P0303 3 cyclinder misfire

190

Asked by Hari Jan 17, 2020 at 04:40 PM about the 2013 Honda Odyssey EX-L FWD with DVD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I drive a 2013 EXL Odyssey with 110k miles 80% of mile are highway long
distances , well maintained by dealer until 100k.
few months back there was CEL with P0303 code, mechanics (not the
dealer) suggest 3 rd spark plug bad and suggested i change
it and as per  his recomendation changed all 6, drove about 100 miles again
CEL came up
and also this time lost power and felt shaking when hit the gas pedal.
Went to mechanic  again the same codes came up, so he suggested 3rd
coil need to replaced,
got it changed and drove straight 100 miles , the CEL came up again and
same shaking for some time .
Took it to different mechanic  (maineke), this time they found same code but
after hearing the story they
suggested a deep  diagonostic like the cyclinder pressure test etc, and
confirmed there is no  issue,
but noticed the 3 spark plug is burnt , however said there is no oil leak issue
which might causeed it and said might be the defective plug
so changed 3 rd spark plug. ( till now spent 450$) and sent me home. I drove
about 30 mil at a stretch so the light did not come back yet
but , however i noticed the the Gear shift and around it in the cabin seems to
have warmed up ( probably will get hot if i drive more ,
not sure), so experts please share your knowledge , i am guessing it could
be EGR or computer software, solinoid issue in transmission in turn is
creating this mess with the 3rd cyclinder missfire, any suggestions welcome,
scared to take to mechanic again because they are just doing the
routine check and not pinpointing the issue and fix.

31 Answers

190

HI All, seems like no one else on this forum had similar issue. I have now got the issue resolved. This time i took the van to the my orginal dealer ,( ran into genuine advisor) explained all the story that i wrote in the question and also showed 2 bulletins issued by Honda related to 3 cyclinder misfire just to steer them to look in that angle. This time i took a risk to spend 165 $ the diagionstic fee. the repair list came back with major change the piston right and valve adjustments totally of 3300$ (2800 +500) and others items jsut recommendations with an a estimate of 1800$. I declined every thing and just paid the diagionstic fee and walked out. but i reminded about the Builletin issued by Honda , just was not sure what to do with the situation as it is big expense if i should get it repaired of trade it as get a replacment. The next day after my visit I got a call from the advisory asking to bring the van and they will fix the piston rings issue which is the cause of misfire of 3 rd cyclinder, Honda is extending the warranty on the engine for vans that are less than 10 years old due to a law suite of that issue . So just got that fixed and last weekend drove 2000 miles on a long trip , no issue the van seems to be running smooth now. Thx

19 people found this helpful.
150

Glad you got that fixed for free. Link to Honda tech bulletin: https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/web/A13-081.pdf

15 people found this helpful.
140

Yeah, can you tell me where you found that this is extended to 10 years? I just bought a 2011 which is just over 9 years since it's sale, and the dealer said it's not covered.

9 people found this helpful.
60

Me too! My 2010 EX-L failed me again for second time this year with this misfire and blinking CEL. 1sr time it went away after cooling down. This time, Not so much. This is the fourth time I have been stranded or almost stranded with this vehicle since 2014 and I am over it.

6 people found this helpful.
10

I’m having the same issue I think. And I’m about 22 hours from home. ‍♀️ I’m interested in more on the dealer warranty as well!

1 people found this helpful.
140

I think they’re mistaken. Mine is like 9 years and a few months and the Honda dealership said it’s only 8 years from the date of original sale, but unlimited mileage. I called Honda and they confirmed. I ended up paying close the $2,800 to have a Honda dealer do it. The first shop I went to wanted $3,500!

2 people found this helpful.
30

Thanks for this post I'm getting my 2013 odyssey (167k miles) done as I write this under this warranty which I made by 7 months. woosh.

3 people found this helpful.
70

Me as well. If not for this post I would not have been aware of the class action settlement. I have been having issues for several months on my 2013 EX-L (cylinder 3). I’ve dropped at least $1500 on spark plugs, wires, ignition coil, fuel injector..none of which solved the problem. Replacing the spark plug allows it to limp along for a while but you never know when it will get fouled enough to strand you somewhere. Here is a link to the service bulletin: https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/web/A13- 081.pdf I called the 888 number in the bulletin and all they did was verify my VIN was included in the warranty extension (which is 8 years from date of purchase). They advised I call a Honda dealer directly. The dealership again confirmed the VIN. Here’s the rub.. if your engine light isn’t on and you’re not having any issues RIGHT NOW.. they may have problems proving to Honda that you have the warrantied issue. I happened to have the last fouled plug taken from my van and the dealership said they will use that as proof to Honda that they should investigate further. Good luck everyone!

3 people found this helpful.
50

I just had this issue start a few days ago, and thanks to this thread, I am getting this fixed under warranty 6 months before my 8 years coverage was up. Many thanks for sharing!

5 people found this helpful.
50

I am so grateful I found this forum and to the person who posted the service bulletin! My 2012 had a misfire (shudder, loss of power, check engine blinking) back in July. Had a spark plug changed by a local shop. Temporarily fixed the issue but I still felt that weird shudder. Two days ago driving home from work, same thing only worse - check engine blinking. Took back to local shop. Then did my own due diligence and found this forum. Long story short, I had it towed to the Honda dealer after speaking with the service manager (don't give up if the first dealership gives you the runaround; it took me two phone calls to different ones!) and he knew exactly what I was referring to and this service bulletin! Got a call this a.m. that it is indeed that issue and it will be covered by extended warranty. Lucked out - date of service was 2/14/2013 and so I only had until 2/14/2021! It is definitely a $2,000+ repair. I also can turn in my rental car cost to American Honda for reimbursement, I'm told, because my vehicle was out of commission and covered by extended warranty. In short, THANK YOU to all the posters on here. I stumbled upon this yesterday and if I had not, I would be either driving a minivan with a bandaid fix of spark plugs again or would be out over $2,000!

4 people found this helpful.
50

Guru99VN89 - call your local Honda dealer. They can run your VIN and tell you the original date of service and tell you if you are within the extended warranty's eight-year time frame. Don't give up if you get someone lazy who won't do it. I encountered that the first time and called a second dealership which gave me the info I needed and verified it for me. The first phone call was fruitless because the guy would only tell me open recalls, which is not what I asked. Also, reference Service Bulletin A13-081. They can reference it.

1 people found this helpful.

Any luck on finding the 10 year info? Our is at 8 years and 9 months and we’ve only owned it for 1 month! Light just came on for “emissions” and “VSA.” Code is P0303 ‍♀️

70

The warranty extension is 8 years from date of purchase. Your best bet is to call a local Honda dealer, reference the bulletin (A13-081) and have them check if your VIN qualifies.

3 people found this helpful.
10

Thank you for posting this. Same issue here. 2013 Honda Odyssey Touring. 2 rounds of expensive spark plugs later.

1 people found this helpful.
10

Alex Soto, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 3:12-cv-01377-SI, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/closed-settlements/5323-honda-engine- misfire-class-action-lawsuit-settlement/ Class Members of the Honda engine defect class action settlement include all current and former owners or lessees of one or more of the following Honda vehicles equipped with a 6-cylinder engine with Variable Cylinder Management (“VCM-2”), purchased or leased in the United States:2008 through 2013/Should be covered . Warranty extended for 8 years from date of original purchase or lease. Looks like 2013s will only still be eligible.

1 people found this helpful.
10

My emissions light has been coming on and off for the past year and I've always assumed it was the catalytic converter so have just been ignoring it. And sometimes the VSA light comes on and off but it mostly disappears. I have a 2013 Odyssey with 145k miles on it and it has recently been misfiring with the blinking engine light flashing on and off. I have a code reader and it states cylinders 1 and 3 mis-firing. I changed the spark plugs myself around 115k miles before finding this very helpful thread was just going to change the ignition coils and hope it would fix the issue. However, having just found this thread I made my appointment with Honda for Monday and am hoping the service bulletin will fix the issue!!! Thanks all for your help.... Will keep you all posted.

40

I have a 2013 Honda Odyssey my VSA and CEL blinking. This is the 3rd time it has happened. Diagnosed with the p0303. I have replaced spark plugs and coil #3. This time I called Honda and they said my vin # was not included in the class action law suit. Clearly I am having the misfire problem. What are my options? Do you know why would this would not be covered. The lawsuit says 2013 included.

2 people found this helpful.
140

If you replace the plugs, the lights will go away, but the root problem will not be solved. Sounds exactly like what the TSB was issued for. Maybe try a different dealer or call Honda directly. Honda was less than helpful in my case since it was outside of the warranty period, but maybe they can help you out. I seem to recall an online site where you could punch in the VIN to see if it was affected as well. Here's a link for the bulletin. https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/web/A13-081.pdf

3 people found this helpful.
10

Update: after Honda covered the bulletin work (A13-081) under the extended warranty, the mis-firing has stopped and the Odyssey drives normally as it should. As per the bulletin they replaced the piston rings in cylinders 1 through 3 along with new spark plugs.

1 people found this helpful.
70

The bulletin says it covers you 8 years from original date of purchase or lease. As long as you meet that time frame they should cover it.

1 people found this helpful.
40

Update: Thank you !!!! If it were not for this forum and your comments I would be out $2700 The first dealership we called said Vin # not covered, called Honda got same story after a couple of questions. A former Honda mechanic said Honda did lots of Vans with these issues but you need to know what to ask they don't give up the information. We called another dealership and mentioned the service bulletin you all posted and the work was 100% under warranty. They updated piston Rings 1-3 to stop the fouling of spark plugs. Trying another dealership and having service bulletin information was huge. Thank you all for your helpful comments.

10

I'm experiencing the same problem! I called Honda and referenced the service bulletin. I was told that it is VIN specific. Seems convenient for Honda to not provide what VIN, factory location or manufactured date meets eligibility. My van was manufactured 12/2013, but isn't eligible. Surprisingly, I was at the dealer today who told me that this is a known issue AND another woman with a 2014 van was there with the same exact problem and error code.

1 people found this helpful.
40

I was told by Honda and by dealership #1 that my VIN was not included. I tried another dealership and it was covered. Service from dealership #2 was night and day. I would push the issue, ask more questions about parts recalled..... Do you have a lemon law in your state?

2 people found this helpful.
10

We are having this issue however it is a 2009. Just started in December with the codes P0301 Cylinder 1 misifreP0305 Misfire P0300 Random Multiple Misfire P0301 (pd) Misfire detected. Even if it is 10 years we missed it.

1 people found this helpful.
10

Frustrating....I have a 2016 and clearly they didn't fix the problem because this is my 2nd time with this issue. First time, it was covered under my purchase warranty but this time, it's not covered and I'm getting quoted between 6 and 9k everywhere I'm looking to fix it.

1 people found this helpful.
140

TeacherMom83, that is soooo frustrating. After I paid almost $4k to have my piston rings replaced, I installed a VCM muzzler to stop the issue from coming back. Then a month later a tree fell on our van while driving, totaled it, and it was all for nothing anyways. We purchased another Odyssey, this time a 2013 and made sure to confirm with the dealer that this issue was already addressed. And again, I installed that VCM muzzler right away. Fingers crossed it's not an issue again for us.

10

All - THANK YOU!!!. I created an account just to say that. Our 2013 Odyssey ExL just had a P0302 and a P0404 code on April 23. I did a sparkplug change on all cylinders and oddly still had the errors. Did research on the internet, and came across this question on CarGurus. I called my Honda Dealer first thing on 4/26 prepared with info from what you all have stated above. I was lucky. Our Odyssey was delivered (not the same as purchased?) in middle of June 2013, so we squeeked by with a month and a half to spare. The dealer confirmed it is under the 8 year warranty and the service assistant read the information to me from the bulletin, which is what I learned from all of you. IF anything changes, I will let you know. Thank you again.

1 people found this helpful.
20

I had this misfire problem with my 2014 Odyssey at 50k miles. I did my research, took it to the dealer, the dealer called Honda and Honda agreed to cover 80% of the cost of the ring replacement work. Total cost was $5k so I paid $1k. It's utterly absurd that a well taken care of Honda engine with only 50k miles on it needs rings. Seriously, what a mediocre design.

2 people found this helpful.
20

I have a 2012 odyssey and we might be out of this 8 year extended business which is stupid because the problem is occurring around 100k miles so if you dont drive a much you are out of luck. Any idea on how people have navigated out of warranty business?

2 people found this helpful.

We have a 2013 Odyssey and it just happened to us again for the second time. We had misfire issues that was fixed by the dealer 3 years ago because it was still covered under our warranty. Now today it happened again ‍♂️ no longer under warranty and her van only has 85 K miles on it. Very frustrating

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