My 2009 Pilot Touring has the eco light. I really can’t say there is any difference. At first I thought the eco light was just and indication of engine vacuum.
What Does Honda VCM Engagement and Running "Feel Like"?
- Thread starter rstsco
- Start date
I barely notice the difference
Last weekend I did an 1,800 miles' roundtrip to the Kansas City area. Filled up with Shell premium except for two with Phillips 66 premium. Stayed in Tow drive mode almost exclusively and used the scan tool on part of the trip to monitor number of active cylinders and transmission gears the system selected. In Tow mode, the VCM never engaged. At 75+ mph, the transmission gear selection top out in 9th gear with the RPMs ~2k. When I manually selected 10th gear with the paddle shifters, it would just go back to 9th gear.
I did a stretch with the drive mode set to Sport mode and the transmission selected 8th gear under the same driving conditions with the RPMs ~2.3k. VCM did not activate.
In Normal drive mode, VCM was constantly activating/deactivating. The transmission would select 10th gear with the RPMs ~1.8k, but was constantly shifting to lower gears/higher RPMs.
Certainly on trips, I will use Tow drive mode, but around town, will probably stay in Sport drive mode to prevent VCM from engaging.
This is the second OCI using HPL Premium Plus PCMO. After this trip, the oil color has barely changed, which I attribute to using Shell premium and keeping VCM from engaging with selection of the drive modes. I'm finding this is a winning combination on my Pilot to minimize carbon deposits.
I did a stretch with the drive mode set to Sport mode and the transmission selected 8th gear under the same driving conditions with the RPMs ~2.3k. VCM did not activate.
In Normal drive mode, VCM was constantly activating/deactivating. The transmission would select 10th gear with the RPMs ~1.8k, but was constantly shifting to lower gears/higher RPMs.
Certainly on trips, I will use Tow drive mode, but around town, will probably stay in Sport drive mode to prevent VCM from engaging.
This is the second OCI using HPL Premium Plus PCMO. After this trip, the oil color has barely changed, which I attribute to using Shell premium and keeping VCM from engaging with selection of the drive modes. I'm finding this is a winning combination on my Pilot to minimize carbon deposits.
It feels a lil bit like grabbing top gear in a stick car a little early - and gently lugging against it.
You can feel the load on the three if you are sensitive to it.
In any kind of hills or traffic or dynamic scenario it just doesn't engage nor does it at freeway speed.
You can feel the load on the three if you are sensitive to it.
In any kind of hills or traffic or dynamic scenario it just doesn't engage nor does it at freeway speed.
This is not my experience using a scan tool and monitoring the number of active cylinders and the solenoid which controls the VCM via oil pressure. In normal drive mode, iIRC, it was ~78mph before VCM quit engaging, which I suspect is due to the wind resistance of the brick-shaped Pilot as it heaves itself against the wind resistance.
And there are three.And these special motor mounts cost $600+
@rstsco I was going to ask about what scan tool you are using but it looks like the XTOOL D8W from the other head.
Lord in heaven though, $700???
Anyone got any options for a cheaper one? I have been using a wonderful bidirectional Foxwell NT510 for the past 10 years with my BMWs. I think they are only $170 or so still. I wonder if I could get one with Honda software.
Lord in heaven though, $700???
Anyone got any options for a cheaper one? I have been using a wonderful bidirectional Foxwell NT510 for the past 10 years with my BMWs. I think they are only $170 or so still. I wonder if I could get one with Honda software.
I paid less than $550 when I bought it on Dec 3, 2025. Prices have gone crazy.
I just use an OBD2 plug in (VeePeak BLE+) and OBD Fusion App to monitor what I want. Might need to put the PID's in manually. ScanGauge 3 also has a bunch at least for my 3rd gen Pilot. It showed torque converter slip, rear differential temperature and others. I wasn't thrilled with the interface and not dimming easily for night unless I was doing it wrong.
This is what I monitor in mine.
It's getting tougher and tougher to override Items considered emissions related. Especially with how many vehicle manufacturers are against people working on their own vehicles.
Will it monitor VCM engagement, do you know?
Also OBD Fusion, I assume that's a paid app?
If you look at bottom right of my screen shot I have CYL, showing 6. That will show 3 if VCM takes the cylinders down (VCM engaged).
I think I did the one time pay for OBD Fusion for whichever extra features. It was only a couple $$, might be a free version also.
If the ones you want don’t show as standard monitors you can probably find the PID for them. I know I did that with transmission temperature and had to add PID with formula. I bought a ScanGauge 3 to check if my PID/Formula was correct from some high temperatures I had. They matched so I returned the SG3.
Sounds like a completely different map, mine wont engage anywhere near that speed. Ridgeline isnt awful aero for a truck but it's better than many trucks. It's a lot like a pilot in that year in the front.
You can feel the motor mount transition in every VCM 3 vehicle I've driven.
I drive mine up and down a 1000 ft differential (1500-2500Ft) every day and it wont engage at that speed even downhill for me.
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What year and engine is in your Ridgeline?
The latest iteration of VCM uses 10 different inputs to determine whether to engage or not.
Good vehicle for long trips. Probably can cruise at 90mph with rpms barely above 2k. I'd keep in it in whatever mode that keeps VCM from activating.
Not as good as our 2022 Audi Q5 Prestige was on long trips (or short ones, for that matter). That thing would cruise all day at 90+ mph and still get 35mpg. Not so with the brick-shaped Pilot. Slowing down even a few mph saves significantly on gas.
The Pilot came with Bridgestone Alenza tires which I absolutely hate. They are not a comfortable tire and I have zero confidence in the rain. Now that my wife is retired, and I will be soon, I'm trying to wear down the Bridgestones to 5/32 or 6/32 before replacing them. Since I bought winter tires and wheels for our trips to Wisconsin around Thanksgiving and in March, it's going to take a while to get the Bridgestones worn enough to justify replacing them (third world problem, I know).
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