— A Honda "Earth Dreams" engine lawsuit alleges 2015-2018 Honda CR-Vs and 2016-2018 Honda Civics have 1.5-liter, 2-liter and 2.4-liter direct injection engines that are defective.
Filed by plaintiffs Troy Fath, Vincent Puma and Higinio Bautista, the proposed class-action lawsuit includes all former and current owners and lessees of the named Honda vehicles.
Plaintiff Troy Fath says he purchased a new 2017 Honda CR-V equipped with a 1.5-liter Earth Dreams engine in July 2017, a vehicle he still owns.
In January 2018 and with about 5,200 miles on the odometer, Fath’s wife was driving when the SUV went into limp mode and the warning lights illuminated. She pulled over and the Honda was towed to the dealership where the technician found the engine oil level was too high.
The dealer allegedly had the CR-V for about two weeks to replace the engine oil and filter.
When the vehicle had about 6,800 miles, the plaintiff smelled gasoline coming from the CR-V and took it back to the dealer and once again the oil and filter were replaced.
The oil and filter were replaced again when the vehicle had 7,600 miles after the plaintiff claims the oil level was too high. According to the lawsuit, the technician wrote:
“CHANGED OIL AND FILTER. OIL WAS ABOUT 1QT OVER FULL. HONDA IS IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING A SOLUTION.”
Fath says he then noticed the oil had fuel in it when the CR-V had about 8,900 miles, so he again visited the dealership and technicians replaced the oil and filter again.
The plaintiff says he contacted Honda but the automaker admits a problem exists but doesn't have a fix. Now he is stuck with a vehicle that has allegedly lost value due to the Honda engine.
According to the plaintiffs, Honda has concealed its knowledge the Earth Dreams engines are prone to defects that cause fuel to enter the engine oil, damaging the bearings and engines permanently. Decreased oil viscosity and premature wear allegedly cause the CR-V SUVs and Civic cars to stall and fail while driving.
The plaintiffs claim they wouldn't have purchased the vehicles, or would have paid a lot less for them, if Honda would have admitted the Earth Dreams engines have problems.
The lawsuit alleges the engines aren't properly lubricated once the oil loses its viscosity, causing too much strain on the engines when under higher loads. In addition to damaging the bearings, the rotating assemblies and other engine components allegedly can't handle the pressure without enough lubrication.
According to the Earth Dreams lawsuit, Honda has done nothing to help customers even when the vehicles are still covered by the powertrain warranties and sometimes even blames owners for not driving the vehicles for longer distances.
Further, the automaker hasn't recalled the CR-Vs and Civics to repair the engine problems, and no offers of reimbursement have been made.
The Honda Earth Dreams engine lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota - Fath, et al., vs. Honda North America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Gustafson Gluek PLLC, Sauder Schelkopf, and Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC.
