Topped my loaner car off with a quart. Am I mental?

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My loaner is pretty sweet, a '05 Acura TSX with 1500 miles. I could not resist to pop the hood on the 2.4 litre. It called for 5w-30...I checked the level...a quart low. Being the wack-o BitOGer I am, I topped with a quart of old Delo SAE 30. I know I did the right thing. I'll probally thank the dealer for the car and mention they owe me $.25c for the quart.
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Its not uncommon for the TSX's engine to burn 1 or 2 qts of oil during the first 5000 miles, from past experience.

What's wrong with the RSX, may I ask?

Back on topic; it was quite generous of you to do that. I would though, let the dealer know as a courtesy, that you topped off the oil for them.
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RESPECT THE MACHINE, you da man!

Even if Acura kicked my Oldsmobile butt in 98 road racing PSCR/IMSA.
 
when my dads car was in an accident he got a rental from the insurance company. when he got it he realized that it needed an oil change. he called the rental place and told them and they said to take it to a mieneke or something like that and that they would pay for it. he messed around with that for a few hours and the people there were acting stupid so he left. since he was getting ready for a trip to ny he went to walmart got some stuff and put it on the lift and changed the oil. dont know if he turned in a receipt to get money back or not, never asked.
 
I know, its a sickness. I'm only kidding a little, as I once did something like that. Its actually similar to the guy in the TV show "Monk" on the USA network (cable). I you watch that show, the dude can't pass a magazine rack without straightening and arranging the magazines on it. He has OCD. We all have mild ( some severe ) OCD forms.
 
contrary to youre situation, i have a loaner 05 sentra S edition. the engine oil is overfilled by about a gallon or so. every time i take a hard corner it billows smoke out the exhaust for 10-20 seconds.
i called the rental company about this. they are not concerned about it. i was thinking of draining off the excess oil ,but i wonder if i should even bother.
 
Been there done that with hire cars.
Been there done that with work cars.
Since work have decided that they will pay engineers to wash pool cars (cleaners are contract, that's external dollars, and therefore identifiable costs and cut), I neither wash, nor check the oil.
 
I drove a big gas powered rental truck pulling a big trailer, from San Diego to Tampa and, exchanged the sludge in the oil pan for new oil and filter, changed the air cleaner and both fuel filters. I discovered the maintenance issues after loading the truck and did not want to unload it to exchange it for another vehicle. I also draind out a lot of coolant that looked like sludge, and added a 50/50 mix of new coolant and distilled water and had to add air to every tire on the truck, including the spare, topped off the p/s fluid, checked the transmission and rear end. The trip went without a hitch and at the other end, they paid all my receipts without any questions. After loading the truck I just did not want to get stuck somewhere for somthing I could have avoided, and I can't stand the idea of letting these kinds of things go. Someone somewhere in the company did take notice, because, a couple of weeks later I received a letter with a voucher toward my next rental. I'll bet there are others like me, but many more that would never have lifted the hood or checked the tires.
 
I consider loaners and rentals experimental.....low on oil? Let's see if she blows......

I'm not a cold hearted savage, I give to the truly down.....but I am curious. I never had the thing long enough to find out.

On the other extreme there are people out there who truly beat rentals, take them off road and just hammer them. I mean start in 0°F and floor in in Neutral and hold for 5 minutes and jam in drive without letting up abuse. NEVER buy a rental unless it's free,

What you did was neither right nor wrong, just done.
 
Not mental at all, I washed an Audi A4 loaner I had overnight while my S4 was in for service. I just couldn't bear to see that poor Audi looking filthy.
 
I've put used oil in a loaner but never new. Then again the loaners I've had in the past have had over 150,000 miles. I had a Chevy Citation one time that had no oil on the dipstick. I was building kart racing engines at the time and dumped in a half gallon of used Cool Power oil.
 
Auto-Union,
Sunroof rattle with it opened or closed ??

The only thing I don't like about rental cars is that most of them smell like an ash tray.
 
I had a rental hyundai sonata V6 for about 6 months while my truck was in the shop. I put about 30K on it. I changed the oil a few times.

It was easier and quicker than bringing it back to the rental place, and it was the right thing to do.

I was impressed with the hyundai. When I gave it back it had right around 50K on the odo. it didn't feel bad for such an inexpensive car. I beat it like it was my own. My only complaints were related to engine harshness and slow transmission. no quality issues.
 
I gave up diagnosing the rattle. It was there with the roof open and closed when temps were low. Everytime I brought it into the dealer noise went away because it was warm mid-day. Looks like the windshield is getting reset. That better fix it.

KJ, if I used 5w or 10w-30, I'd have to bill the dealer. SAE 30 Delo cost me $.25c a quart.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Papa Bear:
I'd probably check the air in the tires too.
P.B.


Yeah, AU, how are those tires?
After one too many dangerously low (and high) tire pressure episodes on rentals, I brought my gauge with me the last time I rented. It was a big Cadillac with the on-dash pressure monitor, and it matched the 32psi on my gauge all around, so for once they were alright. However, you must absolutely check them on any rental or loaner.
Looking under the hood of a brand new rental car may be mental, but in this case of checking out some desirable machinery, it was understandable.
 
The last rental I had was a Toyota Solara a few years ago. I had it for about a month, and I pulled the dipstick at every fillup, just because it was unfamiliar territory (who knows if it's used all its oil?). I also was sure to check the tire pressure because one was deflated so much it had an annoying pull on the highway. Nice car, just needed more go.
 
2 years ago, I rented a Pontiac Montana for our annual September trip to Florida. Brand new. 11 miles on it. I checked the tires, oil and trans. before we left, and before we returned. When we got back, I checked the oil again. ~1800 miles, didn't use a drop. Funny thing about Montana's, park in a rest area, go to leave and there would be 2 or 3 Montana's parked right next to ours.
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I think Montana owners must get lonesome..
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The oil level is the driver's responsibility. If the engine is damaged due to lack of oil you could be held liable. The rental company, of course, would say the oil level was full/OK when the car was rented. Let alone the inconvenience.
 
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