2020 CRV 1.5 TGDI oil

We had a 18 CRV with the same engine. Wasn’t till the 20K Mark I noticed oil rising. About 1.5 qrts of fuel was dumped into the case. There was no noises or oil pressure problems. I used Amsoil SS 0W20 and followed the olm. The wife wanted something bigger so she got a 19 Pilot.
 
I'm one of the lucky owners of a 2017 CR-V 1.5L, so I know your concern. At least you did your research prior to buying earlier because I wish I would of. I would of definitely gone with something else, though engine aside the CR-V is a pretty awesome family car.

Anyway, I've run Amsoil SS 0w-30 for a majority of it's life, along with premium gas, and changing the engine air filter every 10k miles. There was a post that I read that said do those things to help and I just stuck with it. I followed the cars OCI reminders, usually 7000-8000 miles, and I felt comfy with the 0w-30 in there being able to do that. My most recent change I went with High Performance Lubricants 0w-20. I'm a sucker for boutique oils and just wanted to give it a go. I'm only going to leave it in for 3,000-4,000 miles, do an oil analysis, and see what the much more oil educated people here say I should do. Crossing fingers I don't have much dilution, but is what it is. I'll run this car to the ground till I buy a new one.

I'm not trying to beatcha up but I have to ask why 7-8k OCI when you have a concerns with a TGDI? Is it based off UOA's? I don't own a TGDI but if I did I would be looking at 5k with whatever synthetic and a good filter and some UOA's here and there. New engine off the lot would b a 1k and a 3k and then a 5k OCI. Just me.
 
Unless the 0w30 or the 5w30 are both shear stable, I'd rather use a 0w20 or 5w20. Less VII's. Mobil 1 EP 0w20 is majority PAO. I'd use that. A 10w30 would be not a bad choice either, if it is ok to use that.

Among the boutique brands, Red Line 20 grade or Driven 20 grade would be nice options.

Doesnt Higher PAO oil on GDI makes the oil degrade faster or make fuel dilution worse? Recalled seeing it on a thread about this.
 
Doesnt Higher PAO oil on GDI makes the oil degrade faster or make fuel dilution worse? Recalled seeing it on a thread about this.
The base stock composition is irrelevant to any fuel dilution. And what kind of “degradation” are you referring to? Please post a link to the thread you saw.
 
The base stock composition is irrelevant to any fuel dilution. And what kind of “degradation” are you referring to? Please post a link to the thread you saw.

I may have used the wrong term. But, You participate on this oil forum a lot. I know you have seen the thread regarding this.

It was also a question, not a statement. Read it again.
 
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I may have used the wrong term. But, You participate on this oil forum a lot. I know you have seen the thread regarding this.

It was also a question, not a statement. Read it again.
If I saw it I guess I forgot.

But you referenced it, not me. Why do I need to read it again and why are you so snarky? I just wanted to see how the PAO base stock was degrading since I've never seen that before AFAIK.
 
If I saw it I guess I forgot.

But you referenced it, not me. Why do I need to read it again and why are you so snarky? I just wanted to see how the PAO base stock was degrading since I've never seen that before AFAIK.

Because of the way you responded... People here know you are conceited.
Always looking for errors.
 
OP,
Do you happen to know what was changed with the 2020 model to prevent/reduce fuel dilution...seems like GDI + Turbo = fuel dilution?
Thanks,
 
Use 0W20. You bought the CR-V so obviously you trust Honda and their products. Why don't trust the oil they chose to run in the CR-V?

If you don't trust their recommended maintenance, sell the car and get something else. You're going to drive yourself crazy overthinking the maintenance of this vehicle. I can't wait to see when the codes pop up to replace the transmission fluid, transfer case, etc............
I have no problem doing any maintenance. As a matter of fact I enjoy it and even have a lift in my personal garage
 
OP,
Do you happen to know what was changed with the 2020 model to prevent/reduce fuel dilution...seems like GDI + Turbo = fuel dilution?
Thanks,
From my understanding it is in the programing for the fuel injectors, something so the car comes up to temperature quicker, and something to do with the climate control system (not sure why). People with the 17-18 are claiming that they must have done more stuff because they had their cars updated to the new programming and still have the issues. Honda has never admitted they have an issue because not all cars suffer from it. So they might have changed something in the 19-20 under the radar and are not saying anything about it because you really do not see 19's with it and I have seen no one mention it on 20's on the CR-V owners forums or FB pages. That is why I was asking about thicker oil (cuts down on OD) and I also change oil every 4K miles regardless of what the MM says. You are always going to have OD on GDI motors but the 1.5 was over the top with literally filling the crankcase with fuel
 
The theory is when the ECM senses knock the mapping not only includes reduced timing but a richer mixture. Richer mixture = More dilution.
My son has SI. With 1.5. He says premium gets better performance, gas mileage and keeps gas out of the oil.
 
Drop the factory fill at 1k... stick with 0w20 and do 5k oci or 6 month whichever comes first.
 
I bought a 2016 CR-V with the 2.4 L normally aspirated engine with 19,877 miles on it back in February because I needed a vehicle and it does not have a turbo, and also it is not known for the fuel dilution problem. Even so I do detect a faint smell of gasoline from the oil on the dip-stick so because mine is direct injection I was a little concerned about fuel getting into the oil. So I checked the oil level often and watched for it rising. The dip-stick on mine has a small sharp V bent into it a little above the two holes in the bottom. I would clean the inside of that V and look for oil in it after inserting and removing it. But after a while I found something better.

On mine (and probably on yours) there are two small O rings in the top of the dip-stick. You can wipe the dip stick so the holes on the bottom do not have any oil in them, and then insert the dip-stick until the first O ring touches the top of the tube but no further, and then remove it and see if the top hole does not have oil in it. Of course you always have the vehicle on level ground when you check the oil level.

If you know that the oil is below that mark when you insert only to the first O ring with a fresh fill of oil, (there is no oil in the top hole) you can use that as your gauge to check that the level is not rising from fuel getting into the oil from then on.

You could try inserting up to the second O ring but that is too far for mine and the top hole will have oil in it if I put the dip-stick in the tube that far, also with the resistance of the first O ring it is difficult to slowly insert the dip-stick only enough to get to only the second O ring and not go past it.

I use the inserting to the first O ring and the top hole not having oil in it as my go - no go indicator that the oil level is not rising.

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BTW, yesterdays there was a post that mentioned that Bernardi auto parts is a very good place to order original Honda parts and fluids from at a low price.

Check out my post yesterday under "getting new RDX" and the info about carrying a torque wrench to tighten the wheel lugs if you ever have to change to the spare tire.

Today a added an index card with the same message on both sides, to my spare tire changing tools that reminds me to "turn off the traction control when the spare tire is in use." and torque the lug-nuts to 80 Lb/Ft

The turning off the traction control is mentioned on one of the YouTube videos on how to change a tire on a Honda CR-V.

Good luck with your new ride.
 
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I use to fly remote control model airplanes very often. And sometimes people who had a background with full scale (real) aircraft would comment on some things they had experienced. Sometimes those comments were related to military aircraft. One day an elder gentleman commented that during WWII in the arctic he maintained military aircraft and that they would thin the oil in the aircraft engines for cold operation by adding gasoline to the oil. From what he said, it worked and they did not have problems because of it. Though I do think those engines had a system that added more oil to the engine in flight to make up for loss, so after the engine was warm the additional oil may have been non-diluted oil. I did not think to ask him about that part of it.

I'm just passing along this example that some dilution of gasoline in the oil does not necessarily mean the engine is going to be damaged.
 
Use 0W20. You bought the CR-V so obviously you trust Honda and their products. Why don't trust the oil they chose to run in the CR-V?

If you don't trust their recommended maintenance, sell the car and get something else. You're going to drive yourself crazy overthinking the maintenance of this vehicle. I can't wait to see when the codes pop up to replace the transmission fluid, transfer case, etc............

That engine in that model is known for fuel dilution.
 
The wife has a 2018 Civic with the 1.5T.

From what I understand, fuel dilution is most likely to occur when the vehicle sees mostly short trips, and, especially, when those short trips occur in cold weather (ECU specifies a rich mixture for starting in cold temps).

Colder ambient means the oil takes longer to reach full operating temp, at which fuel evaporates.

Most people agree that this becomes a non-issue when the owner is careful to frequently take the car out for longer drives and allow the oil to reach full operating temperature, allowing the fuel, along with any moisture, to cook off.

My wife and I do this with hers, and haven’t had any rise in oil level or any other problems in the almost 2 years and almost 40,000 miles that she’s had it.

As for oil, just use a full synthetic from one of the top brands, and you’ll be fine. I stocked up on 0W-20 Valvoline Modern Engine and Mobil 1 Annual Protection last fall when Auto Zone had those on clearlance for $2/qt. I have enough for at least a couple of years.

But, right now, I actually have Pennzoil Platinum 10W-30 in it, along with 1 quart of Edge 0W-20 that I had lying around. I can’t tell a difference in how it runs from straight 0W-20.

It‘s not picky.

If I had to buy oil at full price, I’d probably just run a Good, full-synth 10W-30. I like the protection of a 30W, and I like the fact that 10W-30 usually has a nice, low Noack rating, and not a lot of VM/VII.
 
I have read for hours and days about the fuel dilution and the Honda 1.5. Back in 2018 I was gonna buy a new CRV but did not because of it. I just bought a 2020 because I search owner sites and the web that said it is straightened out on the 2020 models. I must admit it is still in the back of my mind along with the lightweight 0w/20 recommended US oil. (CAFE standards). I posted on the CRV pages about using different viscosity oil because on non US models the chart says you can. People crucify me saying the engine NEEDS 0/20 and it will void my warranty blah blah. The non USA chart says you can use different viscosity's. It is the same exact engine just not in the US. I am just looking at the best protection for the engine for longevity. Was thinking of 0/30 or 5/30. Even Hyundai put out a TSB that even though 5/30 is recommended in their TGDI engines, 5/40 is better for maximum engine protection. Thoughts?

I also have a 2018 1.5L Honda CR-V and first I worried about the oil dilution, but then I found that if you drive your car to the operating temperature, then you don't have to worry about it. I have about 28k miles now, and my oil seems to be in good condition with no "extra oil" during the 5k oil change interval. Used oil comes out with no smell of gas, too. I've been using SuperTech 0w-20 since new until now though.
 
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