Buyer Beware! Honda Canada is selling serval vehicle models including 2018 Honda Civic Ex-t with an undiagnosed engine problem of fuel getting into the oil. I mean excessive fuel causing the oil level to be extremely high, strong gas smell when checking the dipstick, hesitation and a flashing check engine light as well as many other issues.

I first noticed the problem in April when my car threw a flashing check engine light and went into limp mode refusing to go above 7kmph. I took it in to Go Honda to be looked at and was told that it has 3 pending codes P0300, P0303, P0304 which are all misfiring codes. Although they told me that there wasn’t anything they could do because they were all pending codes and to monitor it. There was no way I was monitoring a brand new car so I had it towed to Sherwood Honda the place I bought it from. They told me that the oil level was high and that was causing my issues. This surprised me as it hadn’t even had its first oil change yet as well as was checked by Go Honda and it wasn’t high. I pushed more and found out that it was fuel in the oil causing it to be ‘high’. They explained to me that Honda Tech told them to check the spark plugs and do an oil change then I was told my car was good to go. Of course I’m not an idiot and am fully aware of what excessive fuel in your oil can do so I refused the car.

I contacted Honda Canada thinking maybe the car I received was a lemon and requesting a replacement. It was only after pushing and repeatedly saying an oil change will not solve the problem of fuel getting into the oil that I was told that it has been a reported problem by other owners and it was being investigated. I gave serval suggestions of what causes fuel in oil and requested what diagnostic tests would help locate the issue. Although I was told by Honda Canada that if I wanted these tests I was going to have to pay for them myself. Sherwood Honda agreed to do the tests I requested for free but came out with nothing.

Now I wasn’t happy with this response from Honda Canada or the results of the tests but after serval arguments I agreed to take the car back assuming an investigation would happen and my car would be recalled and repaired. Now less than 6 weeks later my car is back at Sherwood Honda with high oil level, strong gas smell on dipstick, hesitation and black residue found in exhaust pipe. Sherwood Honda was once again told by Honda Tech to change the oil and check the spark plugs as well as get me to sign an oil dilution form. I questioned what was happening with my blackening exhaust pipe and was told I would be called back.

I have also attempted to contact a higher up in Honda Canada but have been given the run around and haven’t received a respond since my phone call Tuesday and on Friday they refused to put me through to someone. After hearing that I would need to sign this oil dilution form I googled oil dilution form and found numerous reports of this same problem happening with serval other Honda vehicles all over the world. As well as a supposed email that had been sent out to all Honda Canada dealerships about the issue. Honda Canada is still selling this defective vehicle and has basically told me that if I want an exchange to a vehicle that doesn’t have this issue it will cost me because I drove it off the lot. So I am basically being told if I want to exchange the car with a defect I will lose money even though it is a manufacturer defect that they have known about yet failed to tell people so they don’t get trapped into a car loan on a defective car.

I have this recurring fuel smell so bad, I have to roll my windows down because it makes me sick. At first I always thought it was always a car in front of me leaking fuel or just running rich. But it happens so often that, finally, I got curious and searched it... sure enough, it’s a pretty bad problem with all Honda's that have this "earth dreams" engine... that's what is in mine. They say it gets worse in the cold, so much so that it causes an oil overfill condition as the fuel builds up in the oil pan. I bought this 2018 Civic new in April so it hasn't really been in cold weather yet. If it gets any worse it will be unbearable, unhealthy and unsafe to drive.

Update from Nov 13, 2018: The topic of this thread should be changed to Fuel in Oil Pan