2005 Acura TSX 107k slight oil burning.

[ChrisQ80xd2]

My fathers 05 TSX with the K24A2 has been using oil as it approached 100k. The car has always used conventional oil from dealership oil changes. (I thought that was the problem) They use "bulk oil" 5w20. The car calls for 5w30.

It was using 1 quart every 2k. Not that that is a lot but I don't like it. No leaks/smoke out the back. Recently I switched to Penzoil High Mileage 5w30. Checked it after 800 miles of use and it required a little less than 1/2 quart.

Has anyone found a motor oil that can help this motor burn off less? I've read this motor is notorious for using oil, but I feeel this is a bit much for a 100% stock automatic TSX that never really revs about 5k.

 

[ARB1977]

Try a 10W30 HM oil. Maybe pcv is acting up or even a compression check.

 

[Klutch9]

While there's no way to be sure that 5w-20 was the cause for the engine to be burning oil, shouldn't your father have been skeptical of the dealer using the wrong oil in his car? Unless that engine was back-spec'd to 5w-20, the dealer would be draining that 5w-20 out and putting in the correct oil on their dime.

 

[Audios]

Maybe its an issue with the motor, we had an RSX in that was blowing a cloud on startup everytime with only 80k on the clock. Used a Bosch Distance and M1 everytime. 1 quart every 800-1000 or so, Honda said its an acceptable usage. Maybe he got lucky when he lost the car to Hurricane Irene.

 

[VK56VD]

Try Auto-RX and then switch to a store bought Pennzoil, Castrol or Valvoline. Give it at least two oil changes while using the same brand oil and see if consumption settles down after the second change.

 

[ruralcarrier]

We have a 2006 TSX (65,000 miles) and have used Pennzoil Platinum 5/30 without any usage between changes. We change by the OLM and it is between 5500 and 6000 miles usually. Because of the short OCI I am going with Kendall Synthetic blend the next oil change but will still use 5/30. Personally, I would stay away from the high mileage oil in a vehicle no older than this one.

 

[Jeffy_D]

Sounds like stuck piston rings. Pennzoil ultra 5w30 fixed the oil consumption in my lebaron after 3k . originally used it to free up noisy lifter.

If synthetic isnt your thing, try PYB and a quart of MMO. Your engine wont benefit from HM oil, also Pennzoil HM is considered an average performing oil of any category and does clean as good as PYB ironically.

 

[antiqueshell]

Try using a dedicated High Detergent oil like Shell Rotella T5 or T6 or Mobil Delvac. All have lots of detergents and will clean build up problems on rings.

Try a couple of oil changes with any of these and then revert back to a regular oil.

 

[Jeffy_D]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Try using a dedicated High Detergent oil like Shell Rotella T5 or T6 or Mobil Delvac. All have lots of detergents and will clean build up problems on rings.

Try a couple of oil changes with any of these and then revert back to a regular oil.



I hope you are only referring to delvac super 10w30 , t5 10w30, or best of all Amsoil HDD 5w30 . A 40 wt would bog down that high reving Honda engine.

Being that the car in question is the OP's father , not himself. His dad might freak out if he suggests a 40wt diesel motor oil for his luxury compact. I will concede that if he can easily find the 30 wt HDEO, that would be a cost saving solution, PU just keeps getting more expensive all the time

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: Jeffy_D
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Try using a dedicated High Detergent oil like Shell Rotella T5 or T6 or Mobil Delvac. All have lots of detergents and will clean build up problems on rings.

Try a couple of oil changes with any of these and then revert back to a regular oil.



I hope you are only referring to delvac super 10w30 , t5 10w30, or best of all Amsoil HDD 5w30 . A 40 wt would bog down that high reving Honda engine.

Being that the car in question is the OP's father , not himself. His dad might freak out if he suggests a 40wt diesel motor oil for his luxury compact. I will concede that if he can easily find the 30 wt HDEO, that would be a cost saving solution, PU just keeps getting more expensive all the time

The thing is that the oils I mentioned still have more detergents than PU does.

In your father's car go with the 10w-30 or the 10w-40. Either one is just fine, no worries using either weight. If you can't find the 10-30 the 10-40 is a no brainer and will not cause any issues at all.

That is one of the problems around this site people are paranoid about using a 10w-40 weight. There is no reason to be, unless the owner's manual specifically recommends against it.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
That is one of the problems around this site people are paranoid about using a 10w-40 weight. There is no reason to be, unless the owner's manual specifically recommends against it.


Agreed, and one is trying to address a specific problem, too, not just replace the factory specified viscosity with a thicker one just for the heck of it.

I used thick oil in the summer and HM in the winter in my old F-150 when it was leaking like crazy. That obviously didn't cure the problem, but it certainly helped until I was able to have the engine rebuilt.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: ChrisQ80xd2
I've read this motor is notorious for using oil

No, it's not.

Also, as far as I can see from Honda's subscription-only Techinfo website, it's not certified for use with such low-viscosity oils as 5W-20 and 0W-20. Use of low-viscosity 5W-20 and 0W-20 oils in engines not certified for them can cause engine damage. Such damage includes excessive oil-consumption, and can eventually include smoke emissions from the tailpipe once consumption gets high enough.

You need to phone American Honda at 1-800-999-1009, and ask the rep you speak to if your engine is specifically rated for use with 5W-20. If NOT, then you have a legal issue with your dealership.

I neither joke nor exaggerate. The dealership is an independent company, and can do whatever they like when it comes to their service department. There are a number of dealerships out there that are less-than-diligent when it comes to following Honda's direction when it comes to servicing and maintenance. Yours may be one of them.

Call American Honda. 1-800-999-1009

 

[FCobra94]

Originally Posted By: Audios
Maybe its an issue with the motor, we had an RSX in that was blowing a cloud on startup everytime with only 80k on the clock. Used a Bosch Distance and M1 everytime. 1 quart every 800-1000 or so, Honda said its an acceptable usage.

lol that's your problem right there. The k20a2 and k20a3 are NOTORIOUS for burning M1. Normally if you switch to pretty much ANYTHING else, the problem goes away. I had a similar issue when running 5w30 M1 in my k20a3 and the consumption completely disappeared when using PP 5w30, GC, T6, etc. The engine now burns ZERO oil w/ 80k miles on it while utilizing 10k OCI's.

 

[dave1251]

It seems after the first change of Pennzoil HM that consumption has been reduced almost 50% why not give it another OCI and see what happens. Also this is just a fact all engines consume some oil especially after each engine gets older and it is used more whether we like it or not.

 

[lemonade]

Does the 05 TSX really call for 5W30 in the manual?
I remember opened the hood of a loaner and it was 5W30, may be i remember it wrong.

 

[dparm]

The K-series were not known as oil drinkers.

Some of the high-output DOHC VTEC motors (F20/F22, B18C) were known to drink a bit of oil but it was a constant thirst pretty much from day 1. If consumption goes up you need to find out why.

 

[garlicbreadman]

Originally Posted By: dparm
The K-series were not known as oil drinkers.

Some of the high-output DOHC VTEC motors (F20/F22, B18C) were known to drink a bit of oil but it was a constant thirst pretty much from day 1. If consumption goes up you need to find out why.

some of the early 2004 tsx had block issues which caused oil consumption, but generally the k-series consume very little oil or non at all.

 

[Philth]

I'll tell you that in dealing with Acura (I had a 2002 RSX Type S), consuming less than 1 quart every 1,000 miles was acceptable. My car consumed oil from the get go and they said it was normal. Used about a quart every 2,000 miles. I fought, and fought and they said it's part of "combustion engine". Funny how all of the engine's I've had since don't do this.

 

[lemonade]

Originally Posted By: Philth
I'll tell you that in dealing with Acura (I had a 2002 RSX Type S), consuming less than 1 quart every 1,000 miles was acceptable. My car consumed oil from the get go and they said it was normal. Used about a quart every 2,000 miles. I fought, and fought and they said it's part of "combustion engine". Funny how all of the engine's I've had since don't do this.

Yeah sometimes dealer just try to avoid responsibility for whatever reason. But to be honest, your K20 is probably the car that has the highest specific output among all the car you owned before, so you can't really compare that way. And also many factors govern the oil burning rate, including but not limited to break in process.
I remember back then I was considering either the RSX type S or CL or IS300, I went for IS.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: lemonade
Does the 05 TSX really call for 5W30 in the manual?
I remember opened the hood of a loaner and it was 5W30, may be i remember it wrong.


The 200 hp K24A2 does call for 5W-30. This is a higher-revving version (8,000 rpm) of the K24 engine. Both intake and exhaust camshafts have the 3-lobe VTEC system, and the intake camshaft also has continuously variable camshaft timing/phasing (that's the "i-" in "i-VTEC").

The lesser K24 variants (like the K24A1, A4, A8, Z1, etc) that make around 160-180 hp call for 5W-20. These have a standard redline of 6,500-7,000 rpm. These have an economy version of the VTEC system, with a 2-lobe VTEC system on the intake camshaft only. Like all K-series engines, they also have the variable timing/phasing system on the intake camshaft.

This changed in 2010 or 2011, when 0W-20 started being used and recommended. Though I do believe the Civic SI and TSX Type-S (with the "hotter" version of the engine) still may call for 5W-30. I could be wrong on that though.

I suspect that 5W-30 is specified for the A2 engines because of the higher redline (and higher anticipated duty cycle in general). If driven like an Accord's A4 engine, I'm sure the A2 engine doesn't care what oil is in it.

Interestingly, I don't think Honda has ever recommended anything heavier than 5W-20 in its V-6 engines, regardless of the state of tune.