This was the second ignition coil to go bad within the past year. The two cylinders that shut off when the "Variable Cylinder Management" feature kicks in causes the coils to fail and the plugs to foul. Terrible design! Last Honda I will ever buy. This isn't the only issue we've had with this van, but the site asks that I limit one complaint per issue.

Update from Nov 3, 2018: Variable Cylinder management is terrible - had to have extensive engine repair done (mostly covered by extended warranty due to class action lawsuit). Again, plug went bad causing shuddering, power loss, misfiring, and check engine light. Honda replaced piston rings, 4 spark plugs, head gaskets, etc... paid $160 and was without vehicle for 4 days. The VCM causes excessive oil burning and plug fouling, bad design which still isn't fixed in newer Odyssey's

On a side note, I installed a VCM Tuner which bypasses the VCM keeping all 6 cylinders engaged at all times. Runs much better and hopefully will stop breakdowns as the extended warranty won't last much longer so I'll have to cover what will probably be $3k + to have this done again. Can't wait to get rid of this vehicle!

My Honda Odyssey engine performance is actually impressive. After getting it new on July 31, 2012, we used it the very next day on a road trip from LA to Mt Rushmore then to Colorado then to Grand Canyon then back to LA for a total of 3,225 miles in 6 days. This minivan is powerful and fast and stable at high speeds ~95 mph.

However, on the 20k miles, I noticed that when driving at around 40 mph when I lift my feet off the gas pedal then press the gas pedal again quickly but softly, I hear a noise coming from the engine like knocking sound. I brought it to the dealer after several months of observation.

They said at first it might be a torque converter issue but after more checking (took a snapshot of the transmission), they concluded the ECM needs updating. After update, the noise is still there but not so much. I guess it's a valve issue. I need to observe more to see if it wasn't fixed.

50k miles and a coil fails, that's terrible Honda. I have bought Hondas to avoid this very type of thing, might have to reconsider.

Update from Jul 29, 2014: Update - be very careful about buying a number of Honda Odysseys, Pilots, Crosstours and Accords. There has been a class action law suit settled by Honda related to engine misfires. My 2012 Odyssey with 60k miles on it takes a quart of oil in about 3k miles it appears. Also, one of the symptoms of this misfire issue is fouled spark plugs and damaged coils, blocks, valves and rings among other things it appears. This is not good! I'm in the process right now of trying to get my dealer to admit the coil issue I had at ~50k was related to this misfire problem, so far no go. Even though the service code that came up is one of those the class action suit describes being covered by the suit, WTF! Let's hit them where it hurts, do not buy a Honda! There is a wide year range of the models listed above that are known to have these problems if they have a 6 cyl variable cylinder management (VCM-2) engine. Go to 'enginemisfiresettlement.com' for the details.