2018 Honda Odyssey: engine failure

Filed Oct 31, 2026 · Engine · MD

My 2018 Honda Odyssey suffered a catastrophic engine failure while I was driving to work on the morning of XXX. I had my vehicle towed to Safford Brown's Honda in [XXX]. According to my service rep at the Honda Dealership, the failure was due to the connecting rod bearings. After some research, I found that the V6 Engines for Honda had a recall on them in 2023, Recall No. 23V751000. I called corporate Honda, and spoke to a rep ([XXX]) there, she said that my VIN was excluded from the recall, and that the recall only affect those engines built at a certain factory. Further research found that the federal safety agency opened a broader 1.4-million vehicle probe because engines built outside that original plant and timeline are suffering identical catastrophic rod bearing failures, like what I just experienced. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Oct 26, 2026 · Engine, Transmission · 117,000 miles · NJ

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled and lost motive power with several warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, shifted the vehicle into park(P), and there was smoke coming from the engine. The vehicle failed to restart after the failure. The vehicle was towed to a service center, where an engine failure was confirmed, and the contact was referred to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine and front axle had failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure by telephone. The failure mileage was approximately 117,000.

Filed Aug 13, 2026 · Engine · TX

Engine failed, rod shavings entering the motor, causing a full motor repair. This has caused our family to be stranded.

Filed Jul 30, 2026 · Locks · 156,000 miles · VA

The contact owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the driver's side rear sliding door failed to latch as intended. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed door motor. In addition, the contact was informed that the driver's side rear sliding door motor had seized. The contact was informed that the driver's side rear sliding door motor and roller were needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.

Filed Jul 28, 2026 · Engine · 100,000 miles · FL

The contact’s daughter owns a 2018 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that after the vehicle was idling at a stoplight and then attempting to accelerate after the light turned green, there was a loud clanking sound coming from the front of the vehicle. The owner then became aware of white smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road and the vehicle stalled. After the vehicle stalled, there was no smoke coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact became aware that vehicles of the same year, make, and model were known to experience engine failures at approximately100,000 miles. The contact stated that the vehicle was inspected at approximately 100,000 miles and the rear main seal was replaced during the routine service and maintenance. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.

Filed Jul 7, 2026 · Driver assistance, Electrical · TX

I own a 2018 Honda Odyssey EX-L (VIN [XXX]). The vehicle experienced a sudden loss of power and entered limp mode, with multiple safety and driver-assistance systems shutting down at once (adaptive cruise, braking assist, lane/road departure mitigation, EPS, etc.). A Honda dealer (Allen Honda, College Station, TX) retrieved DTC P0369 and documented that the front camshaft is worn and has thrust forward, contacting the camshaft position (CMP/TDC) sensor and damaging the thrust plate. The dealer is recommending an internal engine repair costing several thousand dollars. I am very concerned because Honda has already acknowledged serious engine defects in this same J35 V6 family under Recall 23V751 (connecting rod bearing wear leading to engine damage and stall) for 2018–2019 Odyssey, yet my dealer states my VIN is “not part of the recall” and that this is a “separate issue.” In practice, I am seeing a major internal engine failure that causes sudden derate and disables multiple safety systems, but I am being told there is no recall coverage or assistance simply because my individual VIN falls outside Honda’s current recall production range. I am requesting that the federal safety agency review this incident as a potential recall exclusion problem: owners with the same engine family and serious internal failures are being denied recall coverage on a technical VIN cutoff, even though the safety consequence—loss of power and shutdown of critical safety systems while driving—is similar to the failures already recognized under Recall 23V751 and the ongoing engine defect investigation. I believe this situation may warrant expansion of existing recall coverage or a new recall campaign for currently excluded VINs like mine, and reimbursement for owners who have already paid for these repairs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jun 1, 2026 · Engine · CO

I own a 2018 Honda Odyssey 3.5L V6 and while my wife and 9 year old daughter were driving down the highway at 70mph that car decided to throw a rod throw the bottom of the motor leaving my family stranded on the roadside with no motor oil left in the car. This is a known issue for the 2018 Honda Odyssey but only for certain VIN numbers. I think it's pretty clear from all of the online complaints from this same year that it's not only those VIN numbers. We have always replaced the oil at 3,500 miles with Mobile 1 syntenic 0w-20 and always check the oil level to make sure none is missing. For the car to just throw a rod at 157k miles is pretty concerning as this will require a entire engine replacement out of pocket cost as Honda will not take ownership of this even though this year and model is known to have issues. I would like to see more VIN numbers added to their recall because this isn't fair to the people who buy a car for reliability and are left stranded on the roadside for a known issue they are not being forced to stand behind and make right. PLEASE HELP ME

Filed Mar 16, 2026 · Engine · NJ

Our 2018 Honda Odyssey (Elite) has been diagnosed by our local Honda dealer with engine failure due to rod knock (rod bearing failure). This vehicle is well maintained with only 72,500 miles when the issue became noticeable. The dealer has verbally quoted $8,800 to replace the engine with another used engine, which I refuse to pay given the relatively low mileage and age of this vehicle (and history of other costly inexcusable issues). I opened a complaint/goodwill case (#16188784) with Honda Corporate, which was denied. This Honda Odyssey was our primary family vehicle (the only vehicle we can all travel together in), and it is now siting in our garage completely inoperable. Honda America's lack of care here is beyond frustrating.

Filed Mar 16, 2026 · Engine · FL

While driving on the highway, the engine light came on and off. Pulling over, I inspected the engine compartment and heard what I believe was cylinder knocking, but could not obtain an engine code with an OBD code reader. Oil was of sufficient level as it had just been replaced within 1,000. After this I attempted to drive it to the dealership, where on going 45 MPH, I pulled to the right lane for emergency police vehicles and when the vehicle was stopped, the engine stopped and seized up. After not being able to start the vehicle, I could not find the neutral safety switch to put the transmission in neutral to move the vehicle from the flow of traffic (turns out the switch is not readily accessible and is on the side of the transmission underneath the air intake and battery compartment. Police officers pulled behind the vehicle and assisted me in getting a tow truck to take the vehicle to the dealership for inspection. At Coggin Honda in Jacksonville, the vehicle was inspected and the engine would not turn over manually by the crankshaft. The engine was deemed to have catastrophic failure and would need to be replaced at 126,000 miles. This vehicle is a 2018 which is on TSB 24-003, however is not listed on the applicable VINs. This TSB is for connecting bearing rod failure which would lock this vehicle’s engine the way the dealership found it. I believe this to be the issue as several Honda engines have had this failure. The vehicle was maintained per Honda’s maintenance programs and even had an extended warranty of up to 100,000 miles which when the TSB the vehicle was underneath that mileage and would have been covered by Honda if they had released the full list of VINs for that year to be inspected instead of a sub list of VINs of the production. Honda needs to be investigated to see if that TSB needs to be expanded since 2023-2024 timeframe other users have had a similar failure and seized engines.

Filed Mar 5, 2026 · Engine · TX

Over a year ago, my vehicles engine began ticking. On 12/14/2024, while driving the vehicle, it developed a rod knock, went into a limp mode and was towed back to our house. I eventually took the vehicle to Honda in Beaumont, Tx where they did an inspection of the vehicle and verbally told me it was the crankshaft, but would not provide me any documentation stating that. According to the lady at the desk, the service tech had never seen or heard of an issue like this in these vans. I was quoted almost $10,000 to replace the engine with a salvage yard engine with almost as many miles on it. I knew prior to taking it to Honda that there was a recall that did not cover my vehicle regarding this same issue. The vehicle is still parked at my house being started occasionally to keep battery charged.

Filed Feb 24, 2026 · Engine · OH

Engine failed while driving, will no longer start. Mechanic believe it is either connecting rod or main bearing failure. It has not been inspected by the manufacturer and will be sold to another person as is. No warning lamps or messages were present prior to the failure and didn't appear until after the failure.

Filed Feb 15, 2026 · Engine · NJ

Engine has a rod knock problem at 72,000, miles. Vehicle will likely need a full engine replacement.