[FASTFJR]

So I finally heard back from American Honda today after opening a case with them on Jan 8. 2019. We have had oil dilution in our 2018 Touring since buying it in April 2018. We are located in central WI. We have had the oil changed 2x within 4,000 miles for oil levels up to inch over the high mark. We also had the "fix" done in early November 2018. The oil is already 1" over the high mark after this fix.

Today Martha told me that American Honda can no longer help me and that the vehicle is operating as designed. It is now up to me to make sure that I take long drives and adequately warm the engine every time I drive. I was advised not to take short trips especially in cold weather. I was also told that the Fix was not a fix that it was an "improvement" and that in summer I should no see oil dilution. She said it is normal for the oil to have gas in the oil. I asked her if a quart of gas in the oil was OK and she said she could not answer that question and that if I had further concerns I should take it back to the dealer and have the oil changed on my dime. I asked if she could put this writing and she said it was Honda America's policy not to put things in writing but I find it interesting that they tape the phone calls.

Honda America doesn't care and will not help you. Long time Honda customers have said they always believed that Honda would do the right thing well I think you can forget about that. Good luck to any of you that develop this issue because you are on your own.

That sucks.....Thats a nice Big FU from Honda

 

[HondaBlue]

Not good news.

 

[TEXASCRVs]

Bad news indeed. I cannot understand American Honda's poor customer support considering your oil level is 1" over the full line.

 

[valvelifter]

I am bringing in my car to the dealer next week for the heat and dilution issues. I have oil above 1" on my dipstick. They will keep it overnight and test out the heat issue in the morning, as it will drop below -20C that morning.

I expect Honda Canada to do a better job than Honda USA and help me out on this. All cars have issues and I am not looking for the perfect car; I am aware especially with things the way they are today, that cars are rolled out fast to market and issues are dealt with after release. I would live with the heat issues knowing that the car was solid. Like I said, all cars have their quirks. But then the fuel in oil issues comes into play. Asking every expert out there about oil dilution, and every expert out there tells me that it simply cannot be good for an engine for the long term. I planned to keep my CR-V for the long term. I sold my JDM Accord with 376,000 km on the odometer, and the A/C was still as strong as ever. It never leaked a drop of oil. Never one DTC. I bought my CR-V because my Sonata 2.4L engine died on me. I thought that by going back to Honda, I would get a car where I could go worry-free for years and years. Now every time I take out the car, I wonder what damage I am doing to my engine as I am over 1" above on my dipstick and the dealer could only accommodate me next week. Who needs another stress in their life like this? I have enough things to worry about in life, I don't need car problems now, especially from a 3 month old car.

Anyway, rant over. I just expect better handling of this issue from them.

 

[skalsky]

Soon after I purchased my new CRV 2017 touring in the summer of 2017 I started frequenting the boards and saw the problem with the oil dilution and lack of heat. Reading most of the posts it looked like the root cause or the similar situation of the problems was the engine not heating very well when cold outside. I know I paid for a new top of the line car in it price range and would expect it to perform better, but it was very easy to test out my theory. I would run it in “S” mode and turn off the automatic heat and turn the heater fan to off and select recirculating air not outside (the fan would still run but very slowly). the engine would start to warm up within about 4 blocks, then I would start the fan on low and add another speed as it got to almost full temp. when that happened, I would shift to “D” and put the heater on auto. This would all happen with two miles from my home. The rest of my 5-mile commute was toasty no matter how cold it was outside. Last month I received the recall and had it done. I noticed at starting the idle for the initial start the RPM was about twice what it was for about 2-3 min, then went down. I continued my old ways of starting and running and the temp seemed to reach full within half the time as before. But the mileage has gone down a bit. Through all this before and after the fix I noticed no gas smell or high oil. It would be nice to have a set and forget car but with the other features the car has the heating problem is a very small trade off to get all the new driver assist features. I purchased a new 2007 CRV and still have it. through all the years I have been very please with Honda standing behind any overall problems. I have received new door locks, a refinished rear lift gate all from recalls with no cost to me. I feel confident if any short- or long-term problems arrive from this “problem” my Honda dealer will stand behind it. I have over 100K on my 2007 and will expect that or more on my 2017. As others have said on the boards, stick you head under the hood every once in awhile and be aware of you vehicle and how it runs.

 

[valvelifter]

Agree - the fact that, for instance, after the "fix", the fan still comes on max when I use my factory remote starter, indicates to me that they really didn't think this thing through. They probably changed a line or two of code and rolled it out. If updates were over the air, I wouldn't be too concerned; just roll out another update incrementally. But for Honda to spend all this money on an update that didn't change much, it doesn't impress me.

 

[tony22]

Agree - the fact that, for instance, after the "fix", the fan still comes on max when I use my factory remote starter, indicates to me that they really didn't think this thing through. They probably changed a line or two of code and rolled it out. If updates were over the air, I wouldn't be too concerned; just roll out another update incrementally. But for Honda to spend all this money on an update that didn't change much, it doesn't impress me.

I had the fix done and mine doesn't do that. The fan speed seems to vary with the outside temperature. Colder = higher fan speed. This morning it was warmer and the fan speed was lower.

 

[valvelifter]

I had the fix done and mine doesn't do that. The fan speed seems to vary with the outside temperature. Colder = higher fan speed. This morning it was warmer and the fan speed was lower.

I don't have my system on 'auto' which might explain this - I tried out 'auto' last week but with temps <-20C, the fan remained on the setting close to maximum (second to highest I believe). I got nothing but cold air. It was stupid. It doesn't make sense to keep the fan that way. I reverted back to manual and reduced the fan speed to LO to warm up the engine and bingo, a few minutes later I got (some) heat. Still wasn't enough to warm up properly though as I need to hit the highway to get enough heat with these outside temps.

I feel like we are going back in time. In the old 747s, they had a flight engineer that manually adjusted parameters like mixture, etc... Then automation came out that removed the need for manual manipulation and thus the 3rd pilot.

Now with such technology available, I have to play the role of cabin temperature specialist in addition to keeping my eyes on the road.

 

[mikefocke]

Christopher Hamilton v. American Honda Motor Company Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-04367-TWT, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Join.

 

[Genesis]

Christopher Hamilton v. American Honda Motor Company Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-04367-TWT, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Join.

Here is the post
https://www.classaction.org/media/hamilton-v-american-honda-motor-company-inc.pdf

 

[TEXASCRVs]

...Honda America doesn't care and will not help you. Long time Honda customers have said they always believed that Honda would do the right thing well I think you can forget about that. Good luck to any of you that develop this issue because you are on your own.

The following is from the Facebook 5th Gen group. Not good news but Honda Canada at least seems to be trying. American Honda does not care as long as their sales remain good.

Here’s some news from Alberta Canada... I had the N60 update done last Nov after a significant problem with the oil level, like many have posted previously. Here’s the summary:

Since I purchased the vehicle, I initially brought it in for service because it was starting to sound like a VW diesel. This was before the first oil change was due since purchasing the vehicle. The dealer discovered that the oil was full of gas and thin “like water”, in addition to being way overfilled.

They had my vehicle for a month awaiting parts to replace the top half of the engine due to damage. I opened a case with Honda Canada and they gave me a free 8 year warranty as a result.

This major work was completed in April 2018, and I have since had 4 free oil changes as the level continued to rise every few thousand kms. Then the ‘fix’ came out in Nov and I was one of the first at my dealer to get it. It’s been 3 months since N60 was done. I just checked the oil last week, and guess what? Yep, still way too high, well over the orange and up the stick, and reeking of unburnt fuel. Today, the dealer changed the oil again, no questions asked, and indicated on my work order that the level was too high, and then applied a ‘new’ software update. They also had me fill out a similar questionnaire as last time about driving habits, etc. They have an ongoing open case with Honda’s tech line for my vehicle.

If you’re curious, I drive 30 kms twice daily on the highway at 80-100 kph, which is not a short or frequent trip, and this winter has been quite balmy so far so I’m not sure about the extreme cold claim that has been made.

I’m guessing that N60 does nothing to fix these issues and it sounds like Honda is still working on this, at least in my case.

 

[roddie17]

Call the appropriate state Attorney Generals Office and file a claim under the lemon law.

 

[tony22]

I don't have my system on 'auto' which might explain this - I tried out 'auto' last week but with temps <-20C, the fan remained on the setting close to maximum (second to highest I believe).

My system is not set to Auto. Never use it.

 

[tony22]

Call the appropriate state Attorney Generals Office and file a claim under the lemon law.

I thought Lemon Law claims were only valid if filed within the first 12 months of ownership.

 

[fore10]

You know a lot of these post sure seem fishy!

 

[S2k_Dude]

I thought Lemon Law claims were only valid if filed within the first 12 months of ownership.

In GA, it's 2 years or 24,000 miles whichever comes first.

 

[taal2020]

Does it help if you use a block heater ?

 

[019283]

Does it help if you use a block heater ?

I use block heater and its great..remote start at -13 celcus and about 3 to 4 minutes you have warm air.....approx 18 houses to stop sign and have 7 bars and heat...its great and oil stays same level.....Honda even say cold starts and idling cause the oil dilution...so in my case I say it help a lot with a bonus of never getting into a cold SUV.....its expensive though...265 Canadian installed....dealer has asked if it helps and I told them night and day difference from last winter BUT the cheap ******* wouldnt pay for it..lol

 

[valvelifter]

I use block heater and its great..remote start at -13 celcus and about 3 to 4 minutes you have warm air.....approx 18 houses to stop sign and have 7 bars and heat...its great and oil stays same level.....Honda even say cold starts and idling cause the oil dilution...so in my case I say it help a lot with a bonus of never getting into a cold SUV.....its expensive though...265 Canadian installed....dealer has asked if it helps and I told them night and day difference from last winter BUT the cheap ******* wouldnt pay for it..lol

I asked my dealer to order a block heater for me, to install when I take it next week to diagnose the oil and heat issues. The SA told me that (1) they hardly install them and (2) it is not recommended to install once it leaves the dealer because putting it on at this point (~12k km) will cause coolant to leak.

Does that make sense? I don't have experience with these heaters as it's my first time getting one on.