Hey Scotty. I own 2 Honda Odyssey’s.
1. 2016 EX-L, 6 spd auto, 32k miles(mostly local)
2. 2017 SE, 6 spd auto, 40k miles(mixed highway/city)
I plan on keeping both cars for at least 12 years. I have recently read about issues concerning the VCM system, engine mounts, oil consumption, spark plugs fouling. Is there any way to prevent excessive engine wear?
I came across VCM delete devices. Do there work? And, can they cause damage to the engine?
Thanks for all the information
I hate cylinder deactivation. It can definitely cause problems later in the engines life.
There are some OBD-II devices that claim to shut it down, but if you are going to do it I only recommend doing it the right way which is replacing the VCM lifters and camshaft with non-VCM lifters and cam and then returning the vehicle.
I do them all the time in my shop and it runs about $3000 or so. Pricey but if you plan to keep it a LONG time it can be worth it.
Cylinder deactivation can definitely wear out/damage the engine over time. Lots of automakers with this technology have issues. Interestingly, Toyota does not use it. You can mitigate by disabling VCM, but the full proof solution is to delete it (I.e. swap out the hardware) but that is $$$ and you hope the shop knows how to do it correctly.
See link below for more insight and how to disable from one of our moderators MrRangerZr1:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/2011-honda-pilot/#post-17861
