This question seems to provoke a lot of folks on the Ridgeline forum, where I originally asked. People either hate VCM or think it’s fine. I was considering a VCM stopper device. I see a lot of arguments that make sense on both sides of the discussion. My 23 Ridgeline RTL-E is smooth and if I didn’t know VCM was in there, I’d never notice. The reason I asked (am asking) is from the standpoint of longevity. I’ve heard multiple mechanics whom I respect say they don’t like it. In their opinion, it can lead to build up in cylinders and wear out rings, as well as premature wearing of engine mounts. On the other hand, none of them seems to have a volume of experience with the newer Honda V6 engines after about 2020. I am certainly not looking to spend extra money, and I’ve had really good experiences with all of our Hondas. That being said…never had a V6 Honda, so… Would be interested in anyone’s thoughts on this. Thanks in advance!
Disabling VCM would certainly be considered tampering . . . and moreover, it would be tampering with your car’s emissions system
If anything goes down with your engine during the warranty period and it’s discovered you tampered with VCM, coverage will be denied, afaik
Food for thought
GM came out with the 8-6-4 engine in 81. Didn’t go over well. Only lasted a year.
Let’s see if Honda got it right.
Tester
The 2023 and newer so far seem to avoid most of the problems that plagued the older 6spd a/t Ridgelines. Doing a more conservative Maintenance schedule seems to help.
IMO it’s mostly a software thing. When the spark is turned off, the fuel injectors need to stop at the same time. If any extra fuel gets into the cylinders, it is atomized but not burned. The fuel is then ejected into the exhaust manifold and ends up at the catalytic converter, where it is finally burned. This generates so much heat that it can cause spalling of the catalyst substrate and eventually burning in the down pipe if the exhaust manifold. This problem led to a recall of the Chrysler Town and Country hybrid, and probably destroyed the market for it. They were not using fewer cylinders, but we’re turning all of them off and on. The issue is the same in either case.
I’m not saying that your Ridgeline has the same problems. Since Honda only has one V6, look at the Odyssey, Passport, and Pilot for additional data.
CR’s reliability rating for the '23 Ridgeline–overall–is “average”, but when you drill-down into specifics, engine reliability (both major and minor) is rated as “much better than average”, as is the fuel system. The only areas where that vehicle falls down is Build Quality, which owners rated as “worse than average”, and in-car electronics, which came out with an “average” rating.
The Odyssey, Passport, and Pilot are essentially given the same reliability ratings as the Ridgeline, but the Passport’s fuel system is rated as “worse than average”.
The Honda approach also closes the valves for the deactivated cylinders. In earlier designs, like my 2012, this could lead to excessive oil consumption as oil was drawn into the cylinder from the vacuum created. A friend had that situation pretty bad with his Pilot but thankfully, our Ody seems to be doing OK although we do not drive it much either.
FWIW- I absolutely hate the VCM on that van, it causes enough vibration to be annoying, even with the active motor mounts meant to absorb it.
I appreciate all of the input. I actually am thrilled with the vehicle overall, and I don’t notice any adverse effects from VCM from a drivability standpoint. Many folks do rip the infotainment as being archaic, but I’m still driving my 06 CRV, so…it’s like the space shuttle in comparison. The things it does well, it does so well that I can’t complain about not having more of a disco environment inside. I could go on about all of the things I prefer about this truck over all of the others that were in the running when we bought it. Anyway, I’d like to keep it until it doesn’t want to be a truck anymore, hence my original question.
From what I read in the link, if you have an ECO switch, you have the VCM system. I didn’t realize that the ECO button on our 2019 Odyssey EX-L meant it has cylinder deactivation. I haven’t noticed a difference, except for occasional sluggish performance. We don’t use the ECO feature much, though. If I understand EXM operation correctly, it’s off unless you activate ECO mode.
In the newer Ridgelines after 20 or 21 (can’t remember). There is an “Eco” button, which is different. That button turns on “Eco Mode,” and it remaps the pedal/throttle response as well as modifying the shift points. VCM is not related to this in these later Ridgelines. I cannot speak to other years or models.
Me, I would disable it if at all possible…
If it is breaking engine mounts, I wouldn’t think it would be very good on the driveline. maybe, maybe not, time will tell… Maybe the mounts are the weak link and absorb all the shock that could possibly damage anything else??..
I don’t live in a state that does emissions testing though…
Their is the warranty thing as already stated also..
Yes, Honda extended the warranty for 2013-17 Odyssey and Pilot models. The newer J35Y6 engines in the newer Ridgeline so far have not needed this extension.
Agree to leave the VCM alone IF the vehicle is still under the Honda factory warranty.
We had a 2012 Odyssey with the VCM. Later in its life it started fouling spark plugs, usually the same cylinder, I think. It was very strange, until I started reading about the VCM issue/concerns. Of course this was also in 2023 or so, with well over 100K miles on the engine, so stuff happens. I did get a VCM disabler, though, and install it. Not sure how much of a difference it actually made, to be honest.
Just my 2 cents, though.
Interesting. That is the issue though in a nutshell. Many people keep their cars for 100-150K and if so, most of what we’re discussing is not a huge issue (or an issue at all). For those (like me) who keep cars “forever,” regular maintenance is critical, and problems caused by these cylinder deactivation features and even certain direct injection systems can, in some cases, lead to problems. Perhaps it’s looking for problems where none exist, but I’d rather look and not find one than not look and have one lurking.
Check it out at NHTSA.gov if you haven’t already. Look at the recall page. There is an investigation for no restart when the auto start/stop is in use. Here are no complaints for your issue. I only looked at 2023, you can look at other years.
Thanks for that. There have been a couple things like that, which Honda has taken care of for owners including the one you mentioned. The back-up camera harness is the other. This particular thing is more of an ongoing debate among Honda owners. As with anything like this, a lot of what’s out there consists of people repeating what they’ve heard but not much I can find from actual mechanics/techs with extensive experience dealing with J35Y6 engines. Still…always interested to hear from people who know more than me…of which there are many 
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The ones for these vans were a bit of a hack. It works by faking out the coolant temp sensor to make it look like the engine is slightly cooler than it is and keep it below the VCM activation threshold. It’s a tricky balance because you want it cool enough to prevent VCM activation but not so cold that the ECU is still applying enrichment. The real trouble comes in because it’s basically a resistor in series with the temp sensor and all resistors change value with temperature. This can be problematic for geographic areas that experience big temp changes between seasons. At least that’s how they worked last I checked, not sure if someone came up with a more sophisticated design since then.
Auto start/stop is more easily defeated. Lots of places making those…
The VCM Stopper II is actually an active unit, rather than the passive, resistor-base types. These apparently avoid the issues possible with the passive models. I already have a start-stop killer…it’s called my finger 
…I just press the button when I start the truck. Just like the push-button trans…took me about two drives and it was habit.
At the time, my understanding was that Honda had done some kind of “extended warranty” thing for people with certain year 3.5L engine issues, related to the VCM. it involved removing the engine from the vehicle, maybe replacing the cylinder head(s), I think, and then putting the engine back in. At the time, my Odyssey was just barely outside of the approved date range. I contacted my local Honda dealer, and they gave me a kind of evasive answer on whether they could “cover” the repairs under that program. So we just had my local garage replace the spark plug, and I got the VCM defeat device. About a year later, I think it was, the same issue popped up on the same cylinder. By this point the Odyssey had some other issues, and my wife decided she wanted something else. So we ended up getting a Pilot, which we love.