R18 Engine Failure... Oil Burn Related

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Read your owners manual. If its in the car download a copy online.
Im not being a smart.... Most of my owners manuals say to check the oil each time you fuel. If yours says the same and you had not fueled since the last time you added oil then the fault is not yours as you followed the maintenance instructions provided by Honda.
 
Lets not say no one, I don't do it between 1 mile trips in the same day, but I check it before every trip of more than 10 miles for sure. (Unless I checked it that morning before the previous trip(s)). I once lost an engine in the family to a hole in the pan from a rock(? I guess). The leak was enough to empty the pan in a week. I used to check it whenever I filled it up (For my Mom). No more! I even check it at gas stops on road trips. Too many people I talk to nowadays tell me you don't have to check it anymore, there's a light for that... Sheesh.... I swear OP, I DO NOT mean you. I just had to get that tidbit off my chest. You won't believe how many times I hear that, AND, better yet, "Check my oil? its not due for an oil change yet". sheesh....
 
The TSB for the porous block is for coolant leak. There are 3 or 4 spots it can happen and it only leaks the coolant out. Happened to our 06 civic when it 65k. Out of warranty but honda replaced it no cost to me.

I used to get on 8thgen civic back in the day and never read anything about high oil consumption with the R18. Who knows what is happening now. I would start reading up on the civic forums and see if anyone else might have had the same problem.

FWIW....I got mine to 18k on Amsoil with maybe a 1/4 of a quart used.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
THIS^^
Engines don't typically start consuming mondo amounts of oil with no warning, and serious leaks are usually unmistakable.
If the dealer won't cover it, look to you auto insurer, although they may try to wash their hands of it as well.
Whatever happened here doesn't look like owner negelect.
You have my sincere empathy, but I think you will personally end up paying for an engine.


My Jeep leaked about a quart in 500 miles (yet it stopped?). I agree that , if the OP's car was leaking it, there would be oil everywhere.

The ENTIRE undercarriage of my Jeep is coated in oil, there's oil residue on the rear window, there's visible puddles under it and the right tire is wet with oil.

Burning that much oil is also noticeable.

I go with the last oil change didn't get enough put in. But that also says you didn't check it because you would have noticed the next morning when it wasn't full.
 
Thanks for the posts and information some of you have given me. I know some of you have pointed out that if I didn't check my oil each time I filled up my car that I am liable. If that is really the case, which per the owners manual, unfortunately I am I suppose. I certainly did check my fluid levels and maintain my car very well.

Bladecutter, thank you very much for the information you have given me, specifically this:

"Third, and this one is really important, if you had been neglecting the car by not checking your oil level, there would be sludge and carbon deposits in the cylinder head area from oil that was abused, and circulated. The inside of the oil pan should have baked on oil carbon all over it.

If your engine was spotless inside, then you need to push back and say there's no sign of neglect or abuse, and they need to fix it."

The service manager at the Honda dealer is trying to help me get it covered by putting in a good word for me with the district manager. As I think I mentioned earlier, when they tore down my engine the service manager said and I quote, "There is no evidence of any neglect of maintenance on your vehicle. There isn't even a drop of sludge."

I will most certainly push back on them for this, especially with the information I've learned here!
 
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Originally Posted By: mr_diy
Did you not get an oil presure indicator? Seems like that is the failure at fault for major damage.


No, it was not on during the failure. In my original post, the oil lamp flashed when a light turned red on me coming home from work. The shift in the fluid from hard braking must have caused it. I immediately became alarmed obviously and drove directly home and topped my oil off that day. This was ~2 weeks prior to the engine failure.
 
Originally Posted By: beastykato
Originally Posted By: mr_diy
Did you not get an oil presure indicator? Seems like that is the failure at fault for major damage.


No, it was not on during the failure. In my original post, the oil lamp flashed when a light turned red on me coming home from work. The shift in the fluid from hard braking must have caused it. I immediately became alarmed obviously and drove directly home and topped my oil off that day. This was ~2 weeks prior to the engine failure.


This from your original post:

Quote:

I'm in a bit of a predicament right now in getting Honda to honer my extended powertrain warranty on my 2008 Honda Civic EX. I have never had a problem with my car in the past burning oil, but between my last oil change and this failure, apparently my engine was able to burn off [censored] near ALL of the oil. I even topped it off with about a quart of oil about ~2 weeks prior to the engine failure. My engine only has ~70,000mi on it btw.


So your oil light came on ~2 weeks ago (indicating severe low level of oil) and you only added 1 quart to top it off? If your oil light was on it needed way more than 1qt to "top it off". Did you use the dipstick to check the level?

Driving home with the oil light on was a big mistake.
 
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Yes, all it took to bring the oil level back between the hash marks was ~ one qt. I told the dealer this when I took it in. I checked it more than once also to make sure it was accurate. The light flashed on my way home when I hit my brakes harder than normal and did not remain on. In addition, it never came back on when driving normally the entire time thereafter and they said my engine was bone dry. How it would not cause the low pressure light to come on if I was nearly out of oil is beyond me.
 
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Originally Posted By: Trav
Quote:
they automatically jumped to the conclusion that I simply didn't check my oil


Sorry but anytime they start down this road it usually ends up with you needing a lawyer and its going to take time, lots of it.
I hope you make out alright with this but prepare for the worst beforehand.

Bingo, Honda can be a royal PITA if they want to be. Good luck. If anything like this ever happens again be sure to bring the car to the dealer with a full oil sump.
 
Originally Posted By: GMFan
Originally Posted By: beastykato
Originally Posted By: mr_diy
Did you not get an oil presure indicator? Seems like that is the failure at fault for major damage.


No, it was not on during the failure. In my original post, the oil lamp flashed when a light turned red on me coming home from work. The shift in the fluid from hard braking must have caused it. I immediately became alarmed obviously and drove directly home and topped my oil off that day. This was ~2 weeks prior to the engine failure.


I'm not familiar with Hondas, but doesn't an oil light mean there is low pressure?

Wonder if it ate a bearing or something before hand.

It's possible the pump was going bad or it ate a rod bearing and was lighting the light because it had low oil pressure and was not low.

Or it could have been low enough that it wasn't sucking in oil and that set the light off. Then it killed a bearing on the way home driving it with no oil.



This from your original post:

Quote:

I'm in a bit of a predicament right now in getting Honda to honer my extended powertrain warranty on my 2008 Honda Civic EX. I have never had a problem with my car in the past burning oil, but between my last oil change and this failure, apparently my engine was able to burn off [censored] near ALL of the oil. I even topped it off with about a quart of oil about ~2 weeks prior to the engine failure. My engine only has ~70,000mi on it btw.


So your oil light came on ~2 weeks ago (indicating severe low level of oil) and you only added 1 quart to top it off? If your oil light was on it needed way more than 1qt to "top it off". Did you use the dipstick to check the level?

Driving home with the oil light on was a big mistake.
 
I would skip trying to sue them because the legal costs will be as much as the entire new engine would be and you still won't be much closer to having them pay for it.

Start looking for a cheap used engine, don't pay them to put it in, find a good local indy shop or a performance shop that knows their way around a Honda, you could always do a k swap too
wink.gif
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