FLXX

I would like to turn off the variable cylinder management temporary. My dealer says... not possible. Canīt he turn it off with his Honda Diagnostic System Tester?

MSchu

I don't think that would be possible... it would be nice, but not likely. What might work would be a manual ECU... but even that is conjecture

MustangLX6.0

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FLXX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I would like to turn off the variable cylinder management temporary. My dealer says... not possible. Canīt he turn it off with his Honda Diagnostic System Tester? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Not possible, its a seamless funtion of the ECM and why would you? It only engages at crusing speed and saves you gas. The HDS does not let us turn off VCM

George Knighton

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MSchu &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What might work would be a manual ECU...</TD></TR></TABLE>
That's problematic. The circuitry for the automatic transmission is not in the 6-6 ECU.... The 6-6 is so different for 2008 I have ended up wondering what they're up to with producing such a strange car in such small numbers.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FLXX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would like to turn off the variable cylinder management temporary. </TD></TR></TABLE>
My sincere advice would be to abandon this idea immediately. It's not a single circuit. It's very complicated and there is interoperability with any number of other systems, some of which might be adversely affected.

I cannot think of anybody who knows enough right now to accomplish what you're asking about, and I think it's honestly just too potentially hazardous to the operation of your car.

Why do you even want to do this?

MSchu

To true... there is a J35Z TL car that is auto though. worth a try if your TL friend has his car laying around. but GK is correct, the whole exercise is futile I believe


I want to try the TL type S 6 speed ECU in my car... it rated/governed to 150 mph where as the 08 coupe is limited to 130 mph

hondalvr1

The VCM is NOT seamless. They SAY it is but it is not - it is very noticeable on my '08.

quicksilver1689

maybe you have a problem? mine is pretty unnoticeable and smooth

hondalvr1

I am not alone - there are many suffering vibrations and surging maladies who have been posting on edmunds. According to several dealers my car is operating "normally". As in annoying and intolerable and after owning Hondas since 1981, this will be my last. Despite MY loyalty to them, Honda has kissed me off regarding my issues. It will not happen again.

MSchu

Then why did you buy one. I would have hoped you test drove the car prior to buying it.

The complaints concerning the VCM are out numbered by the owners with fondness or or obliviousness toward it, by orders of magnitude.

hondalvr1

After having owned over a dozen Honda products, including 2.7, 3.0 and 3.2 liter V6s, I foolishly put blind faith in them, and their advertising, which at the time said the VCM was "seamless" - they have since modified their advertising to "nearly seamless". You are right - I never should have bought one before driving one and should have gotten a left over 2007 instead. My mistake in trusting Honda. Fool me once, shame on you, foo me twice, shaem on me - it will not happen again.

cowjazz

Funny. Four months and 10,000 miles, and I can't tell when it engages. I must be lucky.

hondalvr1

Well, one thing I have noticed with the change in the weather - it is MUCH more noticeable in temperatures below 50 degrees here in NY.
In fact, as the temperature drops you can notice it more and more - maybe the engine mounts are stiff because of the cold. But Honda admits nothing and denies any malfunction. Oh well....enjoy!

ferio252

............Take this somewhere else

cmoswizard

Better late than never, and in spite of the censor above:

VCM can be disabled by causing a bad sensor fault in the engine computer.
This can be accomplished by disconnecting the rocker-arm-pressure-sensor connector on the drivers side of the rear cylinder head.
The check engine light will come on but otherwise normal operation. There will be a slight jerk on each drive cycle as the engine reaches operating temp and tries to engage vcm. Mileage will drop slightly.
Your engine mounts and transmission will be less likely to break.
Plug fouling, misfire, oil consumption, and especially the annoying vibration may all improve.

This from experience with 2008 Odyssey touring.
FYI

hondalvr1

Thanks for the message - however that was '09. In early '10, while driving, the VSA light came on and the car downshifted two gears on its own. STopped - read manual - turned off car - removed and replaced gas cap after it had been filled. Started up - fine - until about 2 miles - then check engine light, downshifts, VSA light, D light on Dash flashing, and speedometer stops working!!!! The car went berserk! Took it to Paragon Honda in Queens, NY - took them awhile but replaced transmission input and out put sensors and pronounced the car fixed. Uh-uh...would not downshift when slowing for a curve, turn the corner and still in 5th. Downshifted ONLY if goosed. They insisted it was fine. BS

Sold the car on e-bay to Honda Dealer in TX for near wholesale and bought 2008 Acura RL with 18K on it for $25K from AZ. Had it checked out by hired mechanics - pictures, car fax, etc. and shipped it back east. LOVE the car - always thought it an overblown Honda - it is MUCH more than that - tight, solid, AWD, and all the bells and whistles of what a luxury car should be - not an Accord with leather and V6. Only hesitance was premium gas but I get 29-30 MPG at 75-80 MPH. BETTER than VCM V6!!!!! NEVER buy a VCM engine again - and Honda won't admit its mistake.

GoLowDrew

The MDS 5.7L Hemi V8 is the same as the VCM. Different name, same deal. Diablo Sport offer a product that will turn MDS off (among other performance tunning).

http://shop.diablosportpower.com/Dod...A.qscstrfrnt03

There are demand for this on the Chrysler side, but not really for Hondas. Honda owners who want "performance" would not get a J35V6 Auto. They would get the 6-6.

If it can work for Chrysler, it can work for Honda. Some company will just need to spend some time on it. But why would they, when there is "no demand."

06V6ACCD

Glad I still have the '06 Accord without whatever headache this causes. I get smooth perforance in all ranges.

GoLowDrew

VCM is not a bad guy. It can get you 31 MPG hwy without trying. Not bad for a car that weight as much as a pig. I'm also on the Ody forum too, and there are VCM engines that reach 150K miles (so far) without engine issues.

Like any reliability question, you win some, you loose some. Lucky or not.

99% of owners don't know or don't care about VCM. IMO, the VCM "hate" would be flatten if Honda offered a 6-6 Sedan.

MSchu

agreed... using words like "Mistake" and "Horrible" are just hyperbole. if it's not for you, don't buy the car. when I drove one, I thought it was more than acceptable as the J series can be slightly gas hungry.

cmoswizard

Just make sure you WARM THE ENGINE UP FULLY before you start evaluating the VCM vibrations. VCM does not engage until full operating temperature is reached. This is nasty little secret. I'm sure people are test driving cars briefly and not seeing the full picture.

FYI

boxbrush1812

Hi, in Australia here, bought a 2008 V6 Accord with 50,000 km (35,000 Miles) on it and it had 6 months of dealer warranty left. I loved it, the car was so smooth and you had no idea when the ECM was operating. 4 months after buying it the spark plug malfunctioned and dealer, under warranty, replaced all 6 plugs and did software upgrade. Since then when cruising the car feels like it's continually changing gears and jerks so much it moves you in the set. Honda Australia tried to fix it numerous times over 5 months, changed torque converter, fuel pressure regulator, plugs, coils, all to avail. Then the last time they had it for 6 weeks and then it was dropped back at the dealer by Honda Australia and I was told the car is functioning normally, nothing had changed. They couldn't fix it so decided to just tell me it was normal. No regulatory body in Australia can force a warranty to be honored so I'm stuck with a car that if driven at trade in would be valued at 1/4 of it's worth.

Wondered if anyone else had heard of the engine upgrade failing and if there is a fix?

Thanks from Melbourne Australia.

Peter.

GoLowDrew

The spark plugs going bad is a common thing on the V6 with VCM. It's normal and should be expected. Had mine done about 54K miles. Some owners just flat out change the plugs before they go bad. But you already did that.

The dealer also did the software update too. Mine ran exactly the same.

Sorry, no help there.

Is this your first Honda (AT)? Honda don't have the smoothest AT vs other brands, and that's by design. Mine does feel clunky and jerky at times in my Odyssey. It has a lot more miles than my Accord. Nothing is wrong, that's just the way it is.

boxbrush1812

Thanks, I know there's a heap more of these Accords in the US so I was hoping it'd happened to someone else. The dealer said they trawled all the forums but wasn't sure that was the case.

GoLowDrew

I didn't know you guys get the "Accord" (Inspire). I thought your Accord is the (Acura) TSX.

SLVRBLLT22

This may help some of you experiencing problems with the VCM system. My 09 V6 had a hesitation/shimmy,shutter type feel +/- 1500 rpm, 25-30 mph. Pretty much anytime the VCM system would engage. My acceleration issues were the same as been described by a lot of people, light acceleration with normal driving it was a horrible feeling. Thinking I got a lemon of a car from a good friend, I was happy to find the following info.

I was able to Google, Honda Service Bulletins for it and found SB 11-033. It was a re-program from the dealer that cost me $75 since I was out of warranty. I had no check engine light or no excessive oil consumption, but the simple 30 min ECU upgrade took care of my 6+ month problem/frustration. I did also replace my plugs just to be safe as the dealer has this listed as a part of the service fix.

Unfortunately Honda is not stepping up and honoring or admitting the problem, but for $75 I was pleased with the results and for me it fixed all problems. The dealer also offered me a $140 diagnostic check, unless you have a check engine light don't let the dealership lead you down this road. Since I had no check engine light the tech mentioned nothing would show anyways.

Finding a Service Bulletin will help towards getting it fixed. I had to search through quite a few, but in the end it worked out for me. The dealer honored it even though the date on the bulletin was 8/2011. I highly suggest if you find it print it out and bringing it with you, I found out they aren't always willing to look it up for you.

Hope this info helps a bit, good luck. Since the ECU upgrade and plug change the system has been flawless and smooth.