbling/hesitating/sputtering at low RPM when cold, and only when it is in gear. If I floor the gas pedal it seems to push past the hesitation and it accelerates, but that's not a good thing on snow/ice. It never hesitates or sputters when it's out of gear.

I cleared the CEL codes after doing the things listed below, but within 20 miles the CEL came back on with code 1259 "Variable Valve Timing Electronic Control System Bank 1 Malfunction"

What I did to it this weekend is:
1. Replaced PCV valve. The old one was sticking a bit.
2. Replaced the VTEC Solenoid's O-Ring/Screen. The old screen was pretty clogged.
3. Removed and cleaned the EGR valve and ports (scraped/vacuumed out the debris), and reinstalled the EGR with a new gasket.

It is running better now overall, and I did eliminate two of the CEL codes, but it still has the hesitation/sputtering. It seems to me that I may have a bad VTEC Solenoid?? I'm not sure what "Bank 1" is referring to though -- is there another component I should check? Thanks again for everyone's feedback!

 

If there were two vtec solenoids, then the second one would be bank 2.

Search for P1259 on this site to see what you can come up with for tests.

Here is one I found:

https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...se-help-17656/