Honda Odyssey check engine light comes on

Filed Nov 5, 2026 · Engine · 141,000 miles · MO

The contact owns a 2015 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle unexpectedly stalled. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where the spool valve filter and alternator were replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, two weeks later, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that oil had seeped through the spark plugs into the pistons, and that the pistons needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure; however, the manufacturer declined to provide assistance. The failure mileage was 141,000.

Filed Nov 2, 2026 · Engine · IN

I was driving and my check engine. Light came on, the car was slow to accelerate. I pulled over and I had it towed to a honda dealership, the closest one. They diagnosed it with needing a transmission replacement and replaced a transmission. Then, after the transmission was replaced, suddenly there was a knock in the engine. The dealership sent me a video with them. Revving, the engine very strongly, and I couldn't really discern any knocking noise, but the engine revving was excessive. Then, I asked for an additional video to try and hear what they were hearing. They sent me another video where there was a clear knock. This did not get disclosed to me at all, because they said it was hard to get it into, because it wasn't really accelerating, they couldn't barely get it into the bay after the cart was towed to the facility. If the cart was making a knocking noise at that moment, it should have been noted initially, but it was not noted until after the transmission was replaced. I never had a knocking sound prior to having my car. Delivered to this dealership.

Filed Oct 30, 2026 · Engine · WA

Incident: In Mar 2019, while driving down a highway with my family, the vehicle experienced a sudden engine malfunction while driving, characterized by a flashing Check Engine Light, severe engine shaking, and a dangerous, immediate loss of acceleration/engine power. We had to get the vehicle towed to the dealership. A diagnostic scan revealed fault code P0302, indicating a misfire in Cylinder 2. Upon mechanical inspection, the spark plug in Cylinder 2 was completely fouled and covered in engine oil. At this time, only the fouled spark plugs were replaced, and the PCM software updated. This essentially is a temporary band-aid pushing the problem further down the road. The vehicle only had around 87,481 miles, and was a little over 10 years old. The same thing happened again in Dec 2025, at around 147,979 miles. This time, we had to do an extensive and really expensive repair. The root cause was determined to be premature failure of the engine's piston rings. This is a direct result of Honda's VCM system, which shuts down cylinders during operation, creating a vacuum that forces oil past the piston rings, fouling the plugs, and causing unexpected power loss during transit. I wasn't aware of this known issue until I had to do the major repair, and have now realized that Honda is very well aware of this well known and widespread issue. Request: This mechanical failure represents a severe, documented safety hazard that puts occupants at risk of being rear-ended due to sudden deceleration on active roadways. Honda is aware of this exact VCM defect for certain model years. A manufacturing design defect that causes unexpected highway engine failure does not cease to be a safety risk or a corporate responsibility due to age. Honda should have taken proactive steps to mitigate and prevent this issue. I am requesting that Honda reimburse the cost of the engine teardown and piston ring replacement required to make the vehicle safe to operate again.

Filed Oct 14, 2026 · Transmission · 55,000 miles · CA

The contact owns a 2020 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while coming to a stop, the vehicle independently shifted into Park (P). The contact stated that the check engine warning light initially illuminated before the vehicle automatically shifted into Park (P); however, the failure escalated, with the vehicle shifting into Park (P) and shutting off the engine entirely without warning light illumination. The vehicle was able to be restarted following the failure. Additionally, the collision warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, with no vehicles nearby. The vehicle was taken to a dealer. The failure mileage was 55,000.

Filed Oct 12, 2026 · NC

The Honda Odyssey’s Auto Idle Stop/Restart system has repeatedly malfunctioned. When the vehicle comes to a stop and the automatic idle-stop feature engages, the engine fails to restart as intended. This has occurred on multiple occasions, indicating a recurring problem rather than an isolated incident. The exact defective component has not been determined. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. This malfunction creates a serious safety hazard because the vehicle unexpectedly becomes immobilized in active traffic. When the engine fails to restart, I cannot immediately accelerate or move the vehicle as expected. This creates a risk of rear-end collisions, particularly at busy intersections, stoplights, and other situations where surrounding drivers reasonably expect traffic to move. The unpredictable nature of the failure makes it especially concerning because there is no way to anticipate when the vehicle will fail to restart. The fact that this has happened repeatedly increases my concern for the safety of my passengers, other motorists, and myself. No engine lights when this has occurred. I have to manually restart and it usually lags and cars behind me get mad and then try to zip around me. This makes me feel extremely unsafe- especially since buying this vehicle brand new.

Filed Sep 28, 2026 · Engine · IA

My 2016 Honda Odyssey has experienced repeated engine misfires associated with oil-fouled spark plugs. In May 2024, while driving, the check-engine light began flashing and the vehicle ran rough. An authorized Honda dealer inspected the vehicle and documented an oil-fouled spark plug. The dealer replaced all six spark plugs, but the underlying cause was not repaired. In November 2025, the check-engine light returned. An independent repair shop documented code P0303, Cylinder 3 Misfire, and replaced all six spark plugs again. In August 2026, the same problem returned. The repair shop again documented a Cylinder 3 misfire and found all three rear-bank spark plugs fouled. They recommended an internal engine inspection because repeated spark-plug replacement was not correcting the underlying problem. The vehicle was then taken to an authorized Honda dealer, which recommended an engine piston-ring/re-ring repair. The recurring misfire causes the vehicle to run rough and the check-engine light to flash, creating concern about loss of engine performance while driving. The vehicle and engine are available for inspection.

Filed Sep 15, 2026 · Fuel system · OH

By August 1, 2026, the check-engine light was on in my 2019 Honda Odyssey. I reported that the light was steady and the van was running normally, with no noticeable drivability problems. On August 31, 2026, at 141,126 miles, an authorized Honda dealer recorded DTC P0430, performed an air/fuel test, documented that the fuel injectors failed, and recommended replacing them. The dealer noted that failed injectors can cause P0430. The injector-specific parts-and-labor estimate is $1,849.06. No injector repair or post-repair test is documented yet. There was no crash, fire, injury, fatality, or police report. Honda Service Bulletin 21-010 provides a 10-year/150,000-mile injector warranty extension for certain 2018-2019 Odysseys. For P0430, it directs an air/fuel test and injector replacement if the test fails. Honda says this vehicle's VIN is ineligible despite the dealer's matching diagnostic pathway and offered 50% goodwill. This bulletin is a warranty extension, not a recall. I ask the federal safety agency to examine whether the eligible VIN population adequately captures 2019 Odysseys with this documented failure pattern. The attached evidence summary identifies 27 public the federal safety agency complaints that report injector or matching-code concerns together with VIN-based coverage exclusion; those are owner allegations, not confirmed failure rates. Some other owners allege hesitation, power loss, or limp mode, but I have not experienced those symptoms. I am concerned that continued injector deterioration could create a future drivability or loss-of-power risk. Please compare Honda's production, warranty, goodwill, dealer-test, and failure-analysis data for included and excluded vehicles. The dealer findings and evidence summary are attached.

Filed Sep 15, 2026 · Engine · WA

My wife was driving our young daughters and the vehicle had multiple warning lights come on. then several messages stated transmission drive unavailable. then the vehicle stopped moving and stalled in a busy street. it would re-start but was idling at 3000rpm. however it would not move from where it died. it had to be towed to the Honda dealer. It was a very dangerous situation because it went from a check engine light to a dead vehicle in 30 seconds. very unsafe!

Filed Sep 4, 2026 · Electrical · 19,000 miles · IL

The contact owns a 2025 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while at a complete stop in traffic, the idle stop system failed to restart the vehicle, nearly causing the vehicle to be rear-ended. The vehicle was restarted after several attempts. The check engine and battery warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the battery was replaced; however, the failure recurred while attempting to start the vehicle at the residence. The vehicle was restarted after several attempts with the same warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was determined that the failure might be associated with the starter; however, the contact was informed that no further repairs would be performed until the dealer received a service bulletin from the manufacturer. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.

Filed Sep 1, 2026 · Transmission · TX

The vehicle would not accelerate over 40MPH, we took the vehicle into the dealership for what we thought was a failed fuel injector, upon inspection they found metal shavings in the oil and mentioned the engine is not repairable and would need a whole new replacement. We had this vehicle 9 months. Upon investigation there was a known recall that is identical to the issues we are experiencing. The whole engine is failed and we cannot utilize it. It was inspected by the dealership. The check engine light is illuminating, and does not increase in speed. My family and I were unable to drive at a reasonable speed on the highway once it failed.