Honda Pilots Only Just Stopped Featuring This Ancient Engine Technology That Most Cars Abandoned Over 50 Years Ago

When it comes to reliable, cheap, durable used cars, two manufacturers immediately spring to mind: Toyota and Honda. Not only do these Japanese marques have incredible reputations for reliability, you’ll often see cars from these brands crossing into moon mileage territory, be it a humble Toyota Corolla or a family-hauling Honda Pilot. However, not every used Japanese car is as maintenance-free as a cinderblock, and if you’re on a budget, you might be better off with a slightly higher-mileage V6 Honda than one with just under 100,000 miles on the clock because most of these engines use ancient valvetrain technology. Huh?

When you think about it, it’s amazing how reliable and long-lasting cars have become over the past half-century. Well into the 1980s, certain manufacturers equipped some models with five-digit odometers because as soon as a car of that era reached 100,000 miles, chances are it was junk. We can thank technologies like electronic fuel injection, electronic ignition, and hydraulic valvetrains for relegating many pesky maintenance items to the dustbin of history, and although every manufacturer got the memo on the first two issues, not every marque hopped aboard the hydraulic valvetrain, erm, train as soon as it became feasible.

Before we go any further, it’s just worth noting that no matter what used car you’re looking to buy, it’s worth check in on servicing requirements before signing on the dotted line. Cars are seriously expensive purchases, and the more informed you are, the less likely you are to get a bad deal or a bad car. While larger Hondas with V6 engines are typically quite solid vehicles, a little due diligence could save you hundreds of dollars on maintenance.

See, up until its latest J35Y8 sub-model found in the 2023 Honda Pilot, the Honda J35 V6 used a solid valvetrain rather than hydraulic lifters, so periodic valve adjustment is required as valve lash isn’t adjusted hydraulically. Considering how frequently valves have to open and close to let gases into or out of a cylinder, you’re going to want smooth operation so that valvetrain components don’t smash into each other, causing accelerated wear. If the valve lash is too loose, the engine will run poorly, make a ticking noise, and valvetrain damage may occur over time. More likely, unadjusted valves in a Honda V6 will eventually run too tight, potentially resulting in valve damage and a bad idle. I don’t know about you, but a few hours of labor sounds way cheaper than valve replacement.

The use of a solid valvetrain for so long is decidedly weird because almost everyone else switched years ago to self-adjusting hydraulic lifters that fill with engine oil and then use the pressure of that oil to maintain correct valve lash. The 2007 Toyota Sienna and Highlander come with hydraulic lifters, Mopar’s Pentastar V6 uses hydraulic lifters, the downsized 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the outgoing Mazda CX-9 uses hydraulic lifters, and the 3.6-liter VR6 engine available in the pre-2024 Volkswagen Atlas uses hydraulic lifters. These hydraulic lifters require zero maintenance, and although they may take a second to fill with oil upon startup, they are the superior option for most consumers. So why is Honda still using a solid valvetrain in several products?

Well, part of it could be due to the ancientness of the J-series V6, and Honda sticking with what it’s used to. The first J30A three-liter V6 was used in the 1996 Acura 3.0CL, meaning this engine architecture was developed in the early-to-mid 1990s. Hell, the first application of the 3.5-liter J35 V6 was in the 1999 Honda Odyssey, which, due to the peculiarities of North American model year convention, entered production a quarter of a century ago. A quarter of a century before that, the Honda Accord just didn’t exist yet, and the Civic was a brand new nameplate.

Secondly, many Honda single overhead cam four-cylinder engines feature rocker arms that push the tip of the valve directly. When Honda was developing the J-series V6, it makes sense that the marque stuck to known technology, rather than venturing out into the great unknown. [Editor’s Note: I’m not sure calling hydraulic lifters “the great unknown” is quite fair given how tested the tech was by then. There are obviously advantages to foregoing hydraulic lifters given that many motorcycles have gone without for years. There’s less valvetrain inertia, which you’d think would help for high-revving motors, though I’m not sure that a Honda Pilot should be particularly concerned about valvetrain inertia. I’m going to quote Autopian User Rust Bucket, here:

Almost all American engines use hydraulic lifters since the early 1960s. This is because quiet and smooth engine operation was valued above almost anything else in the US at the time, and hydraulic lifters guarantee perfect valve clearance at all temperatures, in all seasons, with no maintenance. However, the tradeoff is increased cost, complexity, reciprocating valve train mass, and sensitivity to oil quality.

Honda was a major motorcycle company before they ever got into the car business. Motorcycles in the 50s and 60s, and indeed motorcycles nowadays, exclusively use solid lifters. This is because the complexity and extra reciprocating mass are unacceptable for a high revving motorcycle engine. When Honda started making cars, they stuck with solid lifters, for the same reasons. This was the mid 70s when hydraulic lifters were already standard on American cars.

Into the 80s and 90s, as Hondas and other Japanese cars became more mainstream, more Americanized, and more smooth and powerful, they still didn’t switch to hydraulic lifters, because the extra mass is mutually exclusive with 8500rpm redlines and VTEC, and because adding hydraulic lifters to an overhead cam engine would mean a significantly taller head. The solid roller rocker system is quite compact. The J series is pretty much just a V6 version of the D series and F series engines that Honda already made, and it keeps the same valve train.

So Honda engineers made the engineering decision that solid valve trains would be better in their cars. They’re not alone: plenty of very modern engines use solid valve trains, although usually with bucket and shim lifters. The advantages of a solid valve train are very real, and what’s the downside? It has to be adjusted every 100,000 miles? Adjusting it is not very difficult or time consuming, and that’s not very frequent at all.

No, the real problem here is that transverse V6s suck to work on, and that caused the easy quick valve adjustment on a four cylinder to become a much more involved and expensive process.

Say it with me, guys, transverse V6s are not okay!

I have no clue who Rust Bucket is, but I can tell you that that all makes a lot of sense to me.

-DT].  

So how is valve adjustment carried out on a Honda J-series V6? Well, removal of the airbox, throttle body, and upper intake manifold, along with spark plugs, leads, and any plumbing or electrical components in the way is required to remove the valve covers. Once the valve covers are off, set the number one cylinder at top dead center as per the marks on the front cam pulley and upper timing cover, then break out the feeler gauges. If everything’s all good, you should feel some slight friction when you slide the correct feeler gauge between the rocker adjustment screw and the top of the valve. If not, tighten or loosen the screws on the end of each rocker, paying attention to the jamb nut. From there, repeat for all six cylinders. Needless to say, it’s a bit of a faff. At least it doesn’t have to be done terribly often.

Honda used to recommend replacing the timing belt and performing a valve adjustment every 105,000 miles on V6 cars, although technology has seeped in, replacing easy mileage-based tables on paper with a gauge cluster maintenance minder serving up various service codes. Any maintenance code with the number four in it will cover timing belt replacement and valve adjustment, although it’s also possible to play it safe and just stick with the previously recommended 105,000-mile interval.

Keep in mind that Honda recommends timing belt replacement every 60,000 miles for those living in extreme environments or doing any towing, although that doesn’t bundle in valve adjustment. Residents of Palm Springs, take note.

So, let’s say that you’re looking to have all those “sub-item 4” services done at once. What sort of labor are you lookin at? Well, it depends on the model of vehicle, but on a 2013 Honda Pilot, timing belt replacement, spark plug replacement, and valve clearance inspection call for 5.4 hours of book labor, plus the cost of a timing belt and spark plugs, and any additional servicing added to the job (like an oil change, for instance). It’s the one seriously expensive service required by this otherwise stout vehicle, and if you’re looking to buy a used Honda Pilot, wouldn’t you rather someone else spent all that money?

Of course, you could always neglect to do the manufacturer-prescribed valve adjustment, but that probably isn’t a smart idea. Not only could the few hundred dollars in labor to adjust the valves be easily eaten up by the reduced efficiency of an out-of-spec engine, top end damage isn’t something worth risking as a burnt valve isn’t typically something you’ll hear until it’s too late. Reports of burnt valves on J-series V6s seem to occur at a variety of mileage points, so it’s best to be proactive rather than reactive.

Thankfully, if you’re buying new, you may be able to catch a lucky break. For the 2023 Honda Pilot, the powertrain engineers revised the J35 V6 with dual overhead cam heads that use hydraulic lifters to eliminate the need for valve adjustment. While this engine hasn’t yet made its way into the Honda Odyssey, Ridgeline, or Passport, expect changes to happen once those models get redesigned. It took long enough, but Honda has finally seen the light.

(Photo credits: Honda)

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