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RECALLED 2020 Honda Odyssey J35 V6 Engine FAILED But the Customer HAD TO PAY! They Won't Cover THIS!

I Do Cars

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For parts visit www.Importapart.com or email us at Sales@importapart.com
Today we are tearing down the 3.5L J35Y7 V6 from a 2020 Honda Odyssey with roughly 85k miles. This engine is part of the recall where the dealer inspects and replaces rod bearings as necessary. However, while this engine is part of the recall campaign, this replacement was NOT covered!
Why might you ask? Well that's what this teardown will hopefully answer. How did this engine fail? Was it related to the faulty rod bearings or was it something else? The J series V6 has been around since the mid 90's and has proven to be one of the most reliable Honda engines EVER produced. The earliest versions of these engines were by far, the best, often lasting 400-500K miles without issues. Once Honda implemented systems like VCM or variable cylinder management, the reliable dropped but these can still last quite a while with proper care.
The J35Y6/Y7 comes in the Acura TLX, Honda Passport, Honda Odyssey, Honda Ridgeline and the Honda Pilot. From its current configuration, it produces 280hp and 262lbft of torque but versions of J series engines have made well over 300hp in the past.
For More I Do Cars content, check out my wife's channel ‪@TheCarWifeLife‬

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Every week I post a new teardown video of a blown up or suspected bad engine. Check out a few of my favorites!
THE WORST BLOWN J35 I've EVER SEEN Obliterated Honda Accord J35 V6 Teardown. ...
Acura Integra B18B1 DESTROYED Blown Acura Integra B18B1 Complete Engine ...
30K On ONE oil change? Honda CRV 1.5 RUINED Honda CRV 1.5L Engine Teardown After 30,00...
Why do I do this? My name is Eric and I own and run Importapart, a full service auto recycling business. Part of our model includes buying and dismantling core, bad, and broken engines to salvage the good parts and recycle the rest. We do not rebuild engines, merely supply parts to those who do.

As always I hope you enjoyed this teardown. I love all of the comments, feedback and even the criticism. Catch you on the next one!

-Eric

00:00 Intro
03:11 Pulling coils and spark plugs for inspection
03:49 How dirty are the intake ports after 85K of direct injection?
04:23 Peeling off both valve covers, it's pretty clean! No signs of trouble here
06:04 Removing the crank pulley and timing covers. Appears to be original in here.
08:32 Cracking the front head bolts loose, and yanking the head
09:50 Front science
10:06 Cracking the rear head bolts loose, TEARING the head off and making a mess.
11:19 RUST :( This engine was for sure outside for a bit
11:56 Rear science
13:17 Unbolting the religious oil pan
14:26 ITS A DAG-GONE COPPER MILL
16:30 Removing the oil pickup and windage tray, first look at rotating assembly
17:23 Spinning the oil filter off and unbolting the oil pump to dismantle
19:17 Loosening the first two rods and pushing pistons out of their bores
21:27 Cracking? the last two rods loose. Why are these loud?
21:52 Zipping out the main cap bolts and removing two main caps
22:21 WHY ARE THESE SO STUCK!
24:56 Full rotating assembly inspection. SHEESH, what has happened here? The bearings, the crank, THE BLOCK. BAAAAADDD
30:25 Pulling one head apart so we can check for damaage
32:00 D'aaawwwwwww
32:13 Summary

20 Comments

@Heyyo_Friday 3 months ago (edited)

Acura parts guy here.

I saw that bearing on #5 when you pulled it off and immediately recognized it. Thats what we are seeing on all the cars that end up getting cranks or new long blocks. Its always 5 or 6 just chewed to bits and the rest will be maybe half as bad or perfectly fine. The rest of the bearings look pretty average.

I think honda is not being honest with the amount of cars effected by this issue. We have cars come in under this recall and have already had engine replaced. The new engine is not apart of it and fails in the same way.
We also have cars in the year range but do not have affected engine failing in the same way as conrod cars.

I saw 2 or 3 months back the NHTSA opened an investigation on 700,000+ cars not covered on under the recall. So i feel this isnt over.

Im 85% sure this car would have gotten a new long block based on crank and bearings alone. I am curious why this car was under the recall but not replaced under warranty. Maybe they did put that hole in the pan and it toasted the engine. That engine definitely doesnt appear to have been opened

@elieestephane4415 3 months ago

Youtube is refusing to suggest this video to me so here's some engagement

@MrKroogur 3 months ago

The oil pan sealant is factory (retired Honda tech)

@mikef30 3 months ago

Did someone saw the ghost moving the right side gear😳😳😂

@EvzenKovar-i5p 3 months ago

I Do Cars, the favorite part of my weekend. For an hour or so world events fade away.

@axispowerdiesel 3 months ago

In all fairness, that was a primo water pump

@n6dl321 3 months ago

Ah Ha! the little helper ensured the water pump went to water pump heaven, the circular file.

@KardiFan2000 3 months ago

Honda tech here. That's a seriously large drain hole in that pan...I would say that cylinder 5 rod bearing had pre-existing wear, and the main bearings were trashed due to oil starvation from hitting a large rock on the road.

@stephenvale2624 3 months ago (edited)

I hope you realize how much fun it is for us to get to watch you rip into these machines each week.
There are many times when it is the highlight in a week of bad news.
Thank you!

@ukype 3 months ago (edited)

Previous owner ran over something and knocked a new inspection port in the pan, so no warranty, no recall. Love the assistant with the water pump! She knows her stuff! Dad taught her well.

@daviddavid1320 3 months ago

This engine has the NHTSA investigations opened on it, affecting 1.4 million vehicles. A class action lawsuit was also opened in 2026 to cover currently sold J35s.

@PaddyOShenanigans 3 months ago

😂 The head gasket landing delay always makes me smile💯

@ROACHRAGE2 3 months ago

Ah, that bit at the end was for us car guys that watched to the very end! Nice...

@DeusDextraManus 3 months ago

My underwear lasts longer than modern cars.

@trupatriot1776 3 months ago

On your next head gasket launch, you need to dub in some crazy, crashing sounds, or glass breaking. Something that sounds like mayhem.

@envfirefrost3633 3 months ago

In my experience with the recall as a technician on the Honda side, I have always been told to replace the bearings by the "Techline bearing inspection team" regardless of condition. All the ones i've done have been perfectly fine, but they told me to replace them anyway. On the Honda side as far as I'm concerned, they probably would have put a short block and heads in this car if it was affected by the recall. Of course we now know that there is a class action lawsuit against Honda due to an estimated 40,000 vehicles have blown engines that were "not affected" in the recall.

@rachaelcarlson-simon1044 2 months ago

The head gasket crash wasn't audible until the next shot and I thought that was hilarious 😂

@robertleonard5144 3 months ago

Hit something on the road, like a concrete block, and holed the pan. Cooked the bearings before they could get pulled over, or pulled over and left engine running while inspecting. Or kept driving until the oil light came on.

@Dukeisduke 3 months ago (edited)

To me, the Numbers 3 and 4 main caps looked bad as soon as you pulled off that windage tray.

@Transit_Biker 3 months ago

We recently changed from 5000 mile oil changes to 4000 miles. The book says 6000 miles, but 3500 for "heavy duty" use. Seeing as though it gets used for shorter trips more often than longer, it falls more toward the heavy duty side. I recommend folks with oiling sensitive engines using 0w20 to do the same shorter interval so your engine doesn't end up on the stand.