How concerned should I be?

[Ion]

A fellow NSX member that works at Acura in another state was discussing Acura eVRM data (print-out of Acura's full service history). He was kind enough to pull a report on my NSX when I asked. I've had the car for about 3 months and have put 1,638 trouble free miles on it but I saw something on the report concerning after connecting dots between Carfax and eVRM.

The prior owner bought the car from a Chevrolet dealer. One month after purchase (382 miles from sale to service date), he brought it in to an Acura dealer in AZ. Customer notes say: "C/S: Client states vehicle has a OIL warning stays on. Just purchased and oil was changed. Concerned was not drained properly and needs oil changed to correct". Dealer notes: "Found oil over filled. Recommend oil and filter change". It's not clear if he had oil changed after purchasing or if he was referring to dealer that sold it. While the car was in for service at Acura dealer, owner requested and completed full schedule B maintenance and inspection and replaced all fluids including oil, twin motor fluid etc and also replaced intake and oil filters etc. Only 11,564 miles on car at this point.

He ended up selling the car back to the Chevrolet dealer 1.5 months and 587 miles later. Guessing this spooked him? They sold it at auction where another Acura dealer in AZ bought it, then sold it to my local Acura dealer in NC. My dealer certified the car and provided certification checklist, but the car was sold without warranty "as is" since car had been in service more than 6 years (originally sold in 2016). Being an Acura with only 12k miles and clean Carfax I thought it was a safe bet.

Since I've had the car, I've put 1,638 miles on it in 3 months. It has been 2,254 miles and 10 months since it was in for service by prior owner with the oil light. I have not noticed any leaks or consumption and car drives perfect. The car has extensive service history at all Acura dealers preceding this incident, was previously sold as certified vehicle and again certified before I purchased. All regular maintenance is documented and all recalls addressed. Outside this incident, records look great. Could there be any long term damage or potential failures lurking from prior history of overfilling? If nothing has happened by now I'm thinking it's fine but just wanted to hear others thoughts. Thanks.

 

[DJ Iceman]

Sounds like nothing to worry about to me.

 

[Ion]

Sounds like nothing to worry about to me.

Thank you. I’m just a bit OCD about my cars but these cars appear pretty well built as there are so few issues when searching for info. She’s running like a top so I’ll try to relax.

 

[drmanny3]

I would also think all is well. Sounds like the owner took the car in right away after getting that warning. As far as damage, one wonders what could happen with overfilling. Perhaps the oil pressure is too high, and/or a chance oil is pushed into areas it should not be? What might help you is to inquire what parameters are impacted by too much oil. That will help you figure out what would be affected. You might need to access Honda Tech which costs about $25 for a day To better understand how the car determines there is too much oil. Let us know what you learn.

 

[Concept]

Pardon my ignorance, but is there a way to manually check the oil level. I thought I read somewhere that oil level is measured with a sensor.

 

[Ion]

Pardon my ignorance, but is there a way to manually check the oil level. I thought I read somewhere that oil level is measured with a sensor.

There is a physical dipstick but you can't just check it. You have to go through a specific song and dance to get an accurate reading. There is a check assist built in to the dash accessible from the right steering wheel scroll wheel that helps ensure relevant conditions are met. Note: dipstick must be oriented a specific way as well. Here are relevant instructions from owner's manual.

 

[drmanny3]

Yes there is a procedure for physically checking the oil level. It is detailed in the owner’s manual. Essentially you get the car up to temperature and then park so it is level. You can then check the oil level using the dip stick on the right side of the engine. There is also the maintenance minder that gives an estimate of the oil’s remaining life based on a number of parameters. I did not see the previous post which represents the detailed way of checking the oil. Good job Ion.

 

[Concept]

Thanks, Ion and drmanny3. Historically, checking auto transmission fluid level required an extra step or two, compared to checking engine oil level, but this one is beyond anything I've seen. However, I appreciate the preciseness that Acura engineers incorporated into the procedure.

 

[drmanny3]

You mentioned the transmission. As far as I know there is no process for checking the level. There is only a fill bolt and one or two drain bolts. i just had the trans fluid changed. It requires not only transmission fluid, but gear oil as well. The fluids are proprietary Honda and are expensive. I live in a hilly area and figured that my trans sees excessive use and therefore went with a more frequent maintenance schedule.

 

[Concept]

Are there two maintenance schedules, then? I would surmise that transmission fluid and gear oil changes would be recommended after many miles or years if the car is not raced, regularly.

 

[drmanny3]

If I recall, if you drive for short drives in hilly areas, it places more effort on the trans. Or something like that. Bottom line, I think these cars are like tanks and can take a lot of abuse.

 

[Ion]

... Bottom line, I think these cars are like tanks and can take a lot of abuse.

It would seem that way. Most Endurance GT series race cars use significantly modified engines to hold up to the rigors of this type of racing. The rules state you only have to use mass produced block and heads, anything else can change. The NSX GT3 however uses a completely bone stock JNC1 engine, same as our cars. It's the only car in the field with a bone stock engine that I'm aware of. It is essentially a six figure race engine co-developed with Cosworth and fitted in to a low production car.