Honda engine issues

[deoxy4]

I have had a number of Honda cars dating back to 1980 and have not had engine or transmission issues. I have done maintenance according to the owners manual or earlier than scheduled on these cars. I don't beat them and they have been reliable autos for me.

I have a 2003, 2.4L engine and have changed the oil at 5-6K miles with conventional 5W20 oil. This engine has given me no issues. It doesn't use oil between changes.

Recently I have become aware that this engine from 2003-2007 has had some issues with cam lobe galling of the exhaust valves and piston oil control ring sticking problems. There have been several complaints of these engines using oil at a rate of a quart per 600 miles. There have been no recalls related to these problems. Apparently the cam lobe galling has also been seen in some other Civic and Integra engines. Honda hasn't stepped up to take responsibility for the problems.

I don't plan to do anything different in my maintenance but I will be on the look out for these problem areas if they present themselves.

I have seen reference to these problems being very isolated in nature. But in visiting various sites it seems to be somewhat more than an isolated problem to me.

Anyone want to share their experience with their Honda or Integra engines, positive or negative?

 

[Kamele0N]

Try some 0w10 oil...if problem doesnt disappear try sae8 or sae6 instead!

 

[Nate1979]

Since when do manufacturers do recalls for engine issues? Recalls are primarily for safety issues.

 

[Jetronic]

Don't use ILSAC or energy conserving oils if you are likely to get sticky rings....

Use a low Noack oil only.

 

[Andrew1972]

Continue and carry on and don't worry about it.

Probably well over a million vehicles in that time period produced by Honda and due to shear numbers it comes out on internet of course. Likely a small %.

 

[Doog]

Switch your engine to QSUD or Pennzoil Platinum. Stick with the 5w20 and you'll have no issues. Both have a low NOACK. Keep the OCI at 5000.

 

[skyactiv]

deoxy4, your car is 13 model years old and long out of warranty. I wanna know what you feel Honda should do if your car starts consuming a lot of oil.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Honda has issued a TSB for newer K24 engines - we received a notice about it last year for the '11 in my sig. IIRC, it covers engines going back to 2008 with fewer than 125k miles.

 

[deoxy4]

Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
Honda has issued a TSB for newer K24 engines - we received a notice about it last year for the '11 in my sig. IIRC, it covers engines going back to 2008 with fewer than 125k miles.


Good that Honda has stepped up. From what I have been able to research 2003 and 2008 were the highest problem years.

 

[Robenstein]

Honda engines are well made. If you own a Honda, I would be far more worried about an automatic transmission going out before the engine.

 

[deoxy4]

I agree about their automatic transmissions. I did my research when I bought the car and opted for a manual.

For those who have experienced an oil consumption problem due to problems with oil control rings I found a post from a fellow member who had some success with a piston soak.


Originally Posted By: Kool1

How many mile are on your 03 CRV and how much oil is it consuming?


I purchased it with 130,000 and it is now right at 140,000 I've done the suggested piston soak through the plug holes with MMO/Seafoam mix and that helped alot! Went from about a qt every 500 miles to a qt every 1500miles. But that was with 5W30 in the sump.

I plan to do another piston soak and see how well the 10W30 stays in the sump. These engines were known for oil ring issues and consumption. I bought it very cheap because of that. Strange thing is, you don't see a hint of blue smoke from the exhaust! and it runs great!

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: deoxy4
I agree about their automatic transmissions. I did my research when I bought the car and opted for a manual.

For those who have experienced an oil consumption problem due to problems with oil control rings I found a post from a fellow member who had some success with a piston soak.


Originally Posted By: Kool1

How many mile are on your 03 CRV and how much oil is it consuming?


I purchased it with 130,000 and it is now right at 140,000 I've done the suggested piston soak through the plug holes with MMO/Seafoam mix and that helped alot! Went from about a qt every 500 miles to a qt every 1500miles. But that was with 5W30 in the sump.

I plan to do another piston soak and see how well the 10W30 stays in the sump. These engines were known for oil ring issues and consumption. I bought it very cheap because of that. Strange thing is, you don't see a hint of blue smoke from the exhaust! and it runs great!



If you want to do a penetrative piston soak without spending the money on overpriced Seafoam, try this. Use 50% ATF and 50% Acetone. Or just cut the MMO a bit with acetone.

 

[Yup]

Originally Posted By: deoxy4
I have had a number of Honda cars dating back to 1980 and have not had engine or transmission issues. I have done maintenance according to the owners manual or earlier than scheduled on these cars. I don't beat them and they have been reliable autos for me.

I have a 2003, 2.4L engine and have changed the oil at 5-6K miles with conventional 5W20 oil. This engine has given me no issues. It doesn't use oil between changes.

Recently I have become aware that this engine from 2003-2007 has had some issues with cam lobe galling of the exhaust valves and piston oil control ring sticking problems. There have been several complaints of these engines using oil at a rate of a quart per 600 miles. There have been no recalls related to these problems. Apparently the cam lobe galling has also been seen in some other Civic and Integra engines. Honda hasn't stepped up to take responsibility for the problems.

I don't plan to do anything different in my maintenance but I will be on the look out for these problem areas if they present themselves.

I have seen reference to these problems being very isolated in nature. But in visiting various sites it seems to be somewhat more than an isolated problem to me.

Anyone want to share their experience with their Honda or Integra engines, positive or negative?


My K20A3 Civic engine (2002) is reason enough to dislike Honda and their customer service. Cams shouldn't gall at 80k miles with Mobil 1 synthetic changed every 5-6 k miles. And if they do, it should be covered. That and SRS lights due to seatbelt sensors that may or may not be covered by warranty (have to pay an arm and leg to diagnose if it's due to the seatbelt and covered under lifetime seatbelt warranty). But, technically, my warranty was only 3 yrs 36k miles. So legally they don't have to cover. In terms of customer retention, it was a dumb move on their part. Right now I'm looking at Ford for my next car. Can't be that much worse...

 

[deoxy4]

Originally Posted By: Yup
Originally Posted By: deoxy4
I have had a number of Honda cars dating back to 1980 and have not had engine or transmission issues. I have done maintenance according to the owners manual or earlier than scheduled on these cars. I don't beat them and they have been reliable autos for me.

I have a 2003, 2.4L engine and have changed the oil at 5-6K miles with conventional 5W20 oil. This engine has given me no issues. It doesn't use oil between changes.

Recently I have become aware that this engine from 2003-2007 has had some issues with cam lobe galling of the exhaust valves and piston oil control ring sticking problems. There have been several complaints of these engines using oil at a rate of a quart per 600 miles. There have been no recalls related to these problems. Apparently the cam lobe galling has also been seen in some other Civic and Integra engines. Honda hasn't stepped up to take responsibility for the problems.

I don't plan to do anything different in my maintenance but I will be on the look out for these problem areas if they present themselves.

I have seen reference to these problems being very isolated in nature. But in visiting various sites it seems to be somewhat more than an isolated problem to me.

Anyone want to share their experience with their Honda or Integra engines, positive or negative?


My K20A3 Civic engine (2002) is reason enough to dislike Honda and their customer service. Cams shouldn't gall at 80k miles with Mobil 1 synthetic changed every 5-6 k miles. And if they do, it should be covered. That and SRS lights due to seatbelt sensors that may or may not be covered by warranty (have to pay an arm and leg to diagnose if it's due to the seatbelt and covered under lifetime seatbelt warranty). But, technically, my warranty was only 3 yrs 36k miles. So legally they don't have to cover. In terms of customer retention, it was a dumb move on their part. Right now I'm looking at Ford for my next car. Can't be that much worse...


I have always thought that you do your due diligence in purchasing a car and then cross your fingers. Much of it is luck. You certainly didn't luck out.

I was wondering how you detected your cam lobe galling problem. It is easy to detect with the valve cover off but I don't want to go thru that procedure at the moment. I will be able to inspect the lobes when I do a valve adjustment. Did you experience a rough idle or valve train noise on acceleration?

 

[Yup]

I had a slight ticking, nothing too major, and felt at 80k I should check the valves. Then saw the cam grooved a couple mm deep. You might get a tick, but engines are so ticky anyway it's tough to know.

 

[Mau]

I have an 07 CRV with the K24 in it. No oil consumption at all, 127K (km's ~ 80k miles) between OCI which I do every 7,500 KM (~4700 miles) which is usually at the 50% mark on the maintenance minder.

It's a solid motor but my only beef is the K24's on the Honda's are noisy (sounds like a diesel when you start driving) when cold. The K24 I had my old TSX wasn't this noisy when it was cold. I've read of people reporting the same on accord forums and crv forums

 

[deoxy4]

I have a 2003 version of the K24. I have a friend that dislikes foreign cars. He calls my engine a diesel powered sewing machine. He has a Cadillac Northstar with an oil consumption problem to where he uses a quart of oil every 500-600 miles. To each his own.

The injectors are really ticky but that is normal. I can put up with a little noise as long as I don't have a reliability issue.

 

[meep]

we've had a BUNCH of honda engines in the family from MY 86 to MY 2015. 06 civic churning away daily with ~340,000 miles on it now. It needed a HG at ~330k.

We had a relatively low mile 02 accord, I think that's a k24. smooth as silk on 0-20. If you're nervous about cam galling, you could move to a 10-30 and call it a day.

We have not had a single internal engine problem on a honda product. I'd say by now 10 of the things have gone through the family. One didn't receive an oil change until 60k. Yes, 60k. (it was sludged BAD and throwing an oil pressure light, but they hot-tanked it and found no damage. in his later years grandpa started disagreeing with oil changes).

-m

-m