Are Honda diesels any good ?

Are Honda diesels any good ?

Author
Discussion

Paul S4

Original Poster:

1,204 posts

217 months

Monday 10th September 2018
quotequote all
I currently drive an Alfa 156 JTDM 150 ( with a remap to 190) and due the the mileage of 160,000 I shall be looking to change it sometime soon.

I may go for a Golf diesel, but I was also considering a Honda diesel.

I have heard that although Honda are renowned for their amazing petrol engines in cars like the S2000 and Civic Type R, are their diesel engines any good ?

I would be wanting at least 140BHP as standard.

Thanks in advance.

adam.

419 posts

218 months

Monday 10th September 2018
quotequote all
What year are you looking at?

I have a 2008 CRV with their ~150BHP 2.2 CDTI in it, doesn't light any fires, but it's also done 160,000 without any major hiccups. It's a tractor engine by today's oil burner standards though.

Paul S4

Original Poster:

1,204 posts

217 months

Monday 10th September 2018
quotequote all
Thanks for the reply.

I was just trying to get some ideas about reliability: I have had my Alfa 156 diesel for about 5 years now, this engine is well known as it is in various different makes ie Vauxhall Vectra/Astra, SAAB, Fiat etc, and it gives decent fuel economy as well as plenty of torque.

I drove a pal's 2005 Accord Estate 2.2-CDTi diesel that had 138BHP, and was not that impressed with the power delivery compared to my engine.

I may need to do some more research into Honda, not sure if it has a timing belt or a chain.

PompeyReece

1,536 posts

96 months

Tuesday 11th September 2018
quotequote all
Similar story here.

I have a 2008 Honda Civic 2.2 CDTi, 102,000 miles on the clock and roughly 45,000 miles of problem free driving in my ownership. I have her serviced annually by a local Honda dealer and aiming to run her in to the ground so stories of 160,000 mile cars are good to read!

Paul S4

Original Poster:

1,204 posts

217 months

Tuesday 11th September 2018
quotequote all
What sort of real life mpg does that 2.2 engine get ?

My 1.9 JTDM gets 42 mpg week in week out on my 70 mile daily commute at motorway speeds etc., that is 'actual' mpg : ie done by pen & paper with brimming the tank every time I refuel.
I read that other people seem to get well over 50 with a similar engine..... but if they rely on the car's computer they seem to be optimistic !

PompeyReece

1,536 posts

96 months

Tuesday 11th September 2018
quotequote all
Paul S4 said:
What sort of real life mpg does that 2.2 engine get ?

My 1.9 JTDM gets 42 mpg week in week out on my 70 mile daily commute at motorway speeds etc., that is 'actual' mpg : ie done by pen & paper with brimming the tank every time I refuel.
I read that other people seem to get well over 50 with a similar engine..... but if they rely on the car's computer they seem to be optimistic !
Ha, one of the things to keep me entertained when driving smile

I've managed to get the expected mileage counter up to just under 800 miles after a tank refill!!! However in real life if I drive sensibly, I get between 550-600 miles a tank. When doing this, the MPG counter is around 60 on the dash.

If I'm doing a lot of urban, short journeys or 80mph motorway trips this drops to around 450 miles.

Type R Tom

4,033 posts

156 months

Tuesday 11th September 2018
quotequote all
Dad has a civic with the 2.2. Has done 165k with no issues (other than an air con problem) and still drives really tight. Granted they are all 60-70mph on the motorway so not exactly stressful but I'd have no issue recommending one.

adam.

419 posts

218 months

Tuesday 11th September 2018
quotequote all
Paul S4 said:
What sort of real life mpg does that 2.2 engine get ?

My 1.9 JTDM gets 42 mpg week in week out on my 70 mile daily commute at motorway speeds etc., that is 'actual' mpg : ie done by pen & paper with brimming the tank every time I refuel.
I read that other people seem to get well over 50 with a similar engine..... but if they rely on the car's computer they seem to be optimistic !
It's my wife's car, and it's only really used locally with most journeys 10mins or so. So occasionally I give it a run up and down the M40.

We see about 35mpg and 400 miles to a tank. I'm sure it'd easily do >50mpg on long journeys. I suppose unfair to compare it to a Civic only driving two wheels and pulling about 30% less weight.

xtruss

191 posts

219 months

Tuesday 11th September 2018
quotequote all
I have a Civic 2.2 and it has done 144k - They have a timing chain, which can cause issues if the car has not been serviced / looked after - You can hear it making a clattering sound.
My driving is a mixture of shortish journeys and some 10 miles plus journeys, so not really any motorway miles.
Fuel computer over the last 1400 miles shows 51.2mpg, and that tends to be close to what i worked out doing a tank to tank fill up calculation.
It has been summer though and in winter it tends to drop to about 48 mpg.
Mine was mapped about 8 years ago (yes i have had the car a long time!) Celtic tuning 193BHP and 292LBFt of torque - and i have added about 100k miles on it with the map.

Paul S4

Original Poster:

1,204 posts

217 months

Wednesday 12th September 2018
quotequote all
xtruss said:
I have a Civic 2.2 and it has done 144k - They have a timing chain, which can cause issues if the car has not been serviced / looked after - You can hear it making a clattering sound.
My driving is a mixture of shortish journeys and some 10 miles plus journeys, so not really any motorway miles.
Fuel computer over the last 1400 miles shows 51.2mpg, and that tends to be close to what i worked out doing a tank to tank fill up calculation.
It has been summer though and in winter it tends to drop to about 48 mpg.
Mine was mapped about 8 years ago (yes i have had the car a long time!) Celtic tuning 193BHP and 292LBFt of torque - and i have added about 100k miles on it with the map.
That is interesting; I am used to about 190BHP ( my Alfa is the JTDM 150 with a remap) so I was curious if the Honda diesel would respond well to remapping.
I would view the timing chain as opposed to a belt ( which mine has) aa bonus, but presumably they have to be tensioned correctly which I guess would be part of a service ?

Also does your car have a DMF, and has it stood up to the extra torque/power increase ?

xtruss

191 posts

219 months

Wednesday 12th September 2018
quotequote all
The timing chain is not a service item, and if the car has been looked after with regular oil changes then it should not be an issue. I wouldn't worry to much about it, as you can hear them if they are worn.
The car does have a DMF, and i forgot to mention, they did have issues with weak clutches that Honda went on to upgrade.
The standard clutch use to slip premature, but Honda actually upgraded the clutch and replaced any slipping clutches under Warranty, mine was covered and was changed and i have had no problems since. (it was slipping before the remap).
The remap i went for was a stage one which is designed to work with the standard clutch.

robinh73

994 posts

207 months

Wednesday 12th September 2018
quotequote all
I had a 2105 Civic diesel, 1.6 and about 118hp or so as a company car. It was a mixed bag to be honest with you. I didn't have a good experience with the car which ultimately tainted my view of it, but the engine wasn't bad. I know it wasn't at the power you require but even in stock form it was ok. Decent economy, pulled quite well and the gearbox was actually a gem. I did though find it a real disappointment, but suspect that I had a genuine Friday afternoon car as my friend is on his second and loves it.

Robbie41

4 posts

74 months

Saturday 22nd September 2018
quotequote all
I have a 2013 CR-V EX 2.2 I-DTEC that I have had from new. It has been bombproof, as was my previous Accord Tourer.

Sadly, Honda are no longer producing the new CR-V with a diesel engine, and I understand the new 1.5 petrol has problems. Therefore, I have recently ordered a new Volvo V60 Momentum Pro D5.

ALawson

7,857 posts

258 months

Saturday 29th September 2018
quotequote all
What problems on the new 1.6, apart from a lack of torque!

2.2 Cdti owner here in a 57 plate Accord Tourer, been great and will 43mpg at 70mph with bikes on the roof.

Still cannot decide on what to replace it with, was thinking 2.0 or 2.2 CRV manual.

ninjag

1,874 posts

126 months

Tuesday 2nd October 2018
quotequote all
I also had a Honda CRV 3rd Gen 2.2 CDTi and had it remapped at Moorfield Motor Services who also ran it on a 4WD rolling road so I could see the increase. Definitely need to get this engine remapped, not just for the extra power and shove but also because it changes the power band and makes the engine far more versatile.

They are timing chain (petrol and diesel) and you'll never need to touch the chain so long as you change the oil often (Honda's love fresh oil) and use good quality oil. Honda's own oils are quite often cheaper than other brands, especially if you go to Cox Motor Parts. You must use Honda's own fluids for the rear diff though and I'd also recommend it for the transmission. The auto transmission also has a filter and fortunately it's external and very easy to change - although it seems that nobody does it (including Honda main dealer).

But I hate diesels. You walk out the house and the air stinks of them. Roll your window down and again the stench is there. I now have a 4th Gen CRV but it's the 2.0 petrol n/a auto. It suits the car, it's quiet and refined and I know it will be bullet proof. There's no low down shove but get it above 4,000rpm and it can actually shift pretty well for a heavy car and it has a nice engine note at high revs. The new 1.5 turbocharged petrol will probably have a little more low down shove which will probably suit more people who aren't really into cars much.

If I really had to get a diesel again it would only be a 6 cylinder one, in particular BMW's 3.0 diesel. It's quiet, has relentless acceleration and actually sounds ok when pushed with a gruff roar. I'm just not a big fan of German cars though and also the oil sump gasket failed in less than three years and get this, it took BMW two and a half days to replace the gasket! Apparently the chassis, AWD system etc all has to be pulled apart to get access.



Edited by ninjag on Tuesday 2nd October 17:10


Edited by ninjag on Tuesday 2nd October 17:17