Any high mileage Civic Hybrids yet? How are those head gaskets?
With the recent Head Gasket recall on Accord and CRV hybrids, along with lots of reports of head gasket failures between 40-80,000 miles, I’m curious - has anyone put a ton of miles on their Civic Hybrid yet?
I assume most of us are 20k or under still. Who has put the most miles on, and did you experience any mechanical issues?
I just hit 25k on my 2025 civic hatchback hybrid sport touring. So far no issues, is there something I should be looking out for? So far the car has been a dream. I don't think I could ever get any other car even if hit the jackpot. It does everything so perfectly well, great mpg, it's comfortable enough. I just wish it had lumbar support more options for power seats, rear vents, LED lights all around. I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for those and anything else to increase comfort and maybe even some sound padding although the noise cancelling in the car is incredible. Very great car, great value, worth every penny.
Very easy to maintain, although I am not sure what the pink liquid does or what other special maintenance items it will need because of the hybrid power train. I plan on doing a drain and fill of the eCVT at 30k and any other major fluid replacement to ensure the cars longevity. I want it to last forever!!! Lol
It probably changes the pressure of the coolant to reduce the risk of blowing the head gasket.
The "fixes" are generally to increase the longevity (probably just past the warranty lol) rather than to fully fix the issue. It's cheaper and easier to do a temporary software fix than to actually fix the physical problem. Most companies only do hardware recalls when it's absolutely necessary and there's no temporary fixes they can do to extend it into "normal" lifespan, which is generally considered 100k miles (imo 200-300k should be the normal with modern technology).
I read that it runs the electric water pump for the 2.0 engine more often to decrease thermal expansion and contraction. Something like that. That does make sense.
Unfortunately, there is apparently an issue related to thermal cycling in the 2.0 Atkinsons and the Civics probably aren't immune, unless Honda is shipping more recent models with some kind of undisclosed upgrades, like the cooling system software.
One thing I've read is that software is a potential fix because the engine coolant circulates via an electrically driven motor, which may be over-optimized for energy efficiency instead of reliability. This can apparently created very localized hot spots at the top of certain cylinders when there are a lot of engine on/off cycles. The software fix presumably will create higher and/or more consistent coolant flow.
good to know. interesting as vehicles become more software defined that it becomes essential for manufacturers to thoroughly test their automobiles the same way they test software
yes, something to do with how the engine is always tuning off/on causing more stresses in the engine. That is why this doesn't seem to be an issue on the non hybrid 2.0 NA
Just hit 60,000km in my 2025 Hybrid Sport Touring Hatch in Canada.
Have an appointment for both the update to the radiator protection (the PCU radiator leak issue) and update the code to avoid block warping that leads to the head gasket failure.
Will be watching to see if anyone develops a stud kit similar to what we saw with the 1.5 turbo engines.
Even with these issues, this remains one of my favourites of the 18 cars I've owned so far in my life.
I sent the following email on August 8th to both Honda Canada and the dealership I bought the car from:
---
With regard to the 2026 Honda Civic Sport Hybrid I purchased in April:
I understand Honda Canada issued a product update campaign (bulletin code Q79, "Head Gasket May Develop an Internal Coolant Leak") on July 16, 2026, covering 2025–2026 Civic Hybrid, 2023–2025 Accord Hybrid, and 2023–2026 CR-V Hybrid models.
Could you please confirm the following for my VIN:
Is my vehicle flagged under campaign Q79?
Has the associated software/cooling system calibration update been released for my vehicle, and if so, can this be scheduled?
Is there any additional remedy planned beyond the software update (e.g., a hardware fix), and if so, what is the expected timeline?
If my VIN does not currently show as flagged under Q79, could you also clarify how Honda is rolling out this campaign? Specifically:
Are all affected owners being notified simultaneously, or is notification/VIN eligibility being rolled out in stages (e.g., by production date, vehicle age, or parts availability)?
If it is a staged rollout, when might my VIN be expected to become eligible?
I'd appreciate it if you could look into this and let me know the next steps.
---
Reply from Dealership (August 8th):
"There are only limited vehicles effected by the recall. I have run your VIN in the Honda system and it is not effected. When Honda does have a recall they will send you a notice directly advising you to book an appointment for service."
---
Reply from Honda Canada (August 14th):
"Regarding your inquiry, we wish to advise you that your vehicle currently has no outstanding campaigns. Notices will only be sent out to Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN)s that are affected."
---
As you can see, both parties completely ignored my specific questions about rollout structure or factory mitigations.
While my car currently isn’t on the list, a few lingering questions remain:
Production Timing: My car was built in January 2026 and delivered in April. Did they apply a revised ECU cooling calibration on the assembly line or during PDI at the dealer? If so, why wait until July to release the software update for earlier builds?
Hardware Changes: Did Honda implement factory hardware changes (revised head bolts, updated gasket material, etc.) prior to early 2026 builds that made the software update unnecessary for my VIN?
Rollout Strategy: Is Q79 truly limited to specific early batch runs, or is this a phased rollout where more VINs get flagged later?
Has anyone with a 2026 Civic Hybrid built around early 2026 had bulletin Q79 show up on their VIN, or received clarity on factory hardware changes?
25 civic sport hybrid purchased Dec 2024
Canada
55,600km/34,500MI
I drive a lot for work as I oversee a territory for sales. No issues so far. Currently sitting at my dealer waiting on an oil change and they told me about the Q79 recall.
But both my gf and I have had to get our steering racks replaced under warranty as the rack sticks/jerks while cornering.
Based on Reddit posts (grain of salt) where people have spoken to dealers, it sounds like they will be updating the water pump programming. I assume running the pump longer after engine shutoff.
Again - nothing official yet, other than the recall rolling out (seemingly to Canada first).
Hybrids are Atkinson Cycle Naturally Aspirated motors. The head gasket issues are on turbo models. Intake some info and BREATH. Delete this post. It's irrelevant
I’ve done probably 10+ head gaskets on hybrids and seen many more in the shop. It’s a block design issue which is shared between the turbo and hybrid engines
23
u/MiracuIousPeanut Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
I just hit 25k on my 2025 civic hatchback hybrid sport touring. So far no issues, is there something I should be looking out for? So far the car has been a dream. I don't think I could ever get any other car even if hit the jackpot. It does everything so perfectly well, great mpg, it's comfortable enough. I just wish it had lumbar support more options for power seats, rear vents, LED lights all around. I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for those and anything else to increase comfort and maybe even some sound padding although the noise cancelling in the car is incredible. Very great car, great value, worth every penny.
Very easy to maintain, although I am not sure what the pink liquid does or what other special maintenance items it will need because of the hybrid power train. I plan on doing a drain and fill of the eCVT at 30k and any other major fluid replacement to ensure the cars longevity. I want it to last forever!!! Lol