Class Action Alleges Honda Hid Engine Oil Dilution ‘Defect’ in Newer CR-V, Civic, Accord Models

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A proposed class action alleges certain newer model-year Honda CR-V, Civic and Accord vehicles are equipped with defective 1.5-liter turbo direct injection engines that allow fuel to contaminate and dilute engine oil, causing a score of costly and sometimes catastrophic issues. 

The 100-page lawsuit says the 1.5-liter turbo direct injection engines in 2019-2023 Honda CR-Vs, 2019-2022 Honda Civics and 2018-2022 Honda Accords all suffer from “an identical and inherent” engine oil dilution defect that can lead to unlubricated engine components, reduced efficiency, excess wear, increased upkeep and repair costs, noxious gasoline fumes and, in the worst cases, catastrophic engine failure and stalling while driving. 

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“Honda markets its 1.5-liter turbo direct injection engines in a manner to convince customers that they are buying a revolutionary product of the highest quality specifically aimed at power, efficiency, and reliability,” the suit states. “But with those promises came a series of problems for Class Vehicle owners that Honda actively concealed.” 

As a result of the Honda turbo direct injection engine oil defect, drivers are often required to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for replacement parts, repairs and frequent oil changes, the case says. Worse, many drivers’ engines are still plagued by the apparent defect even after undergoing repairs, which at best only temporarily fix symptoms of the problem, the filing says. Compounding the damage caused by the defect is that the engine problems at issue often manifest over time, and are discovered by Honda drivers long after their warranty period expires, according to the complaint. 

The lawsuit alleges Honda has “long been aware” that its 1.5-liter turbo engine in the affected CR-V, Civic and Accord models was prone to excessive oil dilution, even before the vehicles were put on the market. In October 2018, Honda acknowledged in a letter to dealerships that the engines “may experience engine oil dilution” and that this “may result in increased oil level and can cause a [cylinder] misfire,” the suit says. In December of that year, the case relays, Honda Canada announced a product update and warranty extension for 2016-2018 Civics equipped with an engine displaying the defect. 

Despite this, however, Honda has failed to offer a reliable solution to the engine oil dilution defect or recall affected CR-V, Civic and Accord models, and attempted instead to “place the blame on drivers,” the filing states. 

“Instead, Honda has largely only instructed consumers to obtain more frequent oil changes and drive the Class Vehicles for longer periods of time in warmer weather,” the case says. “Neither corrective action remedies the Engine Defect, nor does it make the vehicles any more dependable for their owners.”

According to the complaint, the oil dilution defect is “a direct consequence” of an apparent “technological advancement” Honda introduced into its U.S. vehicles back in 2013: gasoline direct injection technology (GDI). Whereas traditional, i.e., non-direct, fuel injection systems pre-mix gasoline and air in an engine chamber just outside the cylinder, in a GDI engine, air and gasoline are not pre-mixed before entering the combustion chamber for ignition, the complaint explains. Instead, high-pressurized gasoline is injected directly into the cylinder, which causes unburned fuel to stick to the cylinder wall, the case relays. This unburned fuel then gets scraped by the piston ring and travels down into the crankshaft area before ultimately dropping into the crankcase and mixing with the engine oil, according to the suit. The combination of air, unburned fuel and engine oil is known as “blow-by,” the lawsuit says. 

The filing states that when engine oil is mixed and diluted with fuel, the oil loses its lubricating properties and fails to sufficiently coat the internal engine parts it is designed to protect. Although minor levels of blow-by may be expected in a GDI engine, affected Honda CR-V, Civic and Accord models experience an excessive amount of blow-by, which is uncommon, the complaint alleges. 

This is due to Honda’s engine design, the suit elaborates. Whereas an engine will typically vaporize and burn off excess fuel from contaminated oil, the GDI engine in the Honda models at issue was designed to “be more efficient and produce less heat,” meaning there is not enough heat present to burn off excess fuel, the filing relays.

“Consequently, gasoline is shot deep inside the GDI engine’s cylinder and ignited at colder temperatures than most engines,” the case claims.

Per the suit, a Honda spokesperson has acknowledged the oil dilution defect, stating that the class vehicles’ cooling system was designed to be highly efficient, causing the engine to therefore be slow to reach a normal operating temperature that would cause fuel to readily evaporate and be routed back to the combustion chamber via the crankcase ventilation system. 

The lawsuit looks to cover all persons in the United States and its territories who bought or leased a model year 2019-2023 Honda CR-V, 2019-2022 Honda Civic, or 2018-2022 Honda Accord equipped with a 1.5-liter turbo direct injection engine. 

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