Honda Tech Says, “I Would Never Buy This Model Year Honda Odyssey, This Vehicle Is a Blemish On the Brand”

Yup. 2013 Honda odyssey. This exact problem got me. 10.5 years old at the time of repair and 135,000 miles. Cost me over $5,000 to fix and I was without a vehicle for over a week. It is absolute crap that issues like this exist and nothing gets done about it.

Do these issues plague Acura’s too? I owned a 2007 Acura 3.5 RL SHAWD, and had to change fouled spark plugs more than once. I was never made aware that there were so many Honda’s with 3.5 Liter engines experiencing the same problems. The main difference with my RL, is that I didn’t have cylinder deactivation. I finally had to sell it because I started having problems with broken motor mounts. I’m a very conservative driver, so why these mounts started breaking, I have no idea. The technications only explanation was that when one broke, the imbalance caused the others to break. After replacing all 5 motor mounts and spending several thousands of dollars it was time to get rid of it. It only had 106,455 miles on it, but before I was able to sell it, the A/C broke down. I almost had to give it away. I never purchased another Acura product. I went across the street and purchased a new 2014 Lexus LS460, and I’m still driving it 96,000 trouble free miles later.

I have a used 2013 Honda Pilot exl. I love it. I got it an oil change 1/10/25. A day later the oil pressure light comes on but goes off on its own. It does this repeatedly over next few days while in traffic moving and while in traffic idling. 8 days later (1/18/25) the check engine light illuminates on the dash. A local mechanic says start with a new oil change. I get a new one like told. The oil pressure light eventually goes off. The check engine remains. The codes read P3400 valve pause shut off stuck ( changed last year ) and p0523 a/c switch. Have you seen something like this ever?

I have a 2014 Honda Odyssey with 155,357 miles on it. The only mechanic problem I ever had was two weeks ago, a gasket leaking oil onto the alternator, killing it. After researching, this is a common problem with the Odyssey, even the tow truck driver said "alternator" when I told him, the battery light came on and the car died. I arrived at a shop before the tow driver arrived, the guy at the counter asked me what the problem was, I explained to him what happened, before I can say, "Honda Odyssey", he said, "Odyssey"? I am happy with the van, over 150,000 miles and this was the only mechanical issue.

Yes, I totally agree. I have the same problem with my Honda Odyssey 2011. The car was 10 years old at the purchase and there is nothing I could do. The mechanic asked $4500 to fix the problem.

My 2016 Honda Odyssey w only 74,000 miles had this issue below that costs 5,000 to fix. I have decided to purchase a new car vs dumping more money into this car. Disappointed as Honda is supposed to be reliable. That same day, a 2012 Honda Pilot came in with only 70,000 miles w the same issue, both Honda in Frisco, Texas.

A "P0303" code (misfire on cylinder 3) accompanied by a fouled spark plug with oil on cylinder 3 most likely indicates a problem with the valve seals on that cylinder, causing excessive oil to enter the combustion chamber and foul the spark plug, leading to a misfire

Look up VCM disabling parts like the S-VCM. They are simple to install and prevent the motor from activating the VCM. It costs 1-2 MPG in fuel efficiency, but saves your piston rings. I installed an S-VCM when we bought our Odyssey around 36,000 miles, and it's good as gold with no piston ring issues or oil-fouled spark plugs after 120,000 more miles over the last 5 years.

2016 Odyssey
189k miles and just recently all my engine lights came on and I could tell is was missfiring. Plug #3 was throwing the most codes. Service department said I needed new piston rings with a cost of $6,500. I took it somewhere else and the gave me a complete tune up and changed the coil on #3 for $890. It's running great right now but.if it is the rings then I'm sure the issue will return.

I recently have had this happening to my 2008 Hknda Odessy and I had all spark plugs changed and it did it again check engine light flashing error code misfire 3 and had one mechanic say I was leaking oil but I have no oil leaking so I am at a loss. My van is paid for and have routine oil changes ever since I got the van I'm the 2nd owner

I have a 2015 Honda odyssey which isn't covered in the class action lawsuit but definitely still has the issue. Had the engine code come up and sure enough it was the piston ring that needed to be replaced. Cost $3000 to repair at dealership. Was furious with Honda and was going to sell the van. But due to costs of buying something to replace the van researched if there's any fix for the issue and found a third party selling a VCMTUNER device to disable the ECO mode that turns on VCM. The van has been working great since then.

I drove our 2008 Odyssey for 10 years around town and regular road trips. No issues! I’m 7 years into my current one! I guess I’ll count my blessings!

This is the exact issue I have been having with my 2015 Odyssey. I've spent about $6000 over the past 4 years making repairs that are going to continue to need repairing. It's maddening. I drove a 2004 Accord for 12 years with no problems, completely trusted Honda. Now I'll never buy another one.

What good is a 10 year warranty on a 11+y.o. car?
Does this affect anyone today?
Why was this written?

Like others in the comments I use a vcm disable device in my 2014 Odyssey. No issue, smoother running, yes it costs 1-2 mpg but well worth the sacrifice.
Vcmtuner dot com

We have a 2016 Odyssey that developed the same engine issue r/t the VCM/ECO at 140k miles. The dealer quoted us $5k to replace the piston rings for 3 cylinders on one side because they are done as a kit. We found a local mechanic who is Honda certified who did it for $3k. He said he does this repair a couple of times a month on these vehicles. Needless to say our faith in Honda, which we have bought from for the last 25 years, is lost. Time to buy from a different brand!

We have a 2016 Odyssey that developed the same engine issue r/t the VCM/ECO at 140k miles. The dealer quoted us $5k to replace the piston rings for 3 cylinders on one side because they are done as a kit. We found a local mechanic who is Honda certified who did it for $3k and installed a muzzle to disable the VCM, so it doesn't happen again. He said he does this repair a couple of times a month on these vehicles. Needless to say our faith in Honda, which we have bought from for the last 25 years, is lost. Time to buy from a different brand!

1 of my in-laws boyfriend is a well seasoned mechanic and Honda lover. I wanted Chrysler or Toyota van, but didn't know much about the different issues with certain models. Cheaper repairs are a must because I'm on the low income spectrum. He talked me into getting a Honda and I have had nothing but problems with this vehicle since I got it. No other vehicle has given me such issues and I think I've put more into it and still owe over $10,000... Reading this is making sense to me now but wishing I did more research before purchased the vehicle.

All it takes is a $150 VCM defeat device and 10 minutes of time to completely eliminate the concern. I did it with hours before it became a problem. A simple search will tell you how to do it and where to buy.

I have a 2016 Honda Odyssey that I bought new and am having these issues now. I have under 100,000 miles on my vehicle and was never notified about this. Thank you so much for writing this article.

Just thought I'd reply as a Honda owner for more than 30 years. Just unloaded a 2017 Honda Odyssey bought new. All service work done at Honda dealership as factory schedule. At 54,000 engine misfire on cylinders 1,2,3 dealership had to replace rings all done under warranty! My husband questioned what about 4,5,6? We where told it's just a freak thing and all will be fine. Yea right! The last 2 year's we replaced cylinder #3 coil pack and spark plug (3) times. We it 102,000 miles had the timing belt service done and low and behold we discovered we are know burning oil! 1/2 quart every 1050 miles give or take a mile or so. I spoke to the dealership about past engine issues feeling the service records should show the vehicle was fully serviced by factory recommendations at there dealership! Response was suggested you might want to consider getting rid of it! So we did just that BUT NOT WITH HONDA! What happened with this brand is sad as we loved our van and had many of fun family travels! Life moves on in a different brand automobile.. Honda needs to fix it's engine issues it's killing the HONDA brand.😔

We purchased a 2017 Honda Odyssey Touring van with 150k miles in August 2024. Took the van on a trip to Florida 3 weeks later, and the VCM warning and our engine lights came on after approx. 1200 miles. We unplugged the battery for 30 mins and the lights went off. The van ran fine for another 200 miles then we had the same issues. We limped the van back home approx 300 miles and then we ordered the VCM Tuner II which was suggested for our year, make and model. The Tuner cost approx $130 and it only took 15 mins to install. It bypassed the VCM system on the van. My husband also replaced all of the sparkplugs. We never had another issue with the van and we have driven it an additional 22k miles since the repair. I am so disappointed that Honda continues to ignore the VCM issue. We were a dedicated Honda family and we have owned five Hondas with 300k+ miles. We never had an issue like this VCM issue. Our 2009 Civix EX has 380k miles and our 2007 Odyssey has 305k and the are both still running strong. It is unfortunate that we can no longer trust Honda to produce reliable vehicles and to stand behind them. Our 2017 Odyssey has been running great since WE bypassed the VCM, but that does not make me more confident about buying another Honda vehicle in the future. Honda is going to need to earn our trust again.

Please look into 2019 Honda Odyssey Multipurpose Camera Malfunctions. Lots of people on Odyssey.com and Reddit complaining of this part failing -triggering 5 safety warnings at once- because the camera overheats. Also, low voltage with a weak battery can trigger software glitches that give simultaneous blind spot detection and transmission system failures while the car is running. These both are intermittent. Look to the NHTSA website for the many many complaints (over 500+) about the 2019 Honda Odyssey.

I had a 2016 Honda Odyssey. Loved this car. Had to replace rings twice. The first time Honda paid but 50,000 miles later had to do it again and they wouldnt cover it. They said because of miles. My car was in perfect condition and well taken care of. I fixed it and traded it in. We had a lot of highway miles but it drove like brand new until one morning after a long trip it just wouldn't run. I loved that car! I hated to trade it but now someone else will enjoy it until rings need replaced again.

The person commenting about all hondas with a 3.5 liter engine with the VCM system installed. Do all have this same problem. No matter what year. I have a 2016 Honda Odyssey with the 3.5 liter with the VCM system. At 118,000 My rear bank spark plugs started Coking up causing a code P0301 and P0303. Had to remove the rear Cylinder head for those 3 cylinders. Remove the pistons and replace the rings. Then reinstall everything. Honda wanted to charge me $5000 to put a Band-aid on this issue. And said they could have it ready in 2 days. It's not possible if you're going to do it correctly. The best way to fix this is go out and buy VCM muzzler. It will stop the VCM system from operating.