2001 odyssey check engine light only on highway

Hello,

This has happened the past couple of trips between Washington D.C. and
Cleveland, Ohio. While driving on the the PA Turnpike about 3 hours
into the trip the Check Engine Light and the TCS light come on. The TCS
light goes off, but the Check Engine Light stays on. However, upon
reaching our destination (either Cleveland or D.C.), the Check Engine
light will go off after 3 local trips. One wrinkle, the last time this
happened (last Saturday), the light came on about 15 minutes into the
return trip on route 480 or 271(?) in Ohio going 55 mph. Anyone have
any what might be happening, why the check engine light only comes on
when traveling at highway speeds? Thanks.

 

So the error is associated with constant throttle position and/or constant
high RPM: A clue.

Get the error code(s) read. AutoZone will do it for free.

Without the error code(s), diagnosis is impossible.

 

Wondering out loud... could it be the ECU was complaining about "fuel trim"
(the amount it has to adjust what it expected to be injecting in order to
satisfy the O2 sensor)? If so, it could be as simple as an air filter or
fuel filter that needs to be changed or that was recently changed when it
*really* needed it, or a fuel pressure regulator that changed a bit. Or it
could be something else altogether :-}

"Check engine" lights remind me of that old lampoon, 'If Microsoft made cars
there would be a "general car fault" light.' The best humor has an element
of truth.

Mike

 

Common problem with Odyssey of that vintage. Check forum at www.odyclub.com
.. More than likely EGR or Transmission. There are TSB's on both. Check with
your dealer and have the code read. The codes and information is still there
even if they go off. Honda has extended warranties on both depending on your
mileage.........

 

And I thought it was just me. I experienced the same problem on two separate
1000 mile trips to Orlando FL. And to answer your question it only occurred
at highway speeds. Never identified the problem and it has not occurred
again in over a year. Thanks for asking and hope we get resolution.

 

Interesting that you stated fuel. The problem only occurred immediately
after re-filling the fuel while on the 1000 mile journey.

 

You need the code pulled to determine anything for sure. Anything else is
pure speculation. Your van is a big computer and the computer monitors
everything in it. AutoZone's will pull the code for you in most places. Some
others will loan the tool for you to do it yourself. You could also buy one.
I have seen some pure code readers for about $50. End result You need the
code.

 

Went to Auto Zone today and the Error code is P0401 (text was EGR Flow
Insufficent(?)). Interestingly, the Check Engine light came on today in
city traffic.

Two days ago, I bought a new gas gap after talking with some people at
work about the check engine light. My wife filled up the car yesterday,
but she assures me she tightened the cap (5 clicks). Before going to
Auto Zone, I tightened the cap as well (10 clicks or more). After
leaving Auto Zone, (third trip after tightening the cap), the light went
off.

 

EGR flow has nothing to do with a loose gas cap. That's a different code
entirely and has to do with the EVAP system.

I think the light having gone off is concidental and it will come back on
again, likely with the same code.

EGR insufficient flow suggests clogged EGR passages in the head or EGR
valve, meaning they're carboned up and in need of cleaning. There is a
Honda TSB on this: 00-009. I don't know if it applies to your year, but
it's worth asking the dealer for a copy of it.

More reading:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3828/is_200402/ai_n9392519

 

That's because the ECU tests EGR flow on decel from 55mph.

If you never reach 55, chances are you'll never see that code.

 

alldata.com (http://www.alldata.com/TSB/67/016705aE.html) lists an
emission recall for the V6-3.5L engine for the 2001 Odysseys. However,
I have "heard" that it only covers certain VINs for the 2001, but I
never received a recall notice. Would this fact give me "ammunition"
with my dealer to get it repaired under warranty? Thanks.

 

Ask your dealer. He will be more than happy to print it out for you. No
charge.

Almost all TSBs do.

The point here is that a TSB is issued because these events have occurred:
1) The automaker discovers during production that there is a problem with
something and cars have been shipped with the problem, and/or
2) a problem is discovered in the field, as dealers report back to Honda.

Once a problem is reported, it is fixed, and records are updated to
indicate the start VIN and end VIN of the affected vehicles. Supplier
records are accessed to flesh out this info. Automakers regularly
quarantine vehicles in-plant that have been assembled with the problem, and
apply the fixes before they are released for shipment.

If cars have escaped the assembly plant with the problem and made it to
dealer lots, the dealers are made aware of the problem and issued fixes.
These are the TSBs. These fixes range from manually bending metal bits to
replacing entire transmissions.

Modern automaker records are precise to a degree few industries know,
perhaps outside of the pharmaceutical industry. Franchised dealers may not
be privy to all of what their franchisor knows, but the info IS there.

If your VIN is not included in the recall, then absolutely NO. You have no
idea how exacting automaker records are. They KNOW if your car received
thefaulty part(s).

Of course, the exception is the brand-new vehicle in its first month or so
of production, which is when the first in-the-field problems begin cropping
up.

 

I got a copy of the TSB and it appears that my car's VIN is covered by
the TSBs (00-009, 05-026), although Honda never sent me anything
informing me of the problem. The TSBs indicate that Honda EGR is
covered 8/80,000 but my car now has 82,000 on it, however the problems
started to occur around 79,000.

What do you think the outcome will be if I ask my Honda dealer to fix
the problem for free? Thanks for any responses.

 

If it's really "your" dealer, as in you service your car there, or at least
bought it there, pretty good chance they'll do for free or cheap. Otherwise,
crapshoot, whattayagottoloose?

 

I had almost exactly the same situation on a 2000 Odyssey. The local Honda
dealer spoke to the Honda rep and they did it at no charge at just about
82K. The local dealer is great, even though I did not buy the van there. I
simply pointed out that the 80K limit is arbitrary and that the fact that I
use good quality fuel, change the oil and filters regularly, and drive under
no severe conditions may have extended the time before which THEIR defect in
design created a problem. If the problem is with a lousy design, why should
I be penalized for taking good care of the vehicle while someone who
operates it more harshly, uses poor quality fuel, doesn't change filters,
uses cheap oil, etc, get covered under warranty. If the EGR system was
designed with inadequate porting, what made that design OK at 82K as opposed
to 80K.

I also pointed out that we love the vehicle and would not think of going
back to a Toyota product and have a new driver in the family and will be
needing another car...

Getting an accomodation from a manufacturer often has a lot to do with how
you present your case and the responsiveness of the dealer doing the
service.

Leonard

 

It depends on the relationship you have with your dealer, what kind of a
person your service manager is, etc.

They could be assholes about it.

But the fact is, they should cover it. If they don't, ask to speak to
the Honda zone rep. Or, better yet, go to odyclub.com and get the
number for Honda customer assistance. They'll be able to help you out
if you can't find a dealer who will.

In the end, you won't have to pay for this.

 

Your relationship with the dealer also has a lot to do with it.

The fact that I've used one dealership exclusively, and he gets ALL my
Honda service (and knows it), has paid me back thousands of dollars over
the years in things like this. Most recently was an idle air control
valve, a $300 repair that I didn't pay for, a few months ago.

 

A relationship with the dealer can be very helpful in many service
situations. It never hurts to ask anyway, however. In our case, we bought
the van in another city because the dealer here had a long waiting list and
they were in short supply. We never had any service to do on it so had
never done any business with the dealer who provided the service. We will
be sure to use them when the timing belt, etc needs to be done. The service
manager simply had to ask Honda to cover it. They made less on the warranty
repair than if we had paid for it, but did so as an investment in customer
realtions. It will pay off in our case. Other dealers might not be so
quick to trade service dollars for good will...depends on lots of
factors...but if you don't ask and don't make a reasonable case, you'll
never know.

Leonard

 

Took it in and they "fixed" it under warranty. Unfortunately two
problems occurred. First they appeared to use the wrong part. The part
they used was for the 99-00 odysseys (06175-P8F-A01) not for the 2001
odyssey (06175-P8F-A71). Unfortunately I don't know if the parts are
interchangable or not.

The second problem is that after driving it for less than 30 miles, the
check engine light came on again. This time the code was p0420,
Catalyst Deterioration. While I can't prove it, I figure that during
the EGR repair, the tech cleaned the carbon right into the exhaust
system thus fouling the Catalyst Sensor.

This repair would cost me $800.00 parts plus labor. The dealer claims
the two events are not related and therefore I would have to pay for the
replacement catalytic converter. The service rep would not even discuss
doing the catalytic repair under the 8/80000 warranty.

I've had problems with this dealer before. An airbag recall repair on a
2004 accord turned into a broken seat adjuster.