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I bought a 2002 Civic Si 2.0 a couple of months ago. It has fairly high mileage—250k—and so I've been going through the engine, transmission, and suspension, replacing hoses, belts, etc. The car runs incredibly well and gets decent mileage.

When I changed the oil I added the amount the service manual said it should take (about 4 1/2 quarts). I started the engine, ran it for a couple of minutes, then shut it off, let it sit for a few minutes, and checked the oil level. It wasn't even registering on the dipstick. So I added another 1/2 quart; this time the level was just over the low mark.

I didn't want to overfill it so I drove it for a few miles, enough to warm it up. Let it sit and checked it again, still just over the low mark. I went ahead and added another half quart which put it about halfway between low and full. Now when my wife drives it, exclusively highway miles, it uses about a quart of oil every 200 miles or so,

I'm not worried about the oil consumption, I assume that's probably normal for a high mileage Honda engine but I'm wondering if the dipstick isn't reading correctly. How much oil should a 2.0 liter Honda engine take at oil change? From my first oil change experience it looks like it will take between six and seven quarts to bring it up to full. Am I putting too much in?

Thanks in advance for any assistance anyone can offer.

 
Rep Power: 127

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Oil level is supposed to be checked warm, so it'll probably read okay once at temp. Either way, a little extra oil won't hurt.

That oil consumption is disgustingly excessive, though. That's definitely cause for concern. Those compression numbers are gonna be gnarly.

 
Rep Power: 225

I would agree that oil consumption number is absolutely terrible, even for 250k miles.

Is the oil pan stock? You can get aftermarket ones that hold more oil, mostly for track cars.

 
Rep Power: 245

Do you have the manual for the car? Fluid levels are on the last page.

My 3.5L takes 5 quarts. 6-7 is a lot for a 2L. Is it the stock oil dipstick? Someone might have put a different one in there so it’s not reading accurate.

*Google says 4-5 quarts for a 2L of that Gen. exact amount is dependent on engine code.

 
Rep Power: 513

A quart every 200 is pretty crazy. I thought the acceptable spec of 1qt/1000miles was insane

 
Rep Power: 368

you can buy a stock dipstick to clear suspicions, but if levels are going down, and if you don't see an oil puddle after parking, you should look mirrors when you accelerate to see if smoke is coming from pipe
your oil rings in the pistons could be fubar...