I need some advice please… I have very little technical knowledge and rely on an approved Honda dealership group to look after my 2002 car, as they have done for my 12.5 years of ownership plus the year before that when my brother had the car so, they know it well and I trust them.
During an annual service, I was advised that the car had a slight oil leak and that at some stage I should get the oil gasket replaced, not urgent.
Some months later, the reading on the Oil Pressure gauge would sometimes dip to 1 or 2 whilst the engine was idling plus there was a slight smell of burnt oil coming from the outside vent behind the drivers door – nothing noticeable in the cabin nor was the car performance affected, the oil level on the dipstick was fine, no issue with the Low Oil Pressure Indicator light.
The oil gasket was then replaced and the Oil Pressure was stable for a few weeks, however, there was still some slight oil leakage (a few drops if car left on concrete for a few hours) and the smell remained. Then the Oil Pressure appeared to drop significantly, showing just above zero when idling, 2 or 3 when driving. Again, dipstick level fine, no issue with the Low Oil Pressure Indicator light.
The garage replaced the gasket again as they said that the first replacement may have been slightly damaged/crimped plus they changed an O ring.
Again, all fine for a few weeks, albeit there is still a very slight smell of oil occasionally (but, to be honest, I seem to have developed a habit of smelling the vents after any drive longer than 25 miles, not something I used to do!). Then this week the Oil Pressure Gauge again dipped to just above zero when idling after a 25+mile drive, 1 or 2 when driving. After shorter drives I haven’t noticed a problem.
The garage Master Technician has checked the ECU and feeds to the Low Oil Pressure Indicator light and has confirmed that everything appears to be working correctly, there is no problem with oil in the engine. He also obtained some sort of special tester that allowed the Gauge and the Sensor that feeds the Gauge to be tested and they appear to be fine too, however, at that time, the Gauge itself was quite happily showing a regular reading (4 or 5 I think) and didn’t seem to want to drop to zero as it was wont to do previously.
The garage therefore can not definitively prove what it causing the problem but have deduced that it may well be that the Sensor is temperamental as that seems to be the likely suspect. A new Sensor is £470. If it was £100, the Service Manager and I agree that it should be replaced, but at £500 neither of us are convinced so I thought I would ask for advice!
Searching the Forum I found this thread which seemed to suggest that I should probably just ignore the gauge reading …
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/showthread.php?13878-Oil-Pressure-Reading-on-Gauge-What-s-Normal&highlight=oil+pressure
Should I get the Sensor replaced, or is there possibly another solution/diagnosis, or did I read the thread above correctly and I should just ignore the problem? Again, at no point has the Low Oil Pressure Indicator light flickered or come on when the engine is running and the dipstick reading is fine.
Many thanks in anticipation and sorry for the length of this post,
K