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I don't see a connection between oil consumption and the "usual" problems people report with VCM. I also agree that lots of V6-VCM owners experience minimal problems. If they are experiencing problems, those people don't post on this forum. I still maintain that since I can feel the transitions periodically, I won't buy another Honda with VCM.
Just got rid of the Accord yesterday and will not be getting another Honda until they get their act together. Good luck to those of you who have the current Accord.
Although we haven't experienced some of the disasters some VCM-equipped Accord owners have suffered through, we are tired of all the road noise, the overly harsh ride and the clunky poor-shifting transmission. Unless Honda makes some major improvements in their vehicles, we are likely finished with Honda. Too bad, as they once made competitive vehicles--I could go on-and-on, but why bother.
I traded in Genesis Coupe V6 for the Honda as I was tired of worrying about the NJ winter snows which rendered my Genesis useless when the snow would fall. It seems like a lot of people have been bashing Honda quality, well I can say that so far the Accord Coupe far surpasses the quality, finish and fit levels of Hyundai. Also the Accord feels better planted on the road vs. the Genesis, and as a highway cruiser, there is no comparison. My first tank of gas showed 22 MPG, my second tank of gas 26MPG, my third tank of gas 27MPG. So the mileage is moving into a very good territory. I do drive about 50% highway driving, but have a heavy foot to negate that. As I get used to the weight and added heft of this car, I am begining to see little performance difference between the Accord and Genesis. Anyway, hopefully the VCM experience remains positive, and hopefully people that have had a positive experince will tend to write too.
First, the good news. The engine burned only about 1/3 qt during this time. I did a UOA just out of curiosity to see what's up with this 'super' oil loaded in the Honda factory. I discovered what I believe to be confirmation of my prior practice of changing the oil early in a new engine. This oil was loaded with engine metals--much higher than I see during breakin on other tests run at BITOG. AL = 17; FE = 49; CU = 256 (!); PB = 6; Si = 94. The only noteworthy add-pack ingredient was Moly = 359. This could well be cast off the new moly impregnated piston skirts announced as a 2011 engine mod (along with new oil control rings). The used viscosity was on the low side, indicating this started out as a xW-20 oil, perhaps helped by the 0.8% fuel contamination which lowered flash point to 350F. The TBN was 2.0 which indicates there was still some life left in the oil (1.0 is considered low).
These oil analyses can't tell you everything about the oil, so perhaps there is some secret ingredient I can't see but, the bottom line for me is that there is NO DOWNSIDE and ONLY UPSIDE to getting that factory fill out of there after a thousand miles or so, followed up by a couple of 3000 mile OCIs to get all the breakin crap out of there.
If you're not a DIY'er, I will tell you that this is one of the easier cars to do an oil and filter change on. All you need are some wheel ramps, a filter socket that fits Honda OE, a 6" extention for your rachet and the right wrench for the oil drain plug (I forgot already what that is). Don't forget to change the oil plug metal gasket each time. FWIW, I went back with Honda Genuine Full Synthetic 0W-20 and an OE filter.
Only have about 35k miles on this car, luckily oil consumption has been low. I have been going 1yr/10k miles between the last few oil changes, getting them done when the minder gives the warning it's needed. Typically about 3/4 quart is how much the oil is down from full at that time.
I use a lot of throttle at times, and at those times let it wind up till it decides to shift - so this is not a pampered low rpm runner. Though I did try to respect the first few thousand miles and kept the factory fill in.
The VCM though is being quite noticeable when trying to drive around 65. I guess the lower engine rpm's (and lower in the powerband) make it shudder in and out more often than if driven in the mid 70's (don't need another ticket for that in a 55).
We still have a 2010 Honda Ridgeline but it does NOT have VCM. The engine runs like it should and although the gas mileage is dismal/awful (18-19 mpg), we will likely keep it for awhile. About $150 worth of Dynamat reduced the road noise in the Ridgeline to a tolerable level. I still wonder why Honda apparently refuses to grasp the concept of a quiet vehicle. ALL Hondas are excessively noisy--why is that? Makes no sense at all.
If anyone from Honda bothers to read the posts in all the various online forums, they would no longer wonder why they are losing market share. Insanity!
It just feels cheaper than the older accords (early nineties, for me). If I was buying a new sedan, Honda isn't it right now. Maybe they will get their act together again - and realize that sticker price isn't the only sell point.
Ordered a new 2012 F150 a couple weeks ago. When it arrives, the Accord is gone. Trade in was lower than expected, but the only way to get top dollar is to trade a Honda in at a Honda dealer, or sell it yourself. But there are a lot of these for sale, and I looked at how much Honda dealers were asking for certified ones of similar year equip and mileage.
When people like us leave the fold, Honda has a problem. Too hell with VCM and the Honda it is attached to! Fortunately there are great alternatives. Good luck on the Ford
In all fairness, I will say my daughter loves her 2011 Accord EX-L VCM V6 and that it has burned no oil in 8,000 miles. She either doesn't notice or doesn't mind the VCM operation.
NOW MY CONCERNS...
Honda on Grand in Elmhurst Illinois. Had trouble with their sales staff years ago but convenient location and a decent salesman Carl brought me back twice. If only the sales guys had any influence over service they would retain more return customers. The service department there is bad. Arrogant and condescending. Simplest questions get you that's normal, can't reproduce yada yada yada. Unfortunalely for Honda, their Honda Care rep that called me back supported this dealerships position. That's a shame because a 20 (per service bulletin)minute reprogram, plug check and replace a faulty $5 window switch would've sent me on my way a happy camper.
Daughters civic gets 22 mpg and that's normal too.
REAR BRAKE PREMATURE WEAR Now why that had to go to class action is beyond me AND why I didn't receive something alerting me to this problem before nearly grinding the rears down to the rivets is baffling. If not for the common sense, but the LIABILTY. My mechanic (trusted Midas franchise) found it during regular maintenance. I had to [non-permissible content removed] a bit but Honda sent me a check for the repair.
OIL now I was suprised this car came out of the factory with 6,000 or so mile oil change intervals on dino oil. Would have thought synthetic for that duration. Manual says "check oil at every gas fill up" RIGHT! I have found myself adding oil to this car more than my last 5 cars incl the Odysee. Hence the reprogram/plug check I asked for and was refused. Motor seems to have settled into itself and oil consumption reduced last couple thousand miles. My advice...CHECK THE OIL REGULARLY DURING FIRST YEAR and change the oil every 3-5k (after manufacturers first fill and check that regular too) unless you switch to synthetic and then monitor.
It's a good looking car, nice and easy voice recognition navi, somewhat sporty feel for a sedan, a strong v6 and i find it reasonably comfortable. i expect to drive this car for another 70-100k.
The good news is we all have great options..I upgraded to a Maxima getting 29 MPG on the road all off a 290 HP engine and yes I only use regular! We are done with Honda!. Good thing you got a 2010 Civic. The 2012 is a train wreck, so much so, Honda is back to the drawing boards to try to regain traction that is being lost to other brands!
I will consider a Honda sometime in the future only if Honda drops the VCM and addresses the road noise issue.
Other rumors from inside Honda indicate that a 6-speed tranny many be 3-4 years away for Honda vehicles, while Acura may see a new 6-speed in 2013.
BTW- our Ridgeline is going back to the dealer today to fix several problems. Sheesh.
There were several links (on the Ridgeline Owners Club forums) to several threads on Odyssey forums where Ody owners are having lots of problems with the transmissions misbehaving. Now get THIS--several of the problems have been linked to the VCM systems in the Ody. Surprise, surprise!
In addition, I met an ex-neighbor at the Honda dealer today. His 2011 Ody (with less than 20K miles) was having ALL FOUR brake rotors and all brake pads replaced as all four rotors had warped due to overheating. Honda was attempting to claim he didn't know how to drive in the mountains, after he had been doing so for 40 years. Really? What a stupid excuse. They finally relented and fixed the brakes under warranty. BTW- Not the first case of warped rotors on both Accords & Odysseys I have read/heard about. Sounds like rotors that are too small or too thin to do the job adequately.
Didn't get our Ridgeline back today as the dealer's service dept was totally overwhelmed with other repairs. Well, I DID tell them to keep it as long as they needed, just give it back to us fixed. Keeping my fingers crossed--again.
http://www.insideline.com/acura/rdx/2013/2013-acura-rdx-full-test.html
I must say, I drove this car for the first time in a while over the Easter weekend (it's my daughter's DD). It is now a year old with 9500 miles and has operated flawlessly. It used 1/3 qt of oil in 6300 miles on the FF before I changed it. I did a UOA on that oil just because of all the controversy, not to mention creating some proof of proper maintenance if there is a problem. The oil was loaded with break in metals as one might expect, although I've never seen 250+ppm CU in checking lots of UOAs on BITOG.
During my 45 mi drive, which was a mix of highway and rural driving, i was watching the eco light closely. While I could detect the VCM engaging I can also see where the typical Accord owner (my daughter) wouldn't notice it.
I will also add one more observation that I think may be key: our Accord has been driven 95% city miles where the VCM gets exercised frequently but for only short durations.. From what I've read by owner's with problems, they have driven more highway miles where presumably, a long deactivation of cylinders could create a cooling differential that sends oil out the tailpipe. Anyone else see this correlation with highway miles?
I think Honda would "lose face" if they pulled back from VCM. OTOH, they may get even more embarassed as owners pull back from Honda because of VCM. Only time will tell.
Rumors abound that if Honda builds any more Ridgelines beyond 2012, that VCM will likely be added. Even though I'm looking forward to a "new" Ridge, VCM will be a deal-breaker for me. No thanks!
Regardless, Honda completely stepped up to the plate. He didn't have an extended warranty and Honda gave him a new car to drive while they fixed his and only charged him $100.
My neighbor and I opened the hood and drove the car down the street - you can see the engine shaking extremely hard at 22mph.. I would expect a little shake - but this reminded me of a gallon paint can shaker.
The dealer has replaced the front axles/CV joints, swapped out the rims and tires, swapped out the computer, and even tried shutting down the VCM - with No change. The dealer said they checked the engine mounts and said they were OK..
I have test drove 8 other crosstours - one had a little gas pedal shake at 22mph -but the others didn't show any signs of it.
The engine doesn't shake if you step on the gas pedal hard. The engine will shake in 1st,2nd, 3rd, or in regular D - so to me it doesn't look to be a transmission problem.
I'm worried about my family's safety - that something may come loose that normally wouldn't because this engine is shaking so hard all the time - putting my family in danger or someone else in danger if my wife or any driving this car looses control because of a failure.
We have been getting lousy gas mileage as well.
NOT proud of my Honda and actually worried about my family - Honda is still trying to figure it out and we don't want this car anymore - since it has been shaking since day one - and worried about a failure putting everyone in danger.
Honda needs to do something about it fast -- I would prefer to have the Honda Ridgeline motor in the crosstour without VCM and I'll bet that the gas mileage will be the same as with the VCM - if not better with less moving parts and less things to fail.
Thanks IndyDriver - I'm meeting with Honda once again on Monday - hopefully will get to the bottom of it - or time to pursue lemon law. .. It's terrible to have a new vehicle and not be able to trust it.
Added features - if your accellerating on a ramp getting on the highway you can feel it in the engine shake in the steering as well while turning on the ramp.
Honda was supposed to be one of the highest rated vehicles - this design has some not so nice features.
Just recently my co-worker is complaining about her crosstour shaking real hard at 72 - 74mph. She just had new tires put on - then had the new tires replaced - still shaking between 72 and 74 MPH.. I'm definately not alone with this problem.
They also mentioned that this problem more common in drivers who have car in ECO mode for greater % of time, ie driving at same speed for extended time on highway. I drive 50 miles/ day @ same speed on highway.