Winter drivers with 1.5 Turbo engine report in

[bumbobee]

Hey all,

I'm looking to see how many people we have here that drive in real cold weather and winter with the 1.5 turbo engine. I've read a lot on this forum about oil dilution and long heat up times, and it sounds like a total nightmare, but it can't all be that bad right?

I just got a 2019 Hatchback 1.5 with the CVT and I live in Toronto, Canada. I plan on keeping the car for a very long time, and I'm hoping the winter woes aren't that bad? All the cars I've driven or owned take about 10-15 minutes max to heat up, even in extreme cold temperatures like - 20 C. I have underground parking in my building so it will help with cold starts, but when leaving work it will be super cold for sure.

Does anyone live in winter areas without any issues at all? No oil dilution, good heat up times, etc?

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[hobby-man]

I live nearby. I've never actually timed it, but the warm up is extremely slow even after the oil dilution software update. This is -20 C and below I'm talking about. I drive about 5 km in traffic on main roads to the highway, and the car isn't warmed up by the time I get there. You can actually watch the engine temp drop when you're stopped at a light.
Once I hit the highway it's about 35 km to work, and the car heats up quickly once you're actually moving.

So I'm not suffering from oil dilution, but mostly because I drive 90% highway and get the chance to burn those vapors off. Of course, it's also not -20 here year round.

 

[bumbobee]

^ That's good news. I live in Mississauga as well, border of Etobicoke. I did a quick search on autotrader and saw many used civics with the 1.5 engine that have over 150,000 km +. Some even being sold Honda certified pre owned.

How often do you change your oil? KM wise not the minder.

 

[hobby-man]

^ That's good news. I live in Mississauga as well, border of Etobicoke. I did a quick search on autotrader and saw many used civics with the 1.5 engine that have over 150,000 km +. Some even being sold Honda certified pre owned.

How often do you change your oil? KM wise not the minder.

I follow the MM for the most part due to mostly doing easy highway mileage. Did my first one at about 12k km, at the same time as my oil dilution software update. Just hit 21k and am almost ready to do my 2nd.

 

[MTBhatch]

Im in etobicoke area. No problem with oil dilution here with my 2018 civic hatch. I commute to work 35km each way. I usually never warm up my car that long. As soon as the tach drop a little bit thats when i drive off. I heard its bad for our engine to warm up our car long.

 

[VarmintCong]

Three Boston winters so far and no issues whatsoever. It even drives well in snow, I have 16" Conti WinterExtremes (I think).

I never warm up the car, just start it and go. Of course I lay off the gas for the first 5-10 min.

 

[TheComebackKid]

Two Montreal winters so far. Never had a problem with oil dilution. I drive 10km each way to and from work and it's all city driving.
I got the software update a couple months ago and for me the warm up is a bit faster than before.
As for maintenance I just follow the MM since the car is a lease. May want to monitor the oil more closely if you plan on keeping it longer but you should be good.

 

[Curtman]

I live in Edmonton. Drove it through 2 winters and never had a problem. I got the recall work done anyway but didn't notice anything before that. I only drive about 10 minutes and leave it parked at the train station all day. It doesn't warm up much just idling. It would be up to operating temperature just before getting to the station. I've done 2 oil changes following the maintenance minder and I think it was around 10k kms.

 

[bumbobee]

Nice to hear. Montreal and Edmonton that's definitely some heavy winter. Montreal traffic can be crazy

 

[integra15]

No issues here in Michigan

 

[TheComebackKid]

Nice to hear. Montreal and Edmonton that's definitely some heavy winter. Montreal traffic can be crazy

I always heard/thought Toronto traffic was worse lol.

 

[caspar21]

i live up on muskoka. we are colder and a lot more snow than you.
i have the si and had no problems with warmup times but i am half a km to the hyway where i commute to barrie.
the only issues i have found is it likes eating gravel with the brakes. you hear it a lot.
the other issue is it is low and the underplate gets messed up by snow. its not a serious thing but definitly wait for the snow plows to get around before driving.

driving in the slippery stuff is really good. the abs and traction control won't try to kill you, it tries to turn you during a slide if requested and allow you to manouver if needed.

i am very happy with it.

 

[Mtl01]

I live in Montreal and have a 2017 ex-t. I had the software update done and the engine definitely warms up quicker. I follow the MM for oil changes.

Have had zero issues with the civic and winter driving (or anything else for that matter, lol).

 

[tsupersonic]

Upstate NY checking in. Bought my hatch in Dec. 2016. I daily my car, but my commute to work is between 1 - 1.5 miles, so I'm prime suspect for oil dilution issues. So far in 12k miles, no issues!

 

[FLOPPER]

I almost wonder if you guys should all get a SRI since they're known to heat soak so much lol.

Ok on topic--would running the defroster help heat the engine up significantly faster?

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