2016 HONDA ODYSSEY Complaints

Engine light blinking, rough idle, and code reading gives "cylinder 3 misfire". I pull the spark plug out and found it's foul, covered with oil and black stuff. Searched the forums and found it's probably a common problem caused by Honda VCM.

UNKNOWN I was urged by a Honda World representative to give my account. My vehicle has intermittently flashed forward collision warning failure/lane departure warning and the check engine light. The issue has been reported to the dealership and they've acknowledged that it seems to be a well-known issue with this particular make/model/year vehicle, due to a faulty part. In order to issue a recall there need to be reports. So here you go.

While accelerating, especially up an incline, the vehicle (2016 Honda Odyssey) shudders as if the transmission is repeatedly slipping. Instead of rising smoothly, the tachometer bounces up and down as it is increasing. If you plotted the rpms as a function of time, it would look something like a "sawtooth" pattern. The issue seems to go away once a cruising speed is reached. This jerking makes me worried that the transmission could fail at any time and result in an emergency situation and/or accident. The vehicle is currently at the dealership but they seem uncertain as to what will fix the issue. They want to start with a $600 transmission flush. Then if that doesn't fix it, they want an additional transmission flush. And if that still doesn't fix the issue, then they want to try replacing the torque converter. This appears to be an issue known to Honda but of which owners have not been made aware. It appears to be a flaw in Honda's software resulting in an inability to maintain the transmission fluid in an safe and appropriate range. Honda should be required to notify all owners and issue a recall to fix this issue.

The contact owns a 2016 Honda Odyssey. The contact parked the vehicle, turned the engine off, and removed the ignition key from the ignition but failed to switch the shifter from the drive position. While attempting to exit, the vehicle rolled backward down the driveway and crashed into the mailbox. During the incident, the contact attempted to reenter the vehicle to prevent the rollaway and was pushed to the ground and dragged down the driveway causing multiple injuries which included a back injury, leg contusions, ankle injuries, and a lacerated left leg which required medical treatment. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the incident. The local dealer was not yet contacted. The contact was also concerned that the ignition key was able to be removed from the ignition switch although the shifter was still in the drive position. The failure mileage was 101,000.

May 2, 2022 - While driving home one evening, my check engine light came on, flashing. I was able to get into my neighborhood and once I got on my street, the front of the car started shaking violently. I made it into my driveway. This was very distressing and frightening. Scheduled a tow through USAA mobile app for next morning to be taken to Honda. There is way more detail - can't paste all here. July 9, 2022 - At approx 10AM, we left our vacation rental and started the drive home to MS. My check engine light came on and started flashing again. I made it to the middle of the island and met my husband. I was visibly shaken because I knew this was a serious issue. I had three kids and a 175lb dog in my van, along with half of our belongings. If I had gone a few miles or two more, I would have been stranded on a four-mile bridge. I had driven my car frequently while we were on the island (2 weeks) and there were no issues - until this day. - Again, I have WAY more information on this - cannot paste it all here.

- dashboard warning lights (engine light, LDW, FCW, Emissions, and VSA) come on every couple of weeks; the warning lights stay on for anywhere from a few hours to a few days, then go off again. - car alarm goes off randomly, very frequently. - when the car is turned off and parked, sometimes randomly I would hear rapid clicking from the dash. Sometimes that clicking would be accompanied by all the dashboard lights flickering on and off for about 30 seconds, repeating that sequence for a few minutes. -won’t start at times. Engine won’t turn off when start/stop switch depressed.

One of the cylinder valves get stuck open. Happened several times within a year. Car looses power and the engine runs rough due to cylinder misfire. Honda says they would need to replace all cylinders. Problem apparently happened in older models and seen other complaints for same issue in like make and model year.

2016 Honda Odyssey developed torque converter judder as shown in Honda TSB 17-043 dated 2/27/2018. This lead to problems accelerating and maintaining speed which is a safety issue. No warning lamps or messages appeared. The problem was confirmed by a local transmission repair service. We are awaiting warranty information for the repair as there has been no campaign or recall for this well known issue.

Within the last two years, spark plug number two has been faulty 3 different times. This causes driving issues while on the road, the car will not accelerate.

In March 1, 2022, my check engine light started to blink and the vehicle was running rough with a definite loss of power. I took it to a local mechanic. The code was a misfire on cylinder 2. He replaced the spark plugs and coil. On May 4, 2022, the same symptoms occurred and I left it with the same local mechanic. He said no codes were stored and the vehicle was running as it should. On May 5, 2022 the same symptoms occurred again and the FCW and LDW lights were also illuminated. The vehicle showed "failed FCW system". They changed the cylinder 2 spark plug because there was oil in it. On May 31, 2022 the check engine light was blinking again with rough idle and loss of power. After doing some researching I can see that Honda had a previous class action lawsuit settlement for earlier year Honda Odysseys for a "piston-ring issue". Today I called the local dealer where I purchased my vehicle from - Brilliance Honda and the service advisor indicated that this is a common problem with the Honda Odysseys but the 2016 are not covered any extended warranty or safety recall. This is a safety issue. To lose power in the engine when driving. This is a known issue and previous model years had similar issues and there was a class action lawsuit - yet nothing is being done about the problem that was never corrected by Honda putting people at risk for a faulty mechanical design. You can smell gas inside the vehicle when this occurs because the engine is not working properly to burn the gas.