Though I don't own one I nevertheless became involved in a discussion about fuel dilution in Honda's 1.5T engine on a different forum.
As part of this I looked for every UOA I could find on this engine and found a dozen on Civic forums. Of this dozen:
1) 5 had fuel dilution tested by gas chromotography. All 5 had fuel dilution greater than 5%
2) 10 of the 12 used 0w-20. Used 100C viscosity ranged from 5.4 to 6.8 cSt, with a typical reading in the low 6s ( so shedding 2-3 cSt from new)
3) 2 used xxw-30 and had used 100C viscosities of 7.1 and 7.5 (shedding 3-4 cSt)
So, this engine sure seems to be a fuel diluter design, or at least with Honda's knowledge. This consistency suggests manufacturing variances, break-in or driving styles aren't the culprit.
This engine is being used on the Civic, CRV and Accord with the better part of a million 1.5Ts being produced every year. With this volume and this risk, one would think Honda would be absolutely sure that fuel dilution like this was relatively harmless. On the other hand, Honda's record isn't exactly unblemished and this level of fuel dilution could be the result of difficult compromises, like preventing LSPI, with the ultimate outcome in doubt. And for those of us that have been around a while, any fuel dilution seems like a bad thing.
So what do you folks think? Honda has this all under control? This is just the new normal so get used to it? This is a problem but probably won't have an impact until warranty is long over? Don't drive next to one on the highway? Would you buy one?
Just curious. Thanks.
As part of this I looked for every UOA I could find on this engine and found a dozen on Civic forums. Of this dozen:
1) 5 had fuel dilution tested by gas chromotography. All 5 had fuel dilution greater than 5%
2) 10 of the 12 used 0w-20. Used 100C viscosity ranged from 5.4 to 6.8 cSt, with a typical reading in the low 6s ( so shedding 2-3 cSt from new)
3) 2 used xxw-30 and had used 100C viscosities of 7.1 and 7.5 (shedding 3-4 cSt)
So, this engine sure seems to be a fuel diluter design, or at least with Honda's knowledge. This consistency suggests manufacturing variances, break-in or driving styles aren't the culprit.
This engine is being used on the Civic, CRV and Accord with the better part of a million 1.5Ts being produced every year. With this volume and this risk, one would think Honda would be absolutely sure that fuel dilution like this was relatively harmless. On the other hand, Honda's record isn't exactly unblemished and this level of fuel dilution could be the result of difficult compromises, like preventing LSPI, with the ultimate outcome in doubt. And for those of us that have been around a while, any fuel dilution seems like a bad thing.
So what do you folks think? Honda has this all under control? This is just the new normal so get used to it? This is a problem but probably won't have an impact until warranty is long over? Don't drive next to one on the highway? Would you buy one?
Just curious. Thanks.