2006+ Honda Civic Forum banner

OIL - 2012 UK Honda Civic excessive oil consumption problem

Oil 
101K views 191 replies 54 participants last post by  chantastic 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello All,

Hope somebody can please help me.

My UK 2012 Civic 1800 petrol is using ca 1 litre of oil every 500 miles. It has done less than 40K miles. I bought it secondhand from Honda and it has always been serviced by Honda and has been very well maintained. I reported it under the warranty but the dealership just said it was normal, and it's got worse over time.

Honda are saying to fix the oil problem it will require a new head gasket and 4 pistons/ring kits and that will take 16-hours labour. And until they start the job they wont know what else is needed and if it will be successful.

Can anybody help? Heard anything similar?

Cheers


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#4 · (Edited)
You could try taking it to a different dealer for a second opinion.

My manual says that oil consumption could be up to 1 litre per 1000km. Although my 2.2 diesel seldom uses any at all between services. So high consumption may be "normal" for some people but I expect it to be the exception rather than the rule.

Just a thought - are you sure the right grade of oil has been used? If it is too light then that might increase oil consumption. The wiki says you could use 5W-40 - why not try topping up with that and see if it has any effect on consumption?
 
#5 ·
Audi were the same but eventually acknowledged there was an issue. They didn't recall cars however as not all cars were affected by the issue so was down to individual owners to realise there was an issue and report it to Audi.

They would drain the oil and refill so they knew exactly how much oil was in the car and ask the owner to drive 500 miles and return. They then drain the oil again to measure how much if any oil has been used to determine excessive loss.

I would keep pestering Honda or ring HQ.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk
 
#7 ·
I have a 2012 1.8 that has done 75k miles and it has started using oil now as well. Not a huge amount but I've probably had to put in a litre and a half over the last 12k miles. It never used to use oil at all, but I started noticing the level dropping when it hit around 50k miles. Hope it's not an issue with just the 2012 models - that could indicated a manufacturing fault caused by worn machinery.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Mine has done about 45k miles, I'm still trying a few different things to see if anything affects the usage, but I would say over the summer it was using around 1 litre every ~1000 miles. This is still more than the 625 miles/litre the manual mentions it could use and is always quoted by the dealer when I mention it. But even so, not very good.
I had read a faulty PCV valve could explain high oil usage.
 
#10 ·
Same with me, I also believe it uses more oil during the summer but still uses a fair amount in the winter. I will be interested to hear what your dealer says, I also have a service in December, so am planning to raise it then.

I am aware there was some sort of class action against Honda about excessive oil usage issues in the US, but it sounds like it's with different/older models:-

Excessive Oil Consumption in Honda Engines | HondaProblems.com

Although there are some:-

https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Civic/2012/engine/excessive_oil_consumption.shtml
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/user-article/114405/honda-civic-1-8-2012
 
#11 ·
Hi guys,

Currently, I own a FK2 1.8 2012, bought SH last year and since then I have this excessive oil consumption, 6 liters in 7000 km.
I've tried different scenarios, vtec and going normal; while doing lets's say "normal driving", the oil consumption was way higher than "the extreme" driving, so to say.
1st: Lately, I tried to go into vtec, but I really don't feel like the car is responding and triggering vtec.
2nd: I've changed the oil, the car used to have Honda 0W20, now I've changed to Motul eco energy 5w30 (I used to have the previous Fk2 1. 8 8th gen and I used this particular oil in it) and the consumption is a little bit lower, but not fixing the overall issue (600 grams in less than 1600 km).
If any of you found a fixing method, please share it here.
 
#12 ·
I’ve been having oil issues with mine since last year.
No idea why it’s started using too much I’m topping up 500ml every 4-500 miles now.
Last service just one week after, I checked the oil and it was registering half on the dipstick.
This is where I took it up with Honda who said it was normal then I rang Honda UK and asked them to investigate.
They got back to me and said there’s no engine manufacturing problems with the 2012 models (which judging by the amount of complaints I find that hard to believe) and that my dealership would happily strip the engine down and check things but I’d have to pay as it’s well out of warranty.
Since then I’ve been topping it up myself and keeping a log.
The reason I’m posting is that wargasm’s post above has just reminded me that my car too isn’t running right at the mo.
I don’t drive my Civic that much as I just don’t like driving anymore but the other night I had to go out in it and noticed it was absolutely gutless and instead of vtec all I get is excessive noise but hardly any acceleration. It’s nothing like it used to be.
It actually felt like I was driving an old 1.0 whatever from years ago.
This has got me all modged again with the car and next week when it goes in for it’s MOT I’m going to ask them to check it!
 
#183 ·
Hi Yes I agree , I’m having similar issues about 1 litre every 500 miles , mileage 79,000 no smoke ,emissions ok so far , just had a engine management light come on showing the cat converter is failing , not sure if it’s the carbon contamination that’s brought its premature end ( not sure how long they last ? ) I’ve got an extended warrantee and the dealership have forwarded a report to Honda to see if they will cover the charge , the oils consumption complaint has been mentioned every service for the last 4 years . There is no leak , clean drive way . Not much point on having good petrol consumption if my wallet is still emptying for 1 gallon of oil a year (8,000 miles per year +-)
thanks ,Dave
 
#13 ·
civic 2012 excessive oil consumption problem

Hi Raeman,

I found this topic yesterday, I know that is US related, but it is odd that the recalls are for civics from 2012; apparently there people threatened Honda with a lawsuit and therefore this recall was issued.
I was at a Honda dealership a few months back but the answer was that "it is stated in the owner manual that it can burn up to 1 L on 1000 km". Another lets's say "advice" was to try another oil.
I will be having a longer trip next week, I'll see how the car will be handling, I'll try different scenarios, to rev high, to go into vtec and I'll keep you posted.
9thgencivic.com/forum/technical-service-bulletins-recalls/10383-excessive-engine-oil-consumption-2012-a.html
 
#14 ·
Hi Raeman,

I found this topic yesterday, I know that is US related, but it is odd that the recalls are for civics from 2012; apparently there people threatened Honda with a lawsuit and therefore this recall was issued.
I was at a Honda dealership a few months back but the answer was that "it is stated in the owner manual that it can burn up to 1 L on 1000 km". Another lets's say "advice" was to try another oil.
I will be having a longer trip next week, I'll see how the car will be handling, I'll try different scenarios, to rev high, to go into vtec and I'll keep you posted.
9thgencivic.com/forum/technical-service-bulletins-recalls/10383-excessive-engine-oil-consumption-2012-a.html
Yeah I’ve seen that thread when I was researching and Googling ages ago and I mentioned it to Honda UK when I rang them but they had no knowledge of it, probably as it’s in the States but it’s strange that they had problems with the 2012 1.8’s too.
Just looking back through this forum at all the posts about oil consumption, nearly all the cars are 2012/2013 models.
Makes me convinced there was a manufacturing problem and Honda know this but won’t do anything about it.
 
#15 ·
Yes! still an ongoing problem with mine, it started around 30k miles, mileage is now 50k miles. Interesting that Raeman mentions the performance issues, mine is also doing this, it seems fine when the engine is cold but once it's warmed up, particularly in hot weather it turns into a 1.0l gutless wonder. It is also often pinking/knocking under load - anyone else got that? I would also say the mpg has fallen since last year.

I've been to two different Honda dealers, both took it out for a test drive and reported they couldn't find anything wrong with it (?!). It's hard to measure accurately the oil consumption but I'd say mine is using about 1 litre of oil every 1300 miles using 5w30 oil, it was worse with 0w20. The dealers just quote the manual where it says it can use up to 1 litre every 625 miles, which is ridiculous. I don't know why I bother having an oil service, it's not in there long enough to get dirty :wink3:.
I had read online that a faulty PCV valve can cause excessive oil consumption so a few months ago I changed mine even though the old one looked ok. However, it's still burning oil so I don't think that has made much difference.
In the hope of fixing the pinking, a few weeks ago I replaced the spark plugs even though they're not due until around 75k miles, again, it doesn't appear to have made much difference.
Has anyone ever noticed either of their radiator fans coming on? I can't think of any time when mine have regardless of how hot it is.

I am concerned that the poor running and knocking will damage the engine in the long-run, but can't keep paying Honda to investigate be told they can't find anything wrong with it.
 
#16 ·
From what I know, the PCV valve will also cause missfire and/or hard engine start which is not the case for me. What I noticed since the oil change (5w30 motul) is that the oil consumption is lower than with 0w20 but the engine sounds a little louder (that I think it'a a normal behavior after all). I'll pay more attention for knocking and also how it behaves when reaching the VTEC (around 4800-5000 rpm).
I also tried to go with and without the ECON, but I didn't notice any difference.
I feel like Honda is dodging responsibility for this malfunction :)
 
#17 ·
Yeah, I was hoping it would change something but wasn't too surprised when it didn't, it was worth a try though and cheaper than paying for another pointless investigation. To be honest I'm not overly confident with the dealers ability to do old fashioned fault diagnostics, I think they plug in the computer and if there aren't any fault codes I think that's the end of it.
I also tried ECON ON/OFF many times, I didn't notice any real difference to the oil consumption.
If I floor it, there is a kind of hollow sound like fuel being massively pumped in, but it just doesn't feel like it's burning quite right as it isn't converted into the acceleration you'd expect. I have a cheapo ODB2 reader, but don't really know what I should monitor to try to figure it out.

I agree, I suspect they know about it but have to stick to the line that Honda's never go wrong.
 
#23 ·
Thanks again.
I took mine out to check and couldn’t see any obvious signs of damage or blockage.
Checked the pipes too and they are fine it all looks good so I don’t think there’s any point me buying a new one.
£37 isn’t bad though I thought they’d. cost more.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Have leaks been ruled out on any of these cars (I ask because the word "leak" hasn't been used once). Using a lot of oil isn't necessarily through the exhaust! Some find it helpful to leave a sheet of clean card beneath the engine overnight to see if it stains, unfortunately the undertray may scupper this, but maybe a garage can remove this on a ramp and run the engine.
 
#30 ·
No leaks at all on mine, many times it’s been in my garage overnight and I’ve jacked it up, lied underneath it, shone a torch around and its bone dry it’s really clean underneath for a 6yr old car.
I would also notice it on my drive as it gets parked in the same place like Stoat mentions his does.
Never been a mention of oil leaks when it’s been to Honda for servicing and MOT’s either and I always ask them to check when it’s up on the ramps but it always comes back as ok, no leaks.
I did the old paper towel over the exhaust trick and rev it to see if any oil was blowing out the exhaust a few times and it isn’t, everytime I’ve checked the tail pipe it’s just really sooty but never oily and it doesn’t smoke excessively when cold or hot there’s no blue smoke as you’d see with worn valve seals.
I’ve also removed the spark plugs but they were just the normal brownish colour you’d expect after 41k.
Just have to keep topping up I guess.
 
#29 ·
I park in the same location each day both at home and at work and have never noticed even a single drop of oil on the ground underneath. As you say the under-tray could be catching it, but with the amount of oil I would expect to see something, the garage(s) haven't mentioned any leaks either.


I suppose the question is, is changing the piston rings going to cost more than the extra oil being used?



To update my previous message about my pinking. During that hot week a few weeks ago it was 35 degrees so I thought that would be the best opportunity to demonstrate it to Honda, so took it back to the dealer and went for a ride with their technician. As is typical with these things it wasn't as bad as it can be - I think more to do with the flat roads near the dealer. However, it did it a bit and he said that is probably normal, it'll pink a bit, the knock sensor will detect it and retard the timing which hits the performance, would be more of a problem if it was doing it all the time, which it seems to do under certain circumstances. Never had a car do this before but, I think the outcome is I'll just have to live with it.
 
#31 ·
Could be valve stem seals leaking and burning it off, that or piston rings if no leaks and the PCV has been changed.
Does it have an undertray? If it does is it holding the leaking oil so nothing on the ground.
What’s the exhaust look like when you boot it? Is there any visible signs of smoke under load or when you start it up in the morning?
 
#32 ·
I haven’t removed the undertray myself but for the amount of oil it’s been using for the past year or so I would assume it would eventually seep out from the tray if it is leaking from the sump, and if it was dripping oil on the exhaust I’d smell it straight away as having old Golfs I know that smell really well.
Honda have told me there’s no leaks and I believe the undertray has to be removed for access to the oil filter/sump plug when it’s been serviced so I take their word for it.
It’s no big deal for me to remove the tray myself and check but I’m pretty certain it’s not holding oil in there. If it is something like a leaking sump I’d be well chuffed as it’s an easier fix and cheaper than an engine rebuild but also i’d be well ******ed off with Honda for not spotting it during servicing!
No smoke at start ups I’ve checked a few times and when it’s been driven hard which is very rarely I’ve never seen any smoke billowing out behind.
I’ll remove the tray and any other covers and report back.
 
Top