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Comments
I won't take it back to the dealer where I bought it though, because they have already proven themselves to be turds for a variety of reasons since the sale was completed.
I live in a warmer climate (Florida) with flat highways reasonably devoid of suspension jarring potholes. I have no problems with the performance of my EX-L V6. I have 1700 miles on the odometer. I travel at 50, 60 or 70 miles an hour with or without cruise control and experience no vibration or surgeing with the ECO light on or off.. On some of our residential roads I drive at 30, 40 or 45 miles per hour with performance smooth as silk. Cruise control is great and I use it whenever possible.. I use the steering wheel controls when traffic speeds vary only slightly. Under heavier traffic conditions I use gas pedal control and of course find that the ECO light goes off when I accelerate and comes on as I decelerate. I reiterate, I experience no vibration or surgeing. As for power when you need it, the six has plenty to spare.
I agree with your reply to fusionacid. Based upon my car's performance, I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the Accord V-6 with VCM.
I do feel that some of the posters have real problems. Some of the problems may or may not be associated with VCM. I hope these individuals are fortunate enough to have a Honda dealer who behaves like donegal's (see his post #643). But if you follow donegal's posts, his approach should be a model for all those with performance problems.
Incidentally, I'm about to start a trip to colder climate, hilly roads and pot holes and heavy traffic. The round trip will be more than 2000 miles. I shall see how my Accord V-6 behaves under those conditions.
I have been investigating this issue further on another car tech support website - a 13 year gold Honda Tech in West Islip, NY has reported that, yes, they are having people complain about the VCM issues mentioned here and that I have experienced testing the cars. They have been reprogramming the automatic transmission and some of these issues have been corrected. Hope that might be of help to some of you who own these cars already. I think I am going to opt out on the VCM V6 and Honda at this time. Just seems way too complicated for long term reliability, regardless of Honda's reputation, and ability to address the issues I experienced. That is not how a car is supposed to run and I do not need a mechanic running along side the car to ensure it runs properly all the time! :P
Not sure if your message was directed to me but I'll respond anyway.
Better gas mileage then what? This car without VCM? We'll never really know, will we?
I bought the 08 Accord because I felt Honda had finally made a styling statement with the new design. Not that previous Accords were dogs in the looks department, but they certainly didn't turn any heads as they went by. Now some people don't like the looks or the additional size of the new Accord but at least Honda took a chance and didn't come out with another car that would just blend in with so many others on the road. I also wanted a car that ran on 87 octane so it met that criteria. Other things on my new car checklist were at least a 5 speed auto, disc breaks on all 4 corners, 6 cyl of 250 HP or more and the reliability and re-sale value of a Honda. Time will only tell about the reliability and re-sale, but the other items were to be found in this Accord. My fuel economy has been 21 MPG overall and I have seen 29 MPG on the hwy. I don't think anyone that purchased this car bought it because they wanted VCM, we got VCM because we had no choice and believed Honda's claim of it being seamless. Some of us have found out otherwise and in varying degrees object to it's activity. But I didn't purchase the car because it had VCM.
Well, I hope you take it to another dealer to have it looked at!
"I have been investigating this issue (VCM problems) further on another car tech support website - a 13 year gold Honda Tech in West Islip, NY has reported that, yes, they are having people complain about the VCM issues mentioned here and that I have experienced testing the cars. They have been reprogramming the automatic transmission and some of these issues have been corrected. Hope that might be of help to some of you who own these cars already."
It's funny that you point out that you felt the VCM activity unacceptable during acceleration as all posts I've read and my experience with my own 08 V6 has been silky smooth during acceleration. Whether I'm accelerating lightly or aggressively from a stop or @ hwy speeds I've never felt the VCM to be a factor. It shouldn't be for this is one area that Honda has accurately presented the technology in all of it's literature. When power is required you get all that the the 6 cyl has to offer. Only when driving under constant speed situations does VCM try to determine the appropriate cyl configuration to deliver optimum fuel economy. It's during these times that I can feel minor interruptions to the usual smooth operation of the engine. In my particular car these interruptions are less noticeable then the car shifting and to date no passengers in my car have shown any indication that they are aware of what I can feel thru the accelerator and the seat of my pants.
I'm still waiting to hear of this or experience this myself other than in these forums.
You post your question and choose your expert - and they have at least one Honda expert. I was curious if the VCM issues being raised on this forum ,and that I experienced on my test drives, were "normal" and widespread, or unique, and what might be being done to fix them, if possible. That was the answer I got - I am trying to get further clarification and will post the response I get.
I would be very interested in finding out more about this -- is there a TSB or some other publicly available information (at least public throughout Honda dealer service network)? I don't have the vibration issues, and I don't think I have what others describe as the "surging" issues (though I agree with others that there is a slight but still perceptible gear hunting type feeling when the car is cruising in the low 60s and low 70s). However, I must say that the transmission is extremely rough, particularly when downshifting, but also occasionally when upshifting. Others have said that less than completely smooth shifting is characteristic of Hondas, but this seems beyond the pale.
So, how does one find out whether there have been updates to the transmission programming. I'm fully prepared to go to the dealer and to Honda corporate if necessary, but would like to have some ammunition when I get the inevitable "operating normally" line.
Car is great in other respects, but I would not recommend it to those who value a smooth ride. (And yes, I test drove it extensively, but there are some things that don't become apparent, or as apparent, until you have the car day in, day out for a period of time.)
An override button will never happen. Either the system works, or it doesn't. To allow a bypass switch strictly based on perceptions of vibration will never happen. Think about the additional design and expense involved with installing such a switch. And the potential liability of allowing the driver to decide how many cylinders to be utilized in any given time. You're giving the typical driver way too much credit for brain capacity. The average consumer isn't smart enough to comprehend a bypass option and think as deeply about that "ECO" light as you are. We're too busy on our cell phones, juggling our lattes, and eating our sandwiches!
My best tankful was 27.2 MPG after a trip of 274 miles with 85% H'way travel. My worst tankful was 21.56 MPG with 65% H'way travel.
I'm pleased with the performance of this vehicle as well as the gas mileage.
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.ef7c366/40!make=Honda&model=Accord&ed_mak- eindex=.ef7c366
It could be a software reflash will solve his problem>
Like I said this is my 2nd test drive. I will continue to look into the reported VCM problems and probably take another test drive before making the final decision.
A quick PS: I was at this dealer last week and they had 2 08 V6 w/Navi, this week they had none, same as a dealer I went to on Tuesday. They are selling and seem to be getting harder to locate.
http://www.vtec.net/forums/one-message?message_id=738800&page_number=1
It would be nice if it were something as simple as a computer reflash, but since the dealer is is already in denial mode, I'm guessing that they may have drank some of the same "Honda kool-aid" that you have.
"We appreciate your recent phone call to our office regarding the design features
of the Honda Accord.
Currently there are no plans to change the design feature of the 2008 Honda Accord. We do appreciate imput that we receive on our vehicles from our valuable customers. This information is of interest to us as it helps us to know what customers are concerned with.
Thank you for taking the time to notify us of your concerns. I have documented your comments for the record. This infomation will now be available for consideration in future model changes."
Looks like I need to starting looking for anothe car.
Apparently you objected to my answering philj1 who responded to my favorable post about VCM with a reasonable request for mileage performance of the V-6. I am quite aware of the "real world mileage" board but felt that philj1 deserved an answer on this board. As steevo aptly put it, VCM is all about mileage.
My wife has a Nissan Murano with CVT and that trans feels different than my CTS. When I first drove the CVT it was weird feeling but I like the CVT and enjoy it more than my CTS. Maybe it is just new and feels different to past owners. I'll keep testing before the big decision, thanks everyone for your comments.
From Honda.com:
"To help keep engine vibration from reaching the cabin in every mode, active engine mounts automatically adjust their firmness to help absorb energy. The transition between the three operating modes is completely seamless and goes unnoticed by the Accord’s passengers".
The above statement is the start of the problem.... this is simply not a true statement and as a result, many owners like myself believed what Honda told us and our sales people, took the $30,000 leap only to discover after extended driving that what we purchased is not quite what we had expected. So, we post here, share experiences, console each other and search for answers..2-3 mpg savings is the last thing on our minds.
I'm sorry that your V-6 does not perform properly. Mine does.
I can understand your frustration but your problem is probably best addressed as being specific to your car, not as a design problem.
If you experience annoying vibration and I don't, then something is probably wrong with your car. Not the design.
My car has no vibration, doesn't surge and gets better gas mileage than the EPA standard.This is all as advertised. This information has as much legitimacy on this forum as your complaint about the "VCM design problem".
Keep after your dealer and Honda to fix the malfunction. If they say that this behavior is normal refer them to my post and those of others who do not have these problems. Based on my experience VCM is not supposed to operate the way you describe.
I wish you the best in your attempt to get your car fixed.
However, I sympathize with those that have posted their problems only to have been met with what seems to be derision, and almost taunting and mocking of their plight as if they are making these things up by those who do not experience the same sensations. Those of you not having any problems should apparently consider yourselves lucky, and at least offer some sympathy to them - not simply consider that since you don't have any negative experiences, they can't possibly either. I ompliment Edmunds for providing these forums for open discourse of these issues, and for the open airing of problems by owners - the manufacturers certainly would not offer that!!! But I do consider it a shame that those with the problems cannot express their opinions and experiences without having some with clearly vested interests in Honda sales jumping all over them. Good luck everyone - to those without problems - may the cars continue to serve you well - and to those with problems - I wish you the best getting them resolved to your satisfaction. That letter from Honda was not encouraging.
I simply stated that neither I nor any of our other salespeople nor our service people had (and still haven't) heard of this or experienced it.
So, I don't understand, that's all. I don't know if some people may be hyper sensitive or if a real problem exists in some cars.
I do hope poeple from Honda read these forums and if a corrective measure is needed that they get to work on it.
No car will ever please everybody.
The title of this thread is "2008 Honda Accord VCM", not "2008 Honda Accord VCM (issues)". Not allowing any positive (including mileage) responses on VCM would hardly be fair to the potential buyers.
I hope you are able to find the perfect car.