Honda Pilot Misfire - P0301 What Caused It? 

I love the way you follow up with showing compression on that tool afterwards. Well done!

That estimate was beyond outrageous! That Pilot needs a set of plugs and nothing more. The customer said it drives fine and his only concern is the check engine light. Plugs will do the job. Maybe by the time the problem arises again someone else will own the car.

Great Job!! Thankyou for the video👍👍

Thanks great content 👍

First thank you for the video. The P0301 Code just happened to me and it was scanned as a misfire on the 1st cylinder. (2014 Honda Pilot EX, yes it's one of the good years) Check engine light, VTM4 and VSC were all on and I was too nervous to drive any further so I pulled in to my nearest Honda dealership. They confirmed the misfire, oil on Spark Plug. The estimate included replacement of all plugs, piston rings on cylinders 1 to 3 and clean pistons. Quote was $3800. Then of course like most dealers they recommended another 2k worth of main. work. I declined the repair but paid for the $150+ diagnosis. Since it was drivable, took it to my mechanic and we decided we would replace the spark plugs only and hope it will give me another 10-20k before the repeat of the same issue. Had Timing belt and all the works done at 100k, now at 117k, so the new plugs at 100k last for about 17k miles. For those dealing with same issue, the engine light for me blinked and the car will limp a little like you have bad gas. Hopefully this will be a temporary fix until the next headache. I did asked about the Class Action law suit in regarding this issue and the manager never call me back... not surprised.

Cool. I'm going to pressure test my 2010 VCM J35 and compare. It graduated to misfiring a year ago. Put a new plug in the misfiring cylinder and installed a VCM disabler. A year and 20k km (13k miles) later it's running fine with very reasonable oil consumption.

These Hondas have a warranty extension to cover the piston ring replacement on cylinders #1 through #4. It was a very common repair in my area 5-6 years ago, but it may be outside of the time limit by now. The spool valve leaking on these are also extremely common, I believe you are able to get the gaskets separately. I’ve replaced so many alternators due to the oil leaking on top of them. But as a dealer tech I handle this the exact same way as you did. If we have no records of the plugs being changed, I’m recommending a set of plugs and giving them the info and having us check the plug out again within a year (or 15k miles, whichever comes first). That way we can assess how badly the rings are worn if they are at all.

I think you covered all the bases, Will. I'd let the customer know your findings, and probably recommend all new plugs and see what happens--minimal cost and we know it needs at least one plug anyway. I'd probably let it sit overnight and see if it smokes on first start up to check the valve seals. They always say they're "getting rid of it" then bring it back in 3 years later for something else, lol. You didnt mention the mileage, but if it's that old, it's probably over 100k. If it were mine, I'd put new plugs in it and not worry about it.

Nice diag Will. Put a set of plugs in & ship it! Have the customer keep an eye on the oil consumption.

1:59 VCM on the cover. New spark plugs, install a VCM disabler, and enjoy.

I'd replace the plugs and install the VCMTuner to disable the cylinder deactivation.

tks nice test .i would just put plug and see what it is the condition of oil get one plug .like you said

Put an endoscope in the cylinder and look for buildup on the valves and stems.

From what I gather the main cause behind this tsb is the piston ring end gaps rotate and align causing compression loss and blow by

There is a TSB and a known issue with the rings on these engines. The first shops diagnosis was correct. Spark plugs will clear it up temporarily, but won't fix the underlying issue.

I replaced ignition coil pack in a pilot 2007 spark plugs I adjusted the valves and still misfire number one I check the compression in one was 90 and second one 130

That quote is based off TSB 13-082 which is a class action suit against Honda that extended powertrain warranty on 2009-2013 Honda pilots to 8 years from time of purchase and unlimited mileage, initial symptoms + remedy are fouled plugs and DTC for misfire cyl 1-4 on 2009-2011 replace plugs and update PCM software if problem persists and/or returns or if 2012/2013(as these years came with updated PCM) re+re piston rings which means full engine tear down so in the other shops defense this is a known issue with these vehicles and they're just trying to cover their ass

The bank closest to the firewall are the cylinder deactivation cylinders. The oil rings get stuck it's a common problem. Compression will be good the oil rings just carbon up. The spool valve is also a common problem taking out the alternator.

I also believe that is atomized oil. Thanks for the case study, I noticed that you are not concerned with the very first compression measurement, the first pulse is the most important which shows bad rings, if you believe that the first pulse is too low, do it again as the first pulse may already be on a partial compression stroke robbing you of a full stroke. Also you should count strokes, I could see that 5 was good enough, the extra compression after that is not a true comparison if you just simply carry on cranking to get max reading. I like to video my gauge and do a measurement table and get actual readings stroke for stroke. Without a jumper box, I expect the compression to get weaker towards the end so take that into account, maybe start it up and recharge the battery and do it again in reverse unless you are satisfied with the current results, no worries mate.

Hello,WILL RELATIVE COMP ON 1 SCOPE CHANNEL and FLS type transducer on dipstick tube and trigger on any cyl. Pull PGI main relay 2 fuel pump crank look for anomaly. Horoscope in 1 compared to 4 you rock great seeing you

Loosen the spark plug all the way then stick a magnet down the sparkplug hole and pull the plug out .When installing the new spark plug use a vacuum hose pushed onto the top of the plug to feed it back in and start the treading so you dont accidentally cross thread it

Grasias

Great diag and save Wil! Instead of a $4000 engine repair job this may just be a $60 spark plug job? I don't see any dripping oil and no, it doesn't look like the dealer removed that 10 mm coil pack bolt.

Closeups of every shot please. Good info.

i was thinking about the pvc?? could be sucking oil into the intake and into the #1 cyl...

So was the problem ever fixed?

I read VCM is the issue with the back bank when it shuts down those cylinders causes oil to suck up past the rings into the combustion chamber from the vacuum created when the valves stay closed. I put a S-VCM controller to disable device on my pilot they all work by tricking the computer with the temp sensor which keeps it from turning on VCM. The S-VCM controller at least doesn't mess up the temp gauge like the cheaper resister versions. Honda was sued in a class action lawsuit over VCM as usually the lawyers made all the money rest get an extended warranty, yet Honda continued with using the same design.

The Spool valve gaskets are available le on Ebay genuine Honda parts in Honda bags , but you can not get them at a Honda dealer separately , Honda wants you to my a new spool assembly only.

Misfire code(s) indicates the motor needs a valve adjustment.

When shopping for used vehicles, you gotta know that many vehicles will have this kind of history. A used car dealer wouldn't think twice about replacing plugs, then find a way to conceal the prior diagnosis. If he doesn't want to lie, he could erase the history by putting it into a dealer auction, and the new dealer could rightfully claim he didn't know. If the car were running fine with no CEL, I would never know, although the history of erased codes would be suspicious.

If it was my own personal car, I’d keep replacing the plug as needed and keep an eye on the oil level regularly. No sense deep diving the inside of that engine for a little fouling every once in a while. Plug is what $8 each? Replace every 20k that’s at most $8 a year, plus maybe a 1/2-1qt of oil every 5k?

Hi Will i`d go with new plugs for now strange 190psi on 1 seams to me good engine have you put down a bore scope down but if customer is thinking og selling it just plug it cheapest option i guess unless your over charging to pay for the man cave lol

So did you ask the customer if it ever had a tune up

👍👍👍

Vcm needs to be muzzled to prevent oil burning!

Meant boroscope

Sucks to say it but the dealership was right. The plug wasn't soaked in oil, but it has the tell tale signs of burning oil. This is a known issue. From my experience, the compression numbers are low for a Honda. If you're at the point of replacing rings, replacing the timing belt, plugs, water pump, gaskets, etc...should be part of the process. Or better yet, quote a reman long block if possible. If they are REALLY getting rid of the vehicle then just replace the one spark plug. On the side note, Yes, if you're not keeping near the dealership diag. charge then you're severely undercharging for your services. This guy is able to afford to go to the dealership and pay that price. Why can't he afford to have you as their go to mechanic for similar pay?? I've been watching your channel from almost the beginning and you're better than 90% of the techs I've seen. Your totally worth it. Check out VISION, ASTE, ELITE, etc.. on classes for dealing with pricing out your services and running a profitable automotive business. All love mane. Have a great day Will.

1 new spark plug !

Change the plugs & do an oil & filter change. Tell the customer to change their oil every 3k to 4k miles. Stop watching that oil life monitor on the dash. My 2012 Pilot will go about 10k miles before the oil change indicator reaches 0% - 10% oil life left. (My estimate). I change it at 3,500 miles..My son is a Master Honda Tech. He says most of the oil use issues on Honda's with VVT engines is from going too many miles between oil & filter changes.

My is jutting. Pilot 2017

My Stealership wants $6500!!!!!

Drive until it blows up after doing all the cheap fixes you can. The vehicle may last for another 100,000 plus miles.