I know that story so well. See if this is an echo. At a few miles over a hundred thousand the Camshaft sensor code came on while I passing Autozone who pulled the code. I drove it a few more miles and the timing chain tensioner failed and valves hit the pistons. I had Honda do a tear down and found it was very low on oil but it was checked about 80 miles before blowing up and it was using about a quart per thousand up until the end. It was out of warranty but I tried to get help from Honda as it was ones with the phantom oil consumption and they wanted oil change records and even with sending then my state mechanics certification number they wouldn’t accept my records. No reason for the oil loss was found. No smoke, oil in the airbox from blowby , oil residue on the engine or oil light coming on.

I believe from talking to the Honda Mechanic that the hydraulic timing chain tensioner failed from the engine running low on oil over a period of time. At least I now know the check engine light coming on was not the sensor but the timing chain.

 

On carcomplaints dot com there are around 12 2003 Accords with the mysteries oil consumption and some where the slack adjuster failed from sudden high oil consumption. That isn’t a lot of Accords but when I looked when my Accord blew up there where maybe three. I think with the 2003’s being seven years old now and hitting a 100,000 there are going to be more. I looked at years above and below 2003 and that is where there is a cluster with just a few 2004’s.

 

2003 was the very first year for that engine so anything from 2002 doesn't count.

 

Got the dreaded call from Honda Care today.... but much to my surprise they said they will cover the entire cost of repairs and will start immediately. I'm happy now. Yesterday I went to the dealership to check on the status and I viewed the damage. All intake valves were bent but the thing that caught my attention was the MASSIVE build up of carbon and sludge like material on the piston heads. At least a 1/4 inch thick and with valve head imprints in them. Pretty sure thats where the oil was going.

 

"sludge like material" That sounds like blowby. Wonder why they don't produce blue smoke.

I don't remember seeing that on my 2003 when that blew up. With the warranty they were going to have to pay for it. Silly what they put you through. Glad you won.

 

That car owner's manual called for oil changes at 10k mile intervals. I'm kinda glad I didn't believe that, but I was doing about 7k mile oilchanges when my daughter was driving a lot.

 

Sorry I haven't responded in so long.
Rplacing my PVC had no effect on the "losing oil" problem. Putting in a quart (or two) of oil every other week or so is now part of my life with my car.

I'm now at 160K miles (drive it for work) and just had another unrelated (?) issue. My "D" light blinks (just started). I am going to read out the codes today and may start a new post.

I immediately checked the oil and it was at the low end of the dip stick (no surprise).

Now I am concerned that I've got a the same problem as techno with a major failure looming.

 

Reading these posts I guess I feel more comfortable knowing I'm not the only one with this exact story. I have the vehicle mentioned in the title with 132,000 miles on it. My good friend owns a shop, so I'm always there for regular oil changes, light bulb changes, inspections, tire holes, etc. Recently my oil light started coming on more often than I'd ever remembered. So, I took it in for an oil change and the mechanics mentioned that I seemed to be burning oil pretty fast, but we couldn't figure out why. No black smoke, no noticeable smell of burning oil. Over the course of the next couple months my check engine light starts acting up, twice sending the computer into limp mode. Took it back into the shop, really low on oil again. So we fill it up again, and two days later I start my car to go to work and the car idles really low and starts shaking, almost shutting off. I end up having to keep the rpm's up every time i slowed or stopped at a light. Somehow I managed to get all the way to the parking garage and almost into a space when my car shut off. I got it started with a little gas, and got it into a space before it died for good. Engine would still turn, but would never catch and turn on. Get it towed to the shop, and guess what? Low oil caused the chain to slip and Daddy needs a new engine! So, is the general decision to replace the engine with an '05 engine and replace the pcv valve?

 

reading this type of story make me upset. Transmission for gen 6 accord, oil consumption for gen 7.

 

Here's an update for those interested. I now have 3000 miles (102,204) since the cylinder head rebuild. I have gone through 4 quarts of oil and the engine makes a very loud ticking sound when cold. I took it back to the dealer and they claimed to not hear any unusual engine noises. Typical. I did have some rusted out bolts for the cat converter heat shields and that made a rattle at start up so they fixed that.... with large hose clamps around the entire cat.

So, even with a rebuilt head I am still burning oil faster than any car I have ever owned, so I am just accepting it now and trying to convince my wife (the car is actually hers) that we should sell it an get something newer. She loves the car still and wants to drive it till it dies. So that what we'll probably do.