Oil problem with 2002 Civic..ATTN Car Guru's

[msi1337]

here is the situation... I was about 2000 miles overdue for my oil change and I saw my oil light flash intermittently.. I immediately pulled into a gas station and put one quart of 5w-30 in my 2002 civic LX. The light went out and I made a mental note to get an oil change soon. Fast forward one week... today the intermittent light came on again and I checked the oil and it wasn't even registering on the dipstick. I added 2 quarts of 5w-30 and now it just barely skims the low mark... How is it possible in a car that only takes 3.7qts total for me to put in 3 quarts over a weeks time and still be low? The car has 80k miles and runs perfectly.

my thoughts:
oil cap slight leak
maybe burning oil excessively..although I do not see puddles under car, nor black smoke from exhaust.

any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Demo24]

if you had it running for some time then you didn't get an accurate read. Go check the dipstick when it's been sitting for some time, this will give the oil time to settle.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: msi1337
here is the situation... How is it possible in a car that only takes 3.7qts total for me to put in 3 quarts over a weeks time and still be low?

turning into coke in your engine ?

 

[Minjin]

Oil leaks won't always show up as puddles under the car. Oil can drip down onto an undertray and only at speed will it drip onto the ground. If this is happening, the whole underside of your car should be covered in oil. Are you smelling oil smoke at all (from oil on the exhaust)? I'd lean towards an oil leak before oil consumption but the latter is certainly possible. If you're burning that much oil, your rear bumper should be dark with tiny droplets of half burnt oil.

 

[AMDZen]

Someone changed your oil and didn't replace the washer. i know it sounds stupid but you have to replace the washer every time or you might get a slight leak. i've worked on hondas the better part of my life and i've found this to be true a lot of the time.

depending on how many miles it has its possible its burning oil but i doubt it. usually a burnt valve or something. just look in your garage or driveway or whatever and see if there is a leak. if so make sure whatever place services your car replaces the washer when they do the oil change

 

[msi1337]

just had the oil changed and the technician thought that the engine was burning oil much faster than normal...(ie the coke reference above)
I think it is A OK now..thanks for all the help guys!