Drive Accord Honda Forums banner

V6 oil consumption

28K views 32 replies 23 participants last post by  Super Stubby 
#1 ·
So V6 owners, what is your experience with oil consumption using the recommended 5W-20 oil.

I have about 5000 miles on my 2010 V6. Before I left on my trip, I had considered getting the oil changed but ran out of time. At the first gas fill up (about 3600 on the OD at the time) I noticed the original oil level was barely touching the bottom bulb on the dipstick. I dumped in a quart and drove another tank full of gas and checked again. Still below the cross-hatched portion so I added another quart. I drove the rest of the way (approximately 1400 mi in all) and the oil is still midway into the cross-hatch. I have to add that the oil I put in on the road was 5W-30 since NO ONE carries 5W-20 at gas stations.

I checked the tail pipe extentions and the dished out portion (the part some people are painting black) has a lot of oily residue. The car doesn't smoke but it has been driven the better part of 1400 miles at speeds 75 to 95 mph for hours on end. I'm going to go into the local Honda Dealer here and get the oil changed and tell them about this. I wonder what everyone else here that has a Gen 8 V6 is experiencing as far as oil comsumption goes. This is my third V6 and neither of the others uses any oil, even now.

BigE
 
See less See more
#5 ·
Yes as a matter of fact I did ass-dolphin. Three separate trys with Gen 8, oil consumption, and oil by itself in the search window. Nothing, Nothing and Nothing.

If all you have to add is the pointless 'did you search?' then feel free to ignore the post altogether.

BigE:thumbsdow
 
#6 ·
What was your consumption like before the trip?

My one month 1,500 miles so far, I noticed about 1/4 down from the top mark. I've not add yet to get a better indication of what's happening overall. It was fine with no consumption during the first 2 weeks. And yes, I always check my oil at the exact same spot in my garage to be consistant.

My Ody (same 3.5L V6) hand consumption almost like OMG during the early life. The consumption got less and less with each oil change. Now at 13K miles, there is no lost at all.

Many have said oil consumption is normal and (I read) Honda's position is that it's ok to loose 1qrt per 1K mile.
 
#7 ·
No oil consumption here. Might go away after the first oil change. I use 5w30 in the colder months and 10w30 in the wamer months. Full synthetic.
 
#8 ·
No oil consumption here either. But I think long periods of high speed driving may have something to do with it.
 
#9 ·
How long were you letting the car sit before you checked the level?
 
#10 ·
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe using full synthetic oil should solve your problem. :dunno: People have confirmed in the past, I believe in starbai's (try searching for his original threads) thread way back when that the v6's do burn oil, and faster than normal. It did the same for me before the 2nd oil change, at which then I started using SynPower full synthetic and have never had any oil burning problems ever since.

I've had my 08 ASM V6 for a two years with 75K+ miles so you can trust me on this. :D
 
#14 ·
I would NOT switch to synthetic on a car like ours that came with regular dino oil, don't really feel like getting into the whys as my post would turn in to a novel. If your engine is consuming dino oil it will almost certainly get worse with switching to synthetic as the molecules are much smaller and will more easily blow by rings and seals than dino oil. Sythetic will stay thicker longer but is typically only necessary in FI applications and even then I would only put synthetic in if the car came with it from the factory. For the record my oil level on my 2010 has stayed at the full marker not even gone down a hair and I'm at 6,000miles.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for all the helpful replies.

Assuming the factory fill was exactly to the top of the dipstick cross-hatch, then at 3600 miles it was down a quart and a half. I added a total of two quarts since (at 5000 miles now) and the level is back at top of the cross hatching on the dip-stick. So between 3600 +/- and 5000 +/- it used 1/2 quart. Between 0 and 3600 it used 1 1/2 quart. Hopefully it is just break-in usage.

Going to the stealership tomorrow for first oil change and to document useage (i.e. start a service history)

Thanks,

BigE
 
#13 ·
Assuming the factory fill was exactly to the top of the dipstick cross-hatch,
That's what I assume too when I took delivery of the car. And they did PDI (I think they did - who knows if they guy was just too lazy that day).

Both the coolant and trans fluid were low at the min line. It was not a lost, but just functionally low. I had to add my own because I just feel better at the high level.

And yes, I read the trans fluid the right way according to the manual.

If Honda can cut back on fluids, it will save them $XXX,XXX each year FTW.
 
#15 ·
I have read about some other guys complaining about V6 oil consumption... elp_jc had complained about it before, so I have been checking frequently. My engine really doesn't go through oil. I've never had to add any yet.

ass-dolphin? That's a new one. I got a chuckle outta that. :lmao:
 
#16 ·
If your engine is indeed using oil it doesn't make a damn if it is synthetic or not. Obviously it's cheaper for you (assuming it is consuming oil) to use regular oil. Your car is too new to determine is it is using oil or not. If you run the hell out of it then oil WILL be consumed regardless of what it is.
 
#25 ·
chick-fil-a polynesian aka sweet n sour sauce. Many cali folk, unfortunately, have never been blessed with chick-fil-a. *sigh* sad..... anyways my car hasn't consumed more than 1 qt per oil chance, i change my oil when the MM is between 15-20%. Just changed mine today, i'm running mobile 1 5w-20, i notice that my car warms quicker but runs at lower temps consistantly with full synthetic. I dont know if its my head or the car but after an oil change the car feels a lot smoother and sounds much smoother as well. =)
 
#26 ·
With my '09 EX-L V6, I've been about 1/2 quart low every 2,500 miles. While this isn't terrible, it has been a long time since I've owned a car that required adding oil between oil changes.

I'm currently at 15K miles.

Back in the day, I owned an Olds Cutlass that required filling the oil and checking the gas every few days.
 
#27 ·
I've had my EX-L Coupe V6 for 2 years now. I've noticed that before the last 2 oil changes it was down a quart, at the bottom of the cross hatch area. I've also noticed the engine running hotter lately based on the water temp gauge. It use to only go up to a 1/3 of the way and now is at half, regardless of the ambient temp.
 
#29 ·
I agree, claiming our cars come with dino, so Honda themselves is wrong for recommending synthetic is just dumb. Honda retroactively suggests synthetic 0w20 back to the 2003 Accord (non-hybrid). It will not cause magical problems from fairy tales. It is a higher quality oil.
 
#31 ·
Wow, our 09 is about to have its 5th oil change (Once a year in April). The dealer changed out the factory oil at 3500, then at 13K before sale to us. I changed out the oil a month after purchase at 14K to full synthetic. Also my V6 has always gotten 1 to 2 MPG higher on mileage than most have posted.

I averaged 22 MPG for 50 miles of city driving with 170 hwy miles at 32 MPG and driving into the northern Illinois wind for 85 miles.

Never seen much if any change in oil level on the dip stick from 14K to present.

Everyone says one thing or another about break in. Even though modern cars are broke in at the factory by high tolerances in engine assembly, it may take 20k or 30k to fully do a complete break in on an engine.

Once fully broken in, MPG goes up 1 to 2 MPG and normal operating temperatures will be a tad lower.
 
#33 ·
Oil Consumption Honda Accord V6

Yes I have a 2009 Accord V6 that uses 2 to 3 quarts every 4000 miles.
Honda won't help me. If you search the web you will find a lot of people with the same problem. Honda should do something !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .This is not right
you buy Honda thinking it's quality and you get this...... apparently a design problem with the V6 engine. I will never buy Honda again.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top