Honda Earth Dreams Engine Oil Contamination with Fuel Class Action

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and Honda Motor Company, Ltd. equip some of their vehicles with the Earth Dreams 1.5L direct injection engine. The complaint for this class action alleges that the engine has a defect that causes the engine oil to become contaminated and diluted, which results in premature wear and/or failure of the engines or engine parts, higher maintenance costs, and sometimes stalling and other dangerous conditions.

The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons or entities in the US who are current or former owners or lessees of one of the following class vehicles:

• 2019-2021 Honda CR-V
• 2019-2021 Honda Civic
• 2018-2021 Accord

Alternatively, Minnesota, Colorado, and Illinois Classes have been defined.

One of the plaintiffs in this case, Eric Mackie, bought a new 2019 Honda CR-V that contains the Earth Dreams 1.5L engine. On or around January 13, 2022, when it had just over 25,000 miles on it, the complaint alleges, he took it to his dealership for an oil change. According to the complaint, “[t]he technical noted the smell of gasoline in his oil…”

After consulting Honda, Mackie brought the vehicle back to the dealership, the complaint claims, where the technician recorded, “Oil level is 20mm over full due to fuel in oil,” and recommended that the oil be changed again. Mackie had this done, paying more than $42 for it, only two weeks after his previous oil change.

He called Honda again, but the complaint alleges that the company said it could do nothing more for him and did not reimburse him for the second oil change.

Another of the plaintiffs, Joshua Biggs, has been pulling samples of his oil for lab analysis each time he goes for an oil change, and the complaint alleges, “The laboratory analysis has always revealed the presence of gasoline, ranging from .5% to 3%.”

The complaint for this class action alleges that the Earth Dreams 1.5L direct injection engine has a defect that causes the vehicle’s fuel to contaminate the engine oil, thus diluting it and causing it to be less viscous. This leads to premature wear and eventually failure of the engine bearings and other components and higher maintenance costs, the complaint claims. “Such premature failures[,]” the complaint alleges, “can also result in stalling events and other dangerous situations” for those occupying the vehicle and for those on the road around it.”

The complaint alleges that Honda has known about this defect for a long time but did not warn Mackie or others before they bought their vehicles. The complaint claims that Honda has been forced to stop selling the CR-Vs in China but has not recalled vehicles in the US.

According to the complaint, in June 2019, Honda extended its warranty on over 1 million 2017-2018 CR-Vs and 2016-2018 Civics. However, it has not informed all owners and lessees of the class vehicles of the problem, the complaint says, and it has not provided a real remedy for the problem.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Automobile
Tags: Defective Automobile, Engine