[ERaiford]

First time posting! We just discovered this forum earlier this week. SO many helpful Ody owners out there!

We own a 2015 EX-L with approximately 55,000 miles. In the past month, we have been experiencing a strange chirping sound when the car shifts while traveling around 40mph (give or take). It seems to happen more frequently when traveling at a slight incline or when the van is having to "work" a little harder, and happens right after the transmission shifts. It sounds like it's coming from the right front passenger area under the hood. It also seems to happen right before the ECO light kicks in, but not every time.

Speaking of the ECO light, we just learned about VCM and all the related issues and have (as of 10 minutes ago ) ordered the VCMTuner II. We're not mechanically inclined, but are willing to learn and my hubby is great at problem solving .

We had Honda service bulletin 16-060 performed about 15 months (9,000 miles) ago because we were experiencing the judder that many mention online. I am not sure if they updated the software (mentioned in service bulletin 17-044) but I intend to find out.

I found another members' YouTube video recording of the exact same sound happening in their 2014 EX-L in identical conditions with similar milage. I will post the video below.

We took it into the dealer 3 weeks ago when it started, but they were unable to replicate the sound...of course. We are taking it back to them in the morning as I have figured out how to "provoke it"- so to speak.

I would love anyone's insight into what this might be and what to ask when we return to the dealer tomorrow. I'm not terribly hopeful that they will know what the issue is, but there seem to be some incredibly knowledgable folks in these forums.

Thanks!

Here is the YouTube video of the noise it's making. The chirp happens at the 4 second mark.

 

[ERaiford]

Here is an update of our van making the same noise. It can be heard at the 4 second mark.

 

[2011.2017.odyssey]

inspect your motor mounts..
the sound happened when it shifted to the next gear and the rpm dropped, which would be a shift in torque.

unfortunately you may have missed the bus on averting VCM damage to your motor mounts.

Install the muzzler to avoid further damage to your piston rings.

 

[ERaiford]

inspect your motor mounts..
the sound happened when it shifted to the next gear and the rpm dropped, which would be a shift in torque.

unfortunately you may have missed the bus on averting VCM damage to your motor mounts.

Install the muzzler to avoid further damage to your piston rings.

Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate it!

It's at the dealer now, and I was able to replicate the sound with the technician in the car. I had read about the damage to the motor mounts and asked him to inspect them when I dropped it off. I will reiterate this when I hear back from them.
The noise occurs at gear change around 45 miles per hour. Can feel a slight lurch when this happens and the RPM drops. Can be reproduced by slowly accelerating from ~40 to ~45 or 50. Generally only happens after having driven the vehicle for some time, with the engine at normal operating temperature.

Thanks again for your insight!

 

[2011.2017.odyssey]

The mounts should be inspected regardless, the noise coming from the passenger side along with the temperature change has me thinking.
passenger side has a rubber engine mount, the active mounts in the middle front and back typically are the bad ones thanks to the VCM.
i suppose with both active mounts being shot / tired as they heat up from use, it could strain the one on the right.

with the active mounts gone, you would have other noises like a clunking sound when putting the van in drive or reverse.
deceleration clunks or noises.

transmission is on the drivers side, so if it was a trans noise you would hear it there.

timing belt and components are original, so nobody had that stuff apart or re-assembled incorrectly.

maybe its something as stupid as a drive belt or tensioner.

this is a strange one...

 

[ERaiford]

drive belt

The mounts should be inspected regardless, the noise coming from the passenger side along with the temperature change has me thinking.
passenger side has a rubber engine mount, the active mounts in the middle front and back typically are the bad ones thanks to the VCM.
i suppose with both active mounts being shot / tired as they heat up from use, it could strain the one on the right.

with the active mounts gone, you would have other noises like a clunking sound when putting the van in drive or reverse.
deceleration clunks or noises.

transmission is on the drivers side, so if it was a trans noise you would hear it there.

timing belt and components are original, so nobody had that stuff apart or re-assembled incorrectly.

maybe its something as stupid as a drive belt or tensioner.

this is a strange one...

My husband initially mentioned that it "sounds like" a belt of some sort. The other OdyClub poster (username: dollphoto) who originally posted about this issue also mentioned that theirs is coming from the passenger side as well, so that has me wondering if it's the transmission or something completely different. I guess I was/am just suspicious of the transmission because of the reputation and everything I keep reading in the forum.

I'll definitely update the thread if they find anything or I dig anything else up. Thanks for all the great info. I feel like I know so little about cars, but am willing to learn anything I can .

 

[ERaiford]

Updating in case anyone is following. So, we took it to the dealer and they did ANOTHER transmission flush and said that they no longer heard the sound. However, while driving the car today, it is easily heard and replicated. I'm at a loss as to what to suggest they take a look at.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[2011.2017.odyssey]

Updating in case anyone is following. So, we took it to the dealer and they did ANOTHER transmission flush and said that they no longer heard the sound. However, while driving the car today, it is easily heard and replicated. I'm at a loss as to what to suggest they take a look at.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

try a new drive belt... if the one on it is original, its due anyways.
I change mine every 50k.
if youre handy and can do it yourself, rockauto sells the contitech and continental belts, both good.
if your local parts suppliers sell mitsuboshi, go with that.

otherwise get a shop to do it, wont cost your more than 100-150 bux installed.

 

[2011.2017.odyssey]

any luck?

 

[ERaiford]

So, the dealership flushed the transmission again and updated the software under service bulletin 17-044. I was able to get the technician to do a ride along so that I could make sure he was hearing what I was referring to, and I was able to reproduce the issue very clearly for him. However, even after the transmission flush, the noise still happened pretty regularly for the next 2-3 days.

What I find super interesting, is that after that, the weather changed dramatically here and it got quite cold for several days. Since then, I haven't been able to reproduce the sound. Any ideas on why cold weather may fix it? Would that be consistent with a drive belt issue?

Thanks again for all your input. On a good note, we got our VCM Tuner 2 in the mail yesterday and will be installing this weekend!

 

[2011.2017.odyssey]

BELT

 

[2011.2017.odyssey]

@ERaiford
did you manage to isolate this?
listening to that sound on the video sounds like body rattles and squeaks.

might explain how its affected by temperature.
usually its the inverse, cold weather you hear more creaks and squeaks from the hardened plastic.

 

[ERaiford]

@ERaiford
did you manage to isolate this?
listening to that sound on the video sounds like body rattles and squeaks.

might explain how its affected by temperature.
usually its the inverse, cold weather you hear more creaks and squeaks from the hardened plastic.

For some reason I'm just now seeing your comments. Thanks for responding!

So you think it's a belt? That's what my husband initially thought, but we're not able to isolate it. I will say that it hasn't been doing it in the past 2 weeks since we installed the VCM Tuner 2, but it's also been relatively cold here, so it's hard to say which is helping.

 

[danz75]

@ERaiford Does it sound similar to the video that I posted in this thread?

 

[ERaiford]

Hi @danz75 . Thanks for your response. It doesn't really sound like what you posted. It was happening all the time before we put the VCM Tuner 2 on, but now I can't replicate it for the life of me. Not sure what that means, but I'm guessing if it's something serious that it will show up again?

 

[Mwill]

Were you ever able to pinpoint the cause of the sound? My 2008 is doing the same exact thing except I can't get the sound to replicate when I take my mechanic for a drive. The chirp disappears during the winter as well!

 

[ERaiford]

Were you ever able to pinpoint the cause of the sound? My 2008 is doing the same exact thing except I can't get the sound to replicate when I take my mechanic for a drive. The chirp disappears during the winter as well!

Sorry I am just now logging into the forums for the first time in forever! Since we added the VCM Tuner we haven't had the issue return. I have no idea what that means, but I'm glad it hasn't returned!

 

[White2015]

First time posting! We just discovered this forum earlier this week. SO many helpful Ody owners out there!

We own a 2015 EX-L with approximately 55,000 miles. In the past month, we have been experiencing a strange chirping sound when the car shifts while traveling around 40mph (give or take). It seems to happen more frequently when traveling at a slight incline or when the van is having to "work" a little harder, and happens right after the transmission shifts. It sounds like it's coming from the right front passenger area under the hood. It also seems to happen right before the ECO light kicks in, but not every time.

Speaking of the ECO light, we just learned about VCM and all the related issues and have (as of 10 minutes ago ) ordered the VCMTuner II. We're not mechanically inclined, but are willing to learn and my hubby is great at problem solving .

We had Honda service bulletin 16-060 performed about 15 months (9,000 miles) ago because we were experiencing the judder that many mention online. I am not sure if they updated the software (mentioned in service bulletin 17-044) but I intend to find out.

I found another members' YouTube video recording of the exact same sound happening in their 2014 EX-L in identical conditions with similar milage. I will post the video below.

We took it into the dealer 3 weeks ago when it started, but they were unable to replicate the sound...of course. We are taking it back to them in the morning as I have figured out how to "provoke it"- so to speak.

I would love anyone's insight into what this might be and what to ask when we return to the dealer tomorrow. I'm not terribly hopeful that they will know what the issue is, but there seem to be some incredibly knowledgable folks in these forums.

Thanks!

Here is the YouTube video of the noise it's making. The chirp happens at the 4 second mark.

Sounds like a S belt to me.

Dealer changed fluid......why? What was the reason, what did they think it was?
Man I hate dealers sometimes .....

 

[rmyoder]

Sorry I am just now logging into the forums for the first time in forever! Since we added the VCM Tuner we haven't had the issue return. I have no idea what that means, but I'm glad it hasn't returned!

The VCM Tuner II will help you avoid lots of problems! An exception is the spool valve leak...keep an eye on it and change the gasket asap if you see greasy/oily buildup (lots of threads on that topic). Also check the motor mounts. Your VCM was active for a long time and the excess vibration may have weakened them. Or they are just getting old (my front and rear mounts - the expensive ones - died at 10 years even though VCM has been inactive for about 5 years).