[boco063]

So, I got a call from the wife today who said "the car is making a funny noise." For obvious reasons, this is not my favorite call to receive. The van is an '07 touring, with 68K on the odometer. All service has been done as required by a honda dealer. All oil changes have been done as scheduled as well.

When she was pulling into the parking lot at the grocery store today, the CEL light came on and the car lost power. She parked and called me, so i drove over to meet her. I turned the car over and it's definitely missing and there's a _really_ bad clunking noise. Doesn't seem to be regular. CEL light stays on. No smoke, but definitely not running right.

I had it towed to the closest independent place to get a quick triage, hoping for something simple. They pulled the codes and found that #5 was misfiring, but that was all they found. Based on the knocking sound, they feel that best case it may be a broken rocker arm (!) and worst case possibly a broken valve.

My next move is to have it towed to the dealer where I bought it and have them figure out what is going on and hope for goodwill from Honda. It seems pretty unusual for such a new car to have a major issue like this.

Thoughts?

--b.

 

[bw03]

That sounds bad. Let us know what they say.

 

[richysh]

Youre only 8k miles off of the powertrain warranty, so hopefully Honda will help you out.

 

[boco063]

The car is less than 4 years old (bought new in 8/07). I've owned 4 Honda/Acura vehicles in the last 15 years (Civic, Accord, TSX, Ody). I hope they step up.

Purely from a failure analysis standpoint, I would think they would want to know what caused such an issue to a pretty new motor.

Between this and the PAX tires, this hasn't been an inexpensive car to own.

 

[richysh]

If you're a loyal Honda customer, even to the dealership, then yes. Most likely they will help you out. At least they have for me. If you're close with the sales manager, then I would ask him to see if he can talk to Honda and help you out.

 

[3BrothersC]

I had a similar issue with my 07 Odyssey. Mine developed a bad knock or ticking noise with just under 80K miles, but no CEL. It was running rough and still had OK power. I took it to the dealer were I purchased the van, and the extended warranty, thankfully. Long story short they had to replace the entire top end of the motor. They claimed that everything inside the top end look "good". It did fix the problem, after 2 plus weeks. Glad I had the extended warranty.

 

[nupeskee]

Something easy to do is to pull the plugs to see if they are bad. I know Honda says 105k miles, but I had CEL's and when I pulled the codes it reported misfires. I replaced the plugs and it all went away. Its worth a try.

 

[achung73]

same problem on 05???

I started this thread, which started with engine losing 3.75qts of engine oil. Now sounds a lot like problem described here, except my van is 2005 (well same engine anyhow).
http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/148803-3-75qt-engine-oil-gone.html

However, now it sounds like misfire/pressure problem on cylinder #2.

No knocking sound, however, it all started with CEL when my wife was driving. Initially they told me I have to change my oil often. Now, they are taking the engine apart to look inside.

Maybe this thread and my thread could merge together to see how many of them are out there with this type of problem.

So, weird that engine is having this type of problems.

 

[boco063]

I started this thread, which started with engine losing 3.75qts of engine oil. Now sounds a lot like problem described here, except my van is 2005 (well same engine anyhow).
http://www.odyclub.com/forums/52-2005-2010-odyssey/148803-3-75qt-engine-oil-gone.html

Hmm - mine still has all of its oil. That's one of the first things that was checked.

The van was towed to the dealership yesterday afternoon, and they got it into the shop this morning. Long story short, they've decided that the engine has an "internal failure" and will need to be replaced. They suspect a broken rod, but won't know until they tear it down. They do not believe that the knocking sound is coming from the valvetrain as the original folks thought.

I've spoken to the service manager, who will be working with Honda to see what they would be willing to do. Seems like this is a pretty unusual occurrence and purely from a failure analysis point of view, I would think Honda would want to know what happened to cause one of their engines to tank so prematurely.

I've got my fingers crossed, and will let you folks know what happens ...

 

[1001Jim]

Geez, I gotta quit reading these posts. I will be jinxed and have breakdown reading this stuff. Fingers are crossed for you and an easy fix on the pocket book.

 

[boco063]

So, I figured I'd update this thread since it's been almost a month now since the car went to the dealer.

The short story is that part of the spark plug on cyl #5 broke and fell into the cylinder. This trashed the cylinder head and the piston. The order of failure wasn't clear, but the threads on the cylinder head were also stripped on #5. Theory was that the spark plug got partially blown out then broke.

The dealer replaced one cylinder head, and the short block (block, pistons, crankshaft, etc.) They had the car about 3 weeks total, most of this time was spent waiting for parts and communicating with Honda.

Since the van had 68K miles, I went ahead and had them do the timing belt and tensioner since the entire engine was apart already, all I had to do was pay for the parts.

The good news is that Honda really stepped up on this repair. I don't think I could have asked for a better outcome from the whole repair procedure. My total out of pocket was $459 for the repair. I don't know what the full bill would have been, but i'm guessing somewhere around $5k. Can't say enough good stuff about the service guys at the Honda dealer. They were very professional, kept me in the loop on what was going on with the car and ultimately got it fixed with minimum hassle and financial impact.

There's something to be said for the way a company handles a problem like this. They could very easily have just left me holding the bag and I would have had no recourse since i did not purchase an extended warranty.

--boco

 

[svezarov]

Wow, finally I hear a good vibe about a dealer. Impressive. Also the amount you paid is less than what they charge for timing belt change, so you are ahead.

 

[cnn]

So, I figured I'd update this thread since it's been almost a month now since the car went to the dealer.

The short story is that part of the spark plug on cyl #5 broke and fell into the cylinder. This trashed the cylinder head and the piston.

Hi boco,

Just curious when your spark plug broke at 68K, is this factory NGK spark plug that happened to break at 68K miles?

 

[boco063]

Hi boco,

Just curious when your spark plug broke at 68K, is this factory NGK spark plug that happened to break at 68K miles?

As far as I know, yes. None of the plugs have ever been replaced. Until now.

Oddly enough, the van seems to get better fuel mileage now. Will know more after a few tanks, but highway mileage (we live about 35 miles from the dealer) was up close to 24 where I've never managed to get better than about 22. Of course, I also de-paxed 2 days before the thing died, so that may also play a part in the better mileage.

--boco

 

[ashpatel]

Guys
Can someone shed a light on my case. (Check Engine light came on, VSA light came on, then after spluttering, engine shut down)
My van had similar problems. Had oil changed on Tuesday on Friday the van made funny noise and after about 5 minutes engine shut down. Have all the services done on it. Had timing belt etc done. It has 117k miles. The dealership said the internal damage to the the engine.
This is a 07 model. They are in contact with Honda corporate to help me. I think they might have messed up something, when it went in for oil change.

 

[achung73]

Guys
Can someone shed a light on my case. (Check Engine light came on, VSA light came on, then after spluttering, engine shut down)
My van had similar problems. Had oil changed on Tuesday on Friday the van made funny noise and after about 5 minutes engine shut down. Have all the services done on it. Had timing belt etc done. It has 117k miles. The dealership said the internal damage to the the engine.
This is a 07 model. They are in contact with Honda corporate to help me. I think they might have messed up something, when it went in for oil change.

Just wait to see what the dealership comes back with. Did you check the oil dip stick to see there is oil in the engine?

 

[ashpatel]

achung73
Dealership said the guys who changed the timing belt are the ones who damaged it. But we had that done in June. Since then I have been to NC mountains and driven 10k miles and nothing happened. will let you know the reason, when they open the engine up.
Thanks again.

 

[achung73]

achung73
Dealership said the guys who changed the timing belt are the ones who damaged it. But we had that done in June. Since then I have been to NC mountains and driven 10k miles and nothing happened. will let you know the reason, when they open the engine up.
Thanks again.

Wow, Stealership pointing finger at others to blame something...Yeah, keep us posted...

 

[cnn]

ashpatel,

My theory is that: whoever changed your TB only changed the TB and that is it.
So the pulleys probably failed (they are basically bearings), creating the same problem (broken valves etc.).

The rule of thumb is: whenever the TB is changed (around 100K), replace the pulleys x2, tensioner and WP.

 

[ashpatel]

Thanks for all your help. I had the engine taken apart and found out the bang noise was the catalytic converter with a hole in it.
But the dealership must have also damaged the engine as well. We are trying to fix the engine. Hope this helps other in the future. The dealership did the diag test on it and could not find out. They wanted me to spend money and something they did.
The other guys changed everything when they did the TB.