2018 Honda civic type R - Water + corrosion in spark plug cylinders warranty claim

Parapara2017

As per title, 2018 FK8 Honda Civic Type R with 72,000km on clock.

They suffer from a known issue of water getting in from the hood scoop assembly, being outside stationary in the rain is enough for this to happen. Water then is left dripping and sitting on the engine cover, which then goes through gaps in the cover onto the spark plug coils and into the spark plug cylinders.

shorturl.at/deIKZ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzFvpuvTmYg

https://www.reddit.com/r/Civic_Type_R/comments/qzl067/water_intrusion_on_cylinder_4_spark_plug/

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/water-intrusion-through-hood-scoop.53691/

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/rusty-parkplugs.34300/

https://www.civicx.com/forum/threads/i-cant-believe-this-is-how-some-honda-dealerships-operate.65061/

Its pretty widespread despite Honda having no official bulletin or fix for it. Cylinder 4 is the worst, which sits right under a the slots on the right hand side below.

Basically, car failed the NCT on emissions, over the next short period that day driving from the NCT center and to a garage noticed very slight hesitations in power which got progressively worse accompanied by weird noise from the exhaust and engine, began misfiring clearly and threw a CEL, stopped and the CEL disappeared but car clearly still misfiring.

Went to mechanic and pulled the coils, clear corrosion on all of them except 2 was pretty clean, 4 was the worst it was actually sitting in a bit of water and heavily corroded tube. 4 also sits under that nice slotted piece of the engine cover above, which is right under the hood scoop. Cleaned spark plug 4 off a bit, misfire improved but still there.

See album here; https://imgur.com/a/PTijJXU

Problem is, Honda so far basically saying its not their problem. Car is a 2018 and the warranty is only for three years. No powertrain warranty, only 72k km and serviced meticulously and then some on top of that. Main dealer interval services with interim fluid changes as required. Plugs in the maintenance schedule recommend replacement at 100k km.

The fix is basically 141.17per coil not including VAT, 57.49 per plug not including VAT, then labor to install and clean out the corroded cylinder tubes. So looking at almost 1k in parts alone and god knows what labor they'd charge. Also, they wont fix the problem anyway because - there is no problem according to them so far. So depending how much it rains, looking at it happening again. Or use some duct tape and rubber bungs etc to try fix the 50k+ car design fault...

Anyway, I know there is probably cheaper ways to do it and DIY etc, especially as there is no warranty 😂 just came to vent while I wait for parts etc and look for some advice about possible options or any other owners who have come across similar and had any luck going through manufacturer.

Leaving a pretty sour taste in my mouth so far. Cant really fault the car otherwise, first real bit of mechanical trouble its ever given. But considering the cost, the 'prestige' of it being Honda's hot hatch pride its pretty poor. It's fair enough if you go in and power wash through the hood scoop or down onto the valve cover, or cut a big hole in the bonnet for X modification, but we live in Ireland, the car should be able to sit and drive in the rain without breaking down.

To top it off, there is no dealer around that can get it in before mid August and there is a 2 week+ lead time on the coils and plugs 🙄

/rant😤

Wibbs

That's more than a bit of a pain. Crazy they didn't spot this obvious issue.

Parapara2017

Aye its an incredible pain. Due to go down the country next week as well which makes it extra painful. Trying to source ignition coils and plugs for it is proving to be a pain. Honda part number is listed as fitting several other vehicles so not sure what the story with the lead times from Honda dealer are or if its the special Type R tax being applied. Had the issue before where was going to be charged more to get the rear brake pads changed because it was a type R not a regular civic - its the same feckin rear brake assembly on a normal civic as it is on the R. Might try ring around a few garages and parts places tomorrow and see if I have any luck.

Can order from UK but no guarantee they'll be here by Friday. Bank holiday doesn't help it really always happens at the best times 😅

It is strange how it wasn't copped and even more strange how there is no fix for it from Honda - at least none I have found. Especially as if it was within warranty it should be covered fairly easily. Shame I didn't check last year and get them to do something about it 😬

Dr Turk Turkelton

Try Tegiwa in the UK for parts.

Parapara2017

Parts seem to be available in the UK, just n guarantee they'll get here by next week I guess. I suppose without an error code to know for sure it would just be trial and error as well. so would need more than one coil pack I guess 😬

Parapara2017

If anyone with scan tool capability happens to have availability tomorrow in South Dublin let me know - Used a software called autel which didn't show any codes even as engine was actively misfiring.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119400917#Comment_119400917

Ive been with Honda for 20+ years now and to be completely honest Ive never heard of this issue. I just checked there on the technical system and theres not even a technical bulletin on this issue and from your links above it doesnt seem to be " a known issue" or "widespread" -It seems to be a few reports in the US but its definitely not common and some people are questioning whether the owners are power washing their engines or some other reason.

Regarding the rear pads - they are definitely not the same as a normal civic. There are 2 completely different part numbers for the normal civic pads and calipers compared to the type r fk8 - type r pads are almost double the price so thats why they were charging you more. But 100% not the same rear brake assembly as the normal civic.

Parapara2017

To be fair it's not like it sold in huge numbers there are not that many around the place. If you go onto any of the owner groups it's pretty well known about. Nothing to do with power washing the engine / engine bay. If it rains or driving in rain if you open the bonnet you will find water sitting on the valve cover, which from pictures above you can see how it gets down onto coil packs and obviously the seal isn't good enough to prevent water getting down past them.

Should have been more specific re brakes, procedure to change them is the same as a regular modern civic as in undo two bolts disengage E brake and wind back caliper. Labor cost should be the same.

It's not unheard of that the owners know and find out about quirks of their own car especially with enthusiast owner groups 🤷‍♂️

I had to convince Honda garage of the existence of a cover for the capless refueling port - they'd never heard of it and didn't think it existed until I got the part number off the owners group and sent it to them.

Blaming owners for it is just lazy by Honda, I mean its not like you have to come up with crazy specific circumstances for this to happen. There's a hole in the bonnet from the hood scoop, right under that is the engine cover which has big gaping holes, under that is the coil packs specifically #4 which has water and corrosion in it.

Parapara2017

Finally caught the CEL code and it's indeed a cylinder 4 misfire which is just a bit too coincidental 👀

Honda want 150ish+ VAT for coils and idk something standard enough for the spark plugs 50-80e each. God knows what they'd charge for diagnostics especially as the code wasn't showing up initially. As well up to 2+ weeks for delivery of same.

Coils 54-60gbp each in UK from Honda parts. Set of 4 spark plugs = 120 or so euro. Both in stock and should be dispatched today.