have a 2011 Honda Accord EXL V6 with 47,000 miles. This is the 3rd time my engine light has come on after driving about 100 miles, egine also runs rough and looses power when this happens. The 1st time the dealer changed a sensor and did a required computer download. After leaving dealer and driving aprox 100 miles light came on again. This time dealer said computer code did not show anything and perhaps oil filter which was not a honda oil filter was the cause. so oil changed (gauge showed 50%) and Honda oil filter put in. Same issue again after aprox. 80-100 miles. So it is at dealer for 3rd time. Has anyone else had this issue? I get my oil changed with the recommended oil and every 3,000 miles. I have recently relocated to a new area so I am not familiar with this dealers service dept.and am not impressed that they can not find the issue.Plus it is 40 miles one way from my house. There is no dealer any closer. Any ideas on what I should insist that they check out? This is my 5th Honda all driven to over 100,000 miles without any major issues just normal wear and tear so I am concerned about this.

 

3,000 miles is kind of early to have to change the oil on your car. Modern oils and engine designs are much better than years before.

For the 8th generation Accord V6, there been many reports of one or more spark plug fouling due to the way the VCM system operates. VCM is Variable Cylinder Management. Depending on the driving conditions, the Accord V6 can go from 6 cylinders, to 4 or 3 cylinders for fuel economy. Supposedly due to the way the VCM operated, certain driving conditions could lead to an overly rich mixture in one or more cylinder, which may cause the respective cylinder spark plug to get fouled.

Honda Worldwide | Technology Picture Book | VCM

Honda's general fix was normally to just changed the fouled spark plug(s) and update the ECM/PCM (computer) software. Sometimes, some other part(s) in the system (e.g., solenoid valve, etc.) may also need replacement upon further diagnosis.

http://mordor.rutgers.edu/accord/tsb/A10-033.PDF

 

redbull - very good information in your answer.

I did not know any of that.

Do you know about the old Cadillac 8-6-4 motors? Great concept, horrible execution.

I am sure today's computers can do a much better job than those from the 80's

 

Thanks Redbull. You were right on. The service dept just called and it is fouled plug caused by the faulty part. They are replacing the part and the plugs but they are telling me the spark plugs are not covered under my warranty or my honda care extended warranty. The Service dept is blaming honda care corporate for refusing to cover them even though it was hondas faulty part that caused the problem in the first place. Are they telling me the truth? Seems unfair to pay for spark plug replacement when i had a least 50,000 more miles on them as they were 100,000 mile plugs. If this is how Honda treats its long time customers I am thinking of trying another vehicle next time.

 

At 47,000 miles the car would still be under the 5 year/60,000 miles limited powertrain warranty.

Seems like the dealership is trying to treat the spark plug (parts) as normal wear and replacement. They may be trying to use the exclusion of certain items, such as parts subject to normal wear and replacement. But, you are correct that the Iridium plugs life is much longer (e.g., 100,000 + miles). Your problem would be what I consider a powertrain issue, and if it wasn't for the VCM issue probably would not foul the plug in the first place.

You can also contact Honda America customer service via the phone to explain the issue. Hopefully they can resolve the problem, whether or not it is technically covered under warranty, Honda sometimes cover things out of Goodwill.

 

The dealer finally did replace 4 spark plugs at no charge. When my husband asked why not replace the other 2 as well since it is a V6 they said they were okay. But now we have 4 new spark plugs good for 100,000 miles and 2 that will need to be replaced in another 50,000 or so. My husband thought it was lame that they did not replace all six at the same time since we had to take it back 3 times to get the proper fix. Are we being unreasonable?

 

You're not being unreasonable; but, also understand the way the dealer usually gets reimbursed by Honda corporate. Under warranty the dealer is reimbursed only for certain service and/or faulty parts.

Honda corporate sometimes wants the defective parts to examine or pictures taken and submitted by the dealer. Parts that are not faulty and replaced by the dealer will get denied reimbursement by corporate, unless corporate approves in advance. There are different warranty claim numbers the dealer has to submit to Honda corporate if they are also replacing the spark plug(s) with the computer software upgrade vs. just doing the computer software upgrade.

 

If you give up trying to get them to replace the last 2 plugs, I'd recommend just buying 2 plugs & installing them yourself. It's pretty easy. Then they'd all have the same lifespan. Either get them from the dealer, or BE CERTAIN they're exactly the same brand/number.

 

Did u find out what was wrong with ur car? I've got same problem. Told it may be oxygen sensor but from what I've read, can be plugs. Don't have cash to go everywhere to find out plus being a woman, well,honestly, ppl aren't always honest about what u truly need,ya know?? Ty for UT time.

 

Tonya - I'd probably start a new thread with your issue. Having two folks with potentially different problems makes reading threads confusing for new users in the future.

Looks like the spark plugs were the issue for the original poster. If your car has a check engine light on, post the codes on your new thread.