Well for starters, I’m working my way through the 1st Gen buyer’s guide posted elsewhere on the forum. I haven’t had a ton of time lately because of work and an ill elderly mom, but I hope to finish going over everything tomorrow. And this is now a post-purchase buyer’s guide...so I hope I don’t discover any deal breakers lol
You are in one of the first vehicles with VCM, I would highly encourage you to deactivate it. If the plugs haven't been replaced yet, pull them and see the difference on the VCM cylinders.
Yeah, I gotta look into this more. I do notice the VCM interferes with the engine's responsiveness. I just haven't explored those threads enough yet to know what disabling it is going to entail...
There are TONS of threads discussing VCM. All I will say is the earlier iteration of it (like yours being one of the first) the worse the possible issues can be. Honda has refined and improved the system over the years.
tl:dr: Just snap one of these into position. Takes 5 minutes and you're done with hardly any grease under your nails.
www.svcmcontroller.com
Thanks for the tip about S-VCM! I watched a video somewhere in the VCM threads showing the wear it can cause to the cylinders, spark plugs and motor mounts. Definitely going to get this mod done if you all think it can extend the life of the car.tl:dr: Just snap one of these into position. Takes 5 minutes and you're done with hardly any grease under your nails.
S-VCM Controller - Disable VCM / deactivate VCM and stop ECO in Honda Acura
Deactivate Honda VCM in 3.5L V6 SOHC engines. The S-VCM Controller is an automobile grade, high precision tool that can reliably disable VCM 100% of the time, and would safely bypass in case the engine overheats. It does not use a fixed resistor or manually adjusted potentiometer, and is a much...
There’s no service history on the Honda site, and very little on AutoCheck and Carfax (which doesn’t mean a whole lot but still).
I prefer the look of the 1st gens on everything except the front grill. The second gen grill just looks cooler.
Soccermommitude! I prefer the overall front-end appearance of the second gen, HDMI or facelift doesn't matter, I think both look great (although once you see the HDMI port, you will never unsee it). For me, it's the grille in combination with the headlights, fog lights, and front bumper. The first gen headlights look too small or too far apart from each other or something.
You have lost your mind, the gen 2.5 is SO much cleaner with the chrome bars, the revised front bumper and the rear bumper that covers the hitch area. Also, the headlights look much better with the turn signal in the middle rather than on the corners.
I am quite partial to the first gen since my mom had an '04 and I REALLY liked driving it right after getting my license.
All of that may be true, including the losing my mind part, if you can bolt in the HDMI grille.
I have a 2009 Pilot EX-L with the VCM. Is it also recommended to be disabled for that model year, and if yes, would you please explain the drawbacks of continuing to use the VCM? Thanks in advance.
The VCM causes certain cylinders to lay dormant when coasting, or maintaining speed (green eco light illuminates). These cylinders are prone to have excessive oil pumped up into the cylinders, causing fouled spark plugs, dirty valves and injectors, but the worst can be stuck piston rings. Oil can make its way into the exhaust system clogging catalytic converters that can cause emission trouble codes. Disabling the VCM can begin to reverse these problems, along with stopping the vibrations transmitted into the transmission helping to prevent transmission judder at around 40 mph.
