I have a 2012 Honda Accord EX-L V6 coupe, with 17,000 miles, and I was driving at 70 MPH with the cruise control and the car started surging and then the check engine light started flashing and the car was running rough. I brought the car to the dealer, but once they restarted the car everything was working normal.

I decided to drive the car the same way to see if I car would would run rough again. After about 5 miles at 70 mph with the cruise control on, the check engine light started flashing and the engine was running rough.

I brought it back to the dealer the dealer and they found that one of the spark plugs appeared to be oil fouled. I did notice a slight puff of blue smoke when starting the car after it sat a few hours, but I thought I was seeing things.

What would be causing this problem and Am I going to have the same problem again?

 

This can be due to the VCM and it is possible you may experience the problem again.

For the 8th generation Accord V6 (2008-2012), 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. Your 2012 may already had the ECM/PCM software update when you bought the car though.

Honda TSB 10-033

 

Thank you for your help,

I haven't heard any complaints from other people that have the same car. I hope they fixed the problem for the 2013 models

 

You're welcome.

There were a couple of members on this forum that reported the same problem and some on other Honda forums. However, the majority of 8th generation Accord V6 owners didn't report this problem.

 

Thank you,

Do you know if the problem has been fixed in the 2013 Accords?

 

I wouldn't know, the 2013 model is still too new to have any established track record. While something are relatively similar to the previous generation, it appears to me the 2013 has many changes from previous Accords too.

The 2013 still has VCM; hopefully, their engineers have solved the spark plug fouling issues. I don't think it was too widespread of an issue previously though.

 

Thanks again,

I am concerned about the plugs fouling when I am on a long trip far away from home.

 

A couple spare plugs and a sparkplug socket don't take up too much room in the trunk. Ideally with a 2013 you'd want a dealer to do it under warranty; but sometimes away from home on a trip it's just faster to do it yourself.