2023 Civic - Valve Cover Leak

[Rand]

I can’t get past how ugly that engine looks with that thing sticking out in front of the plastic housing.

We need to come up with a bitog appropriate name for it..

 

[PF52]

We need to come up with a bitog appropriate name for it..

You mean the exhaust manifold and heat shield? How about "Proboscis", which means a long flexible snout such as the trunk of an elephant.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Not sure why anyone would think this is an issue. Annoying, sure. But it was fixed and covered by the warranty. No biggie IMO.

I can see where it becomes an issue If it cracks/leaks every 30k miles once out of warranty. That's worse than BMW.

 

[nicholas]

Is this a common issue on the current gen Civics? Plastic vs's or poor QC control.

The K20C2 is a nice engine. Port injection. Lot of room in engine bay too. Nice commuter cars.

Honda is just garbage now.
They don't care.....people will keep buying them

 

[buster]

The engine is great it's just the plastic VC. I'd throw an aftermarket one on.

 

[KrisZ]

The engine is great it's just the plastic VC. I'd throw an aftermarket one on.

Why? That leak certainly was not caused by the material. Probably poorly applied RTV or gasket installation.
Plastic valve covers have been around for over two decades now. If the material was a problem we would’ve found out by now. Similar to the plastics used in cooling systems.

 

[buster]

Why? That leak certainly was not caused by the material. Probably poorly applied RTV or gasket installation.
Plastic valve covers have been around for over two decades now. If the material was a problem we would’ve found out by now. Similar to the plastics used in cooling systems.

Maybe. I've been reading that it's due to the plastic VC.

 

[KrisZ]

Maybe. I've been reading that it's due to the plastic VC.

If it’s a widespread problem on these Hondas, specifically then perhaps material is to blame, but I have my doubts.

 

[demarpaint]

Port injection, nice!!! I'm pretty sure they'll get the leaks sorted out.

 

[andrew_j]

Honda will take of issue in warranty and correct design moving forward. Thankfully they (VW too) take that approach vs other makers like Subaru, GM, Ford they bury heads in sand and keep sending them out knowing they are bad.

 

[Vitamin Yoda]

It could be a hairline crack in the VC. If it is, it will come back pretty soon. Happened to me on a 5.7 HEMI, so I had to do the job twice. The second I replaced the entire passenger side valve covet with a brand new one, and it never leaked again.

 

[pbm]

Isn’t the civic si rated 10/10 by C&D?

Doesn’t seem like such a bad vehicle. Can’t say we’ve had any issues in ca 90k each in my HAH or our odyssey.

Not sure what you were really expecting from an oversized and overpriced fwd wannabe sports car.

For what they are I think they’re ok.

Car and Driver, Motor Trend etc...always give Honda's great reviews and act like they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. The only brand new Honda (2001 Accord) that I ever bought was really just average (especially compared to my brothers 1986 and 1991 Accords)....Honda ain't what it used to be IMO...I much prefer Mazda or Toyota.

 

[nicholas]

Car and Driver, Motor Trend etc...always give Honda's great reviews and act like they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. The only brand new Honda (2001 Accord) that I ever bought was really just average (especially compared to my brothers 1986 and 1991 Accords)....Honda ain't what it used to be IMO...I much prefer Mazda or Toyota.

Mazda today is what Honda used to be.
I just sold my last Honda ever....2015 odyssey.
What a wild parts monster that was.
Surprisingly all very common problems on various odyssey forums....yet they all think the odyssey is reliable.

 

[ls1mike]

It could just be how they speced the cover. Wrong material, too thin, too small of an o-ring/gasket grove. The Buick has a plastic one that work fine, but had a recall to fix the front valve cover as heat affected it. The new style fixed the problem. Could be similar.