re: OT Car Repair Gurus, Help Needed

Id run the new Valvoline restore and protect oil and try to free the ring allowing it to rotate out of gap alignment. Word is it does wonders for direct injection carbon buildup. As in, restores to like new. You can also dump some berrrymans in that cylinder and let it sit overnight. Free the piston rings!!

I'd change the spark plugs and coils and roll with it.

See what it does for a few months .

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You can see bad blowby by unscrewing your oil fill cap while the engine is running, pressure will blow out. I'd get a second opinion on this from a different shop first. Bad diagnosis happens all the time. If it is blowby, run an anti fouler and keep spare spark plugs to change as needed, only takes 5 min to change.

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The blowby effect is much more distinct on a diesel. You can unscrew an oil cap and loosely place it back on the filler hole and it'll rattle and get pushed up by the blowby. It's pretty wild when you see it.

Also, this is a somewhat common issue with cars that have the Honda VCM. Honda covers this specific issue for 8 years and unlimited mileage, if it's a '16 you seem to be inside of the window for a repair on this. You can always contact Honda as well if the dealer says you aren't, they are usually good about honoring their warranties. I would at least try that pathway before dropping $5k.

Others have said it already, but before you drop 5 grand on a engine out repair, you'll definitely want to take it to a non-dealer shop and get a compression test done and see if it's low in that cylinder. Looking up the specs quickly you should be getting close to 135 psi with a max variant of 28 psi. That will tell you for sure if you actually have an issue with blowby, or if the issue is severe or mild. If you're down a few PSI and can swap a plug and get 20k miles on the interval, than it may not be worth dropping that kind of money.

If you're getting blowby and burning oil, you may want to track how much oil you're burning, just as additional evidence. More than 1qt for every 1000 miles is considered the threshold for acceptable by Honda. In my opinion, that's a lot of oil burning, but they run the company. If you decide to get it repaired definitely get a muzzler for that VCM system.

Long story short - first step, see if you're still in the covered repair window. Second step take it to an independent tech and get a compression test to verify the issue. Gauge the severity and choose a course of action based off that information.

Yeah, I hate to say it but flashing check engine is catastrophic damage or imminent catastrophic damage.

One suggestion is 6oz of Seafoam into the crankcase and run it for a while to see if maybe a ring will loosen up. Do not drive with it in the crankcase, change the oil after the service. I'd start looking to Craigslist for possible engine replacement or a new to you vehicle.

Rolling on two years,daughter drives @ 60 + miles a day.

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Not true at all. Flashing CEL in a Honda specifically means a misfire, or raw fuel is going through the emissions system.

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these are one in the same because of the misfire raw fuel is being forced through the exhaust system destroying the cats.

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I hate to say it but flashing check engine is catastrophic damage or imminent catastrophic damage

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no, it’s not. Can be but the statement is not all inclusive

Double post

I had same problem on 2015. Change plug, coil and injector on said cylinder. Have a compression test done on the cylinder. See if it holds pressure. If it does, the ring is not bad. Run Red Line fuel system cleaner through engine once a month. Get the $100 muzzler that shuts off the variable cylinder management, VCM. Mine started at 120,000 and I sold it at 167,000 with lights on. It said it was missing but you could never tell it by driving. It ran like a top. I told the guy about it and he drove it several times and he said it drove like it was new. He was a mechanic. It was aggravating and Honda knows it’s an issue. You can’t trade it in on something else. They wanted to give me $4,000. Van was in mint condition and guy said it ran like a top, but with light on he couldn’t sell it and had to wholesale it. Call Honda also and get on complaint list. They know all about misfires and bad cylinders. The variable vlcylinder management shuts off the odd cylinders when in econo mode when driving. It causes all kinds of problems for those cylinders when they stop and restart all the time. Once I put the muzzler on the van, the econo-green light never came on. The cylinders never shut back down. I had paper work when I sold it from 3 Honda Dealerships looking at it and Firestone. I took it to Honda bc Firestone did everything physically they could do and found nothing. They said Honda’s computers were far better than theirs for Hondas. Once I said Firestone did compression test and it passed with flying colors, Honda never tried the ring is bad thing. Good luck. If you want more information I can give you more. Also look at Honda Odyssey forms online. There are lots of them with same problem. It should be a recall. Dealerships make their money on maintenance and repairs now. Watch out when taking to them. I did all repairs myself.

I had a 2007 Odyssey I drove until 185,000 miles and now have a 2017 Pilot with 100,000 miles. By far the best vehicles I have ever owned. The estimate seems high but compared to cost of a new vehicle that’s about 7 months payments.

I would get an estimate from a recommended independent shop. If reasonable I would have repair done and get another few years out of it. BTW the timing belt is recommended at 100,000. Honda just quoted me $1,500 to change and I plan on getting estimate from an independent shop.