2015 Honda Odyssey Engine Problems

In November 2024, the engine of my 2015 Honda Odyssey misfired and I had all spark plugs replaced. The vehicle had 102, 171 miles on it. The issue was resolved at that time. On April 1, 2026 the engine misfire returned, check engine light came on and the repair shop advised that again the engine is having the same issue. The vehicle now has 117,000 miles on it. This does not appear to be an isolated case as I have read several other similar complaints.

American Honda Motor Co, Inc. recently sent a warranty extension due to piston ring deterioration causing misfires. They have improperly denied my claim for reasons that were clearly arbitrary and to get out of reimbursing me for the repair. This is a safety concern because the car is unable to accelerate safely to merge onto an interstate and puts other drivers at risk.

On March 27th, I was driving my car. My children were with me and we were on the way home from swim practice. With no warning, my engine went crazy. We were sitting at a stop light and the idel became very rough shaking the entire car. The engine was slow to respond to the accelerator and ultimately I decided that it was not safe to drive. I had my van towed to my mechanic who ran diagnostics and confirmed that the spark plugs were misfiring because of oil build up related to a faulty piston ring valve. He explained that it was a common problem with Odysseys. He gave us the options of doing the major repair of the rings that would cost about $5000 or we could replace the failing spark plugs and get 6-8 months out of the car before the same issue would reoccur. Not having a spare $5k on hand we opted for the temporary fix. I recently received a warranty extension from Honda about this exact issue but Honda is refusing to repair my car. They have told me that unless the engine light is on and the appropriate codes are indicated, I can not have the repair covered by the warranty. I took in documents from my mechanic with pictures of the codes, but they will not honor this. They also said that even if they did an inspection that confirmed the piston ring failure, Honda USA would not pay them back for the repairs because the service light and appropriate service codes are not showing. I believe the terms of this warranty extension are in bad faith and put me and my family at risk. Either I spend my own money to repair the car, or I wait until the engine fails and me and my family are stranded on the side of the road. Despite numerous conversations with the service member and customer service, Honda refuses to put in writing their refusal to repair my car under the warranty.

My vehicle has a know issue with Honda Corporate with the variable cylinder management that has lead to 7 miss fires in 4 years. The frequent and excessive miss fires are caused by carbon and oil leaking through the piston rings. Honda has attempted to repair the piston rings but that repair was a fail. I’ve experienced a miss fire after the repair and now require another change to my spark plugs recommended by Honda. I filed a reimbursement case with Honda and was notified they will not resolve the issue or reimburse me for the excessive miss fires, spark plug and coils replaced due to their faulty know engine defect. They announced in July 2025 that they were extending the warranty to cover repairs related to engine misfires (DTCs P0301 through P0304) and will last for 10 years from the original purchase date or 150,000 miles. However they have denied my reimbursement after sending proof of miss fire work and payment.

Honda issued a warranty extension covering piston ring deterioration that causes engine misfires (DTCs P0301–P0304) due to oil fouling. I experienced this exact condition on 3/11/25 prior to issuance of the warranty extension, resulting in an engine misfire and loss of drivability. To restore basic operation of the vehicle, an independent repair facility replaced a fouled spark plug, documenting the misfire and oil fouling condition (including the P0301 code). I elected the minimum necessary repair to restore drivability, as the warranty extension had not yet been issued and the vehicle could not be operated safely without immediate service. Honda has acknowledged that this repair was temporary and consistent with the covered condition. Honda has denied reimbursement for this repair because the piston ring or short block replacement identified in the campaign was not completed. Honda has also stated that it will not perform the covered repair unless the misfire code is currently active or stored and the check engine light is illuminated. Honda representatives have acknowledged that this condition commonly recurs after a temporary spark plug repair, but have advised that no repair can be performed unless the issue resumes. This creates a situation in which the vehicle has a known covered defect, but access to repair is delayed until failure reoccurs, potentially outside the warranty extension mileage or time limits. I am submitting this complaint due to concerns that these requirements may prevent timely access to emissions-related repairs for a known defect and may discourage reasonable interim repairs necessary to maintain safe vehicle operation. Honda’s requirement that I continue operating the vehicle until the misfire reoccurs raises safety concerns. The prior failure resulted in loss of drivability, and I am uncomfortable transporting my family while knowingly operating a vehicle with a documented defect that Honda has acknowledged is likely to recur.

The engine has experienced a cylinder 1 misfire condition twice in the last month. In each instance, the spark plug has been fouled with oil and caused the ignition coil pack to malfunction. When the failure occurred, the vehicle was in operation at roadway speeds and placed the vehicle into limp mode with a flashing check engine light and deactivating the forward collision monitor and lane departure warning. In each instance, the vehicle has been towed to an independent mechanic shop where the P0301 codes have been found. I have contacted American Honda Motors and was advised that there are no recalls at this point. Looking online, the 3.5L engine appears to have several issues regarding the VCM system that leads to ring failure and oil leaking into the cylinders. There was a class action suit, Soto et al. v. American Honda, that led to Honda extending engine warranties to 8 years, unlimited mileage, but does not correct the issue with the VCM causing damage. Thankfully for me each time the misfire condition has occurred, I have been close to home so that I have not been left stranded.

Cylinders misfire due to leaky cylinder rings. Causes car to ride rough / shake violently. Needs to replace spark plugs, which were completely fouled out with oil. We have needed to have this car towed multiple times and make repeat repairs.

Honda's variable cylinder management (VCM) system puts inordinate wear on engine cylinders that causes the vehicle to shake and misfire and eventually shut down the engine. It causes spark plug and cylinder coil failures and cylinder damage. This is not due to age, misuse or lack of proper maintenance. The VCM causes engine build up as a normal course of action. This is a known issue that Honda has never communicated to owners of these vehicles. Model years 2011-2013 had the same issue. Honda has offered no recourse, or even communication, to owners of 2014-2017 Odysseys with the exact same VCM (VCM2) mechanism and the same wear and tear on the engine. You can read more about the issues these vehicles have and how common this is here: [XXX] Honda dealerships will replace your cylinder rings (at a HIGH cost) but this does not fix or prevent the issue from recurring. Our vehicle had this work done at 77K miles, but it does not stop the VCM from causing build up and malfunctioning again in the future. Families like ours buy these vans because they are supposed to have reliable engines, and be safe for their families. They sold 450K model year 2014-2017 Honda Odysseys and this effects EVERY one of them on the road today. This is a consumer issue AND a safety issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2015 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while pulling out of the parking space, the vehicle RPM had increased while the brake pedal had been depressed. As a result, the vehicle crashed into another vehicle in the lot. The rpm had continued to increase even with the vehicle being in the park position. The air bags did not deploy. No warning light was illuminated. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an auto collision center. The driver was injured. No one outside of the vehicle was injured. The contact sustained back, neck, pelvic, and head inquiries that required medical attention. The doctor provided shots and medicine for the pain. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 159,000. VIN not provided.

My 2015 Honda Odyssey has suffered a well known and common engine problem. It currently has 92000 miles on it the engine is being rebuilt by a Honda service department at MY expense. This engine (3.5L) is leaking oil into the combustion chamber in cylinder #3. It has caused a misfire and the inability to maintain speed or control of the vehicle. this has occurred several times and now we are being told that cylinders 1-3 need to be rebuilt, along with some head components that have burned and fouled. When these misfires have ocurred, multiple warning lights (check engine) come on. This is a well known fault with this engine. Honda extended warranties on vehicles with this engine through model year 2013, however they are not covering this issue and it clearly hasn't been resolved.

The contact owns a 2015 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle began to lose power upon the depression of the accelerator pedal. A warning message appeared on the instrument panel that instructed the contact to take the vehicle to a dealer for service. The contact initially took the vehicle to a dealer but due to a high volume of customers, the dealer could not service the vehicle. The next day, the vehicle was taken to a second dealer where a diagnostic test was performed that showed a piston ring failure had caused the engine oil to contaminate the spark plugs which led to an engine misfire. The dealer replaced the spark plugs, piston rings, and cylinder rings in cylinders number 1, 2, and 3. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 133,597.

Piston rings allowed oil to enter a combustion cylinder, resulting in misfiring and lack of power. The inability to accelerate was a potential hazard. The vehicle was taken to the dealership and they diagnosed the problem. Internet reports suggest that this is a known problem with this vehicle. The check engine light came on about a month earlier, but the light went off and stayed off until the event that led to the trip to the dealership.

At 87,000 miles the piston valves failed in my 2015 Odyssey. Safety was put at risk as the spark plugs would fail due to oil leaking from the piston valves and the engine would flash all the lights and run super hard. Unable to drive it for 1 mile after the spark plugs failed. After the 2nd spark plug failure, a dealership confirmed the issue was the piston valves. 2 Honda dealerships confirmed that this is a known issue with Odysseys, Pilots and Accords and they have multiple vehicles in weekly to address this issue. Honda has had recalls on prior year Odysseys 2008-2013 for the piston valves but does not do anything to recognize this issue remains with the 2014-2017 vehicles. In 2018 the engine/build of the Odysseys changed and the piston valves are not an issue for that year and up.

Began to accelerate onto I-70 west (on-ramp) and the engine began shaking and lost compression to accelerate quickly to merge into the right lane. The engine icon light was blinking and I had to remain on the far right side of I-70 because I could not get up to speed (70MPH). It did not break down but had to drive at speeds below the minimum speed limit. I took the vehicle to the dealership where I purchased it and was told oil had breached and caused the spark plug oil fouled. It required a RING/PISTON job, all new spark plugs, timing belts, O-rings, manifold gaskets, water pump, drive belts, and coolant. Honda responded and would not provide financial assistance. Total cost $5072.67

I own a 2015 Honda Odyssey EX-L purchased new at the Pacific Honda dealership in San Diego, CA. I wrote to American Honda Motor Co. requesting a partial reimbursement for the cost of significant engine repair work required on my Odyssey over the Christmas holiday, even though the car was well-maintained and had only been driven for 88,700 miles. Specifically, on or about December 14, 2022, my wife was driving our Odyssey with our two young children when the car began shaking and became difficult to drive, the check engine light began blinking, and numerous other warning lights flashed on the dashboard. My wife stopped the car and we reviewed the owner’s manual and learned that the blinking check engine light and other warnings could indicate a critical malfunction, and that the car should not be driven and should be taken to a dealership. We immediately contacted our local Honda dealership, Pacific Honda, and had the car towed, at a cost of approximately $100, to this dealership. The dealership (where the engine repair work was done) said my car needed an “engine rebuild” because the piston rings needed to be replaced and charged me $6,000 for the repairs, despite the car’s relatively low mileage. During the engine repair process, which spanned weeks and ruined my family’s Christmas holiday, multiple employees at the dealership repeatedly admitted that this engine problem was a “common” and “known issue,” and my brief research showed that this same engine problem has been the subject of a class action and recall in the past. In addition, online forums indicate that numerous Odysseys from 2014 through 2016 or later continue to have piston ring, fouled spark plug, and related problems potentially tied to the Variable Cylinder Management system.

Several times in recent years my car will start sputtering and misfire, losing significant power. Last time I was getting onto the freeway and it was quite dangerous as I was unable to accelerate sufficiently. My engine light also went on. The Honda dealership diagnosed the problem as a problem with the pistons, which needed replacing at a cost of some $4,000. The dealership shared that they were aware of this problem and that Honda had a newly designed piston to replace it. This seems to be the same problem covered by a RECALL for Honda Odyssey's 2011-2013 - but it does not cover my 2015 model. I am attaching info on the recall (Soto et al v. Amer. Honda Motor Co, Case No. 3:12-cv-1377-SI)

Piston rings in cylinders 1-3 failed and allow oil to foul spark plugs and causes misfires. Same issue they have on the older models and subject to class action suit. TSB has been released, but repair charge for this continued design flaw estimated over $4000. 140,791 miles, services maintained. A search of the Honda blogs show this to be a continuing issue for many owners.

The contact owns a 2015 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The mechanic informed the contact of spark plugs and oil contamination causing engine damage. The contact stated that a temporary repair was performed however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,652.

The Spool Valve leak oil onto the alternator causing the battery not be recharged and the car powering off and shutting down on the highway. This happened on my way from Kansas City Kansas. With the electrical unit completely shut down due to oil leak from the spool valve that caused the alternator to short circuit, my car slowed down from 65 mph to a halt in less than 10 seconds. Luckily enough I was at an exit and hence maneuvered the car to safety. Had I been on a bridge or narrow road with no shoulder, it could have led to potentially deathly situation. Took My car to a Honda dealer in davenport, where I was told the cause was a spool valve leak that is very common with Honda Odysseys built from 2010 to 2018. The issue was not inspected by the police nor my insurance. There was no warning other than my battery light that came on the dash board. The light came on 20 minutes prior to the car shutting down.

The contact owns a 2015 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that while driving at night, the check engine warning light started flashing. The contact was able to pull over. The contact called a mobile mechanic who determined that there was a misfire in cylinder #1, and that the spark plugs needed to be replaced. The spark plugs were replaced, but additional repairs were needed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the spark plugs, and piston rings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and determined that there was no warranty coverage for the failure, and no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.