Hey all,

I need some troubleshooting help for my wife's V6 2002 EX Accord Coupe. A couple of days ago I was braking while pulling up to a red light and the Oil Pressure Light started flickering and kept flickering while I was waiting at the light. Once I started to go it started blinking instead of flickering. I was only a few blocks away from my friends house and since the engine wasn't making any abnormal sounds, I kept going. I got there fine and decided to let the engine cool down. A few hours later I went out to check the dipstick and after I had wiped it off and stuck it back in, it came out clean! Before my wife and I were dating she would get conventional 5W-20 oil changes from the cheapest place she could find. About a year ago I started taking her car in and would get synthetic oil put in. It had been about 4600 miles since the last oil change. Embarrassingly I have to admit that I'm not the best at taking the time to check the oil, but I couldn't figure out how 4.6 quarts of oil could just disappear in 4600 miles. I park the car in my garage and haven't seen any leaks at all. Could a car really burn that much oil? I decided I should change the oil myself instead of just adding some or taking it in; so I got some Castrol Edge Fully Synthetic Oil, a K&N oil filter and a fiber washer to replace the aluminum one on the drain plug. I let the oil drain for about an hour and it turns out that despite what the dipstick had told me, there was still about 3 quarts of oil in the pan. The oil was dark, but no chunks or sludgyness. I put the car back together and let it run for a little bit. No leaks, no oil pressure light. I then let it cool and checked the oil level and added a little bit to bring it just up to the top hole. I then took it for a 5 min drive with no problems. Got home, let it cool and then checked the oil level again. Still perfect. A few hours later I went to pick up my wife from work and when I was almost there (after driving about 20 min) the oil pressure light started flickering again as I was braking for a red light. Deja vu. Again, the engine wasn't making any weird sounds; so I picked her up and drove home. After the car cooled I checked the oil level again and it was at the bottom hole! There were still no drips in the garage though. I added the rest of the 5.1 quart jug to the car and the level was good again.

What's the deal? Did the car really go through 1.5 quarts of oil in a day after only about 45 min of driving? Is the oil pump going bad even though the car doesn't have those symptoms? If it's a faulty sensor is it safe to drive the vehicle as long as the oil is checked frequently and the engine doesn't make weird sounds?

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to make sure I included all the details.

Here's to hoping I don't have to break the bank to fix my car,
- Josiah

 

Check PCV system and crankcase air inlet from air intake duct to valve cover. If PCV system sticks open or closed, excessive oil consumption can occur.

Oil light flickering may be a faulty oil pressure switch. These are known to fail, usually w/ a leak, and should be checked. It is usually cheaper to replace the oil pressure switch rather than remove and perform a mechanical guage pressure test, unless you already have testing equipment. Oil pressure switch is <$10.

good luck

 

a main purpose of oil in high mileage motors is to keep the seals from leaking.
Syn oil excels at metal-metal protection but is worse than dino oils on seals;


I made same 'I-know-more-than-the-Honda-engineers-do' mistake
and 2500 miles later the new syn oil had gotten into distributor, disabling car ...


$.02