— A class action lawsuit alleges the life of a Honda i-VTEC engine should be at least 200,000 miles, but defects allegedly greatly decrease the engine lifespan.
The Honda i-VTEC engine class action lawsuit includes these vehicles equipped with four-cylinder 1.5-liter or 2.0-liter turbocharged engines:
- 2018-2022 Honda Accord
- 2016-2022 Honda Civic
- 2017-2022 Honda CR-V
- 2021-2022 Acura RDX
- 2019-2022 Acura TLX
The life of an i-VTEC turbocharged gasoline direct injection engine is allegedly cut short because it cannot manage high compression and heat. The class action alleges the head gasket cannot handle the force and will crack, allowing coolant to collect in the cylinder head grooves.
The Honda i-VTEC engine can overheat from a lack of coolant and seize or even catch fire. A Honda owner may also see white smoke coming from the exhaust from burning coolant when coolant leaks into the pistons. The lawsuit says a driver may hear the engine misfire and notice a loss of power.
Oil is also contaminated from coolant which can corrode engine components. And there is also the danger once an engine dies while driving.
The plaintiffs complain Honda refuses to repair or replace the i-VTEC engines even when the vehicles are under their warranties.
"Moreover, Honda has not released or made freely available a countermeasure that adequately fixes the Engine Defect." — Honda class action lawsuit
The Honda engine lawsuit was filed by these customers:
- Tiffany Richardson / Alabama / 2018 Honda Accord
- Austin Polson / Alabama / 2019 Honda Accord
- Radley Alcantara / Illinois / 2018 Honda Accord
- Brian Wise / Illinois / 2018 Honda CRV Touring
- Ashley Bowman / Louisiana / 2020 Honda Accord
- Kevin Lucey / Massachusetts / 2019 Honda Accord Sport
The Honda i-VTEC engine life lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Radley Alcantara, et al., v. American Honda Motor Co., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Blood Hurst & O'Reardon LLP, and Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.
The same lawyers who filed this Honda i-VTEC engine life lawsuit previously filed a Honda class action which includes the same vehicles and same engines.