I just washed the car and did my routine check of the engine and found something I've never seen before.

On my 8500 mile Fit with a OEM filter I found an oil film on the air intake side (its the green side on my car). This is troubling and puzzling. This is the side of the filter that the air comes *into* not the side that feeds the engine.

I found no evidence of oil anywhere in the housing encasing the filter. Could the oil be part of the filter like K&N does???

Since I notice my oil was low recently alarms are going off in my paranoid head

1) Anyone else noticed this?
2) How can this happen?
3) What does this mean in terms of the engine.

I can't tell if it is engine oil by looks or smell

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks much,
mozar

 

Don't worry about it, it is probably coming from the PCV hose. Just follow it from the side of the intake box to the tubes right in front of the throttle body. Just wipe it clean and see if happens again by the next oil change.

 

i noticed on some hondas, when you take the filter out of the bag (oem), its oily from the factory as well

 

Thank you for the reply

Would you mind posting a pic of what you are referring to? I can't figure it out... I couldn't even find the PCV valve

 

Thanks for that bit of information

In doing reading up on the subject I didn't realize that oil is used on certain high-end air filters (K&N in particular) as a way to trap dirt more effectively.

It just may be that Honda uses this practice and I didn't realize it when I first got the car. I will note that
a) the oil only shows up on the green side of the filter
b) it isn't drenched in oil, more like a light coating that is exposed if you rub your fingers over the green side.

Thanks again

 

yeah its all over the plastic too

 

Can you check the green side of the air filter to see if it is oily?

I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

P.S. I'm going to post a seperate topic on this to see if I can get more help.