The engine light went on and my wife needed to be towed to a dealer while 1000 miles from home. They said the piston rings were failing and we needed a new engine or they would be happy to sell her a new car right there. They said they could try putting in new plugs for $500 and MAYBE she would get home. We tried it and she only got 2 miles down the road. They refunded $130 so it cost us $370 for nothing. She rented a car and drove home so we could take our time and consider our options.

We opted for the new engine for $4000 and replaced the timing belt for $1000. According to the dealer American Honda paid $1000. Still $3000 for a car with 101000 miles that should run to 20000?

Not cool. Now I am hearing about others with a similar problem and I think Honda should pay for the engine. Obviously there is a problem with this engine.

My check engine light came on at 94,482 miles and I took it in to get an oil change and have the codes read. I was told it was a multiple cylinder random misfire code and to have a tune-up done with the next oil change. My check engine light would come on intermittently after that.

On February 7th, My check engine light came on and was flashing. I noticed a sudden loss of power. I called my mechanic and he advised me not to drive it any further than to bring it in (a couple miles). They did the diagnosis and said that they hoped the spark plugs and coil packs being changed would resolve the issue at a cost of around $800 total. As they performed the work to remove the old plugs and coil packs, they were unable to get the coil pack in cylinder 5 out. It had somehow melted and fused with the cylinder walls. Upon further research and a discussion with a Honda technician, it was determined that the root cause of the problem was with the VCM computer itself and that replacing only the head of the engine that was damaged from the coil pack becoming fused in the cylinder would not rectify the situation. The Honda tech advised my mechanic to replace the entire engine. That repair cost me around $7,400.

I later learned that there was a class action law suit and settlement for Honda Odyssey's beginning with 2008 model year. So, I contacted Honda because it is the same symptoms and issue seeking reimbursement. I was told that because it was not included there was nothing they would do for me even though the engine in my 2007 odyssey is the exact same engine in the 2008 models. I am currently waiting for a call from a manager at American Honda Motors to escalate my issue. Needless to say, I would not recommend a Honda Odyssey to others at this point.