[Tony Allen]

So again I'm new here but wanted to start a fresh thread on this...
Thoughts on reliability of the 1.5L Turbo engine in the 10th gen Accords?

Just bought a certified 2020 Accord EX-L 1.5, 28k miles.
Certified Powertrain warranty is good until Fall 2027 / 100K miles.
I plan on driving it well past 100k...part of the reason I bought it. Love the way it drives.

Just watched a lot of YouTube vids on blown 1.5's, and read a lot of comments on those vids.
Any idea how many of these engines really failed? 1 out of 1000? 1 out of 100? I would imagine it's a small percentage.
Seems hard to believe this engine is so susceptible to failure early on, as it and so many variants are used in so many vehicles all over the planet.
Is high octane fuel recommended for longevity?

Let me know your thoughts. thanks!

 

[WiiMaster]

Thoughts on reliability of the 1.5L Turbo engine in the 10th gen Accords?

What reliability?

I would say your specific use case does matter, but there's no getting around poor design. Don't just look at videos of failed engines, look at the video that actually shows the internals of the engine and what the problem areas are.

Is high octane fuel recommended for longevity?

Many speculate that it helps, but I don't believe there's any actual evidence supporting it.

 

[DerekWildstar]

There just isn't enough evidence yet of people running high mileages with that engine, as opposed to the K-series and J-series motors, which have been around long enough that we've seen some big mileages (one million miles in a J30A4, anyone?).

I don't think there is enough data regarding octane level, but I do think gas quality is important. I try my best to only run Top Tier gas in my cars, when available.

 

[LunarGod]

You'll hear different things about the 1.5 motor but based on all the evidence I've seen, it seems like the early 10th gen accords (mainly the 2018 model year) ones are more prone to headgasket issues. But even then, think about how many 2018 Accords were sold versus the amount having issues, my guess is that the vast majority are still in the clear and doing ok. The later model years seem to be pretty reliable and are having no real issues so far. I have a 2020 as well and I've had absolutely nothing go wrong so far (granted im only at 30k right now). The Civic guys with the same motor have higher mileage and they are also doing great, so I am pretty confident that you're in the clear. I wouldn't worry.

 

[Tony Allen]

WiiMaster - yes this is what I am getting at. There is a good YouTube video where hondamobilemechanic has the 1.5L engine broken down and shows the lines in between the cylinders, where the gasket is prone to blowing. Also shows the weak connecting rods. He claims to have worked on 2018-2021 motors, all blown.

Obviously this is pretty alarming, considering Honda has put SO MANY turbocharged 1.5's in SO MANY vehicles. So what are the odds of this actually happening? I was hoping to get some feedback and reassurance from owners who have taken their 1.5 10th gens to 150k+ miles, and if there are any Honda Techs out there who would argue that engine failure is indeed rare. Seems like right now it's still too early to really tell, or no? Once my 100k powertrain warranty is up in 2027, there should be enough data by then to make a decision as to whether to hold on to the car, or if it's just a ticking time bomb. I'd like to get my moneys worth and get 200k miles out of the car.

 

[UnknownJinX]

There are some pretty high mileage 1.5T Civics out there like this one.

As for the engines blowing, makes me wonder if we are talking about modded ones or neglected ones. Abuse(from bad or way too aggressive tunes) or neglect(long oil drain intervals, non-synthetic oil changes, no turbo cooldown after hard/highway driving, etc.) can do a turbo engine in pretty easily, so if you can get a stock one with good maintenance records from the later model years that addressed the fuel dilution issue.

As for octane, I would just follow the recommendation in the Owner's Manual. If you drive aggressively and you are seeing a bit of knock retard from your OBD2 reader, then you can step up a bit in octane rating.

 

[WiiMaster]

I think a stock 1.5T that is just used as a standard daily can definitely get to 100k, maybe even 200k. But I wouldn't trust it to go indefinitely like you could with many other Honda engines.

 

[UnknownJinX]

I think a stock 1.5T that is just used as a standard daily can definitely get to 100k, maybe even 200k. But I wouldn't trust it to go indefinitely like you could with many other Honda engines.

300k and 400k mile examples do exist, like the one I posted.

They just don't tolerate bad maintenance as well as the older engines but then again, it's not like the NA batch is completely perfect.

 

[Honda2014]

300k and 400k mile examples do exist, like the one I posted.

They just don't tolerate bad maintenance as well as the older engines but then again, it's not like the NA batch is completely perfect.

For the 2.0t or 1.5t?

The highest mileage for the Accord I’ve seen on the board is a member with 244k+ on a 2.0 and still going strong.

I’ve yet to see any 1.5t going over 200k here on DA.

 

[Honda2014]

The high mileage on the Civic isn’t too surprising, having owned a ‘18 Civic for a few years myself. The Civic is smaller, shorter and lighter compared to the Accord. Although out of concerns I still went with the NA 2.0 on the Civic.

With that said, the 200-300 lbs of weight difference shouldn’t be that much of a concern. It seems like it’s only when people start to race the car or mod the car in their 1.5 Accord do they begin to have issues. The 1.5t just isn’t designed for that.

 

[slimm1469]

Overall Honda makes great engines. I'd avoid the first year of a new engine and accept that mass manufactured machines will never come off the line 100% pure 100% of the time. This is a good thread for the OP's question.

 

[Tony Allen]

Just browsing used 10th gen 1.5 Accords on Autotrader and sorting with mileage highest, there's a handful over 200k miles and quite a few over 150k miles. Granted these would mostly be highway miles, since most of them are newer cars...but it's reassuring to see. At this point I'm assuming as long as the car is properly maintained and not abused, the engine should last a good while.

 

[DARKART]

It will be reliable, just don’t tune it. There is no reason to increase the boost on it.

 

[MisterHooman]

There are some pretty high mileage 1.5T Civics out there like this one.

As for the engines blowing, makes me wonder if we are talking about modded ones or neglected ones. Abuse(from bad or way too aggressive tunes) or neglect(long oil drain intervals, non-synthetic oil changes, no turbo cooldown after hard/highway driving, etc.) can do a turbo engine in pretty easily, so if you can get a stock one with good maintenance records from the later model years that addressed the fuel dilution issue.

As for octane, I would just follow the recommendation in the Owner's Manual. If you drive aggressively and you are seeing a bit of knock retard from your OBD2 reader, then you can step up a bit in octane rating.

A turbo cooldown is just that... for the turbo. Just because the engine is connected to the turbo via piping doesn't mean this has anything to do with the engine. Likewise, if the turbo goes, it doesn't mean the engine goes too. Bad example their man.

I agree with the rest of your statements though. Long oil change intervals and anything less than full synthetic motor oil is a no go in these. The longer the oil change interval goes, the more fuel dilution in the oil. Fuel is not a good lubricant like oil is. There will be consequences.

Full synthetic oil is more robust therefore able to go longer on an oil change interval.

We all know short trips for a car with direct injection is bad... The main problem is frequent short trips. Fuel in your oil doesn't get a chance to evaporate therefore the fuel dilution issue gets compounded over time. Not to mention, carbon deposits form more quickly with frequent short trips.

One way to help combat fuel dilution is to go with a thicker viscosity oil. Instead of a 0W-20, use a 0W-30 or a 0W-40 or a variant of (example 5W-30 or 5W-40). Another way to help combat fuel dilution is shortening your oil change interval.

 

[imjimmy]

A turbo cooldown is just that... for the turbo. Just because the engine is connected to the turbo via piping doesn't mean this has anything to do with the engine. Likewise, if the turbo goes, it doesn't mean the engine goes too. Bad example their man.

I agree with the rest of your statements though. Long oil change intervals and anything less than full synthetic motor oil is a no go in these. The longer the oil change interval goes, the more fuel dilution in the oil. Fuel is not a good lubricant like oil is. There will be consequences.

Full synthetic oil is more robust therefore able to go longer on an oil change interval.

We all know short trips for a car with direct injection is bad... The main problem is frequent short trips. Fuel in your oil doesn't get a chance to evaporate therefore the fuel dilution issue gets compounded over time. Not to mention, carbon deposits form more quickly with frequent short trips.

One way to help combat fuel dilution is to go with a thicker viscosity oil. Instead of a 0W-20, use a 0W-30 or a 0W-40 or a variant of (example 5W-30 or 5W-40). Another way to help combat fuel dilution is shortening your oil change interval.

Is it fine to use the 5W-30 in Accord 2.0T? Will it have any adverse consequences? Thanks.

 

[MisterHooman]

Is it fine to use the 5W-30 in Accord 2.0T? Will it have any adverse consequences? Thanks.

Depends on who you ask. Some of the people on here are anal about following the owner's manual and don't stray from it. Ask them and you get shunned if you don't follow the all mighty owner's manual. Others have no mechanical knowledge or don't bother to do their own research but have no problem injecting their opinion in the conversation. Others have done research and present a well-informed opinion. Others have already done it. They have modified Accords that are already running 5W-30 or 0W-30.

I don't see a problem running 5W-30 in your Accord. Technically, there will be more friction which should result in less MPG, but it's a negligible amount. The thicker oil should offer benefits when it comes to protection from heat or fuel dilution.

Think about something for a minute... the Accord in the US has different oil recommendations in the owner's manual than the Accord in the UAE. The US Accord says 0W-20 for everyone regardless of climate. The UAE Accord has a wide range of oil weights you can use depending on the climate. Same drivetrain. Now why is that? CAFE isn't a thing in the UAE, but it is here in the US. Hmm...

I've ran 0W-30 in a vehicle that called for 5W-20 and that vehicle was pushing almost 500 horsepower with a lot of modifications. That vehicle was driven hard and I never had any problems. I wanted a slightly thicker oil for a little more protection since it was being driven hard. I could have ran 0W-40 in that vehicle without problems as well.

 

[UnknownJinX]

A turbo cooldown is just that... for the turbo. Just because the engine is connected to the turbo via piping doesn't mean this has anything to do with the engine. Likewise, if the turbo goes, it doesn't mean the engine goes too. Bad example their man.

The turbo technically isn't a part of the engine, but if it goes, it does cost a fair amount of money and/or time to sort out, and a damaged turbo could naturally lead to engine damage as well.

As for oil viscosity, if your car has been heavily modified then yeah, the factory recommendations go out of the window since the engine is not factory spec anymore. You listen to whatever your tuner recommends, and things like spark plug heat range also get shifted to colder specs as you push for big power.

For a factory car you are just driving around town, there isn't any reason to deviate from it.

 

[Tonka23]

To all you praising the 1.5 and its ability to go to 100k+...I got a smokin deal on a 2018 for you with 62k on it

 

[DrKF]

I think a stock 1.5T that is just used as a standard daily can definitely get to 100k, maybe even 200k. But I wouldn't trust it to go indefinitely like you could with many other Honda engines.

You’re making an unwarranted assumption.