Gas leaking into oil?
 

Just read the latest copy of CR(Feb 2019) and they say that a lot of Honda CR-V owners with the 1.5T engine have reported gasoline leaking into their oil. Honda says that this is mainly caused in vehicles driven in very cold climates although no information on exactly what is causing this was provided. They did not mention the Honda 2.0T, or anything to do with Acura but thought I would post this as a heads up. Gasoline in the oil is bad news.

Thanks, but this is VERY old news has has been all over the Internet for quote sometime including this forum. Honda has a "software" fix for the 1.5T to help it get up to operating temp quicker which has also been documented to work well. We'll see if that "fixes" the OD issues but there has never been formal mention of the 2.0 having this same issue that I am aware of then a few folks claiming they are experiencing the same with their engines.

Ironically, I didn't have any oil dilution issues with the 1.5T in my 2017 Civic, but both my 2018 Accord and 2019 RDX with the 2.0T started smelling like gasoline under the hood and occasionally in the cabin at around the 3,500-mile mark.

Gas smell in cab
 

Yup, a well known issue; have your dealer try the software patch to see if that cures the issue.

Search around this and other Honda/Acura sites, I'm pretty sure you can come up with the TSB on the issue.

It is? Please list some references. I've only seen one post on this forum regarding it.

Are you associating this with the 1.5l turbo in the CR-V/Civic?

Yes, same engine.

Sorry, my bad, I thought you had the 1.5T in your car.

No, not the same engine at all.

Question, do you do lots of short trips in your car?

All direct injection engines will have some gas getting into the oil. Honda's 1.5l Turbo has been known to be worse than others. The 2.0l Turbo in the RDX has not had the same complaints, to date. This was one of the reasons I joined this forum. I wanted to see if this issue was going to show itself as the winter progressed. It has not.

swansong04, have you checked your oil dipstick? All will smell of gas, but unless it's way above the full mark, I would not be that concerned. However, If the gas smell in the cabin is strong, I would get that looked at.

Where was the level when you checked it?

That's good. It seems like you do not have the gas in oil issue then.

I've had multiple vehicles with direct injection in the last few years...

A 2016 CR-V with the 2.4L smelled like gasoline after being driven.
A 2017 Ridgeline with the 3.5L never smelled like gasoline.
A 2017 Civic Si with the 1.5T never smelled like gasoline.
A 2018 Accord with the 2.0T smelled like gasoline after being driven.
A 2019 RDX with the 2.0T smelled like gasoline after being driven.
A 2019 Ridgeline with the 3.5L doesn't smell like gasoline.

I didn't even have to open the hoods. Let's say I stopped at a grocery store and walked in to get milk and bananas then came back out to my car five minutes later. As soon as I started the car, the HVAC would pull the fuel odor into the cabin. It would clear out in a minute or so. If I parked the cars then opened the hoods and started sniffing around, it seemed slightly stronger on the passenger side. If I had previously set the HVAC to use recirculated air or if it chose it automatically, I wouldn't smell the fuel odor inside.

it wasn't an alarming amount of fuel odor as if gasoline were dripping from the vehicle, but closer to the level you might expect if you spilled a drop or two of fuel on your hands or clothes when refueling then got back into the vehicle.

The first few times it happened, I thought I was smelling fuel from nearby gas stations, but it continued to happen even when there were no gas stations around.

I find it ironic that the Civic, which has the 1.5T that's experiencing the fuel dilution issues, was one of my Hondas that didn't have the fuel odor. I drive a lot of different vehicles and I've only noticed this issue in relatively recent Hondas. Whatever the cause, a brand new vehicle shouldn't smell like gasoline under the hood or in the cabin. For me, it was mostly an annoying embarrassment when passengers would look at me and ask, "Do you smell gasoline?" when getting back into the vehicles and I'd answer, "Yes. I've had a few recent Hondas do that.

I couldn't agree more. a new Acura SHOULDN'T have this happening .

Did you call BS on the statement that Acura had never heard of the gas in the oil issue? There are many others who have posted here that their similar issue has been reported to Acura. It is amazing that Acura is pretending it has never heard of the issue before. I wonder if Honda has ever heard about a similar issue with the CR-V?

Here's the thing, the CR-V (powered by the L15B7 engine) uses a completely different engine than the RDX (powered by the K20C4 engine); two very-very different motors. While both engines are turbocharged and use Direct Injection, they are different animals and what goes wrong with one is in no way an indictment against the other.

Ok! Horsehoez, thank you! Seriously! L15 is the name for the new 1.5T line, I had been wondering but never really looked.

I'm also very happy to see the 2.0T is part of the
K series.

I was joking about Honda and the CR-V. I realize the RDX uses a different engine. However, Acura obviously is aware of reports of gas in the oil on the new RDX. Hopefully it will not be as big of a problem on the 2.0T as it reportedly is on the 1.5T. However, Honda for a very long time claimed there was no issue with the 1.5T engine either. It was only after China forced them to stop selling them that Honda rolled out a purported fix.

I know this is a little off topic, but my Honda dealer never heard of this issue. The 2019 Civics are having an issue with the emissions light, but that's the only thing going on down here. It's funny how most of these issues are happening are being reported in northern areas, I may be in the south, but it still gets pretty cold here.

My local Acura dealer knew all about the CRV gas in oil problem. How can a recall on all their CRV's with the 1.5L Turbo engine in China be something that no one knows about? Bravo SIerra.

My dealer never had it happen yet, we'll see...

All Owners of 2017 and 2018 CRV's have received recall notices for an oil change, a computer flash and a new A/C control unit.

Silly me, I thought this thread was about the Acura RDX.

That's not correct.

"Honda says it will begin rolling out a CR-V engine fix in December for models with a faulty turbocharged engine that can leak gasoline into the oil system. But the automaker will focus initially on just five northern states: Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. And the company is delaying the repair from its original November timetable. Honda says the fix will apply to all 2017 and 2018 Honda CR-Vs in those states with 1.5-liter turbo engines, which it estimates to be about 25,000 vehicles. Over the following two months, the company will extend the fix to those vehicles in 16 additional states: Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont." - https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...rollout-plans/

Well , was away on holidays for 2 weeks but when we got it back from Acura two weeks later same things. took it back again and they said there was nothing they could do about it , got a hold of Acura Canada and they said the same thing.. feeling kinda lost at this point. have a brand new car with gas in the oil and the dipstick is reading over full . I hope at some point they get this worked out... THIS CAN'T BE GOOD FOR THE ENGINE !!

I don't know - I changed the oil for the first time in my three year-old pressure washer equipped with a Honda GC190 engine last night and more water came out than oil! Apparently, the pump has been leaking into the crankcase, but it still starts easy, doesn't smoke, and has plenty of power. :)

see that's the thing, the wife drives it to work down the freeway 30km each way so there is no issue with the engine not heating up and it still has this problem.

Mine is above the mark after 7000km (4350 miles) and 6 months. The oil did not have a strong gas odour but I checked it after it had been sitting on a level pad overnight and it was about 4C (39F) inside the garage. I do make a very short trip every week day and a longer 25 minute commute two days a week.

Taking it in for its' first service in the next week or two.