Class Action: Potential Latent Defect in ’15-’18 Honda Civic, CR-V, Accord Models Could Cause Total Engine Failure

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2015 through 2018 Honda Civic, CR-V and Accord models are the focus of a proposed class action lawsuit filed by a consumer who claims the vehicles’ 1.5-liter direct injection turbocharged engines suffer from an inherent and potentially catastrophic defect. According to the 35-page complaint, the latent defect within the engines can cause engine oil to become diluted with gasoline. After gasoline has entered into an engine’s crankcase, the gasoline dilutes the engine oil to the point where it can no longer protect and lubricate an engine, the suit says. The alleged defect can ultimately cause premature engine wear and eventually total engine failure, the lawsuit claims.

The case goes on to state that under normal conditions, un-combusted gasoline would accumulate in an engine’s lubricant oil pan before evaporating due to the heat of the engine and ending up back in the engine’s combustion chamber as fuel. Owners of the aforementioned vehicle models, however, have reported that un-combusted gasoline mixes with engine oil and “manifests in a strong smell of gasoline inside the cabin,” according to the lawsuit.

As for Honda’s alleged role, the lawsuit charges the automaker is “well aware” of the fuel dilution defect in its 1.5-liter direct injection turbocharged engines, and went so far as to issue a recall of 350,000 Civic and CR-V models in March 2018. Unfortunately, Honda allegedly continues to conceal the defect in the class vehicles and has yet to issue an expanded recall or offer adequate repair options to proposed class members.