2016 Honda Odyssey: sudden loss of power

Filed Feb 6, 2025 · Engine · 142,569 miles · WI

I own a 2016 Honda Odyssey. This past summer ,while driving the vehicle began to lose power and shake. I had it towed in where I was told that the piston rings needed to be replaced, however, the first step would be to replace the spark plugs. They knew exactly what was going on because numerous individuals have had the same issue with their Honda Odyssey. Now just last week the same problem happened and the piston rings are being replaced for $5000. There was previously a class action lawsuit on earlier model year Honda Odyssey's due to the same issue. Honda then did nothing to fix the issue with the next model of the Odyssey. It is frustrating that their is a known issue that they are doing nothing about. We literally lost power while driving down a busy highway putting us and others at risk. Luckily we were able to get off of the road safely without causing any issues. You have previously looked into the earlier model Honda odyssey's I would appreciate it if you would with the newer models as well. Thank you.

Filed Jan 6, 2025 · Engine · TN

The engine failed while driving on the highway. All lights flashed on dashboard and loss of power to the vehicle. There were no prior check engine lights on before it activated and started flashing. Piston 3 failure that had to be replaced (pistons 1-3). Engine had been burning oil but no low oil indication had been illuminated nor was car due for an oil change. Spark plugs and ignition coil had been replaced approx. a year prior due to similar but less severe incident of check engine light coming on and misfiring engine. Six months after the pistons were replaced, the oil pressure switches were diagnosed as faulty and needed replacement due to a false low oil pressure reading.

Filed Dec 11, 2023 · Engine · NC

My wife experienced a sudden loss of power and a very rough running engine at interstate speeds. The check engine light as well as the FSW lights indicated problems with the engine. We brought the vehicle into a Honda dealership for diagnosis. The technician observed an oil soaked spark plug in the #3 cylinder which caused the issue. There were no lights associated with the issue until the sudden loss of power. This dramatic loss of power put her at risk as she limped to a safe area. Honda not only recommends replacing the plug but also all the rings on the rear three cylinders to make the vehicle safe. This is the second time this same vehicle has experienced the same failure and it appears to be an issue with the VCM system on this model. First instance was around 60k and now at 120k.

Filed Aug 10, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · NC

While driving in October 2022, my car suddenly had the check engine light begin flashing. My car immediately began to lose power and would barely accelerate. Multiple other dash lights then started flashing. I called the Honda dealership who told me to drive it there. I barely made it to the dealership (having to drive slowly, not being able to accelerate, and not knowing if the car was suddenly going to die). The Honda dealership diagnosed it as a failure of the piston rings leading to a catastrophic engine failure. These piston rings needed to be replaced, which could only be done with an entire engine rebuild. This cost approximately $5000. I got the car back and then the next day was driving on a major interstate traveling 70mph. All of the sudden the car completely shut down. It was so extremely dangerous. I had to pull over to the side of the road and wait for a tow truck. The town truck took the car back to the Honda dealer, which diagnosed a timing belt failure. The timing belt and water pump had to be replaced, costing an additional $1-2k. Then in August 2023 the alternator has now failed. This caused the car to again suddenly die while driving it.

Filed Aug 2, 2023 · Engine, Fuel system · MN

This is a problem with the car’s variable cylinder management. It causes the spark plug to degrade, the engine cylinders fill with oil and damages the piston rings. This has happened to me on my 2016 Honda Odyssey which has less then 50,000 miles. When the engine cylinders misfire while driving, it causes sudden loss of power and an inability to drive. The repairs are very costly. There was a class action lawsuit aimed at this very problem in the 2008-2013 Honda Odyssey - Honda settled the lawsuit March of 2014. Honda extended the warranty and would fix the issue on the existing 2008-2013 Honda Odysseys. Honda has not fixed the problem and they continue to sell vehicles with this known issue and not disclosing it to their customers. It remains a safety issue while driving.

Filed Mar 20, 2023 · Engine · LA

I was driving down a city road and engine light came on as well as traction control light. The car began shaking and lost power slowing down while I had 4 kids in the van. I took it to a Honda dealer the next morning and they said that oil is leaking past the piston rings and fouling the #3 spark plug causing misfiring. They suggested a replacement of the engine as they indicated a head job may not fix the issue. The engine light had come on once before accompanied by the loss of power and shaking about 4-5 months prior but the issue was not found at that time by the Honda service shop as when I brought it in the check engine light was gone. But I I had all the spark plugs replaced as I was at approximately 106,000 miles at that time. Now I'm at 109,000 and the issue returned as noted above, but much worse. Basically I'm forced to sell the van as it's unsafe to drive and too costly to repair.

Filed Dec 1, 2022 · Engine · KY

The engine misfired which caused the vehicle to lose power in traffic endangering the people in my vehicle and in the other vehicles on the road around me. The check engine light began flashing and I had the vehicle towed to the dealership to be inspected. Upon inspection I was informed by the dealership that this was a known problem in Honda Odysseys and that the VCM system causes the piston rings to go bad prematurely which causes unburnt oil to foul the spark plug and cause the car to misfire and lose power. Apparently a class action lawsuit about this issue led to Honda extending the warranty and covering the repairs on Oddyseys made between 2005-2013, but the issue was never corrected and the 2016 model is not covered. The cost of the repair was $3830.

Filed Jun 2, 2022 · Driver assistance, Engine · IL

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.

Filed May 10, 2022 · Acceleration, Electrical · MO

While driving my odyssey it began having the air conditioner blink off and on, radio was blinking off and on and multiple lights were lit up on the dash. There were no lights on my dash and no warning prior to this happening. My car then lost all power as if it was in neutral. I was pushing the gas pedal but the car would only rev like it was in neutral. Then the car began revving itself and the RPM's were getting dangerously high all while I was frantically trying to get to the side of the highway through traffic. I was in the left lane in a 70 MPH area. My blinkers were not working. After I finally got to the side of the road and stopped, the car was able to accelerate again. Then the whole thing happened again. When I shut the car off, the car then began clicking and dash lights were flashing all over the place, but the car would not start, Then I was able to finally start it, but I didn't dare to take it onto the highway again. Please help - this is a life-threatening issue and Honda should reimburse this immediately. I have read this same issue on multiple other chat boards.

Filed Oct 23, 2021 · Engine · VA

We purchased this 2016 Odyssey November 7, 2016. On July 16, 2020 I had to take the car into the Honda dealer. The vehicle jerked violently when I drive from a stop position to first, second and third gears. The dealer informed that it was due to defective brakes. I paid them $1,500 for the repair but it continued to happen. They informed that they could not duplicate the problems therefore can't fix it. On April 17, 2021 I have been getting multiple warning lights (fcw, ldw, check engine) which occur with sluggish engine performance. The engine will misfire and not accelerate as it typically does or shudders/jitters trying to accelerate. Diagnostic tool shows P0301 for misfire in cylinder 1 and P0848 for trans fluid pressure switch faulty. The dealer informed that we have defective piston rings which cause spark plugs misfire and foul. This will cost 5K and they will not guaranteed that it will fix it! My engine problems seems to be similar to the class action suit as per case no. 3:12-cv-1377-si. Unfortunately, it would appear that the defective piston rings issue was not resolved. I'm concerned that any replacement will result in the same issue again with continued driving. Honda dealerships are aware of the issue and Honda offers us very minimal assistance on the repair. However, they should be fully liable for selling cars with defective design, especially after the prior case. When this issue occurred, it put my family in an unsafe condition because vehicle suddenly lost power and the engine began to stutter. At this point my vehicle is undrivable and this has contributed to financial burden in an already difficult year due to the pandemic. Honda should own this issue for the 2016 model year through full compensation on repairs.

Filed Nov 18, 2020 · Engine · 99,000 miles · FL

Defective piston rings are causing spark plugs misfire and foul. The scenario seems to be similar to the class action suit as per case no. 3:12-cv-1377-si. Unfortunately, it would appear that the defective piston rings issue was not resolved. I'm concerned that any replacement will result in the same issue again with continued driving. Honda dealerships are aware of the issue and honda us offers very minimal assistance on the repair. However, they should be fully liable for selling cars with defective design, especially after the prior case. When this issue occurred, it put my family is an unsafe condition because vehicle suddenly lost power and the engine began to stutter. At this point my vehicle is undrivable and this has contributed to financial burden in an already difficult year due to the pandemic. Honda should own this issue for the 2016 model year through full compensation on repairs.

Filed Apr 20, 2020 · Engine · 99,000 miles · IL

Sudden loss of engine power while attempting to merge on a highway. Fortunately I had a shoulder to escape onto as I could not make it up to highway speed and could not merge. Found out afterwards that the cause was spark plug fouling as a build up occurs during eco mode as oil bypasses the piston rings on cylinders equipped with the honda vcm (variable cylinder management) system. The build up continues until the engine begins to misfire and triggers the check engine light and the engine runs rough, stumbles and drives in 'limp along' mode. This problem has occurred multiple times (first occurrence 03/25/2019, latest occurrence 04/16/2020) and my local honda service center has found diagnostic trouble code p0302 indicating a misfire condition in cylinder #2. Honda service people call it the 'piston ring problem' as it is a well know manufacturing defect that honda describes in tsb 13-081 and resulted in a class action lawsuit (case no. 3:12-cv-1377-si) against honda. The lawsuit was settled in 2014 and all 2008 thru 2013 honda odyssey models were covered and given an extended 8 year unlimited mileage drive train warranty in the settlement. Apparently the defect was not corrected in later models as my 2016 honda odyssey is now exhibiting the same exact symptoms. My honda was 3 years old and had 69k miles at the time of the first occurrence. The problem has reoccurred multiple times and yet honda has declined to cover the $3000 cost of replacing the piston rings (as recommended by the honda service center) stating that my vehicle is out of warranty and my VIN is not covered by the settlement.