Honda Car Forum

My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an alarming rate. A
couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately shut the vehicle off
and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again the other day and
had to add half a quart.

This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue smoke; there are no
oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can possibly be normal
consumption??? Where could this oil be going?

Thanks,
Be

Have you thoroughly inspected the exterior of the engine?
Especially right beneath the valve cover and distributor?


"BE" <n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net> wrote
> My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an
> alarming rate. A
> couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately
> shut the vehicle off
> and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again
> the other day and
> had to add half a quart.
>
> This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue
> smoke; there are no
> oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can
> possibly be normal
> consumption??? Where could this oil be going?

Oops--Is the 2001 Odyssey distributor-less? If so, of course
strike that second part below.

"Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
> Have you thoroughly inspected the exterior of the engine?
> Especially right beneath the valve cover and distributor?
>
>
> "BE" <n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net> wrote
>> My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an
>> alarming rate. A
>> couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately
>> shut the vehicle off
>> and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again
>> the other day and
>> had to add half a quart.
>>
>> This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue
>> smoke; there are no
>> oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can
>> possibly be normal
>> consumption??? Where could this oil be going?
>
>

I would suggest a visit to the dealer, get an estimate, and then call Honda
Customer Service. Honda has a tremendous reputation for quality and I
would see what they would consider doing on your behalf. Be polite, but
firm about this issue. Has the van ever overheated and are you the
original owner? Good luck.

Another thought.....are you sure the right amount of oil was put in at your
last oil change? Also, sometimes a shop or person could accidently leave
the old oil filter gasket on the engine and get a massive leak there. I
know of shops/people that have done all of these things. I would be
getting a new oil filter to be in the safe side. How often were you
checking your oil prior to the oil light? There are souls out there that
only check oil when the light lights.

"BE" <n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:C070EA45.4B250%n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net.. .
> My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an alarming rate. A
> couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately shut the vehicle
> off
> and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again the other day and
> had to add half a quart.
>
> This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue smoke; there are
> no
> oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can possibly be normal
> consumption??? Where could this oil be going?
>
> Thanks,
> Be
>
I hate to suggest this, but it could be a bad ring. A few years ago we were
seeing several posts of low-mileage Hondas suddenly consuming quarts of oil
a month. Most remained a mystery, but one sufferer under warranty persisted
and the dealer tore down the engine to find a broken ring in one cylinder. I
don't know if it showed up on a compression check, or if it was a
compression ring or oil control ring. I don't think I've ever heard of
broken oil control rings, though.

I believe the catalytic converters prevent the exhaust from smoking even
with significant oil burning.

Mike

BE wrote:
>
> My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an alarming rate. A
> couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately shut the vehicle off
> and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again the other day and
> had to add half a quart.
>
> This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue smoke; there are no
> oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can possibly be normal
> consumption??? Where could this oil be going?
>
> Thanks,
> Be


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

Change your PCV with a HONDA original part, and check your oil as often
as the manual says.

'Curly'

So, a "couple of months ago" you ran your engine with zero oil pressure
(the light came on) for at best only a few seconds. You dumped in 3
quarts of oil, and then several months later decided to give it a check
(wow amazing - you must be a real maintenance freak). How many miles do
you drive in "a couple of months"?

You should change the oil and filter now with a quality oil of the
weight specified by Honda. Then record your odometer reading and check
the oil once a week. You need to know how many miles it takes to use a
half a quart, not how long.

BE wrote:
> My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an alarming rate. A
> couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately shut the vehicle off
> and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again the other day and
> had to add half a quart.
>
> This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue smoke; there are no
> oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can possibly be normal
> consumption??? Where could this oil be going?
>
> Thanks,
> Be
>

"BE" <n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:C070EA45.4B250%n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net.. .
> My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an alarming rate. A
> couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately shut the vehicle
off
> and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again the other day and
> had to add half a quart.
>
> This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue smoke; there are
no
> oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can possibly be normal
> consumption??? Where could this oil be going?
>
> Thanks,
> Be
Daughter's Civic, 55,000 miles and just out of warranty, had the same
problem--oil didn't show up on the dip stick. Filled the oil to the full
mark and within 250 mi it was below the dip stick again. Because it was so
severe an oil loss, the Dealer got Honda's OK to look for the problem with
only parts to be charged. Found some cracked carbon valve seals, replaced
them and put things back together again. Same oil loss recurred. Honda
authorized as complete an engine teardown as needed to find and resolve with
no further $$$ charged. Tore the engine down and found some bad piston
rings; replaced them all and the oil loss problem went away. So she
basically ended up with a rebuilt engine *zero timed* for very little cost
to her. Honda's response to the problem was excellent, obviously their
concern and motivation was "How many more are there out there like this, is
there something about 55,000 mi. in this engine that we've got to worry
about and if so, what. She got the car new and was putting about 400-500 mi
a week on it so it was probably one of the fleet leaders in mileage.
MLD

"MLD" <MLD@verizon.net> wrote in message news:ZmQ2g.4048$cc.137@trndny05...
>
> "BE" <n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:C070EA45.4B250%n3wsr3ad3r_|@|_sbcglobal.net.. .
>> My 2001 Odyssey is consuming oil at what I think is an alarming rate. A
>> couple months ago the oil light came on - I immediately shut the vehicle
> off
>> and ended up adding 3 quarts of oil. I checked it again the other day and
>> had to add half a quart.
>>
>> This engine only has 41K miles. It does not put out blue smoke; there are
> no
>> oil spots in our garage. Don't tell me that this can possibly be normal
>> consumption??? Where could this oil be going?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Be
> Daughter's Civic, 55,000 miles and just out of warranty, had the same
> problem--oil didn't show up on the dip stick. Filled the oil to the full
> mark and within 250 mi it was below the dip stick again. Because it was
> so
> severe an oil loss, the Dealer got Honda's OK to look for the problem with
> only parts to be charged. Found some cracked carbon valve seals, replaced
> them and put things back together again. Same oil loss recurred. Honda
> authorized as complete an engine teardown as needed to find and resolve
> with
> no further $$$ charged. Tore the engine down and found some bad piston
> rings; replaced them all and the oil loss problem went away. So she
> basically ended up with a rebuilt engine *zero timed* for very little cost
> to her. Honda's response to the problem was excellent, obviously their
> concern and motivation was "How many more are there out there like this,
> is
> there something about 55,000 mi. in this engine that we've got to worry
> about and if so, what. She got the car new and was putting about 400-500
> mi
> a week on it so it was probably one of the fleet leaders in mileage.
> MLD
>
>
Do you know if a compression test had been done prior to teardown and if the
rings were compression or oil control? I'd expect a dealer to do at least
one compression test (that probably came out okay enough) and swallow hard a
couple times before tearing an engine down.

Mike