OT question about oil usage in wifes car

My wife drives a 2003 Honda CRV that we have owned since new and to this day have never had a problem with. It now has 200,000 miles on it and about the last 20,000 and after an oil change it will go for about a 1000 miles and like overnight be a quart low. No leaks, no blue smoke. I will top it off and in a month it is a quart low again. Never seems to go under the quart low mark. Here is my question. It calls for 5-20 and that is what I have always put in it. Would it benefit any from going up to say 10-30 or something heavier. We have no issues with the car other than the disappearing oil. I know it has a lot of wear on but it still runs very well. Thanks, Paul
 
I've been told that was a frequent problem with Honda Civics. Daughter was talking Civic, but I talked her into a Corolla. She put 235,000 miles on that car before she sold it - and it's still driving on the streets of Los Angeles.
 
My understanding is if you increase viscosity enough to burn less the oil is generaly too heavy for good lubercation. You might be better off useing 10-30 if tempature exceeds 90f. My priorty would be finding why the consumption occurs in short period after no consumption for a longer period. My suspecion is pvc valve and crankcase ventilation system malfunctioning.
 
I would check it every 100 miles or what ever interval your wife's trips work out to so you could get a better handle on when it starts to drop rapidly. Most modern engines hold so little oil that overfilling is not a problem but it is on some older engines. That crankshaft can really stir up excess oil in some models. Even checking at the exact same time, like cooled over night or just a few minutes after shut down makes a difference.
 
The easy thing to check is the positive crankcase ventilation system, pcv valve in valve cover- and a hose to vacuum source. My daughter's new Chevy Spark was just in for an oil burning recall, it didn't use any but she got a new pcv valve and clean the throttle body.
 
Daughter has a Honda. Had 100 thousand on it started using oil and fowling plugs on 3 cylinders. I learned that there is a class action suit against Honda She called the dealer and they overhauled her engine and extended the warranty to 200,000 mi. Google Honda class action suit.
 
Almost all current engines are set up with such close tolerances they require an oil that flows easily. I am no expert on lubrication, but I question whether 10W30 would provide the proper lubrication. With 200,000 on the odometer that is not excessive consumption. My daughter's 07 Camry says a quart to 600 miles is acceptable. I would, however, as others have suggested, check the PCV valve and possibly other vacuum lines and check valves, to assure they are all functioning properly.
 
My Ram HEMI hot dog engine with the 4+4 fuel saving feature required 5w-20. Owners manual said that the oil pump was set up for that plus all the things others said.

I too would stay with the thin oil and for that many miles if running right and all adding a quart was the way to go.

Mark
 
I would keep adding the same oil as you have been doing. For an engine with over 200,000 miles on it a quart a month is not bad.
 
I put Kendall 15W-40 diesel grade oil in every engine I own large and small and never had an oil related problem that I know of increased the oil pressure on my
1650D Oliver about 7 lbs over whatever the previous owner had been using and that was 15 years ago.Also use the 15W-40 in my Wife's Toyota Corolla with
215,000+ miles uses about 1 quart now every oil change which is usually about 4,000 miles.Only work thatss ever been done on the engine is the timing belt replaced at 100 and 200 thousand as preventive maint.
 

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