[Mikulllll]

I prolonged getting an oil change for sometime and one day my 2010 Honda Odyssey was acting strange. Sounded like the car was going to break down on me. I got to my destination poured a quart of oil in the tank and the oil sizzled. I don’t think there was any oil in at this point. Later that day I filled the rest of the oil tank without changing the filter and there was white smoke coming from my exhaust. Ever since then my car has been starting weird, almost like the gears are struggling to move and then the noise goes away. Is there a cleaner I can use to add to the oil to smooth out this noise and get rid of the smoke?? The smoke has died down a lot, but it is still faint coming from the exhaust. Is there a bigger underlying issue that I may not be aware of?? Any advice is helpful. Thanks

 

[thscott]

Welcome to this forum. Of course it’s never good for any engine to starve of oil. If that’s what happened in your case, you may have caused major engine damage.
You probably should take it to a trusted mechanic and have him assess the situation.
Sounds like you didn’t just prolong an oil change, but rather never checked the oil level and allowed it to get dangerously low.
(Many people check their oil level often I do it at least once a week.)

BTW, there is no oil tank. You add oil to the engine and it collects at the bottom of the engine in what is commonly referred to as the oil pan.
Good luck.

 

[BertS]

I prolonged getting an oil change for sometime and one day my 2010 Honda Odyssey was acting strange. Sounded like the car was going to break down on me. I got to my destination poured a quart of oil in the tank and the oil sizzled. I don’t think there was any oil in at this point. Later that day I filled the rest of the oil tank without changing the filter and there was white smoke coming from my exhaust. Ever since then my car has been starting weird, almost like the gears are struggling to move and then the noise goes away. Is there a cleaner I can use to add to the oil to smooth out this noise and get rid of the smoke?? The smoke has died down a lot, but it is still faint coming from the exhaust. Is there a bigger underlying issue that I may not be aware of?? Any advice is helpful. Thanks

Did you check the oil level on the dipstick? If so, did it register any oil? How many quarts did you add? Does the dipstick show it is full now?

As @thscott mentions it seems like the engine might have been dangerously low on oil, and if that was the case there could be engine damage and as he states should be looked at by a trusted mechanic.

What trim level (LX, EX, EX-L, or Touring) do you have? If it is an EX-L or Touring the engine has VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) which especially in the 2008 - 2010 Generation 3 Odysseys they have been known to burn oil. VCM can be disabled however which can stop this issue. This is secondary though to whether there is engine damage.

Good Luck.

 

[Mikulllll]

I have an LX model @BertS. When I checked the dipstick it showed the oil was very low. I wiped it and checked again and the level was very low. I use this van as a commuter car only and usually rush out the door off to work. The day I found the engine acting strange, I had poured a quart of oil in. Later when I got back to the car I put another quart in and then finally the next day topped it off. I have not checked the stick since then but noticed today that in the rain and fog it looked like my exhaust was bellowing out a decent amount of smoke. Is this normal or something I should be worried about. The noise upon start up gets less each time but it is still prevalent. I also would like to add that upon adding oil to the tank there was some spillage around the oil cap because I didn’t have a funnel. It was a bit messy but it was a drastic time for me. I am worried about this situation.
@thscott I appreciate the information. I definitely did not check the oil on a weekly basis, sometimes I don’t check it monthly. I messed this one up. Is there an oil tank cleaner you can add to the oil to clean the sludge that might possibly be in there from the prolonged oil replacement?

 

[pkrface]

I have an LX model @BertS. When I checked the dipstick it showed the oil was very low. I wiped it and checked again and the level was very low. I use this van as a commuter car only and usually rush out the door off to work. The day I found the engine acting strange, I had poured a quart of oil in. Later when I got back to the car I put another quart in and then finally the next day topped it off. I have not checked the stick since then but noticed today that in the rain and fog it looked like my exhaust was bellowing out a decent amount of smoke. Is this normal or something I should be worried about. The noise upon start up gets less each time but it is still prevalent. I also would like to add that upon adding oil to the tank there was some spillage around the oil cap because I didn’t have a funnel. It was a bit messy but it was a drastic time for me. I am worried about this situation.
@thscott I appreciate the information. I definitely did not check the oil on a weekly basis, sometimes I don’t check it monthly. I messed this one up. Is there an oil tank cleaner you can add to the oil to clean the sludge that might possibly be in there from the prolonged oil replacement?

What happens when you run an engine low on oil is none of the internal components are getting proper lubrication and wear accelerates drastically putting the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of miles on the engine in a matter of minutes. That includes the piston rings which are supposed to keep oil from getting into the combustion chamber and getting burned along with the gasoline sending it out the exhaust. The significant amount of smoke out the exhaust and the rattle/knocking noise at start up pretty much guarantees you have ruined the engine. At this point you may be able to limp it along for a period of time (anybody's guess how long) by making sure to keep the oil topped up. The frequency needed to top up will be drastically increased at this point and you really should be checking every day or two until you have a feel for how often it reaches the low mark on the dipstick and needs oil added. Running it below the add mark will only speed up the ultimate demise of the engine, but also don't be surprised if one day soon while you are driving you here a loud bang and the engine dies leaving you along side the road. There really isn't anything that can be done at this point other than replace the engine or the entire car.

 

[Mikulllll]

Thanks @pkrface for the info. That is upsetting. And thank you @BertS and @thscott for you info. I am going to let my mechanic check it out and I’ll update this post.
All the best to you

 

[MrRangerZr1]

the day I found the engine acting strange, I had poured a quart of oil in. Later when I got back to the car I put another quart in and then finally the next day topped it off.

Wow...the oil level was really really low. Hope you don't have permanent internal damage, there's no fixing then.

 

[marvinstockman]

Miku, the sizzle might have been oil that dripped down the outside of the engine when you were putting oil in. I actually once started an engine fire when putting oil into a hot engine, and I accidentally got oil on the outside of the engine.

Have you mechanic do an oil and filter change, cross your fingers, take a deep breath, and start checking your oil every week, when the engine is cold. Don't use it for long trips until you get a feeling for what is going on.

 

[Mikulllll]

Thanks @marvinstockman. I am going to drop off to the mechanic and see if they can look more into it. I appreciate everyone’s advice