What is more reliable for the long term 2.0L vs 1.5L Turbo

Which do you think is more reliable with regular oil changes?


  • Total voters
    127

Gruber

Senior Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Threads
2
Messages
2,309
Reaction score
1,521
Location
TN
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring; 2009 Honda CR-V EX-L
Country flag
I put my vote in for the 2.0 for the reason of less stuff to break. My experiences with my 1.5L have not really been bad at all with the engine. In fact mine actually when the oil change comes around is a very tiny bit low on the dipstick. As for getting up to operating temp which I saw mentioned in this thread our civic is actually the quickest compared to our other vehicles to get there. For the oil operating temp I use something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073XKQQQW?ie=UTF8&psc=1&tag=amazonquery2-20 that I plug into the OBD port and get the temperatures from that. When my wife takes it to work the oil temperature is at 210 or a little less before she gets there and it takes her 10 miles to get there. (In the winter it would take a little longer) When I lived in Connecticut for a short time where we got the car it was still pretty quick to get the oil temp to the operating temp as well even in the winter it reached its temp about 3/4 of the way there. My biggest concern is with the CVT more than the engine though. I just have this feeling is all with the CVT don't really trust it.
What temperatures are you actually getting from this? Is it really labeled "oil temperature"?
Sponsored

 

mvela

Senior Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Threads
17
Messages
1,178
Reaction score
630
Location
Orange, Tx
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic sedan lx 6mt and 2018 Honda Civic hatchback ex auto
Country flag
I wish I could find that article that I read about how Honda had designs the intake on the 1.5t that kinda put my mind at rest about the oil dilution. You donā€™t need an oil catch can on these motors because they already designed the engine to deal with that. But as far as longevity nobody knows yet. We will just have to wait and see. Hopefully it lives long because I plan on keeping ours for a while. But if I was a betting man I would say the 2.0 is the safer bet. I love both of them though. But my 2.0 6mt is a blast to drive. I never get tired of hearing it rev out. But itā€™s my personal preference. Yes I wish the 2.0 had more power but I ainā€™t gonna lie, it definitely is surprising.
 

CastorX

Senior Member
First Name
BalƔzs
Joined
Jul 8, 2019
Threads
10
Messages
431
Reaction score
166
Location
Germany
Vehicle(s)
Civic 1.5 Turbo Sport Plus
Country flag
What temperatures are you actually getting from this? Is it really labeled "oil temperature"?
I found that strange too. i thought there is no oil temp sensor in the 1.5 turbo.
 

FC3L15B7

I'm a machine.
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Threads
15
Messages
557
Reaction score
312
Location
Toronto
Website
www.youtube.com
Vehicle(s)
2020 Honda Civic 2 Door Coupe Si / 1993 Chrysler Intrepid 3.5L
Country flag
Hi Civic owners,

I'm looking to purchase my first Honda. I have done a lot of reading on a few different Honda forums to determine what I want to buy and am leaning towards the 2017 EX model in Canada as it has a 2.0L NA engine. I am a bit hesitant to get the turbo with the oil dilution scare. I know Honda has released an update that "resolves" the issue but some people are still dealing with strong gas smell in their oil.

I want to drive this car until it can't no more; like the good old civics and corollas. My previous car (my dad's) was an '06 Toyota Matrix and it is currently above 600k km and its still going. I am very strict and diligent when it comes to oil changes.

Side note: My work is about 10km away and it gets cold here in Toronto.

Do you guys think the 2.0L is "more" reliable for the long run compared to the 1.5T?
While I voted for the 2.0L, I only voted for it because it's naturally aspirated. If you're going to bet durability, the naturally aspirated engine is more likely to last longer, regardless of displacement. Having said that, the 1.5L engine itself has been around the same length of time - originally a 1.2L variant came in the Fit in 2001 (the K-block is also 2001).

We may see issues further down the road with 1.5L oil dilution, but thus far, quality oil and proper oil changes are handling it. Note that oil dilution is inherent in all engines and more so in GDI engines, regardless of manufacture.

Whether the engine is an L or K, small or mid-displacement 4-cylinder, those are not deciding factors. They have been historically durable as one another so far as I'm aware. Here, you've asked about an NA vs. FI and the straight forward answer based on that alone is simple. The naturally aspirated engine has less stress on it and you won't be changing an eventual failing turbocharger, which is expensive.
 

FC3L15B7

I'm a machine.
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Threads
15
Messages
557
Reaction score
312
Location
Toronto
Website
www.youtube.com
Vehicle(s)
2020 Honda Civic 2 Door Coupe Si / 1993 Chrysler Intrepid 3.5L
Country flag
.

Isn't the engine built tougher knowing that it will need to withstand the extra stress of the turbo? It's not like they built it for naturally aspirated applications and then decide after the fact to slap a turbo on there as is... It was purposefully built to be turbo'd.

18 wheelers are built to put on more miles than anything out there. Plenty go well over a million miles. And they're turbo'd!
I drive truck and let me tell you, the longevity of a truck engine has little to do with its design at this stage and more about how they're treated and taken care of. Turbochargers do fail - usually somewhere between 800,000-1,000,000 KMS though.

We have drivers that beat the piss out of brand new trucks when they're cold; hammer them at full throttle stone fucking cold with 46,000 kilos or more and those engines lose their compression and won't haul shit at 800,000 kms. The last loner I had was so gutless, I couldn't get out of 8th gear without losing road speed when I should have easily been able to use 10th on flat ground at 80 kph. I came back to the yard, parked it and told everyone, including owners, what a piece of shit it was and went home.

They're totally roasted with warped exhaust manifolds from rapid heating cycles (forcing the engine to work hard from cold) and lost exhaust gases not spooling the turbocharger and exhaust fumes coming through the floor... They're trashed. Most of them are taken off the road now, but some models one series newer than mine are common and they're fuct. There's one I drove into the garage for the driver after hours one day (2016 or 2017) that had 419,000 kms on it and it ran worse than a 2011 I used to drive that had over 800,000 on it. It's just brutal.

My work truck now and for a long time is a 2014 with just under 660,000 kms on it as I write this and it's strong as a horse with the original turbocharger. A shunt driver took it for service and bricked the clutch. The pressure plate barely worked and it failed completely just after I returned to home terminal 3-days later. I got the truck back, test drove it, parked it, came in 2-days later to find some retard already took most of the dynamic play out of the clutch and bent the shift forks and they only drove it 5 kms (verified by dash cam). This is what I mean by how it's treated. People need to be kicked in the face and if I could have gotten away with it, there'd be a red mark in the yard and one less driver. ?

We have newer trucks that are completely destroyed. There is only 1-truck I've seen in the company that ever lasted beyond 1-million kms and still had compression and that was driven by a guy who really, really, really took care of it - to the point of OCD.

They try to get me to move into a newer model and I'm like uhh no. lol. Until the day they FORCE me out of that truck, I am staying put because it's one of the most reliable. Also, two "series" of trucks newer than this one are automated transmissions and they're a piece of shit. ? I hate those things. Hate hate hatey hate hate.

Anyway, I digress. hehe.
 


Civics4Ever

Rally Red EXT
First Name
Gene
Joined
Jul 30, 2016
Threads
15
Messages
2,068
Reaction score
2,395
Location
Illinois
Vehicle(s)
04 Civic Sedan LX, 17 Civic Coupe Touring
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
1.5T with almost 95,000 miles.
 

Devcom

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2016
Threads
5
Messages
82
Reaction score
47
Location
Kansas City Metro Kansas Side
Vehicle(s)
16 Civic EX-T Coupe 1.5L T, 2020 Camaro LT1 6.2L V8, 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4x4 4.0L L6
Country flag
What temperatures are you actually getting from this? Is it really labeled "oil temperature"?
Yes it would be like you would see on one of the newer trucks like a Ram 1500 dash computer where they have trans temp, oil temp etc. Now the model I linked is based on one I have mine is from a Snap on tool truck from my tech days and is much more expensive than others. My Civics oil temp likes to hang around the 210-230 temp range when it is warmed up. I haven't really seen it go much over 230 though. For your question does this particular model show the temps on your phone app from what I read it does. I would do research in different ones before choosing an exact one if you are interested in getting one. I just linked that one as an example.
 
Last edited:

saz468

Senior Member
First Name
Stan
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Threads
71
Messages
2,488
Reaction score
2,382
Location
Florida
Vehicle(s)
2023 civic EX Aegean blue metallic
Country flag
We have drivers that beat the piss out of brand new trucks when they're cold; hammer them at full throttle stone fucking cold
I used to work at a milk delivery company and yes some of these drivers would slam on the pedal as soon as they turn the key to build
up the air pressure for the brakes although this is in Florida and the coldest itā€™s gotten is 45 degrees The mechanic has put stickers on the dashboard telling the drivers to warm up the engine before building up air pressure and putting it in gear
 

saz468

Senior Member
First Name
Stan
Joined
Jul 31, 2018
Threads
71
Messages
2,488
Reaction score
2,382
Location
Florida
Vehicle(s)
2023 civic EX Aegean blue metallic
Country flag
I was always told to warm up an engine and let the engine build up oil pressure by a mechanic ( my older brother now a retired mechanic) and let engine idle before putting it into gear I let my cars
non turbocharged and turbocharged ( especially) warm and idle for 60 seconds before putting it in gear. When I lived in New York in the winter it was a longer warm up time You need to let your engine warm up before putting any stress on it regardless if turbo or non turbo and diesel or gas It just like for some of us that need a hot cup of coffee in the morning to start the day :)
 

Gruber

Senior Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Threads
2
Messages
2,309
Reaction score
1,521
Location
TN
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring; 2009 Honda CR-V EX-L
Country flag
Yes it would be like you would see on one of the newer trucks like a Ram 1500 dash computer where they have trans temp, oil temp etc. Now the model I linked is based on one I have mine is from a Snap on tool truck from my tech days and is much more expensive than others. My Civics oil temp likes to hang around the 210-230 temp range when it is warmed up. I haven't really seen it go much over 230 though. For your question does this particular model show the temps on your phone app from what I read it does. I would do research in different ones before choosing an exact one if you are interested in getting one. I just linked that one as an example.
I thought the civics don't have an oil temp gauge.
210-230 in normal driving seems to be too high and is probably made up by the device.
 


CastorX

Senior Member
First Name
BalƔzs
Joined
Jul 8, 2019
Threads
10
Messages
431
Reaction score
166
Location
Germany
Vehicle(s)
Civic 1.5 Turbo Sport Plus
Country flag
I thought the civics don't have an oil temp gauge.
210-230 in normal driving seems to be too high and is probably made up by the device.
Iā€˜m pretty sure the civic doesnā€˜t have an oil temp sensor.
 

FC3L15B7

I'm a machine.
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Threads
15
Messages
557
Reaction score
312
Location
Toronto
Website
www.youtube.com
Vehicle(s)
2020 Honda Civic 2 Door Coupe Si / 1993 Chrysler Intrepid 3.5L
Country flag
I used to work at a milk delivery company and yes some of these drivers would slam on the pedal as soon as they turn the key to build
up the air pressure for the brakes although this is in Florida and the coldest itā€™s gotten is 45 degrees The mechanic has put stickers on the dashboard telling the drivers to warm up the engine before building up air pressure and putting it in gear
You can allow it to build air pressure while idling since the engine is turning the air compressor anyway, but the issue is oil circulation in a climate that's not cold. Having said that, 45Ā°F is still too cold to just drive away as soon as you've started it and built some air pressure.

I don't always go by water temperature. I look at the oil pressure. If it's under 60 PSI idling it's safe to move. I wouldn't haul anything hard if I didn't have 30-40 PSI idle oil pressure. I've seen 90 PSI oil pressure at under 10Ā°F temperatures and I wouldn't ever haul anything at that rate. The oil must a low enough viscosity or you'll end up starving the engine for oil.

That mechanic is probably tired of heavy engine jobs. ;)
 

Devcom

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2016
Threads
5
Messages
82
Reaction score
47
Location
Kansas City Metro Kansas Side
Vehicle(s)
16 Civic EX-T Coupe 1.5L T, 2020 Camaro LT1 6.2L V8, 2000 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4x4 4.0L L6
Country flag
I thought the civics don't have an oil temp gauge.
210-230 in normal driving seems to be too high and is probably made up by the device.
If the vehicle doesn't have a sensor the tool usually just has two -- where the temp number should be. That being said because the tool gave me an actual temp I am assuming it has one. As far as Oil temperatures in modern vehicles 210-230 is actually ok. It is when it approaches around the 280 degree range where the oil starts to break down which can cause varnishes and can lead to increased wear.

EDIT: Fixed grammar and spelling mistakes
Sponsored

 
Last edited:


 


Top