Anyone in the market for a midsize car? I was.

[CowboyRon]

Last Fall, a friend of mine showed me something similar that he uses. Good value for the money, and can read many fault codes. What I was talking about (VCM elimination) likely needs a dealer level tool, or at least a high end pro scanner - you are basically changing operating parameters in the engine 'puter - either that or you need a hardware solution - if you know what sensors the engine computer reads to activate the VCM, you may be able to fool it into thinking conditions are never right for operation.

Remember when we just drove cars and only played games on computers ? Unfortunately, combining the two leads to discussions like this !

Rgds, D.

You're probably right, the dealer diagnostics are much more accurate than anything you or I could own.
I must be older than you, when I started driving computers were good for nothing.

 

[3930dave]

This is one of the many reasons I will not own a truck or car with cylinder deactivation. Too many side effect issues.

Chris

Agreed ! I tend to side with what Thoreau said about keeping things simple ! :drink:

I'm still curious about Chrysler's MDS - either I'm not talking with the right people (with problems), or they've pulled this off w/o the heavy oil consumption. :scratchchin:

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

You're probably right, the dealer diagnostics are much more accurate than anything you or I could own.
I must be older than you, when I started driving computers were good for nothing.

Obscene dealer charges for basic scans is part of what has driven the market for these low cost consumer code readers. That Android app is pretty impressive, and will tell most people more info than they want to know - worth having just to tell you what your Trans temp is, IMO.

The high powered Master of the Universe tools that can seriously change how an engine computer is programmed - well, most consumers probably shouldn't be playing with that kind of magic.

You and I are probably from the same era..... I'm old enough that in my first Programming course I was coding using punchcards !

Rgds, D.

 

[Peacock]

The '08-12 Accord VCM is slightly problematic. The plugs tend to foul on cylinders 1-4. Some cars do it, some never do. The PCM update usually fixes it for good. We have a couple of customers that claim oil consumption, but when we do the change with the Honda spec oil we haven't seen any appreciable usage over 3,750 miles.

The other VCM engines that Honda builds have no problems. Our '07 Odyssey has 88k on it and uses no oil and has no issues with plugs.

As a Honda tech I wouldn't be remotely afraid of any Honda VCM engine.

 

[CowboyRon]

Obscene dealer charges for basic scans is part of what has driven the market for these low cost consumer code readers. That Android app is pretty impressive, and will tell most people more info than they want to know - worth having just to tell you what your Trans temp is, IMO.

The high powered Master of the Universe tools that can seriously change how an engine computer is programmed - well, most consumers probably shouldn't be playing with that kind of magic.

You and I are probably from the same era..... I'm old enough that in my first Programming course I was coding using punchcards !

Rgds, D.

Ok you win, we had Apple 1 in high school, minus the punch cards.
As far as the app goes, I was very impressed on the info it gave me.
It shows horsepower, throttle position, timing, and much more.
It's much better than the toy they bring out to your car at AutoZone. They just give you a list of problems that might be wrong with your car.

 

[3930dave]

The '08-12 Accord VCM is slightly problematic. The plugs tend to foul on cylinders 1-4. Some cars do it, some never do. The PCM update usually fixes it for good. We have a couple of customers that claim oil consumption, but when we do the change with the Honda spec oil we haven't seen any appreciable usage over 3,750 miles.

The other VCM engines that Honda builds have no problems. Our '07 Odyssey has 88k on it and uses no oil and has no issues with plugs.

As a Honda tech I wouldn't be remotely afraid of any Honda VCM engine.

It sounds like Chris (Accord owner) had been getting at least some oil changes done at his dealer - hard to say what they were actually using for oil. Yep, oil specs can make a difference.... I know the older Honda PS fluid is a pretty unique brew.

These variable displacement (so to speak) engines are complex enough that I can see that (production) on-the-fly parts changes are one reason that people can get mixed results out of the same model of motor. To be clear, I'm not anti-Honda - I have a lot of respect for Honda engine technology, and their production QC.

Back to the other Chris's point..... many manufacturers have struggled with field issues in variable displacement engines - that a premier engine manufacturer like Honda is not immune well summarizes that this is not a trivial challenge.

Rgds, D.

 

[crazyal]

I've got the Torque app for my phone and it works well for engine codes but now the engine computer is tied into the brake/ stability control/ airbag/ transmission/ climate control/ and others. If any computer has an issue the check engine light will come on and it requires a much more advance scan tool to read them.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Agreed ! I tend to side with what Thoreau said about keeping things simple ! :drink:

I'm still curious about Chrysler's MDS - either I'm not talking with the right people (with problems), or they've pulled this off w/o the heavy oil consumption. :scratchchin:

Rgds, D.

Chrysler seems to have done a good job.

Chris

 

[3930dave]

Chrysler seems to have done a good job.

Chris

I'm not really a Chrysler fan, that's mostly my inner geek wondering " Can it be done (reliably, with no abnormal oil consumption) ? ". Kudos to Chrysler.

Rgds, D.

 

[CHDinCT]

Came accross this link to a class action lawsuit. I don't know how legit this is since we never got a notice of the suit. I'm not abig fan of joining class action suits since, usually, the only ones to make out are the lawyers. Honda Accord Oil Defect Class Action Lawsuit

What worries me is the comments -didn't read them all, but a lot of people with higher mileage accord V6's are using a lot more oil than we are. I'm thinking the oil consumption is going to get noticeable worse over time, so perhaps it's best just to trade out of it now. Personally, I would not be afraid to buy another Honda as long as it's not a V6 with the VCM feature, which I think all of them except maybe the Ridgeline come with standard. My wife, however, will not drive or buy another Honda. We had a few problems with our 2003 Pilot, though nothing like this. Still, the Pilot being our first Honda, we finished that ownership experience with the thought, "Don't really get what all this Honda devotion is about."

We had two Subaru's that gave us flawless ownership experiences and four Toyota's with good experiences. The only Toyota issue was the frame rust on my '99 Taco, which Toyota bought back after 12 years at 150% of retail blue book value, so I can't complain about that.