2014 Honda Odyssey

About mid-2025, Honda announced a warranty extension campaign (not a formal NHTSA recall) for: * 2013–2017 Honda Odyssey (and some Pilots) * Related to VCM (Variable Cylinder Management) What the problem was: * Piston rings wear prematurely * Oil gets past the rings → fouls spark plugs * Leads to: * Misfires (P0301–P0304) * Oil consumption * Rough running Mechanism: * Cylinder deactivation (VCM) → uneven temps → carbon buildup + ring sticking * Sometimes described loosely as a “piston/gasket issue,” even though it’s really piston rings + oil control What Honda did: * Extended powertrain warranty to: * 10 years / 150,000 miles * Covered repairs like: * Piston ring replacement * Spark plugs, etc. In March 2023 I had multiple piston ring failures costing me almost $4k to fix. I submitted a claim with receipts and the work was done at a dealership. Honda said I had all the appropriate paperwork and would get back to me in 6-9 weeks. That was 7 months ago

All of this has been diagnosed and confirmed by Richfield-Bloomington Honda. It is a catostrophic failure of the motor. Cylinder 6 is misfiring. They are recommending a full motor replacement. Last year, I had the piston ring issue on this car and the dealership had to rebuild the motor. The van has about 125,000 miles on it and is good service, including the repaired motor. We are the single owners of the vehicle. After this happened, Honda Corporation was notified, a case was open by both the Richfield Honda Dealership where we purchased our vehicle and by our family. Both were denied. This was a huge safety issue. I was driving home and the check engine light started blinking and the car started shaking. I pulled up to the nearest mechanic (4 miles). They recommended towing it the 200 miles to where I had engine work done the previous year. I was STRANDED in Iowa during this and at the goodwill of some local helpful folks. Luckily, I did not have my kids and I did have cell phone reception where the light went off. This same motor has had two HUGE, vehicle-totaling issues in the last two years.

The piston ring function has deteriorated causing ring low wear toughness such to the point that sludge has been created fowling the spark plug. This leads to carbon fowling and misfiring of the engine. There have been two incident's one in March of 2025 and the second in Late July of 2025. Both times we after my wife freak out because the car was falling apart she had it towed to a mechanic and both times they said it was caused by what I identified above. A few weeks later a notice of a warrantee exception was sent out and we thought great we will take it in and they will fix it. If we had know about the warrantee extension prior we would have brought it to Honda. Honda told us that unless the lights are on we won't fix it. So they said we needed to wait to it breaks down somewhere and then have it towed to the nearest Honda by Jan. 31st, 2026 and they will fix it. After that tough luck. We are looking for an exception to this rule and I have sent in the necessary information proving that the problem exists as evidenced by two licensed mechanics. If and exception is not granted I will have no other choice but to bring it to the better business bureau and 7 on your side a local consumer advocate from KGO TV and get them to come after you to make this right. We have been a loyal advocate for Honda for over 12 years and just want this to be made right. Please don't make us have to expose this miscarriage of good faith. Please respond to this quickly as there are only two days left in the extended warrantee. I talked to a case worker today and they told me I was out of luck. I am not happy as you can imagine [XXX] & [XXX] , [XXX] . 1-29-2026 INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

On 10/03/2021 I was driving on the road and they car started acting up and the lights on the dashboard all start light up, so I drove to the dealer did a diagnosis on the car came out To be misfire and piston ring 4 fault. So I did the repair that are required for me to operate my vehicle safely. So four years later Honda did the recall. I submitted my documentation and repair receipt. Honda at first denied my claim saying I don’t have a proof of payment ( which clearly shows on my receipt it’s been paid with a Visa card), so I replied back with the Honda dealer’s billing personal contact info so the can verify that it’s been paid. So that takes care that. Then they move on to denying me again saying I don’t have the correct code on my invoice. So I attached the dealer repair managers contact info for them to verify the repair ( which the manager said American Honda should honor the repair since they issue the recall) and after all whose work Honda is still denying it. I did some searching on the net. I am not alone on this. A lot of honda owners are having the same issues did the repair with their hard earned money and when it comes to recall. American Honda motors are trying everything they can to dishonor it. I thing there must be something that we can do to stop this.

Vehicle: 2014 Honda Odyssey, VIN [XXX] , approximately 88,000 miles. In October 2025, the vehicle developed a strong burning-like odor from the HVAC vents, the temperature gauge rose, and an “Engine Hot” warning message appeared. At the same time, engine performance deteriorated and the engine began misfiring. Due to the overheating warning and drivability issues, I stopped using the vehicle and brought it to Pit Stop Auto Center (203 Clinton Place, Long Branch, NJ 07740) for inspection. Component/system that failed or malfunctioned: The engine head gasket failed (engine/cooling system). The failure resulted in internal oil-to-coolant cross-contamination, with a milky/frothy oil–coolant mixture visible in the coolant reservoir and additional visible oil contamination when removing the coolant cap. The mechanic also stated in a message dated October 29, 2025 that after removing the water pump, they discovered that engine oil was mixed with coolant inside the cooling system. How safety was put at risk: The head gasket failure caused an engine overheating condition (“Engine Hot” warning) and misfiring/reduced performance, creating a risk of loss of power and breakdown while driving. The burning odor from the vents also raised safety concerns. I brought the vehicle in to prevent further damage and unsafe operation. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center: The problem was confirmed by an independent service center (Pit Stop Auto Center) based on inspection and documented evidence of oil mixed with coolant. Has the vehicle/component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance, or others: by DCH Kay Honda/Pit Stop Auto Center Warning lamps/messages/symptoms prior to failure: Burning odor from vents, elevated temperature gauge, and “Engine Hot” warning message, with noticeable engine performance deterioration and misfiring beginning in October 2025. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The incident happened in December 2022; the vehicle is available for inspection still. Without warning, the engine light started blinking, and engine ran very rough, so I ended up pulled over and stuck until we could tow to the local Honda dealership. Then was without a car for several days. The dealership found error code P0302 (misfire on cylinder 2), due to oil gumming up on the spark plugs, caused by the eco system design flaw in the 2014 Odyssey. The dealer quoted $5640 to replace the 1-3 piston rings. I could not afford this, so they replaced all 6 plugs and cleared the codes for a short term fix ($465). Which brings us to now, when Honda has offered a warranty extension and to reimburse for previous repairs related to this problem. I submitted my paperwork for the $465 reimbursement a month ago and have had multiple phone calls with Honda, and several "escalations" to supposed supervisors, each of whom seem to have not even looked at the incident details. Honda has denied the claim. The paperwork I submitted to them is from the dealer repair in Dec. 2022 and states "misfire on cylinder 2, need piston ring repair on cylinders 1-3, P0302 was the dtc error code, replaced all 6 plugs and cleared codes for short term fix, for long term fix, vehicle needs the 1-3 piston rings replaced." The Honda reps claim the dealer service did not use the right wording; it should have the words "fouled by oil" in the service report (but they don't provide appropriate wording for service departments to use). The last voicemail I received from them said there was no error code provided (which there clearly was). Honda is not interested in fulfilling the reimbursement their latest campaign promises. Beyond that, the long term fix is not covered on the warranty extension, because the vehicle is not currently broken. So I am left with a van that I can't drive on the highway or out of town, since it can happen again without warning. This is a safety risk for my family. Shame!!

Had a Honda fixed for a well known piston ring problem that did not have a recall, but should have at the time repaired. In July, Honda sent us an extended warranty for the very problem we had repaired. I sent in all documentation and claim was denied twice. My dealer has sent me a voice mail confirming the repair is the exact one mentioned in the warranty extension. American Honda is claiming certain error codes must be mentioned in the work order in order to pay the claim. This is at best a bad faith move on Honda's part.

A poorly designed engine leads to misfires even after proper maintenance, increasing the chances of a crash. On Monday, May 12th, 2025, the MIL indicator came on and began flashing while I was driving. The engine began to misfire so violently that the vehicle was nearly undriveable; acceleration was dangerously poor. After I got home, I used a OBD-II code scanner and pulled a "P0301 - Cylinder 1 misfire" DTC. Then, I did some research, and found that a poorly designed engine causes oil to burn inside the cylinders and foul the spark plugs. I inspected the spark plugs and found multiple fouled plugs, specifically on the cylinders on which Honda's Variable Cylinder Management activates on, cylinders 1-4. I replaced all six spark plugs, and the issue went away, as expected. Photos of the fouled plugs are attached. Honda is aware of this problem, as it recently extended the warranty of the engine in this vehicle. I received a letter on July 31, 2025, titled, "Warranty Extension: 2013-15 Pilot & 2013-17 Odyssey MIL Comes on with DTCs P0301 thru P0304." (See uploaded file.) Spark plug inspection and replacement is part of the repair, in addition to a partial engine rebuild and software update. However, the warranty extension only applies *after* the misfiring has started, which is no help to the safety of this vehicle, as the issue can start at any moment while driving. Furthermore, the warranty extension only adds an extra six months to many of the affected vehicles. Therefore, any vehicle this extension applies to is an unsafe vehicle unless the safety issue already occurred and was repaired. If the issue presents itself after this time period, the owner is left with an unremedied vehicle and with an expensive repair bill.