Fuel/Oil Dilution Issue Overblown ?

mvela

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I watched this video and I really never looked at the oil dilution like it’s explained in this video. It makes good sense:
 

mvela

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Exhaust valves are a one-way flow. Assuming the chamber is doing its job, there should only be exhaust gas. :)

The injector does not spray directly on the valves. It mists to the chamber directly below, but allows for reverse flow under certain conditions (theoretically).
That is an interesting picture. It looks like the injector could spray directly onto the valve. But you are saying it doesn’t? So it doesn’t spray until the valve closes and moves out of the way?
 

Design

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That is an interesting picture. It looks like the injector could spray directly onto the valve. But you are saying it doesn’t? So it doesn’t spray until the valve closes and moves out of the way?
I think it depends on the valve timing relative to throttle position. From the various cutouts and diagrams I've seen, the injector sits just below the valves. A portion of the intake valves can theoretically be exposed as fuel gets sprayed into the chamber, just as the piston begins the upstroke. The valve edge and a portion of the neck could reportedly get misted with atomized fuel particles under certain operating conditions (light cruising?). Combined with combustion temps around that area, it seems to help minimize the deposits that we've seen on older DI setups.
 
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mvela

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I think it depends on the valve timing relative to throttle position. From the various cutouts and diagrams I've seen, the injector sits just below the valves. A portion of the intake valves can theoretically be exposed as fuel gets sprayed into the chamber, just as the piston begins the upstroke. The valve edge and a portion of the neck could reportedly get misted with atomized fuel particles under certain operating conditions (light cruising?). Combined with combustion temps around that area, it seems to help minimize the deposits that we've seen on older DI setups.
That’s actually a pretty cool design. I wonder if other direct injected motors are setup like that. I could see that helping a lot for carbon buildup.
 

Jsavard97

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Looking for advice: 3 months ago, I bought a 2017 Honda Civic Si at a dealer called Park Honda in Ohio. When I bought it, the dealership had done a "full service" and the vehicle was a good price. It was almost perfect besides some curb rash and the car had about 42,000 miles. About a month ago, I was detailing it and decided to check the oil. I noticed the strong smell of gasoline. I made an appointment the next day and took it to the dealer. I did some research and found that gasoline in the oil has been a known problem with the new 1.5 turbo engines. When I went to the dealer, I was told that it was "normal" for the direct injection system. I really don't think it is so I took it to a different dealer an hour away from me a was told, "no trace of gasoline was found in the oil." I have reached out to Honda America to see if they can help, and I got told to talk to the service manager of the dealerships who is always "busy" and never calls me back. I'm not sure how the fix the problem when nobody will talk to me and acts like it doesn't exist. Just looking for some advice if anyone knows anything about the issue. Thanks.
 

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Sounds normal to me. And your one hour trip was likely enough to burn off any fuel or corresponding odors in the sump.

Regardless, your maintenance minder should intervene long before this ever becomes an issue. You can always run an oil analysis if you're worried about it. But I doubt you'll see anything abnormal, beyond the presence of fuel.

The above mentioned video really does a great job of explaining why all this happens.
 
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gtman

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I'm still firmly in the camp that says this oil dilution issue has been somewhat exaggerated. If it honestly was extreme and would be catastrophic, would it behoove automakers to continue to sell DI motors?

Hondas "fix" was to speed up the warmup process for folks in colder States. They only did this because there are people out there who literally drive a mile or two and then shut the engine off.

As long are you drive the car to normal operating temps and change the oil regularly, I suspect our engines will be fine.
 

wilbur_the_goose

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Sorry, but I got to ask: Don't tell me you didn't change oil for 18k miles?!?!
FWIW, I had my first oil change post "recall service", and sure enough, the oil level was high going in. I'm going to closely monitor the oil level going forward - I had assumed (incorrectly) that the recall would fix the issue and I wouldn't need to keep an eye on the oil level.
 


S60doc

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Sorry for waking up this post. I'm also worrying about this issue.
I got my 18 Civic HB Manual 2 months ago. I'm planning to drive this car for next 6-7 yrs. I financed so at least 60 months it'll be with me.
I'm living in South Jersey, USA. I've been checking oil since i got it. Didn't notice any problem. But i checked online people saying that this engine(1.5L DI Turbocharged) is not gonna last that much.

Any opinion? Any advice? Scotty Kilmer is saying that we should change oil every 3-5k miles. But our cars has maintenance reminder. So i got mine with 36.500 miles, it's about 39.500 now and my oil life is %70. My next oil change probably at 42-43k miles.

And one more question, If i bring my own oil to Honda Dealers they will replace it for me? What kinda oil are they using?


I'm kinda obsessed about this issue. Because my previous car was Scion TC and it has oil consumption problem because of piston's ring design. But as long as you keep eye on oil level it won't harm the engine for Scion.
 

darkness975

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Sorry for waking up this post. I'm also worrying about this issue.
I got my 18 Civic HB Manual 2 months ago. I'm planning to drive this car for next 6-7 yrs. I financed so at least 60 months it'll be with me.
I'm living in South Jersey, USA. I've been checking oil since i got it. Didn't notice any problem. But i checked online people saying that this engine(1.5L DI Turbocharged) is not gonna last that much.

Any opinion? Any advice? Scotty Kilmer is saying that we should change oil every 3-5k miles. But our cars has maintenance reminder. So i got mine with 36.500 miles, it's about 39.500 now and my oil life is %70. My next oil change probably at 42-43k miles.

And one more question, If i bring my own oil to Honda Dealers they will replace it for me? What kinda oil are they using?


I'm kinda obsessed about this issue. Because my previous car was Scion TC and it has oil consumption problem because of piston's ring design. But as long as you keep eye on oil level it won't harm the engine for Scion.
I can't really answer your question, it is something that I am concerned about as well because my car also falls in the window of this issue or at least more accurately the potential for this issue since apparently not everyone develops it even in states that get colder in winter.

Has a force of habit I change my oil around every 4k miles. I dont wait for the maintenance minder to say it's at a certain low percentage or whatever. I've always done it that way, it's not a new habit with thos car for me.
 

S60doc

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I can't really answer your question, it is something that I am concerned about as well because my car also falls in the window of this issue or at least more accurately the potential for this issue since apparently not everyone develops it even in states that get colder in winter.

Has a force of habit I change my oil around every 4k miles. I dont wait for the maintenance minder to say it's at a certain low percentage or whatever. I've always done it that way, it's not a new habit with thos car for me.

Maybe i should change my oil every 5k miles either. I was thinking to go Honda Dealer for maintenance. Because it's basically still under warranty till 60k miles.
And i'm planning to bring my own oil, because I really like Castrol brand. I tried couple brand for my scion Tc and Castrol was the best one.
 

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Yesterday, I did another oil change and my oil smells of gasoline (again). Like many people, i bought the civic for reliability, its looks, and high mpg. This is my first purchase that went over $20,000 and honestly I'm a little pissed. Like many of you I worked hard for my money and expected reliability from this purchase. I'm not sure if the oil dilution problem is over blown. I've decided to get an oil analysis and make an informed decision from there.

One solution I did was add an oil drain plug with a valve for faster oil changes. I'm also planning on doing an oil change more often. I understand amsoil is a really good oil to use but also saw a video comparison of it compared to amazon basic were the results were "close." Amsoil still beat amazon basic in the comparison but amazon is cheaper. So I am hoping by changing the oil more frequently, my oil engine won't suffer too much wear from diluted oil. I was pretty religious on my old 350z with its oil change because the engine would just burn so much of it. I am thinking of continuing that practice with this vehicle if i decided to keep it. I do a lot of short trips and most of my driving is in the city.

I'm thinking of change it once every three to four months but to be honest thats just what i did with my Nissan. I think it is just trial and error and seeing what works for you. This was a lot longer than expected, guess I'm just ranting because my oil smelled of gas yesterday.
 

Shankmeyster

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Just got a letter in the mail over the weekend asking if I wanted to be involved in a class action against Honda over the fuel dilution. I mean I smelled gas in my oil on my 17 at change intervals but I never noticed any issues with the car.
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