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

On this video I go over what I personally believe is causing some of the L15 premature head gasket issues.

Aftermarket head studs:

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Disclaimer:

The sole purpose of this video is for informative and educational purposes of my process and experiences. Bc auto solutions/hondamobilemechanic is not responsible for any individual actions taken from this video. Always wear protective hand, eye, ear, and respiratory equipment. Results may vary and are not guaranteed. Use this information at your own risk. Always seek professional help in diagnostics and repairs.

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[benbeem]

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.

[anthonyvelez]

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!

[jasonlecreux]

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

[chrish]

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.

[Fred-F]

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

[billwylde]

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!

[willdickson]

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!

[SuperChewy]

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.

[JohnBotero-eo]

Typical signs of a blown head gasket on any car not just Honda: Oil mixed with coolant, boiling coolant in the reservoir, milky colored oil, white thick smoke from tailpipe, constant coolant overfilled reservoir while radiator keeps getting empty. However, the best procedure to detect a blown head gasket is a block tester. I had a 1988 Honda Civic 1.5L . I replaced the gasket and problem solved. It is recommended to replace cylinder head bolts as they are called "stretch bolts..." How to prevent blown head gasket? Keep your coolant clean and perform a coolant service every 30, 000 miles. After coolant service, make sure no air pockets are trapped in coolant system. Purge any air out of system using a spill free funnel. If not available, start engine and rev up to 2500 RPM until both coolant fans kick in while squeezing upper coolant hose, allowing bubbles to travel to the surface of the radiator opening .you will see the air bubbles popping out as you squeeze hose. Make sure your heating system is all the way to hot but not on as to allow coolant circulation through the heater core.

[nfspeedy]

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.

[bbstatus]

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.

[TeamPaulie]

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 is still going strong.

[atl]

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.

[dragster]

Finally! Someone besides me knows the importance of putting a higher octane on import cars. Kudos to you bro, keep up the good work! I myself is also a Honda tech and believe me when I tell you that almost everyone at my work doesn’t know the difference of gas octanes and what they do for import engines.👍👍

[samaabe]

I have the 2023 Honda Accord EX (1.5T) and the owner's manual recommends 87+ octane or higher. I looked up the Acura Integra 1.5T and they recommend 91+ octane. Its the same engine! You're right premium fuel is the way to go.

[glanzera]

Part of the reason I bought a '16 Accord was because I just knew Honda would be going turbo and ditching the trusty K24. They usually don't let common engine issues like this persist for too long, hopefully that's the case here because the L15 is gonna be around for a while.

[Danny-degn]

Just finished a head gasket job on my 19 accord. It had 101k miles on it. Hoping it’ll last at least another 60k

[jamieharris]

I’ve been working at a dealership 5 years. Up until about a year ago we saw few head gasket failures. Just the last month I’ve had 3. Still not many across the shop though. Apart from the head gaskets and regular bad injectors though, the 1.5 isn’t seeming super problematic.

[jbh]

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.

[sherm]

Ive been putting high octane for a while people said theres no benefits but im glad you give a legit one