Excessive oil consumption on the 2009 Honda Odyssey
When excessive oil consumption gets reported
Owners of the 2009 Honda Odyssey report excessive oil consumption at a median of 80,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 7th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 25,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 145,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 117,681 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
25% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25,319 miles | 55,350 miles | 77,500 miles | 123,500 miles | 143,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $900–$6,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 11 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2012, at a median of 50,000 miles, and latest on the 2011 at 110,000 miles.
By volume the 2013 carries the most reports, with 12; the 2009 has 10. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Engine oil service was performed by independent mechanic at 33,599 miles, who informed that the engine oil level was low prior to draining the crank case. I began monitoring engine oil quantity thereafter. Currently with 39,252 miles on the vehicle the engine oil consumption rate is about 1 quart per 2,500 miles, which seems excessive for an engine with low mileage. This rate equates to consumption of half of the entire crank case between engine oil change cycles. If not monitored and filled the engine may be damaged due to low engine oil quantity and pressure. A significant safety impact is present if the owner is not aware of oil consumption and the engine seizes. The engine is the honda sohc vcm, 6-cylinder (v6), gasoline engine. *tr
While driving on an interstate at approximately 65-70mph, the check engine light came on and the car began to ride very rough (approximate date of 6/1/2012 at ~65,000 miles). Pulled off the highway and had the car towed to the nearest honda dealership (as recommended in owners' manual). Service at dealership inspected the car and found the spark plugs to be fouled. Replaced spark plugs (#3 was one), and all seemed fine. The same scenario happened again on january 31, 2013 (at 75,126 miles) - again with no warning the check engine light came on (while driving) and car began to sputter. Had car towed to nearest dealership. Again the spark plugs (#3 specifically) were fouled. Replaced the all spark plugs. Found out that I was two quarts low on oil eventhough the oil had been recently changed (1/7/13 at ~73,000 miles) and no oil was leaking from my car (I.e. No oil spots on driveway, etc...). The same scenario happened again on 5/2/2013 (at 81,320 miles)...check engine light came on (while driving and with no warning), car starts to sputter. I have it towed to nearest dealership, and the spark plug (#3) are found to be fouled again…
Van began to stutter on acceleration and check engine light came on. Took to personal mechanic who diagnosed a mis-fire in cylinder #2. Removed spark plug to find it coated with oil and carbon. Says it appears oil is leaking through the engine valve stem seals and coating the plug. He replaced the plug. Have since took it to local honda dealership and performed an oil consumption test. Over 1 quart consumed in 1200 miles of driving. Have asked that stem seals be replaced under good will but honda has denied request because service has not been performed at dealership and thus they cannot guarantee workmanship and parts installed. Vehicle continues to consume oil and after checking #2 cylinder plug recently, continues to contaminate spark plugs. *tr
Also reported on the 2009 Honda Odyssey
Other body or interior problem
Liftgate, tailgate or trunk failure
Other engine problem
Other brake problem
Other powertrain problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does excessive oil consumption happen on the 2009 Honda Odyssey?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 80,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 55,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is excessive oil consumption on the 2009 Honda Odyssey?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed