Does cold weather cause oil consumption?

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09 Civic R18 engine with around 41K miles on it. Never noticed any oil consumption before, but today I checked and the dipstick was half way down. Only 2500 miles since last oil change (Dec 2014) with Subaru 0w20 (Idemitsu made) and it took about 1/4 quart to bring it back to full.

We did have an extended winter for basically the last 4 months with daily cold starts. I'm thinking that the valve seals or possibly piston rings might be leaking oil into the cylinders during cold starts due to shrinkage in below zero temps?

This engine isn't known for burning oil at all especially with such low mileage and proper maintenance. There are no oil leaks anywhere, any ideas?
 
We see those engines coming in for rebuilds from time to time mostly heads but we had at least two with casting problems. They are not what they used to be.
On the other hand 2500 miles and it was down a 1/2 a quart is nothing to worry about. Maybe it was driven a little harder or there were issues with the oil, Could be anything i would not worry..
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
09 Civic R18 engine with around 41K miles on it. This engine isn't known for burning oil at all especially with such low mileage and proper maintenance.


your kidding me right? the R18 by design always burn a bit of oil, 06 R18 in our family has done that since new, never any issues but looses half a quart by the time it's 15% on MM.
 
Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
09 Civic R18 engine with around 41K miles on it. This engine isn't known for burning oil at all especially with such low mileage and proper maintenance.


your kidding me right? the R18 by design always burn a bit of oil, 06 R18 in our family has done that since new, never any issues but looses half a quart by the time it's 15% on MM.


There are always outliner cases especially with first year production vehicles. 1ZZ-FE is known to be an oil burner because it's an inherent design flaw with the piston drain holes before it was fixed in 03. R18 doesn't have any design flaws that cause oil consumption, it's not a common issue even if there are outliner cases.
 
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Cold ambient temperature starts might run rich longer than in summer, which could lead to higher oil dilution. Would gas-fouled oil burn more?


Gas and moisture fouled oil, absolutely
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
Why would gas fouled oil burn more? Wouldn't the gas burn off leaving the oil volume the same?


They mix quite easily; that's why they call it oil dilution.

And I don't think the gas in the oil, even if it were layered like a shooter, would "burn off". If the air/fuel ratio isn't ideal, gasoline won't burn at all. Diluted oil might evaporate more via the PCV system which vents to the intake.
 
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Originally Posted By: Dyusik
Shrinkage.

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last 2 winters my civic went through more than it does in my spring to summer oci.. I do short trips and figure in moisturer, fuel dilution in very cold temps..
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
R18 doesn't have any design flaws that cause oil consumption, it's not a common issue even if there are outliner cases.

we also have a 2013 R18, it does the same thing, I have read quiet a few UOA on R18 on here, that showed make up oil being used during MM OCI, so they are not "outliner", nor is it a design flaw, its just how it's designed...
 
Your engine's oil consumption is not even close to an issue. If anything, the colder temps probably helped "a little" since the oil is initially somewhat thicker.
 
I had a beater or two that used oil over the years. I found they used less oil during the cold weather. My thoughts as to why are similar to Lubeber's mentioned above.
 
Originally Posted By: Johnny2Bad
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
Why would gas fouled oil burn more? Wouldn't the gas burn off leaving the oil volume the same?


They mix quite easily; that's why they call it oil dilution.

And I don't think the gas in the oil, even if it were layered like a shooter, would "burn off". If the air/fuel ratio isn't ideal, gasoline won't burn at all. Diluted oil might evaporate more via the PCV system which vents to the intake.


That's what it is. It evaporates through the PCV.
 
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
There are always outliner cases especially with first year production vehicles. 1ZZ-FE is known to be an oil burner because it's an inherent design flaw with the piston drain holes before it was fixed in 03. R18 doesn't have any design flaws that cause oil consumption, it's not a common issue even if there are outliner cases.


A very simple google search would tell you otherwise. It is quite common. Oil burning can be but is not always a sign of an engine flaw. The 1ZZ-FE(D) was only really a problem when paired with a the pre-cat material (found in certain applications) that would shed into the engine.
 
I can only think of one factor that the cold weather could affect, that in turn could contribute to an increased oil usage, when compared to warmer months.
That is, oil turning into gel like form due to moisture contamination and blocking/partially blocking the PCV.

Any seals shrinking due to cold temps. would be negated by the severe increase in oil viscosity. Same thing goes for increased clearances.
 
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