— Honda oil dilution problems have caused a lawsuit that alleges the Earth Dreams 1.5L direct injection engines are defective in 2019-2021 Honda CR-V, 2019-2021 Honda Civic and 2018-2021 Honda Accord vehicles.
The Honda oil dilution lawsuit was filed by three CR-V owners: Eric Mackie (Minnesota), Joshua Biggs (Colorado) and Ruth Mattison (Illinois).
The Honda oil dilution class action lawsuit alleges Earth Dreams engine defects cause a build-up of non-combusted fuel in the oiling system which leaves the oil unable to properly protect the bearings.
This causes contact between the connecting rods and connecting rod bearings, and the crankshaft and main bearings.
The Honda bearings allegedly prematurely wear out and cause stalled engines as well as complete engine failures. The plaintiffs in the oil dilution lawsuit also allege Honda knows about the problems but has failed to adequately repair the vehicles.
In 2018, Honda announced a customer service program for vehicle owners in Canada and the U.S., with the U.S. program targeted toward 2017-2018 Honda CR-V vehicles.
Honda focused on states where it gets cold because the automaker said the oil dilution problem occurred almost exclusively in cold weather.
In May 2019, Honda extended the factory warranty on more than 1 million 2017-2018 Honda CR-V and 2016-2018 Honda Civic vehicles following complaints of gasoline mixing with engine oil in vehicles equipped with 1.5-liter Earth Dreams engines.
In September 2020, a federal judge approved a Honda oil dilution class action lawsuit settlement which included 2016-2018 Honda Civics and 2017-2018 Honda CR-Vs equipped with 1.5-liter Earth Dreams engines.
As part of the "benefits" of the settlement, owners received an extended warranty even though the warranty extension had already been in place since May 2019. Customers in cold-weather states could also get a product update, something that was already available for free to customers.
None of the Honda oil dilution lawsuit settlement required engine replacements or full reimbursements, but as long as customers met multiple requirements, owners could receive reimbursements for towing, past diagnostic charges and past oil changes.
According to this oil dilution class action, Honda tells customers they can fix the problem by driving the vehicles longer distances instead of Honda properly repairing the alleged oil dilution problems.
The Honda oil dilution lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota: Mackie, et al., vs. American Honda Motor Company, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Gustafson Gluek, Sauder Schelkopf, and Migliaccio & Rathod.
