Soichiro Honda was obsessed with all things internal combustion, and the company he founded all those years ago is known for making some the world's best series-production engines. But alas, even Honda can make colossal mistakes. Enter the J35Y6, a naturally-aspirated V6 that's been hit with a recall over a manufacturing defect of the crankshaft. Said issue can prematurely wear the connecting rod bearings, ultimately leading to catastrophic engine damage.
The J35Y6 is a 3.5-liter six that rolled out in 2014 for the 2015 model year in the Acura TLX. Applications further include the Honda Pilot from that era, Ridgeline, Odyssey, and the 2019-and-newer Passport. As opposed to the J35Y8 that premiered in the 2023 model year Honda Pilot, the Y6 features VTEC on the intake valves only. The Y8 ditches VTEC in favor of DOHC cylinder heads. Exclusive to the 2014 to 2020 model year Acura MDX, the MDX-specific version of the 3.5 is dubbed J35Y5.
Having touched upon the technical stuff, let's get into why the folks at Honda issued a recall for 248,999 vehicles produced for the 2015 through 2019 model years. According to the document attached below, the improper settings of the equipment used to manufacture the crankshaft of the J35Y6 may lead to connecting rod bearing seizure. More specifically, the crank pin was improperly ground, resulting in pins with an out-of-spec crown or convex shape.
Abnormal engine noise is the easiest way of telling that something is wrong with the J35Y6. Other indications come in the form of stalling, the inability to restart the engine, decreased engine output, and engine check lamp illumination. As per the cited safety recall report, the iffy cranks in question bear part numbers 10002-5J2-A00 and 10002-5J6-A01.
The Japanese automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the first market complaint over this issue was filed with American Honda Motor Co. in February 2020. A whopping 1,450 warranty claims were submitted in the period between July 2014 and November 2023, which indicates that Honda was aware of said problem before the market complaint from February 2020.
Photo: Honda
Manufactured by Honda rather than a supplier, the suspect crankshafts equip an estimated 248,999 vehicles, of which 1 percent are believed to require major engine repairs or replacement engines. Dealers nationwide have already been informed on November 9, whereas known owners have to wait until January 2 to be notified via first-class mail.
Based on documents published by the federal watchdog, affected TLX vehicles were manufactured between February 2014 and July 2020. The MDX is affected as well, namely crossovers produced from June 2016 through March 2020. The Pilot is listed with build dates beginning May 2016 and ending June 2016. The Odyssey is listed from April 2018 to August 2018.
Moving on to the Ridgeline pickup, the 2017 and 2019 model years are affected. There's no mention of the 2018, though. Similarly, there is no mention of the Passport, which is best described as the two-row sibling of the family-sized Pilot mid-size crossover.
Owners may contact the NHTSA or Honda customer service for more information about recall number 23V-751. In the meantime, owners can easily tell whether their V6-powered Honda vehicles are recalled or not by running the VIN on the NHTSA's website.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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