oil usage in a 2003 Honda Accord EX V6

I have a 2003 Honda Accord EX V6 with 60k miles on it. I change my
oil every 3000 miles and recently it has been using a lot of oil. It
used 4 quarts in 3000 miles and it just recently started to do
this!!!! I have taken it to my mechanic and he sees no visible leaks
or problems. I have taken it to two Honda dealerships and both see no
leaks and no obvious problems. I am now on an oil consumption test
where they check my oil every 500 miles to monitor the oil usage and
have back-up when they file a claim with Honda. Does anyone have any
suggestions as to why this is happening?

Many Thanks,
Moao

 

I will be interested to see where this goes. I also have a 2003 EX V6
with 60K miles on it. Doesn't use any apparent oil between 3,000 mile
changes (Obviously it has to use some.) Back in the old days one of
the first things to check would be for a punctured diaphram in the
fuel pump. With an electric pump it can't be that. If there are no
visible leaks it must be going out with the gas during combustion. Do
you see an oily film at the exhaust pipe tips?

Dick

 

what brand and weight oil and what brand filter have you been using
every 3000 miles?

 

electric pump??

 

wrote in @q5g2000prf.googlegroups.com:

Has anybody done these tests?:
1) Compression test
2) Cylinder leakdown test
3) Oil pressure check

All tests done at operating temperature.

These will give you an excellent idea of the general condition of the
engine.

Did you buy this thing used?

 

sounds like a cracked ring. be careful of the dealer in case they're
trying to run out the clock on the warranty.

 

Sorta sounds like maybe a broken ring...

JT

(Who has a long tale of woe regarding...............)

 

--------------------------------

PCV stuck open / broken spring will suck your oil out and burn it
invisibly inside the cat. Have you ever changed it, and was it an OEM one?

'Curly'

 

Really? Did not know that - is this just modern cats? Reason I ask is
that my '76 MGB (which is equipped with a cat) has a broken ring and
spewed blue smoke out the tailpipe as a result.

Dan D
'07 Ody EX
Central NJ USA

 

My daughter had a Civic, 55,000 mi, that started using 3 qts of oil every
150-200 mi. Even though out of warranty Honda authorized "do what it takes
to find the cause". Took quite a bit of a teardown to finally isolate the
reason--one of the previous posters hit it right on the nose--broken/cracked
(don't recall exactly) piston rings. End result her engine was basically
"zero timed" after the subsequent engine overhaul . Minimal cost as this was
an early Model and apparently Honda was concerned with "How many more out
there are like this"
MLD

 

Has she had any problems since or recurring issues?

 

As did a broken ring(s) on my '82 Civic. Didn't smoke much at speed but
idling at a traffic light would result in mosquito killing fog.

Ventilation issues sure can be a culprit as well though...

JT

 

Car long gone now but the problem never recurred--oil usage dropped to
essentially zero
MLD

 

30 years ago? There's no comparison IMHO.

 

Update....Took my car to 1st dealership brought my immaculate service
records and let them know how pissed I was and that I would be writing
letters to the paper and going to a local t.v. network to get my
problem heard if need be. They did a compression test and cylinder
leak down test and still could not discover the problem. They had to
call Honda Technicians and were told to remove the oil pan and push up
the pistons to see if there was any cylinder damage. They found all 6
cylinders were scratched, one severly and discovered my oiling rings
were either not installed properly from day one or they all broke
during 60,000 miles. Honda replaced my engine at no cost to me and
provided me with a rental car. If anyone has problems like this be
persistent and do not take that it is regular use or that a carbon got
in your cylinder. This is a manufacturing problem and Honda needs to
issue a recall to fix the problem. I believe Honda is being very
quiet about this and doing replacement on a case by case basis when it
seems to me and several other Honda owners that they are no longer
behind the product they produce.

 

On Oct 11, 1:37 am, wrote:
snip

Honda handled their defective transmissions the same way; no recall,
owners were at the mercy of their dealers. Once the number of failed
transmissions grew large, it was hard for dealers to turn owners away.
Your faulty oil rings and/or faulty assembly isn't yet a common
problem AFAIK.

Anyone else hear of similar issues re. oil burning or Honda replacing
V6 engines?