I wanted to get a general consensus on what the safety threshold was for driving with low oil. I just changed out my oil today and it only released 2.5 quarts of oil. Now, I do have an oil cooler, so some might be in there, but not more than .5 quarts. It's been about 5k miles since the last oil change. I am guessing that I've been driving with ~3 quarts of less for the last 1k miles. Should I be worried about any cylinder wall damage from lack of oil?

Before and after the oil change, I did not hear any odd sounds and the car ran fine both times. I did not even get a oil light on the dash.

Thanks in advance.

 

Don't publically admit that you violated terms of warranty by operating engine with low oil, as you are REQUIRED to maintain full level per warranty document.

Oil light on is a warming that you HAVE TRASHED engine bearings, an after the fact indicator.

 

I check my oil once a week.

 

Dan, from this thread it sounds like you're not taking good care of your G.
Being that low you need to start checking your oil level at least once a week
and 5K miles between changes at this point doesn't sound like a good idea.
Gary

 

Might have gotten away with one there, might not. Only time or a teardown will tell.

 

It'll be fine.

prolly will reflect further down the road but it'll be fine for now.

 

You will be fine

 

what kind of oil do you use?
what year car and miles?
how often do you VTEC?

 

I use Mobile 1 10w-30. I only use synthetics. I did use a cheapo fram filter for the last oil change though because the oem one leaked and I had to rip it apart to get it off.

Well, I've had the car for a while and it's never burned any significant amount of oil. 5k on a synthetic oil should not be an issue for the car. I have a good amount of miles on the car. I did check it a couple thousand miles ago and topped a bit off. The readings are iffy because my dip stick is slightly bent.

 

I'm surprised no one said anything about OC.

What year is your car? AT or MT? How many miles? Still under warranty? You may be entitled to a new motor...

 

Although if it's something serious, it'll turn back on, I would not ever clear a code without checking it first.

 

No oil or cel light ever came on.

Mine is an '04, MT and I'm still under powertrain warranty. I've never had oil consumption before and I don't think it should start all of a sudden. The only thing I did differently last oil change was use a Fram TG oil filter, I usually use OEM.

I just want to know the possibility of something being damaged. I really don't want a new motor, I like mine just fine. I just found it odd that all of a sudden it lost oil. Usually after the first 10 oil changes, you know your engine and how it behaves in terms of oil consumption. I would top the car off with .25 quart or less every few thousand miles before (when it was SC'd).

 

Depending on how you drove there could be some premature wear. 50% oil lost could cause some issues.

 

how come u don't use the recommended 5w-30..?
doubt it's the problem though.

 

Less than 5 quarts is not significant in terms of running the engine. The real concern is oil pressure. Your low oil warning light comes on if there is a lack of pressure. Running the car with less than 5 quarts means that the oil will become more contaminated more quickly but would not cause scored pistons or anything like that - unless you leave that contaminated oil in the car too long. Now, how it got down to 3 quarts would be a concern as well.