VEHICLE: 2017 Honda CRV Touring - 5 miles when purchased on 05/01/2017 - 2,000 miles when I first noticed there was a problem.

I am at about 6,000 miles now.

Initially I noticed a clicking sound emanating from the engine get louder over time.

I was following a CRV forum (Hondacrvowners.com) and noticed a lot of people start mentioning fuel in the oil. Then saw news articles about a huge CRV recall in China's cold climate areas with the same symptoms. I then began checking the oil frequently and noticed a definite fuel smell on the dipstick and rising above the full mark. I have not noticed a fuel smell in the cabin, fortunately, as some have complained about, but this is not good for an engine.

Two Honda dealers have told me they are aware of the issue, but not to worry about it and to check the oil since no lights are on and scans show no problem. Of course! No problems yet, but most drivers don't check their oil and won't notice a problem until the engine completely fails.

Morning following extended trip, I started the car and immediately noticed loud engine knocking sound. Stopped the engine and checked oil level and saw it to be high and smelly. That afternoon after work I brought the vehicle to the local dealership and scheduled an oil change . They found the level to be two litres above normal. I expressed deep concern for premature wear on engine and it was more or less dismissed as not serious!!!! I was told no immediate solution, to check oil levels often and bring it back for more free oil changes

I am not a certified mechanic but know darn well that diluted oil will not perform and it WILL cause long term damage. I am very disappointed, thought I had the perfect vehicle for me. Stay away from this engine model until its fixed

I have opened a case with Honda and they are telling me they are not considering this an issue. So I have asked for my case to be escalated because this is and issue that is ruining the engine. Now I have a secondary issue of going to the dealership every 7-10 days for an oil change. The last oil change they measured over 5 quarts meaning that over 1 quart of gas is mixed in with the oil. I don't see how anyone can claim that is normal.

The case manager called me once and I have called her numerous time to let her know when a good time to call would be. She only seems to call when she knows I will not be available. This was the case the first time to, phone tag for weeks before she could tell me that Honda doesn't see this as an issue. I was so dumbfounded and upset that I didn't ask and the right questions at that time.

I bought this 2017 CRV EXL-NAV AWD in 05/2017. We did the first maintenance on March 17 to change oil at 8000 miles. There is oil leakage, I will talk this on another complaint. I heard that there is oil level increase problem on this 1.5T engine because of fuel leak, so I checked the engine oil level at about 8800 miles and found that the oil level is more than 10mm higher than the maximum mark on the dipstick. I brought the car to dealer and they said it is fine. I am very upset with their answer. I have attached the photo, the oil level is exceeding the orange plastic to the metal part. actually CRV has been stopped for sale in China for 2 months until Honda initiate a recall and extend the warranty to 6 years. reliability is the main reason I bought Honda, now I am so disappointed. will not buy any Honda unless they offer a satisfactory solution.

Update from Nov 7, 2018: updated on 11/01/2018 I always keep an eye on the oil level, in the summer it maintains at 10mm level higher than the maximum mark on the dipstick. However recently, the oil level increased to 16mm above the max mark on the dipstick, with an odor of gasoline, and looks very dark. I called the dealership of Fisher Honda in Boulder on 11/01/2018, they said they could do nothing, suggesting change oil on my own cost. I called the Honda USA, opened a complain case. they just send me to dealership to do a diagnostic and nothing further. Honda is irresponsible. I am disappointed on their irresponsible response. Honda is doing nothing to fix a known issue because of its design fault. their service is horrible. this is my second Honda (first one is acura), and also the last Honda. I will not consider Honda anymore, unless there is no other auto makes available.

Update from Nov 14, 2018: updated on 11/14/2018 I always keep an eye on the oil level, in the summer it maintains at 10mm level higher than the maximum mark on the dipstick. However recently, the oil level increased to 16mm above the max mark on the dipstick, with an odor of gasoline, and looks very dark. I called the dealership of Fisher Honda in Boulder on 11/01/2018, they said they could do nothing. I called the Honda USA, opened a complain case. they just send me to dealership to do a diagnostic and nothing further. Honda is irresponsible. Honda is doing nothing to fix a known issue because of its poor design. their service is horrible. this is my second Honda (first one is acura), and also the last Honda. I will not buy any Honda anymore, unless there is no other auto makes available.

A continuing issue. I left complaint here for gas smell in cabin. Now after 6 trips to dealership service at Piazza Honda the Service Mgr Tony kept telling me nothing is wrong. There is gas in oil and high levels of oil on dipstick as on picture. See pic of gas cap that has white goop knit and cap smells like gas and rotten eggs. Back and forth I finally went to Sales Mgr.. Greg I explained I wanted him to smell my inside cabin...he did and said it smelled like gas. Then he took to Tony in Service to tell them my issue. I just picked up car too. Then they changed my oil at 16,320 miles then scheduled meeting with Honda Rep 3/28 and got run around. It smelled like gas and oil was thin and high levels. Told to come back again if happens! Had oil sample analysis and came back 3% gas in oil and high levels of other things. Then at only 334 miles into new oil change...my oil level went from 100% to 90%. I was told by Honda Rep I should get 1,000 or more miles on OW20 synthetic oil. Well if there is nothing wrong then how come my gas level in high in oil, only got 334 miles and level went from 100 % to 90%, and oil is thin and dark plus smell of gas in cabin. I got nowhere with Honda. Never called back! No what Honda!!??

Come on, Honda.

I specifically chose a Honda vehicle because of the perception that the vehicles are reliable. The oil dilution issue is now more significant than you thought. It's not just China. It's Canada and the US.

FIX THE PROBLEM! If you think the problem is going to go away by itself, think again. I see more and more people on forums with this problem.

Update from Oct 19, 2018: Had my oil changed at 6000 miles and again at 8795 miles. Here is what my independent mechanic said this most :

Oil consistency is like water and smells of gas. Oil registered overfilled. Recommend taking back to dealership and having checked by Honda for known oil dilution problem. Oil is also leaking from rear main seal area. Also recommend having this checked by Honda.

So what now? Dealerships still say that this issue does not exist.

I checked the oil this morning because were planning on going, long trip over the road and the oil level was about an inch and a half above the full mark. I have only had the dealership change the oil. Then I wiped the oil off the dipstick and I smelled gas real strong. I went to the dealership they had it in the back for 2 1/2 hours. They came back said that there is no repair fix it this time and that if the customer wants the oil changed, charge him for it. The service advisor did not think that was right. That there should be a fix. He told me it was the turbo that was causing it and that Honda on the tech line said that the gas would burn off in the tank and it would not cause any problems on the motor. That it was safe to drive .

My original complaint follows. Details of an additional service in March are included at the end of the complaint.

"Gas is mixing in the oil of our new 2017 Honda CR-V. The 1.5 liter engine does not warm up sufficiently in cold weather, runs rich, and leaves un-combusted gas in the oil. This triggers engine warning lights and requires frequent oil changes. Engine performance and drivability suffer. This problem is also being reported on social media by other Honda CR-V owners who drive in colder climates. We are concerned that it is causing long term damage to the engine of our new vehicle. I caution prospective buyers to postpone the purchase of a 2017 or newer Honda CR-V with the 1.5 liter engine until Honda solves to this problem. The fifth generation CR-V is an excellent car in many respects, but this is a major problem. I cannot recommend the car, particularly to those who drive in colder climates, until a fix is found.

Reuters reported in February that Honda has announced a recall of 350,000 CR-V's in China for what appears to be a similar issue.

We've driven our car for about six months, and it has less than 2,000 miles on it. We typically use the car for short drives within the city. When using the car we would occasionally notice a fuel odor around the exterior of the vehicle and sometimes inside. In November, while driving the car, most of the warning lights on the dashboard lit up. We took the car to the dealer, where it remained for over two weeks as they worked to determine a cause and fix. A field rep from Honda was sent out to the dealer to try to assist. Sensors and fuel injectors were replaced. The oil and filter was changed. At this time our engine had less than 1100 miles on it.

These repairs did not correct the problem. In mid-January the engine warning lights were triggered again. Our dealer noted the smell of gas in our oil and once again changed the oil and filter. We had less than 1500 miles on the car for this service.

I again noticed fuel odors driving the vehicle this week, and plan to take it to the dealer again to see if another oil and filter change is required. We've driven the car about 300 miles since the last oil change.

Honda does not appear to have a solution to this problem. The oil and filter changes are a band-aid, and long term damage may be occurring to our engine. I have contacted Honda customer service to express our concern. They suggested that we continue to monitor their website for future recall or service bulletins. They did not provide us with a case number for our complaint going forward.

Honda may have a major problem on its hands with the 1.5 liter engine. Know this before you buy."

New information: By early March fuel and exhaust smells once again became more frequent when we drove the CR-V. I took it to our dealer on March 8th. The oil reading was 1 1/2 inches above full, and smelled strongly of fuel. Our dealer changed the oil and filter. We had only put 450 miles on the car since the oil was last changed in mid-January. That's three oil and filter changes in less than 2000 miles, along with replaced sensors and fuel injectors.

I called Honda this week to check the status of our original complaint. They had not followed up on it further. I learned that Honda had documented the file incorrectly, and was under the impression that the oil changes were required in the range of 15,000 to 20,000 miles, not the 1,500 to 2,000 miles that we had experienced.

We are very frustrated with the lack of follow up from Honda regarding this problem. This is not acceptable performance from a seven month old car. Honda first needs to acknowledge they have a problem, something they have been unwilling to do in my conversations with them.

This is our fourth Honda. I'm rapidly losing trust in the company.

After first oil change on new CRV, I noticed fluid level on dipstick was well above the overfull mark on the dipstick and continued to go higher on subsequent checks. Also a strong gas smell in the oil. After finding that other owners were having this problem, I took the vehicle to dealer and complained that I thought gas might be getting into the oil and I was quite concerned about getting adequate engine lubrication.

Service rep said they had never heard of this, and then blew some smoke about there being a few problems in China with Chinese- built vehicles. That wasn't true, because I had read lots of reports about the problem with CRVs in the U.S. and there were several NHTSA complaints as well. Service rep wasn't interested in listening to me. The dealer kept the vehicle overnight. They said they contacted Honda Tech Line and there were no reports about this issue, which I don't believe since there have been several reports from owners that their Honda dealers had been told by Honda Tech that it was a known problem.

Service rep said there was no fuel in the oil but didn't say how that was determined since the oil reeked of gas smell. Replaced oil and filter and set oil level right on the upper overfill mark. Told me to bring vehicle back after 500 miles to re-check. I've now driven 375 miles since that oil change and the oil level is once again well above the overfill mark on the dipstick and there is a strong gas smell so it appears that fuel is quickly accumulating in the oil.

Vehicle is being driven in warm weather in Phoenix area, so cold weather has nothing to do with it. Driving has been a combination of short local trips and longer freeway trips. At this point, I don't have any doubt that my engine is affected by fuel-in-oil contamination problem. When I get to 500 miles will return to dealer to see what, if anything, they do. They seem dismissive and uncooperative so far, so I won't be surprised if they do nothing or at most just tell me to get another oil change if I'm concerned. Obviously, I'm not interested in changing my oil and filter every 500 miles, even if Honda were to grant free oil changes (which won't happen).

I learned on this site that a law firm is investigating a class action lawsuit on this matter and have provided my information to them. I suspect this is a huge problem for Honda because of the popularity of this vehicle and the Civic that uses the same 1.5L engine, so it will be a cold day in Hades before they admit to it and take remedial steps. I also suspect that the only effective fix is to redesign this engine, or they would have already issued a recall. So I don't expect the problem can be fixed and I'll either have to live with it or get rid of the vehicle and lose thousands in depreciation.

I have been following the complaints on two forums and started noticing my oil level creep up over the winter months. This problem is not limited to the 1.5 L turbo engine as I have the 2.4L normally aspirated version as do some others finding the same problem.

At an early (4000 miles) oil and filter change, which I performed myself, I found the level at 3/4" above the full mark. This amounted to 22 ounces over full. I have stored the oil removed and cut open the filter to inspect for any signs of engine damage. No particles, beyond what would normally be expected for the first oil change on a new vehicle were noted. After installing a new Honda oil filter I carefully added the required 4.7 quarts for the 2.4L engine as indicated by the owners manual. I checked the oil level after a run and saw it exactly in the right spot for a full amount. After 150 miles I checked it again and it was 1/4" above the full mark.

If Honda is going to recommend that we "change the oil more frequently" they had better be prepared to supply owners of these affected vehicles with free oil and filters for the duration of the warranty period, excluding regularly scheduled oil changes.

I have read where someone had the Honda dealer replace their 1.5L engine with a new one and still the problem persists.