2013 Honda Odyssey Engine/Valve Knock

Vehicle has a little over 14,000 miles. Knock or chatter started maybe 1 month ago. Now louder and more often. Majority of the time it happens right around 35 MPH when going up an incline when I have just let up on accelerator and then gently accelerated. When the chatter starts I can keep the chatter going by keeping gentle pressure on the accelerator. as soon as I let up on the accelerator or push harder on the accelerator, the chatter goes away. I took it to the dealership I purchased the car from, they said they test drove the car, couldn’t find anything wrong with it but re-flashed it anyway. Noise has not gone away and as I said it is getting louder and more often. I would greatly appreciate your thoughts/advice.

Try a tank of the highest octane gas you can get and see if it diminishes.

Take a video of it happening and show it to the dealer. If he draggs his feet,ask for the regional rep. Document, document,document.

You or the dealer check the oil level?

Ed B.

If you Google “odyssey pinging” you’ll find this has been a chronic problem with Odysseys for several model years. There was actually a TSB to fix it on 2006 or 2007 model years. There don’t seem to be any TSB’s for pinging on the 2013. But it sounds like some design flaw that Honda hasn’t fully fixed.

This is exactly what has been happening to my 2013 Odyssey at 56,000 miles. I service it at an Acura dealer. They said it was the accessory tensioner: they replaced it with no change in sound. Then, they said it was the torque converter and would be covered under Honda warrantee but I needed to go to a Honda dealer. Went there, they felt it wasn’t the issue and changed my transmission fluid. No change. They wanted 3 hours of diagnosis tests, I said NO, and went to a different dealer. They were more thorough. There was an notice from Honda that the transmission should be flushed which they covered. No change. Then, the felt it was the timing belt tensioner, covered by Honda. Still, no change. Now they want another $300 to do more exploring. I decided not to proceed at this stage, but logged a complaint with Honda. I have not been replied to, but I want to have the drivetrain warrantee honored since I took it in prior the 60,000 mile warrantee cutoff. The service manager felt this might fly if there were problems with the drivetrain down the road. This is not why I bought a Honda…

Is the ECO light illuminated when it’s making the pinging sound?

No, I don’t believe so, but that is something I’ll check. I think I am going to try a higher octane. This is my wife’s vehicle. We will probably be moving on to a different vehicle after this. I’ve been a long time Honda person, but that may be coming to a close. Thanks -

I’ll be curious if the premium gas makes a difference. Acura uses the same engine in their RDX, and premium is recommended.

For you with this problem, after going through a bunch of money with no results, FINALLY they found the issue. A motor mount was causing this. Car runs smooth as silk now. Hope this helps someone in the future.

Thanks for letting us know. Honda motor mounts are known to be troublesome.