Honda Extends Head Gasket Warranty as Repair Quotes Reach $10,000

Honda is extending its head gasket warranty for certain vehicles after reports of premature failures tied to its 1.5-liter turbo and 2.0-liter hybrid engines. The automaker said the issue involves some best-selling models, including the Civic and CR-V, but it stressed this is not a recall. Instead, affected owners receive longer coverage that runs up to 10 years or 150,000 miles for most vehicles, according to the report. That is longer than Honda’s typical powertrain warranty of five years/60,000 miles, and longer than the Acura coverage referenced at six years/70,000 miles. If the head gasket fails, vehicles can leak coolant, overheat, and misfire, and may store diagnostic trouble codes P0300 to P0304. Affected repairs are described as replacing the cylinder head gasket if coolant enters the combustion chamber, or replacing the cylinder head or engine short block if warping is found. The extension applies to a large list of vehicles, while others get a six-month grace period.