I am working with the dealership who did a software update on 2/07/19 and am waiting to check the oil again, to see if there is oil in it which there definitely was on 2/4, 2/5 when I checked it. Had less than 200 miles on my car before this and now about 230. Called Honda America pre-maturely but will continue to deal with. As a last resort, I will picket the dealership and would like to use the HondaProblems.com article about this to hand out. Would like your approval to so but find it near impossible how to contact you. Any help doing so appreciated.

I discovered this issue after about 2000 miles. My dealership changed the oil and said Honda had a solution and it was coming soon. I had another oil change at approx. 4000 miles and then the fix/update performed at 6000. At 9000 miles I had a terrible smell of gasoline in the cabin of my car. I checked the oil and it was diluted and overfilled. My dealership confirmed this but then I was told they could no longer change my oil for free, due to the fact I had already received the update.

I was advised to contact Honda corp. I did just that and on my return call she referred to my complaint as "because you did not get a free oil change." I lost my temper a bit after getting nowhere with case manager and being told to "monitor your oil levels often. if you feel it is overfilled you can take it to your dealership for an oil change but it will be your expense." Good grief!

I then spoke to my dealership---they have been awesome and are doing all they can to resolve this--I need to be clear on that. the dealership with advise from district service manager then replaced my PCV valve, fuel injectors and all cabin filters. I was cautiously optimistic. After another condescending and terrible conversation with a new case manager at Honda corp, I contacted my dealership again. This time, the Honda case manager told me there is not need to repair, our engineers feel this is normal. I asked why they fixed it the first time if it's normal. I was then told that was NOT a repair but an update to enhance the performance of my car." Unbelievable!!

After driving 890 miles after the work done at the dealership, my cabin again had a strong fuel smell as well as my garage after parking. I am waiting to hear back from my service manager. He said he will be in contact with the district rep or will start talking with GM and sales team to get me into a 2019.

I am so upset and in disbelief that American Honda is taking this stand when it is obvious there is a problem. I have contacted my state attorney general and have been advise to pursue the lemon law. I have to try arbitration first but am holding off as I don't want to interfere with anything my dealership is trying to do. if I do pursue lemon law etc, I will be asking for a refund on my car, not replacement as I am not sure I can trust Honda any longer.

I've leased a 2018 Honda CRV LX...within the first 6 months I noticed a fuel smell in the cabin. Brought it into the dealership and they discovered the engine was holding approximately 1 litre more fluid in the engine than normal. Told it was as a result of the fuel and oil mixing problem...The dealer played a little 'dumb' until I brought up several of the facts that I discovered online about this huge problem. Changed my oil and gave the standard line...It's 'OK' it's designed to do that...blah blah...I later received the notice to conduct the update on the vehicle...They were very vague about what this was 'update' actually was...

The AC module control was changed...the advisor couldn't explain what this was doing. This was completed and now I have little to no heat in sub-zero temps unless I'm highway driving at least 100 k/h. Temp gauge goes up and drops when slowing down and blows cold air.

Brought it to the dealership again and they told me the vehicle is operating as other 2017-2018 CRV's. When I asked what that meant, the service adviser told me they are all having this problem...So in a devious way they're not lying when he said it's operating like all other CRV's. I was told to drive in sport mode...I don't have sport mode, there is a 'second' gear, I've never heard this type of advice just to get heat, they said don't have the fan on full...good luck when it's minus 30 degrees C. The CRV doesn't warm up at all with the remote starter...totally useless option that I paid for. How has this affected the advertised mileage? If these changes have varied the mileage at all Honda needs to rectify this issue as they have not sold the consumer a product as advertised. Everyone needs to complain formally so this issue is addressed...This may be the worse vehicle built in the last 20 years!

I brought car into the dealer 3/23/18 with 2534 miles on it. The dipstick showed 3/4 of an inch over full and smelled strongly of gas. I asked the dealer to catch the oil and tell me how much over full it was. I sat down in the lounge to wait for my car....tech comes in and asks me if I had a can to catch the oil in. I told him no....he says he has nothing to put the used oil in....says he's going to go ahead and change it, which he does. They charged me nothing......never made a repair order on it, and said I could go. I asked them what was causing the problem. They replied they had never had anything like that before...knew nothing about the problem which was a bare faced lie! There are 3 other members of my family with this same car, same problem. At this point in time they would not admit an ongoing problem to any of the 4 of us.

Update from Mar 6, 2019: brought the car in again 7/30/2018 at 7156 miles. Again it was over full and smelling like gas. I asked that the over full condition be acknowledged on my repair order. It was not. Again, I was charged nothing for the oil and filter change and was told that they have no idea why my engine was full of gas.

Update from Mar 6, 2019: returned to the dealership 11/28/2018 at 9822 miles. Again the oil level registered 3/4'' over the full mark. This time the tech did catch the used oil and found there to be 4.6 quarts of oil and gas in the sump without draining the filter. This sump is supposed to hold 3.0 quarts of oil without a filter change.

Update from Mar 6, 2019: returned to the dealership 1/08/2019 with the same condition,: engine sump overfilled with oil and gas. This time the dip stick showed 5/8'' over full. The oil was changed.....not the filter. A software update was performed and the A/C control was replaced as per Honda Bulletin. As of today 3/06/2019 I have 1500 miles on this repair and the oil level is climbing up again.....about 3/8'' over full on the dipstick. I will be returning to the dealer shortly

I became aware of the issue this summer. I check the fluids and tire pressure weekly on all our vehicles as a habit (you should too). After the first oil change, I noticed the level rise and took it in. The local (Honda City LI) large dealership claimed I was the first to mention the issue, an obvious company instructed lie. They would only bring the oil to the prescribed level, but my intention was to get the issue logged. It took ~ an hour. Last weekend, I noticed the level was high again. I took it back in Tuesday and was once again told "we're unaware off the issue" BS. This time they mentioned there was a service bulletin. When they were done, they told me they changed the oil (~ 1.5 hrs) but could do nothing else because there was no error code, maybe because I brought it in before there was a crankcase overfill issue in order to prevent future engine failure? They also told me the oil change was a 'one-time' accommodation. So, will I have to risk damaging oil dilution in order to get a fix? That makes no sense!

To be fair, the dealership has been fine in dealing with this issue, I get the sense they are hamstrung by Honda. Though we spent a lot of time testing every car in this category and came away thinking the CRV was clearly the best choice, I am now very disappointed in my decision and based on Honda's handling of the issue would strongly advise everyone avoid this vehicle. Delaying the fix will in the end severely shorten engine life and damage the resale value of the vehicle. Even if they eventually fix the issue, so many driving with diluted oil will affect us all. THIS SHOULD ALREADY BE A RECALL FOR ALL '17 AND '18 CRV'S!!!!!! FWIW, we don't do a lot of short trips, extensive idling and the issue started before it became cold.

Really disapointed with HONDA. They sold me a beautiful vehicle with a known defect. I only have 300 miles on current oil change and the level is already going up. Not the dealers fault, as they are trying to work with me. Think their excuse of fuel condensing in cylinder wall is bull. We never drive less than 20 miles, so our engine gets warmed up completely. If there is that much fuel getting injected, would expect black smoke and converter fouling soon.

Update from Mar 23, 2019: For the record, The "FIX" was installed 1/2/19 at 7285 miles. We are now just over 10K miles and the problem is getting worse!! Oil level still going up, and on top of that, local dealer has lost all credibility. Took the vehicle in to dealer on 3/15/19 for an oil change with only 1800 miles since last change. Level on dipstick was above orange plastic tip. After debate with service advisor on how to check level, she decided to change oil at my expense and measure what came out. I agreed. About an hour later service manager came to waiting room with a used 1 gallon oil container with about 3.8 quarts in it. Said that was the oil that came out of my engine. Couldn't explain why I had seen high level on dipstick, but would wave the fees for my inconvenience. Odd thing official service report done by mechanic said he removed 4.6 quarts. Blowing smoke up where?? All this information was sent to Customer Service at Honda to be attached to existing complaint case documents. Got a call from Honda Customer Service on 3/22/19. Was informed Honda engineers say " This amount of oil dilution is normal for that engine, and there are no plans to address the issue", and my case would now be closed. Wow", I was speechless. Save all your documents boys and girls, this is about to get ugly. Will start with the old fashion lemons and the BBB, and work my way up from there. Social Media is a terrible thing to waste.

Body of letter I wrote to Honda on 2/15/19:

February 15, 2019

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Customer Service 1919 Torrance Blvd. Mail Stop 100-5E-8A Torrance, CA 90501-2746

To Whom It May Concern:

I own a 2018 CR-V AWD EX-L with the 1.5L turbo engine. (ID# 7FARW2H87JE010589) I live in Columbus, Indiana. I purchased the vehicle on February 9, 2018 from Hubler Honda, Columbus, IN.

I normally check my own oil along with other fluid levels and items such as tire air pressure. I noticed the oil level being over full in the fall of 2018, at that time we had about 6,000 miles on the vehicle. At 7237 miles I had my first oil change at Hubler on October 15, 2018 (copy of receipt attached).

I became aware of the oil dilution issue after receiving a letter from Honda regarding service bulletin 18-114. I checked the oil level and found it to be way over-filled on December 1, 2018 (see AUTOsist note #1 and photo #1 attached). I visited Hubler and they advised that a permanent fix was on its way and I should wait for a formal recall, however I was very concerned about the long term affect on our car’s engine so I returned to Hubler and expressed my displeasure with the delay. They called me a day or two later indicating that they would perform the recall work which was completed on January 8, 2019 (see receipt #2 and photo#2 attached). I checked the oil level immediately after the oil change and found it was at the top of the orange plastic tip of the dipstick (I realize the full level is at the top hole in the orange tip). Hoping that the oil dilution issue was fixed, I checked the oil again today, February 15, 2019 after the vehicle sat in the garage all night. The oil level was found to be way above the full mark and beyond the top of the orange tip by more than ½” (see photo #3). The oil dilution issue has not been corrected in my vehicle.

I am writing this letter to express my concern and with the impact this matter will have on our vehicle long term. Extending the warranty is not an acceptable solution. I am concerned about the impact of a breakdown while traveling and the subsequent consequences. This is not withstanding the loss of trade-in value that will accompany this vehicle in the future.

My issue is not with Hubler Honda, they provided the repairs as suggested by Honda, Inc., after my initial request, but the repair did not work. What is Honda going to do for me now to fix this situation permanently? Please respond.

Thank you.

Update from Feb 26, 2019: I received an immediate phone call from Tina, Case Manager at Honda Customer Service, I thought great, Honda was going to respond positively to my concern. WRONG!!! I got a very terse canned statement "there is no concern and no recall. If the check engine light comes on take it to your dealer." When I questioned her, she repeated the same exact response.

If a class action suit is happening I want to be included.

What I'm seeing now is that the "fix" is a significant increase in rpm right after start up to 1500 rpm and then backing off a little after a few minutes. What that does just dumps more fuel into the cylinders and consequently more blow-by. I think the "fix" just makes the issue worse.

I'm going to change the oil, after only 750 miles since Honda changed it, to allow me to sleep at night. I can't in good conscience just let the engine destroy itself.

Update from Feb 27, 2019: Everyone who is having this issue should fill out the form with the federal government NHTSA - its easy to do. The more complaints that the feds see may cause them to look into this matter. Thanks

Update from May 30, 2019: Still checking the oil often since the "fix" oil level above the orange plastic dip stick end. The warmer weather here in central Indiana probably helps as much as anything since the engine warms up quicker and thus not dumping so much fuel into the cylinders when cold. Our mileage had dropped off though, only averaging 27 mpg. I'm sure the problem will come back when the weather cools off again.

Update from Aug 27, 2019: August 27, 2019 Update

Had the oil/filter changed on July 17, 2019 (mileage 11,717) prior to vacation trip back east into northern NY, in total the trip was about 2000 miles over 10 days. Oil level then (7/17) was about 1/8" over the orange plastic dipstick end (1900 miles on previous oil change). Our reading today is 14,118. The weather here has been hot, most days in the 80's and some into the 90's. The oil level now is 1/2" over the full mark so this problem is not a cold weather issue. The product update made no difference except poorer gas mileage. I still get gas in the oil, in hot weather, after long drives. Obviously Honda won't do anything for us, so I'm going to investigate a trade. Toyota or Ford.

I reported problem to my Hondal dealer with 11K miles on it. They checked and I got their official report: "Costumer states the thermostat go from warm to cold fast and the oil is overflowing and smells like gas in cabin. Found that the oil has normal amount of gas, oil level is normal. Temp gauge is working as it should at this time, At colder temps gauge will drop fast. Everything is working as it should be." I know where you pull stick from oil chamber, this oil smells like gas. Also after being 15 minutes on the road my heat stop working especially when going down the hill, not using gas pedal.

I purchase my new 2018 Honda CR-V in November 2018, not realizing the apparent issues inherent with the vehicle’s engine. Surely had I known at the time I would not have purchased the car. Since December, learning of matters, I have been plugged into various sites and blogs regarding the issues on pretty much a daily basis.

My drive to work is approximated 18 miles one way. Today on the travel, with the outside temperature reading 21 degrees on the car’s display, I noticed, for lack of heat, that it took the car about 8 miles to reach normal operating temperature, which is about half way on the gauge. At about 10 miles, a strong odor of gasoline filled the cockpit of the car. Looking down at the temperature gauge, it had fallen to the quarter mark. I consider driving down the road at 40mph and having the car fill will such a strong smell of gasoline a safety hazard and immediately found a spot to pull over, turned off the car, got out, opened the doors to air it out and looked under the hood where the odor remained. The drive is constant and in the country, so there is no reason for the gasoline odor or for the operating temperature drop except for the car itself.

I am extremely disappointed and concerned since this seems to be one of the symptoms plaguing the car potentially leading to additional serious issues. I have just over 3000 miles on the car and purchased it because I plan on retiring soon and need dependable transportation when on a fixed income. The only thing that I’ve learned from Honda is an excuse, that it is a cold climate issue and will be addressed in those areas. I live in South Carolina where 21 degrees in the winter is not uncommon and hardly considered a cold weather climate.

I demand to know the root cause for the obvious issues with the car and a fix for the long term. Otherwise I want the vehicle replaced with another that doesn’t have an engine associated with these problems or my hard earned money refunded, so that I can look for a vehicle elsewhere.

Just like all the other complaints, had the "fix" done by the dealer where they reprogram the car and replace the heater control. Was told this is the fix for the oil/gasoline issue and the poor heat in the cabin. Oil level keeps rising with no change in the rate of increase. Boy do I regret buying this vehicle! Honda will not stand behind their error. As you keep pushing Honda, their response was 1. Never heard of this issue 2. This is normal, Not a problem 3. Honda has addressed the issue. Well, Honda has not addressed the issue because my oil smells like gas and is dark. The oil in the pic shows the oils after several hundred miles.

Honda America is downplaying the oil contamination problem. Honda Canada is taking it more serious. I live in Northeast Iowa and it gets very cold here. I am watching the oil level rise and concerned my $30K purchase is being damaged as we drive. I am retired and cannot afford extra repair expenses. Honda needs to man-up and fix this issue ASAP. Iowa is not on the list to be fixed first.

Honda has let me down in my last two new cars purchased from them. I had a 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid. The battery design was terrible and was difficult to service. When the batteries started failing, Honda reprogrammed the engines to use the battery less and burn more fuel. Why did I buy a Hybrid?

We took our new CRV on a trip to Nashville, TN from Traverse City, MI. The check engine light came on and the oil can icon lit up. I called the Honda dealer where I bought the c rv from and they had no idea what was going on. I got out and checked the oil and found it high. I brought the Honda to a quick lube to check it. They changed the oil then sent me on my way. After arriving back home TC a few weeks later we got a recall letter from Honda.

On Wednesday, December 26th, Williams Honda in TC did the recall work. On Thursday my wife got in the vehicle to go shopping and the heater would not work. She called the Honda dealer and brought the Honda to them. They said that they did not cause the heater to not work with the recall repair. After doing something, the heater began to work again. This is very worrisome, we are not sure what to do next.

7FARW2H50JE069778

Update from Dec 29, 2018: Update Saturday December 29th, we went for a drive around Traverse City, stopped at the Farmer's Market, visited new car dealerships and returned home and parked it in the garage. During the drive, it took the Honda 45 minutes to warm up so the heater would work properly. It's 22 degrees F in TC. After 45 minutes in the garage I went out and checked the oil level. It was way over full again and smelled like gas. The recall fix obviously did not work.

Checked the oil level on dipstick today after hearing all the gasoline in oil rumors. I've got it too. Very, very, strong smell of gasoline on the dipstick. I know gas and oil will not mix friendly. I'm afraid this dilution will wear out my motor before its time. I bought this CRV to replace a 20 year old Chrysler Concorde. Yeah, I drive my cars a long time before I'm ready to upgrade. I only average 7000 miles a year so with maintenance I usually can keep them going. Not sure if I will be able to overcome this oil dilution. Bet I won't see 20 years in this car. Had I known how widespread this problem was, I would have bought a Toyota Rav4, comparable vehicle with a lot less problems.

Update from Jan 19, 2020: At 7800 miles now.I havent smelled fuel in the cabin since my original complaint.I have added a pcv catch can to my engine and am noticing lots of fuel in the can during colder temps.I keep an eye on the oil dipstick level and it seems to rise more in cold temps than the other 8 months of the year.It still does it then but not as bad as colder weather

I bought my 1.5T AWD CR-V in January 2018. The dealer changed the oil at the recommended 5,000 miles in late July 2018. I first noticed a smell of gasoline in our garage in early October 2018 (like we have an old 1960s-era car, with a leaky carbureted fuel system.) I also notice occasional wafts of gasoline smell, when we drive with the windows down & roof open.

In mid-October I did a did a side-by-side dipstick smell test: from the cold engines of my 70,000-mile Infiniti G37 and the CR-V. The Infiniti's oil (3,000 miles-old) was slightly grimy, a tiny bit down from the full mark, and smelled of used engine oil. The Honda's oil (1,600 miles-old) was very marginally above full, looked pristine-clear, and smelled of gasoline.

In late October 2018, at 6,900 miles, I took the CR-V to the dealer for a precautionary early oil change. Two service advisors had never heard of the oil dilution problem. A third told me, "We've only had two."

Now that winter has set in I've noticed that the engine never gets up to working temperature if the cabin heat is on. From cold I drive the car for 10 minutes before switching on the cabin heat. This allows the engine to warm up. The engine can't get itself up to working temperature AND deliver cabin heat simultaneously. It's akin to deliberately keeping an engine cold by both fitting an oversize radiator, and removing the coolant thermostat.

I'm guessing this is why the injectors are squirting in the very rich fuel mixture that's washing down into the oil. Gasoline-thinned oil is a bad lubricant... and horrible for engine longevity.

I’ve always wanted to have a Honda CRV. Waited for my Honda CRV Touring to arrive at dealer directly from the factory and picked it up on September 20, 2018 with only 11 miles. My husband was going to change the oil yesterday (11/24/18). He had to look up oil capacity via the internet because it was not in our new owner's manual. This is when we started seeing comments related to the 2017 & 2018 CRV's with the 1.5 Turbo Honda engine along with 2016 to 2018 Honda Civics with the same motor having the same problems, oil dilution. He checked the oil dip stick level and sure enough we are showing over the fill mark according to Honda's recommendations. Oil level was checked when we purchased the vehicle and it was normal. Oil color is black and smells of gasoline vapors. Yesterday's odometer reading is 1,142 miles. This is a brand new vehicle and Honda is doing what - NOTHING. We have had a total of seven Honda vehicles since 1985. This is our sixth brand new Honda vehicle and our last!!! Why does Honda get away with selling these cars and continue selling these cars when there is a serious long term issue that can damage the engine. It is the consumer at this point that is paying not Honda. Calling the dealership first thing in the morning to return our Honda CRV for oil change minimum and to see what they have to say about fixing this issue. Will they replace the brand new motor due to insufficient lubrication? This is a 170 mile round trip to the dealership and back for this oil change. Have read comments from other Honda owners that have done the same thing and are having to have their oil changed every 500 miles. This is not a fix for the problem. Once again what is Honda doing! Due to my mileage usage of this vehicle, I have no choice but to set up oil change appointments every two weeks. The combustion engine was never designed to use gasoline in the crank case for lubricating of all internal surfaces. Not only is this impacting the crank case, but the oil also lubricates the turbo charger to keep it cool as stated in the owner’s manual. According to the Honda owner's manual, the turbo charger reaches a temperature of 1,292 degrees, so how is gasoline lubricating my turbo. Going to be filing a report With the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) along with Honda Customer Service about this issue. If you have a 2017 or 2018 Honda CRV be sure to check your oil and if you also have this problem report it to the NHTSA and Honda Customer Service.

My new CR-V just turned 391 miles (630 kms) when I checked the oil during a trip to the gas station, and noticed it was way overfilled, and smelled like gas. I went home, and did some research. I got the same results that most people get, when they find out they were also victims of Honda's crap engine defects! I thought getting a Honda was a sure way to avoid big problems. I was wrong. Sadly enough, they are still selling these vehicles knowing this major defect. Thankfully, I am leasing mine for two years only. Because they are the ones stuck with it after the lease, they did the software update (Recall #N61) on November 05. It seems to have helped, but too soon to call it a fix. Do not buy this vehicle, and do not believe them if they says it's normal! It isn't normal, and will eventually kill the engine. Avoid this lemon at all cost!!!!!