I have a 2006 Honda Odyssey which has been a great vehicle but is currently puzzling me. It drives fine but when I am idling down (slowing down with my foot off the gas), I get to a point where there is a vibration from the engine compartment and it feels like the car is going to stall but then just before I get to a complete stop, the vibrations go away, the RPM’s right themselves and the car runs fine. The issue is intermittent and accelerates fine. Any ideas?
The Check Engine Light doesn’t illuminate during these near-stall episodes?
Anyway, my best guess from afar is that your Mass Airflow (MAF) Sensor may be gunked-up, and in need of cleaning. In addition, because your Odyssey is one of the Honda models that has a history of major problems with the motor mounts, I would suggest having those mounts inspected when your mechanic evaluates the condition of the MAF.
Your Odyssey has an electronic throttle body.
The throttle body controls the engine’s idle speed.
If the electronic throttle body gets dirty, it can effect the engine’s idle speed to were the engine feels as if it’s about to stall out. This will also make the engine vibrate/shake because the idle speed is too low.
Have a throttle body cleaning service performed to see if it solves the problem.
Tester
Taking your foot off the gas may cause the engine computer to completely shut off the injectors. This is done on many cars, in order to save gas. The injectors are supposed to start working again as the car slows to a point the engine would stall. So something could be wrong w/all that. For it all to work correctly, the following functions must work flawlessly
- whatever controls the throttle valve , presumably the electronic throttle body
- throttle or accel pedal position sensor
- vehicle speed sensor
- rpm sensor
- engine must be in good tune, esp the fuel injectors must not be partially clogged
Do you notice any jerking when driving in neighborhoods where you have to drive slowly at time, like making turns? Making it diffiuclt to keep to a steady, but slow speed? If so, one suspect has to be the throttle position sensor. I’ve had that symptom on my Corolla and it was caused by a combo of that sensor being mis-calibrated and partially clogged injectors.
If the engine light is on (even if sporadically), I would try to pull codes first.
Thanks for all the input. I don’t have any check engine lights so I can’t pull a code. There are no issues getting around in neighborhoods or anything like that. I will have the MAF, the throttle body, and the motor mounts checked.
Jacob Hortin
I cleaned out the throttle body. It didn’t make the engine vibrations go away but the car drives better overall now. Thanks for the tip.
The check engine light has not been going on. I did take the car to the dealer and then to a couple of independent shops last week. All three said it is indeed the hydraulic motor mount. Thank you
Unfortunately, that is a known problem area for both the Odyssey and the Pilot models.
If your vehicle was a bit newer, it might be possible to get “Goodwill” assistance with this repair, but after 10 years, I tend to doubt if Honda–or any other mfr–would come to your assistance.