This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Local mechanic informed me that there there is a defect in the piston causing oil to leak in and ruin the piston and spark plugs. This is fouling up the spark plugs, which are covered in oil. Temporarily he said to replace the spark plug. If that does work, he recommended a valve cover replacement. And if that still doesn't work to replace the engine. This was on cylinder number 1. This also happened last year with cylinder number 3. The engine light comes on and the vehicle starts shaking and causing engine misfiring. The oil was changed approximately 1 week ago when cylinder 1 was having issues. Yes, this vehicle is currently available for inspection. This could be a safety issue due to engine failure while driving on a busy road. This van was purchased used in 2018 with 1 previous owner. This problem has been confirmed by a repair shop.
The engine failed while driving on the highway. All lights flashed on dashboard and loss of power to the vehicle. There were no prior check engine lights on before it activated and started flashing. Piston 3 failure that had to be replaced (pistons 1-3). Engine had been burning oil but no low oil indication had been illuminated nor was car due for an oil change. Spark plugs and ignition coil had been replaced approx. a year prior due to similar but less severe incident of check engine light coming on and misfiring engine. Six months after the pistons were replaced, the oil pressure switches were diagnosed as faulty and needed replacement due to a false low oil pressure reading.
Alex from Germaine Honda informed us -??There is a defect in the piston causing oil to leak in and ruin the piston and spark plugs. The only option is to replace the engine. There was a light that came on indicating oil was low a few weeks before it symptoms started however there was plenty of oil when checked and it was not time for oil change per record. While driving one day car started shaking and engine misfire. Multiple engine and system warning lights came on. In 2022, we had a similar issue with piston rings out of alignment and spark plugs fouled with oil that resulted in costly repairs. Yes this vehicle is currently available for inspection. This could be a safety issue due to engine failure while driving on a busy road. This van was purchased used in 2018 with 2+ previous owners. This problem has been confirmed by a honda dealer.
Alex from Germaine Honda informed us -??There is a defect in the piston causing oil to leak in and ruin the piston and spark plugs. The only option is to replace the engine. There was a light that came on indicating oil was low a few weeks before it symptoms started however there was plenty of oil when checked and it was not time for oil change per record. While driving one day car started shaking and engine misfire. Multiple engine and system warning lights came on. In 2022, we had a similar issue with piston rings out of alignment and spark plugs fouled with oil that resulted in costly repairs. Yes this vehicle is currently available for inspection. This could be a safety issue due to engine failure while driving on a busy road. This van was purchased used in 2018 with 2+ previous owners. This problem has been confirmed by a honda dealer.
Just before hitting 100k miles and planning for timing belt maintenance, I got hit with the well known VCM V6 engine issue. Fix for 7k from my own pocket? No. I just replaced spark plugs and as the advisor suggested I have to install the VCM Muzzler (from after market, as Honda don't do this) to deactivate ECO mode in order to prevent future damage. I hope NHTSA will force Honda to recognize this is their fault (poor design) and fix this on a big recall, otherwise I'll participate in a lawsuit when that will occur for this lemon car.
- Annandale, VA, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Connecting rod failure. This could have been a serious issue as it happened on the highway. I was in the middle lane when it locked up. Luckily I was able to safely get to the shoulder. There was no warning before it happened. ( No engine light, no noises at all). This has been inspected by my local Honda dealer and confirmed.
Brought brand new in 2016, our Honda odyssey has been well maintained by the dealer. Just hit 148k miles, and the check engine light started flashing - took it straight to the dealer. Said that we need the engine rebuilt for $4k replacing spark plugs and cylinders. Upon further research, this is a known issue with the VCM motors by Honda, and had a class action lawsuit for previous years of the odyssey- but when the lawsuit was done, our years had not reached over 100k miles yet. Honda service is saying there is now a software update to prevent this from happening again, when we replace cylinders, but why is this happening when we have brought it to the dealer for all maintenance and if there was a preventative fix for this, why wasn-??t it done before damage was done to the engine? We are being given the run around, was offered $500 to buy our van, or pay the $4k+ to fix. Honda corporate is just going in circles not giving us answers and why this is being allowed to happen. This is my 4th Honda - 2nd to buy brand new- and this is making me question loyalty to the brand.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal to pass another vehicle, the vehicle hesitated to respond and the engine sputtered. Additionally, the contact stated while driving from a complete stop the failure recurred. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.
My engine's check-engine light began flashing, and it turned out to be misfiring on one of the cylinders. The dealer disassembled the cylinder and found that it was filled with oil, and the piston seals had failed for cylinders 1-3, and they are now saying it will be a $4K rebuild of the seals. Looking online, this appears to be a VERY common problem with these V6 Honda engines that have VCM on them; this is the same VCM system for which Honda had to settle a class-action lawsuit for this exact issue happening to thousands of engines. They only included vehicles through the 2013 model year, but continued to use the VCM system in later engines; there are thousands of reports of this same issue continuing to occur.
The engine failed and required a complete ring/piston replacement at a cost of $5,670,52 with only 135,946 miles. I purchased the vehicle new and had it serviced at Honda dealerships throughout its life. These vehicles are used by families and many older citizens because of their ease of access and advertised reliability. Such an unexpected expense should be covered by Honda. This ring/piston replacement has been a problem in earlier modules and was covered by Honda.
The contact owns a 2016 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The check engine and ABS warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that when the fuel tank was not full, the vehicle would not accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. The vehicle was taken to a local Auto Zone where it was scanned and diagnosed with a code P0848. The contact stated that the cylinders and spark plugs were previously replaced by an independent mechanic. An appointment with the dealer was scheduled to inspect the vehicle further. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 133,000.
the engine has failure has been twice 5500 repair, because the ECO mode that was known in a former class action. HONDA Motor has done nothing to actually cure the problem and continues to sell faulty engines that can cause engine failure mid drive and causes a safety issue, and has proven over and over again that this failure has not been resolved. We were told by a few places so the engine doesn't go out again this would be a third time and ALL WORK HAS BEEN DONE AT HONDA! TO buy from amazon a item called the VCM muzzler to shut down the software so the engine will work for longer, and there is a secondary market for this, and a few of the 3.5 liter v6 HONDA engines- how is this not been a engine recall, on a 46K vechial with 5500 repairs required 2 times in 50K and we know it will go out a third time, and the van is no longer safe and reliable and yet we purchased the car new all work done at honda, and another 5500 for the repair, and the car still does run as it should doesn't accelerate as it should causing safety issues. I really hope you research and get people that own these cars recalled to be a safe car. thank you
In January 2024 engine began misfiring, towed to shop, all spark plugs replaced due to fouling by oil. June 2024 issue began again, towed to shop, spark plug 1 found to be fouled by oil. Shop states this issue is likely caused by piston ring malfunction known to be an issue in earlier year Honda Odysseys. Honda states issue was fixed in 2014 and newer models, yet many complaints found online for 2016 model.
The engine failed, at 90,238 Piston misfire it was replaced 1-3, This happened a second time at 143,000 miles- while the car was moving and same thing engine failed a second time- had it towed in due to the engine not working it doesn't accelerate on a highway to merge has been dangerous- Brought to Honda a few times, because the engine was not working right you cannot accelerate properly on a on ramp and will not accelerate how it should, this is the same issue that was known by Honda. Called Honda they will not do anything more - it was "fixed" according to honda, but still not running how it should it feels like a bad transmission wont accelerate property when- so the car is not safe to drive in any distance misfire ALL WORK VAN WAS DONE AT HONDA DEALER ONLY
We are reporting a safety concern on the Honda Odyssey that Honda Corporation is aware of on the 2016 Honda Odyssey. They have a defect in the Piston Rings on the Engine. This engine design on the 2016 engine is the same where a recall was called on older versions of the Odyssey and other Honda vehicles. They have not included the 2016 as they say that they haven't had many cases of this version having the problem. With a quick search of the web you will find many people who are reporting or talking about piston ring issues, misfire and spark plug problems on the 2016 Odyssey. They are then asking customers to spend between $3 and $5 to fix this problem in the engine. Which is a known engineering defect! I have kept up with my oil changes and had a well maintained vehicle rating on CarFax. We are reporting the problem to you as when this happened it was extremely dangerous to drive the van. We were stopped at a red light just stopped and the engine was idling when all of a sudden the van started shaking. No sign of a problem prior to this happening. Then we looked and no lights were on but as soon as we started to drive the check engine light came on. We drove the van the couple of miles home as it was a Sunday and the engine had no pick up and go. Pulling into traffic or turning was a danger. This is a danger to not only us in the van but others around us who are not aware of a problem. We drove the van to the dealership on Monday morning. They said that it had caused a bad spark plug and they could clean the area and we may get 5000 to 20000 more miles but that recommended that we would some point need to spend the $4600 to fix the piston rings as well. We did the spark plug repair and they returned the van to us. It still seemed sluggish but we quickly realized that it was having major problems. This is a danger to people in the vans as well as others on the road. Honda should be required to cover the cost of piston ring issues on all years.
engine in this vehicle keeps having a misfire in Cylinder 2 (when looking at engine in car, it is the back side, 2nd from the left) caused by eco mode per honda techs. The piston ring needs replaced per tech and car is 2 model years outside the warranty for this issue that is still going on. its a common issue and is still occurring even is newer models according to the 2 local dealerships.
The engine. I have a 2016 Honda Odyssey. All scheduled maintenance has always been done on this vehicle. I have all the documentation. And I mean it has been babied. It has 110,000 miles. Driving one morning last week and the car just seized up. No warning. No previous warning light. Had it towed to the dealership. The Variable Cylinder Management system had allowed a build up of gunk in the engine. Need an engine rebuild.$5600. Honda just had a recall for cars of the same model manufactured before 2014 for the same issue. As for safety having your engine seize up on the highway is dangerous.
Piston ring failure at 73k miles. Repair costs $5000. The check engine light started flashing and whole vehicle started shaking while driving it on the highway. This is a known issue with Honda and the VCM system they installed on these vehicles.
The spool valve had a complete seal failure leaking oil onto the alternator causing the alternator to fail. As result the entire electrical system failed, shutting off all propulsion of the van. This occurred while the vehicle was in the high speed left lane on [XXX] @ the [XXX] exit. I had to coast the vehicle across two lanes of 75 mph traffic, cars and large tracker trailers. I was passed by several cars and tracker trailer while coasting across the two lanes of traffic as there was no shoulder on the left side of [XXX]. There were no warning lights prior to the event. American Honda Motor Co. issued Service Bulletin [XXX] on [XXX] to Honda Dealers/Service about the potential for the spool valve casket to leak and fail so that Honda could check for this failure and replace the defective spool valve. The service bulletin covers five (5) different Models and for some Models six (6) model years. The part number identified is 15810-R70-A04, Front Rocker Arm Oil Control Valve (Spool Valve). The correction action is to inspect the front rocker arm oil control valve for leaks and, if needed replace it. The possible causes are the gasket on the front rocker arm oil control valve has deteriorated or the gasket groove is out of SPECIFICATION. Service personnel at Jeff Wyler Honda, 949 Burlington Pike Florence KY 41042, admitted to replacing this spool valve on my Honda Odyssey model several times a month. They admitted that the failure of the spool valve seal can leak oil on to the alternator causing the alternator to fail causing a complete loss of the electrical system and propulsion, seen reports of complete engine fires due to the spool valve gasket failure, noted that the the service bulletin was not attached to my vehicle VIN as did Honda of Jackson 1408 U.S. Highway 45 ByPass Jackson TN 38305. Because America Honda Motor Co. failed to attached the service bulletin to my VIN, my vehicle was not inspected properly for this safety defect. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Aberdeen, NC, USA