New MDX is an Oil Burner!!!

[artbuc]

Our 2010 MDX has 4482 miles. I just checked the oil and it is almost 1 quart low. This is the first non-Toyota, non-Lexus car we have had in 35 years. NONE of my Toyota/Lexus vehicles burned one drop of oil, even when they had north of 150k miles.

I was going to wait for the MM to tell me when to do the first oil change but I am going to do it now rather than add a quart or run it a quart low.

I hope this is just a break-in situation. I will not be too happy if this car burns a quart every 5k.

 

[NateDN10]

I wouldn't worry about it unless it's still burning oil after 10K miles. Oil burning during break-in happens.

 

[addyguy]

Originally Posted By: NateDN10
I wouldn't worry about it unless it's still burning oil after 10K miles. Oil burning during break-in happens.


+1. Not time to panic yet.

 

[440Magnum]

Oil consumption on a new engine is pretty normal. The last brand-new production engine I owned was still burning a little oil by 15k miles, but stopped completely by 20k miles and never needed a quart between changes again until we retired it with over 250k on the clock.

 

[The Critic]

Our Altima was 1/2 qt low after 700 miles on the factory fill, but the oil consumption stopped soon after that as the oil level was still, 1/2 qt low, when I replaced the factory fill at 2500 miles.

 

[barlowc]

5,000 miles might be a nice even point to dump the factory fill anyway. The 3.5-liter Honda engine in our VUE seems to like the Pennzoil Platinum and Valvoline SynPower I've been using since the factory fill came out at 6,000 miles.

The first four oil changes were done by the Saturn dealer (in order to satisfy their lifetime powertrain warranty requirement), so I don't know if it was at all low on oil and the end of each of those 6,000 mile OCIs. But when the dealer closed and I did my first change on the vehicle at 30,000 miles, it hadn't consumed anything.

 

[panthermike]

Hopefully it levels out, but some cars just consume oil. My brother's 07' F150(5.4), has burned a qt/5000 since new.

 

[buster]

Do a lot of WOT to fully seat the rings. It's important.

 

[Cutehumor]

too early for worrying about oil consumption. why switch from toyota/lexus if you've been happy for 35 yrs?

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Here we go!

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: buster
Do a lot of WOT to fully seat the rings. It's important.


Right, and use the transmission to do engine breaking to seal the lower edge of the rings.

We bought a 2009 Odyssey brand new last year and it used that much oil at first. We have 24k miles on it now and it has settled down significantly. Our 2003 acura TL didn't show this much oil burning, but we changed the oil at 3k miles so we maybe didn't notice. these are all the same engine basically.

I have read that the 2008+ honda v6's are using different piston and oil control rings that allow a little more blowby (for some reason). I do not think you have to worry about this, but I totally understand what you are feeling like. I felt the same way.

Notably, our Odyssey burned far less oil on 5w-20 synthetic. I believe Buster can explain why.

In any case, I think it will settle down for you, just keep a close eye on the sump level in the mean time.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Even if the car DOES use a quart every 5,000 miles, that's not the end of the world. In fact, I think it's a plus that you get a fresh quart of oil in there. Oil consumption at that rate will absolutely not ruin a catalytic converter or any emission system equipment. In fact, Acura's oil consumption tolerance is probably 1 qt/1,000 miles. A quart every 5k is nothing, really.

Some cars will use more oil than others, and even some engines will use more oil than other engines, of the exact same type. The hone hatch pattern on your cylinder walls may be unusually aggressive (maybe a tooling change just before your engine's walls were hone) and it's retaining a lot of oil on the cylinder walls or something.

In addition, as time goes on, piston rings with lower and lower tension seem to be used for their low-friction properties. You get some additional oil consumption as a result, but also know that with the good oil retention on the cylinder walls, that engine will likely retain a good hatch pattern on the cylinder walls for hundreds of thousands of miles.

In other words, I wouldn't worry one iota about it.

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
too early for worrying about oil consumption. why switch from toyota/lexus if you've been happy for 35 yrs?


My wife was driving a 99 RX300 with 103k miles. I kept it pristine and she loved it. A 95 year old man got "confused' and T-boned the RX doing about 35-45 mph. Fortunately the car was legally parked and unoccupied, but it was obviously totalled. Wife test drove the new RX350 and did not like it at all plus was totally freaked-out by all of the news reports of runaway cars. She liked the MDX so that is what we bought. I drive a 99 Avalon which has 102k miles and I plan to drive that for another 5-10 years.

 

[HTSS_TR]

If an engine consumes 1 quart of oil every 1k miles or less after break-in then it is an oil burner, your MDX consumes 1 qt at 4.5k miles during break-in is very much normal. My '94 LS400 consumes 1/2 qt every 3-4k miles since new, the dealer said it was normal and it was consider normal oil consumption if the engine consumes 1 qt every 2k miles.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
too early for worrying about oil consumption. why switch from toyota/lexus if you've been happy for 35 yrs?


My wife was driving a 99 RX300 with 103k miles. I kept it pristine and she loved it. A 95 year old man got "confused' and T-boned the RX doing about 35-45 mph. Fortunately the car was legally parked and unoccupied, but it was obviously totalled. Wife test drove the new RX350 and did not like it at all plus was totally freaked-out by all of the news reports of runaway cars. She liked the MDX so that is what we bought. I drive a 99 Avalon which has 102k miles and I plan to drive that for another 5-10 years.



These stories make me cringe!! I just hope some body in my family will take my key`s from me if I dont have enough sense to stay off the road on my own one day!! I know they feel their giving up their freedom etc,etc. But sometimes,thats just the way it has to be. For everyone else`s sake on the road.

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
too early for worrying about oil consumption. why switch from toyota/lexus if you've been happy for 35 yrs?


My wife was driving a 99 RX300 with 103k miles. I kept it pristine and she loved it. A 95 year old man got "confused' and T-boned the RX doing about 35-45 mph. Fortunately the car was legally parked and unoccupied, but it was obviously totalled. Wife test drove the new RX350 and did not like it at all plus was totally freaked-out by all of the news reports of runaway cars. She liked the MDX so that is what we bought. I drive a 99 Avalon which has 102k miles and I plan to drive that for another 5-10 years.



These stories make me cringe!! I just hope some body in my family will take my key`s from me if I dont have enough sense to stay off the road on my own one day!!


If this had happened 20 minutes later, when my wife and her girlfriend were approaching the car, they both would have been killed instantly.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
too early for worrying about oil consumption. why switch from toyota/lexus if you've been happy for 35 yrs?


My wife was driving a 99 RX300 with 103k miles. I kept it pristine and she loved it. A 95 year old man got "confused' and T-boned the RX doing about 35-45 mph. Fortunately the car was legally parked and unoccupied, but it was obviously totalled. Wife test drove the new RX350 and did not like it at all plus was totally freaked-out by all of the news reports of runaway cars. She liked the MDX so that is what we bought. I drive a 99 Avalon which has 102k miles and I plan to drive that for another 5-10 years.



These stories make me cringe!! I just hope some body in my family will take my key`s from me if I dont have enough sense to stay off the road on my own one day!!


If this had happened 20 minutes later, when my wife and her girlfriend were approaching the car, they both would have been killed instantly.



Yep,and the worst part is,he would be taking that to his grave with him. And your loved one taken away from you! Makes no [censored] sense to me at all.

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: artbuc

If this had happened 20 minutes later, when my wife and her girlfriend were approaching the car, they both would have been killed instantly.


if I were in your position, I would call the DMV in your state about that 95 yr old guy. He will eventually kill someone or kill himself driving.

 

[mechtech2]

This may be uncomfortable if it is your own car, but can be entirely normal. Most manuals specifically state that oil and gas use can be high until the engine is broken in.
All you can do is let it go and keep an eye on it - maybe another 5k to fully stabilize things.

 

[Mr Nice]

ZERO need for WOT on any new car.