The oil level in our 2003 Acura MDX has been increasing during the last two oil change intervals. Prior to the last change, I had noticed the oil level was a little bit overfull, which puzzled me because I knew it was spot on to start with and during all the previous oil change intervals (all on synthetic oil and which varied from 3000 to 12,000 miles),whatever the oil level was to start with, that's where it always stayed. In addition, I noticed for the first time during the last change that the drained out oil (5w-20 Valvoline Synpower with 5000 miles on it) had an unusual amount of bubbles or foam in it. Anyway, curious about what was going on, on the current oil change interval, I purposely underfilled it by about .3 quarts, this time using Redline 5w-20. After my wife got back from a 2500 mile trip, it was overfull again! In an attempt to find out what was getting in there that shouldn't be, I took an oil sample and sent to a lab for analysis. I expected them to find traces of antifreeze, water or fuel, but they didn't. The only thing at all unusual was a sodium reading of 62 and a fuel concentration of 1%, which they said was slightly elevated, but obviously that small amount would not account for an increase in oil volume of the magnitude I have experienced. Incidentally, after draining out exactly 1/2 quart in order to obtain the lab sample, it now reads exactly full. So, after what is now 3000 miles on this oil, it somehow has picked up actually .8 quarts (.3 down to start with plus the .5 quart I just drained out. Nobody at the Acura dealer has ever heard of any Acura of any model having this problem, and now that the oil analysis doesn't show any contamination, I really am at a loss as to what is going on. Any ideas would be much appreciated. For whatever it is worth, we got the car in 2007 with 60,000 and it now has almost 119,000. I really am stumped by this. Any ideas or similar experiences anybody?
oil level increasing in 2003 Acura MDX 3.5 V6
- Thread starter Jasper8146
- Start date
- Status
are you measuring at the SAME area you did when you changed the oil? if not thats why. my dip stick will register more when the car aims downward and leans to the passenger side, vice versa.
If it were mine I would seriously consider putting some kind of a lock on the hood that ONLY I could open. Then I would hide a key in the car for it incase someone else had to call me because they were stranded with an under the hood problem.
Your problem reminds me of a person I use to work with who would pay close attention to his vehicles. One day one of the other guys told me about how they once pulled a prank on him by every day putting some oil on the ground under his engine where he always parked at work. Really had him looking for that leak.
Just a guess but weather as a prank, or for some other reason I suspect someone is adding that oil. It has to come from somewhere.
Your problem reminds me of a person I use to work with who would pay close attention to his vehicles. One day one of the other guys told me about how they once pulled a prank on him by every day putting some oil on the ground under his engine where he always parked at work. Really had him looking for that leak.
Just a guess but weather as a prank, or for some other reason I suspect someone is adding that oil. It has to come from somewhere.
Some people at my work, added diesel fuel to a guy's Rabbit when they first came out so that he would report unbelievable mileage figures.
Barring that, they only way I know for the oil level to increase is due to fuel dilution/blowby pass the rings. But your UOA would show this?
As mentioned before, the levelness of the car WILL affect the oil level reading, I assume you measure oil level at the same location each time ?
Barring that, they only way I know for the oil level to increase is due to fuel dilution/blowby pass the rings. But your UOA would show this?
As mentioned before, the levelness of the car WILL affect the oil level reading, I assume you measure oil level at the same location each time ?
Last edited:
In addition to checking with the car level, you should wait a certain amount of time to let oil drain down into the sump. If you do excessive stop & go driving with a cold engine, you may have fuel in the oil.
JHZR2
Staff member
My Saab has done this - no fuel dilution, no glycol, stellar uoas, etc. Don't know why...
Originally Posted By: garlicbreadman
are you measuring at the SAME area you did when you changed the oil? if not thats why. my dip stick will register more when the car aims downward and leans to the passenger side, vice versa.
I'm guessing this is what has happened. I checked the oil in my wife's Odyssey last night at the gas station and it read 4/5 on the dipstick. There was a slight slant at the fuel pump so I checked it again in the garage. 1/5 on the dipstick. The odyssey has the same engine as your MDX, so I can confirm that Honda v6 is quite sensitive to the angle of the car for oil readings.
Just pick one spot (in your driveway, garage or street) where you can always check your oil and compare the readings to previous ones in that exact spot.
Not trying to oversimplify your problem as I can see you've taken some very extensive steps to determine what is going on. But if you are checking the oil with the car in different places, on this engine at least you might get very different readings as I did.
are you measuring at the SAME area you did when you changed the oil? if not thats why. my dip stick will register more when the car aims downward and leans to the passenger side, vice versa.
I'm guessing this is what has happened. I checked the oil in my wife's Odyssey last night at the gas station and it read 4/5 on the dipstick. There was a slight slant at the fuel pump so I checked it again in the garage. 1/5 on the dipstick. The odyssey has the same engine as your MDX, so I can confirm that Honda v6 is quite sensitive to the angle of the car for oil readings.
Just pick one spot (in your driveway, garage or street) where you can always check your oil and compare the readings to previous ones in that exact spot.
Not trying to oversimplify your problem as I can see you've taken some very extensive steps to determine what is going on. But if you are checking the oil with the car in different places, on this engine at least you might get very different readings as I did.
Originally Posted By: Corvette Owner
Some people at my work, added diesel fuel to a guy's Rabbit when they first came out so that he would report unbelievable mileage figures.
Barring that, they only way I know for the oil level to increase is due to fuel dilution/blowby pass the rings. But your UOA would show this?
As mentioned before, the levelness of the car WILL affect the oil level reading, I assume you measure oil level at the same location each time ?
Try explaining that to the cop who catches you messing with someone's car!
"But Officer, we were ADDING fuel, not stealing it!"
Some people at my work, added diesel fuel to a guy's Rabbit when they first came out so that he would report unbelievable mileage figures.
Barring that, they only way I know for the oil level to increase is due to fuel dilution/blowby pass the rings. But your UOA would show this?
As mentioned before, the levelness of the car WILL affect the oil level reading, I assume you measure oil level at the same location each time ?
Try explaining that to the cop who catches you messing with someone's car!
"But Officer, we were ADDING fuel, not stealing it!"
Yes, in exactly the same spot.
That's what I keep thinking -- the oil (or something) must be coming from somewhere, but there are 3 very good reasons why I'm pretty sure no one is purposely adding oil: 1) only my wife and I have access to it; 2) the hood struts are broken so it requires a special lawn water turn off tool to hold the hood up; and 3) the oil filler cap is broken off so the only way to get it off is with some needle nose pliers.
sounds like a sweet ride.
I always check the oil in exactly the same place on the same side of the garage, so it's always an "apples to apples" comparison, and I usually wait till it's sat overnight just to be sure there isn't any type of opportunity at all for any misreading of it on my part. And I really expected the oil analysis to show something significant, and the fact that it didn't is why I put this out on the website to get more ideas on it. There has to be something I'm missing, but thus far there is no theory that is consistent with all the facts. The oil lab said that 1% fuel concentration was a little bit high, but obviously, a 1% addition is not going to cause the amount of increase I've been experiencing recently.
Thanks so much for responding. If I might ask, how long has your Saab been doing it, how many miles are on it, and depending on what the answers to those are, is is still doing it, and if so, have you noticed any type of degradation in engine performance such as less pep or worse fuel mileage or anything?
There have been times where that could have been the case, but most recently, the increase all happened during 2500 miles of highway driving all within one weeks time. The engine was pretty much running all the time that week. And, if it were fuel, I would think the lab would have caught that.
Thanks. I really did not realize the Honda 3.5 v6 was more sensitive to that than most, but that can't be the answer to my situation because I always check it in exactly the same place -- the right side of our garage and with the front of the car at the back of the garage. Your post does make me recall how sometime quite a while ago before this present problem developed, I did check the oil once with the car in the opposite orientation with the front at the front of the garage. And, the level was actually a little bit different. So, now I always check it in exactly the same place in exactly the same orientation.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: Jasper8146
Thanks so much for responding. If I might ask, how long has your Saab been doing it, how many miles are on it, and depending on what the answers to those are, is is still doing it, and if so, have you noticed any type of degradation in engine performance such as less pep or worse fuel mileage or anything?
60k, no issues and the fuel economy is 30-40 MPG depending upon use. UOAs return very nice results.
Thanks so much for responding. If I might ask, how long has your Saab been doing it, how many miles are on it, and depending on what the answers to those are, is is still doing it, and if so, have you noticed any type of degradation in engine performance such as less pep or worse fuel mileage or anything?
60k, no issues and the fuel economy is 30-40 MPG depending upon use. UOAs return very nice results.
Originally Posted By: lipadj46
sounds like a sweet ride.
I almost spit my drink out. I was thinking the same exact thing after reading about the broken hood struts and oil filler cap, I hit next page and see your post!
sounds like a sweet ride.
I almost spit my drink out. I was thinking the same exact thing after reading about the broken hood struts and oil filler cap, I hit next page and see your post!
Does your wife use a full service station to get her gas by chance? If so, they could be topping up the oil and overfilling it a bit. I would think that she would know if they added any oil tho.
Thanks for the idea. Since I wasn't with her on her recent 2500 mile trip, I can't say for sure, but I think you're right she would have noticed anybody putting anything in it because surely they would have tried to bill her for it. And here at home, that definitely can't be it because it's my vehicle and I'm the only one to refuel it. I definitely appreciate any ideas, however unlikely, because there has to be an explanation for this but as of yet no one has figured out what it is. My plan for the moment is to drive it another couple thousand miles, see what happens on the oil level, and if it increases again, do another UOA on it.
The increase in volume could be from a limited number of possibilities assuming nobody is messing with your car:
1. Extraneous liquid in the sump:
- Water from condensation from short trips/humidity/cold weather
- Fuel from fuel dilution
- Coolant from head-gasket issue
In looking at your original post, namely, High coolant and an "unusual amount of bubbles or foam" in the oil on draining the sump.
My guess is headgasket or some kind of intake gasket leaking coolant into the sump. I would have your cooling system pressure tested as soon as you can, or at the very least, monitor your coolant level very carefully. Are you losing coolant from your system?
Also, what was your potassium number from your UOA. I wouldn't trust the "No Glycol". Honda coolant is different.
Your sodium is high, I'm betting your potassium number is also high - both can be indicators of coolant in the oil. Can you post up your UOA?
1. Extraneous liquid in the sump:
- Water from condensation from short trips/humidity/cold weather
- Fuel from fuel dilution
- Coolant from head-gasket issue
In looking at your original post, namely, High coolant and an "unusual amount of bubbles or foam" in the oil on draining the sump.
My guess is headgasket or some kind of intake gasket leaking coolant into the sump. I would have your cooling system pressure tested as soon as you can, or at the very least, monitor your coolant level very carefully. Are you losing coolant from your system?
Also, what was your potassium number from your UOA. I wouldn't trust the "No Glycol". Honda coolant is different.
Your sodium is high, I'm betting your potassium number is also high - both can be indicators of coolant in the oil. Can you post up your UOA?
- Status
Similar threads
