It is presently -22 Celsius in Montreal. Cooooold!!!

ok, so I just checked my oil pressure...

My car was parked in this arctic freeze for the past 12 hours. I ran the engine idle for about 2 minutes, then let it rest with the engine off for about 3-4 minutes...I then checked the oil.

It's definitely not an oil-quantity problem. I checked the dipstick 2 times in the sunlight. It was very evident to me that the oil level was way over the 2 small holes/markers at the bottom of the lenghty dipstick
There is about a 1-2 cm distance between the two markers at the bottom of the dipstick. So with that said, I can safely attest that my oil level was anywhere from 5-10 cm over the highest marker. This kinda doesn't make any sense to me. I last changed my oil 3 months ago!!!?!!!? Shouldn't the level be closer to the uppermost marker?

 

5 - 10 cm over the highest marker????!!!!! over the top marker?? 2-4 inches over the top marker? your oil is dangerously and i mean DANGEROUSLY overfilled like i hope you read this very soon and dont even start your car until the level is brought to the correct amount.

 

I checked again last night. My car had sat 12 hours since my morning check. This time though I didn't run the motor first. Anyways, now there was no oil on my dipstick????

go figure...

I ran 3 checks. Each time the dipstick had just traces of oil at the bottom end. Nothing certain... In the am, the level was above the highest marker. I will take this opportunity to correct my previous 5-10 cm statement. 3-5 cm would have been way more accurate...

Anyways, i drove to work just fine. I made sure to not engage the VTEC, so i stayed below 3000 rpm's the whole ride to and back... Nothing abnormal to report during the ride. i also drove with no music to be able to 'listen' to the car, and again nothing to report. I will take the car in this week and see how much Honda will screw me out of LOL

I appreciate your concern Lightshow..

 

Went to Honda today....they investigated. It took them 5 minutes to discover the problem:

low levels of oil !!!!!!!!!!!

The last time I got my oil and filter changed was nov.10th, 2005. Since then I have driven 4000km. I usually get an oil change @Honda for every 5000km (for the past 3 years)... So this was odd. They kindly interrogated me re: if i've driven more often since nov.10th, more heavy accelerations?...........all of which were never the case. So, they'll be putting my car under inspection. Basically, every 1000 km that I drive, I have to bring my car in to be inspected (no charge) to see if my oil levels have dipped in any bizarre way. I must do this 4 times, for a total of 4000km (4 inspections)...

So final tab for today:

$40 for oil change +filter
$60 for a five minute inspection (????)
$25 for the 'Midas' dude who checked my car last friday and told me it was a code P1259 (when in fact Honda confirmed today that it was a P1257, which is still a VTEC Malfunction problem........does it make a big diffeence between 57 & 59?). That Midas dude didn't even check my oil level (I called him back today to confirm if he had checked the oil). I think if he did, he would have realised the low levels and we would have added it then and there....and problem solved!!!!!


What sucks is that my regular Honda maintenance schedule had me coming in in mid-march (couple of weeks from now). So they would have just re-filled my oil then. So $60+$25 down the drain in theory..

I guess preserving the engine is worth it in the end (driving another 2 weeks would have done more harm to my car), but I just wish it would have played out a bit more in my favour in terms of timing..

What i don't get is the following: if this is an oil level problem like Honda confirmed, then how come my "low oil' indicator lamp didn't come on? (in which case I would have checked the levels & simply filled up and case closed!!!)
Instead I get an "emmissions indicator" which basically can mean a bunch of different 'scary' things, hence forcing me to take the car in and pay $60 for a 5-minute inspection to tell me there's no oil.....

There's something wrong with that picture, especially when the actual owner's manual makes NO REFERENCE (in the section discussing this particular MIL) that it may JUST be a simple oil level problem...


bah!

 

yea that sucks im glad it was just low oil. the reason you didnt get a low oil light, is because that light goes on when its dangerous to run your motor, and you had it at the point where the vtec simply would not engage. always check your oil and all fluids every time you go to the gas station. you need to be using all honda brand stuff in your car. cheap oil will burn off and leave you low like that.