I got a 2013 Honda Accord V6 Touring with 166K miles. I had a valve adjustment scheduled, but the day before I gave the car to my mechanic it started making a ticking noise. He checked everything out, and said my lost motion assembly is clapped on cylinder 1 and recommended I’d replace them on all 6 cylinders. He also noticed a part of my camshaft and rocker arm is also damaged by cyl 1 and recommends to replace them as well. Coincidentally, the parts are on national back order 😂 I guess Honda’s been having problems with these V6s? Guess it makes too much sense to issue a recall for uneven engine wear 🙃 I told my mechanic to throw in full belt service and new coolant while the engines torn apart because I’m coming up on that as well, and he quoted me at $3800. As someone who services my cars religiously, is it worth the money to repair?
We believe the issue stems from Honda’s Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) on those new gen V6s; cylinder 1 is the only one that turns off when VCM is engaged in either 3- or 4-cyl mode, but I deactivated the VCM with a tuner when it had 165K. Maybe it’s too late and the mileage caught up? Who knows. I live in Jersey and commute to a finance office and do mostly highway driving (shoutout to all my Jersey people who relate to the struggles of driving on I-80)
Which tuner hardware or software did you use?
Ktuner 1.2. I just deactivated it from the menu and kept the stock tune
So much for the glory of AFM.
Honda calls it VCM (Variable Cylinder Management), but same nonsense regardless.
Nonsense is the correct term.
hey Doc,
bought a used low mileage 2013 accord v6 for my wife about a year ago from a Honda dealership. It only had 8,500 miles and clean as a whistle, garaged and interior still smelled like new leather. It currently has about 27,000 miles and I have kept it serviced at the Honda dealership for oil changes. They say they use full synthetic 0-20 but it sure gets dirty quickly. At 5,000 miles much more noticeable than my 2004 Toyota Avalon with 160,000 miles. I have wondered if it is due to the "VCM nonsense."
In the above discussion it was mentioned about deactivating the vcm. Noticed that you were online and thought I would ask if you knew anything about this.
Thanks for reaching out @avalon04. I am an old school guy when it comes to AFM or VCM or whatever the manufacturer calls it. I know it is a system that is supposed to save on fuel and meet the ever stricter EPA standards and I guess it does to some extent but at what cost? If the system wears out you cylinders prematurely and loads up your engine with excessive carbon, that's the price you have to pay for 2 miles more per gallon. If I had one of these vehicles (and I never would) I would deactivate this system as fast as I could.
Please find yourself an independent mechanic for your needs. The dealership will ruin your car and your life.
Thanks Doc for your input. I am presently trying to learn about the different VCM deactivation systems such as K tuner or the VCM Tuner II. Don't know too much about automotive electronics and computers. Perhaps it is best as you advised to go to a local mechanic that we have had service my wife's previous car to see if he is familiar with this. I am new to California and don't have much of a history with mechanics here. And I have never owned a Honda, but that is what my wife likes. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
I would ask your friends and co-workers for recommendations, do some on line research (skeptically) and learn all the factual information about you car.