kmead
Old enough to know better
The following was posted to the Honda ElementOwners forum. The thread is 24 pages long and records owner after owner’s frustration with the VVT system on the K24 which is a ubiquitous engine in Accords, CRVs and Elements. There are mechanical, hydraulic and electrical elements to the problem depending on the cars. It becomes more problematic as the cars age but can beset them as early as 100k miles if owners are not on top of oil changes on a regular basis. The low power versions of this engine have only a partial VVT system which is actuated by a solenoid controlled by the ECU using input from a oil pressure sensor and a second solenoid to control oil to another part of the system. There are also two fine metal screen filters in the head which filter oil which leads to the above systems. When it isn’t working properly it throws a code called P2646 in ECU parlance.
When the engine gets a P2646 code it goes into limp mode and won’t exceed 2800 rpm in any gear which brings this quite nice engine to its knees, the car is drivable not much fun and barely keeps up with slow traffic. Having to constantly reset the system to be able to accelerate with normal traffic until the code comes up yet again a mile down the road is beyond frustrating. I think the last owner dumped the car after not being able to get anyone to fix it.
So on with the post...
When the engine gets a P2646 code it goes into limp mode and won’t exceed 2800 rpm in any gear which brings this quite nice engine to its knees, the car is drivable not much fun and barely keeps up with slow traffic. Having to constantly reset the system to be able to accelerate with normal traffic until the code comes up yet again a mile down the road is beyond frustrating. I think the last owner dumped the car after not being able to get anyone to fix it.
So on with the post...
I bought a 2008 LX AWD in Nov 2019. As I have more cars than I should it sat until December 2020. When I bought it, it was suffering the dreaded 2646 code and at 187k miles was a ”as is” $3000 car from a local dealer.
I finally started driving it and had tried a few of the standard approaches to resolving the problem. Oil change. Oil flush with oil change. Clean the two primary mesh filters (the one behind the PS pump was effectively completely clogged). Sadly to no avail. Before I had bought it the dealership had replaced the spool valve assembly with a cheap aftermarket version which had no effect on the issue.
So after driving the car periodically for a month with a Bluetooth OBD2 to reset the system at each long red light to at least accelerate away near a rate of normally running cars. I bought two OE parts, a Honda supplied spool valve assembly and a VVT solenoid.
The install of the spool valve went well, the VVT Solenoid um not so much. After removing the 10mm bolt I went to rotate and pry the unit out which resulted in the electrical solenoid part in my hand and the primary metal body still inside the engine. Ugh. The center piston when I went to remove it had a lot of resistance and could be canted slightly to engage a rib inside the body which sparked the idea of using it to pull the body of the solenoid out rather than threading something in, which happily worked well. Cleaned out the remaining oil, grit and guck using a foam brush wrapped with a rag which elicited a fair amount of crap on the successive rags. Examining the old unit revealed a part which had been in the car since new, filled with the peculiar grit that one finds in the screens and the varnishy buildup one sees on metal parts over time. The new one installed, electrical connections made, engine started and checked for leaks. Good to go.
Reset the system and took off. Got to the main road and gave it some gas, went up through first, second and third and the dreaded lights went on. Sigh. Pulled over and reset the system. Took off again and another mile up the road again the lovely warning lights. I pulled over, reset it again and the drove off rather gingerly feeling rather defeated. Pulled away from a stop sign and tried accelerating hard when suddenly the engine started pulling hard like my other Element does. No lights, proper acceleration and the rest of the drivetrain is now working properly.
It’s been a week now and hopefully the engine will continue without the plethora of lights and only 2800 rpm available. I am tempted to pull the VVT Solenoid to see about cleaning any remaining detritus which has made its way to the unit.
So a suggestion to others, consider replacing both assemblies along with cleaned screens. Obviously no guarantees, and only time will tell but so far so good.
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