Honda 1.5t head gasket issues and what you can do about it.

Spot on assessment. Blew the first head gasket at 12 months, and blew the replacement at 24 months on 19 si ethanol tuned. Then I used ARP head studs and cometic gasket and it's held for 31 months and counting. Car has had no other problems yet.

Thank you for sharing. My 2018 Honda Accord with just 59k miles had its head gasket blown. The car has never been modified and I don't drive it hard. Had the misfire took it took Honda and they told me Cyl 4 failing test and that I needed a new set of fuel injectors not covered by warranty and Honda motor Corp would not help with the $1,593 repair bill. While I was waiting for the parts to be delivered my check engine light came on. I looked at the coolant it was empty, the oil looked weird. The dealer misdiagnosed my problem, it was a blown headgasket. This was my first Honda and it will be my last. I am out of the powertrain warranty by two months. Honda should be a shamed of themselves. To error is human to not take responsibility for the design flaw is shameful. I am going back to Toyota for good. Will vote with my dollars. Goodbye Honda!

Here in Saskatchewan, i have rarely seen headgasket failures. We do have however extreme cases of the fuel/oil mixing problems. The super cold weather then the blistering hot summers, combined with 10k KM service intervals. Ususally in the super cold (-35° - -40°C) is when we see this. Doing an oil change on a hot 1.5l in the winter months is similar to being on Splash mountain. Lots of engines failing due to oil filters coming apart. (Similar to the excessive camshaft noise warranty extension.) Keep up the good work! Love the videos - always cool to see what other honda techs are experiencing!

I have a 2023 Honda Civic Si. My L15CA has been getting 2000 mile oil changes from the dealership and is fed 92 octane from Chevron in WA. the vehicle has 6,700 something miles when I last glanced at the odometer. I am aware my car is still young but thanks to videos like yours, I am keeping on my toes. I do drive the car hard because despite the downfall of this CA engine. It brings a smile to my face and I came from a 2018 Honda Civic LX with the K20C2 and a 6 speed manual. That car also made me smile but the Si does a better job at it!

Thank you for the post . I been waiting for this video for a while . I been using premium since I got my CPO 1.5T Accord . I been getting more gas mileage going premium .

I have an '18 SI which has 73k which is stock and I have been very happy with the performance and mileage with zero issues whatsoever. That being said, I would recommend buyers look at the 2.0 NA engine with a manual versus the 1.5T if your looking for long-term reliability.

I can’t believe Honda is having an engine concern. The company has been so thorough with their vehicles!🤷‍♂️ Thanks for answering my question on how to prevent!👍

very informative, in brief 1. design problem 2. weak head bolts 3. knock or detonation can cause issues

I have a ‘21 Accord Touring 2.0T with 21k miles on it currently. After watching one of your videos, I switched from using 87 octane to top tier 93 octane about 6 months ago. Not sure I can tell any seat of the pants difference but it sure does run well. I love the 2.0T engine. I wouldn’t own the 1.5T but I understand why many people do.

I love this guys channel and everything he is addressing is very logical and fact based. I just wonder if he's going to get fired someday for shining a light on the poor engineering of the 1.5t 🤔 Seems like they could've just used better head studs. WTH?

If my memory serves me right, the eco boost (ford) had a similar design and same head gasket failures, which they have now changed the manufacturing and instead have a small drilled hole instead of the groove. As to why Honda went this route is beyond me. They aren’t known to cut corners and as such would think they would spend the extra to negate head gasket failures.

We’ve seen this a few times also (San Antonio, TX) but not too often. Appreciate the input and actually makes a lot of sense. Will be curious to see if Honda comes out with a S.B. on them and how bad we’ll get plugged in the back side on the labor they’re willing to pay.

2 videos I’d like to see, the 07-11 crv frame rust recall and the 2.4 start up rattle. The differences between the newer GDI engines with bad chain tensioner and the older engines with bad VTC actuators. Thanks!

First! Finally see you! Mine 21 civic has 12K miles and I am going to put 93 octane from now. Turn on Eco mode to lower the boost. I think CRV and Accord have a much higher chance of getting Head gasket Leak!

I love my 2.0L N/A civic. Not once have I regretted my choice over the 1.5t

Recently had to replace head gasket on a 2017 Honda Civic sport w/ 138k. Purchased new, highway driven daily. Regular oil changes and did only run 87 octane fuel. Experienced vibrating and misfires on all cylinders, coolant was low. $3800 for dealer to replace head gasket and all new injectors. Very disappointed as I’ve had other vehicles with higher mileage and no issues. Going on about 8k miles since replacement. I’m hoping for a lot more miles out of this car. Good video as potential buyers need to be aware.

Ford had the same issues with the 1.5 1.6 and 2.0 EcoBoost engines. Ford ended up with a new block design w/o these grooves also because of a much thicker material between the cylinders.

2018 CRV...traded it in for my 2024 Hybrid....had 138,000 on it....a tech at the Dealership I traded it on bought it before it hit the floor. I used mid grade and changed my oil at 5,000, also had a catch can on it from 2019.....she is still going strong.

Get one of these every week it seems like. Agreed on the groove being a factor and how inconsistent the head bolts torque down. Good video. 👍

My wife has a 2020 CR-V 1.5T and we will absolutely start using Premium fuel all the time now. The last thing we need is a blown head gasket. I also regularly change the oil with full synthetic and plan on doing the 1st CVT fluid change at 30k miles.