Mechanic Answer on Honda V6 Pinging Noise Up Hill

they're feeding you garbage.

1. hydraulic lifters don't make noise like pinging - and even if they did, the noise would not be limited to hills.
2. unless the hydraulic lifters are just /way/ shot, there's no way the oil grade difference is going to change the lifter noise. oil grade difference definitely won't change pinging from detonation.
3. doesn't sound like they bothered to check the sensors. if for some bizarre reason a sensor is connected to the wiring harness so it tests ok, but is not well accoustically connected to the block, it can't provide the feedback it's supposed to. or maybe the sensor's just defective in another way.

bottom line, if the car's pinging, there is something wrong!!! honda engineers are not dumb. they've designed the car to work on gas grades much worse than anything we have here, and work well. the car's not just going to randomly ping without good reason. they need to fix it! sounds like they're trying to run this car out of warranty on you. keep bugging them until it's clear that it's cheaper for them to fix your car than to send you away. call honda customer relations if necessary. the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Not nonsense at all. Different vendors use different additive packages in different parts of the country. Your vehicle may respond better to different additive packages.

Around here, for example, putting BP gas into your lawnmower is a sure recipe for problems. Why? Who knows exactly why, but it's been proven many a time.

if it were fixed timing, maybe, but with a feedback system that's supposed to have functioning knock sensors? the engine management computer should be able to cope /way/ outside any changes caused by additive differences.

mowers don't have sophisticated engine management systems that are supposed to cope with crappy gas!

I have knocking in my 2005 Accord V6 as well. But only in the 2200 to

2800 RPM range when climing a slight grade. Could not reproduce it for the dealer (totally flat terrain near them) so have not been able to get help from the dealer.

This only is really bad on one short stretch so I just go slow to keep the engine at about 2000 RPM (neither I nor the people behind me are thrilled).

As already stated: the lifters should be affected by RPM (more RPM = more noise) but not by throttle. And noisy lifters make a clicking or banging sound, not a pinging / rattling-ballbearings sound.

Oh, if you're talking pinging/knocking only, I agree.

But overall, different gasolines can be better or worse for an engine.

most definitely!

Try filling up with 93 octain. I live in mountains and my Honda and Toyota both knock when I use the low octain (no matter who I purchase it from). That took care of mine.

TC

I've tried lots of different gasolines: from Techron Supreme & regular to Shell 91 & 87 to no-name regulars. The pre-ignition is least on the Techron Supreme (unfortunately I was trying to keep it from knocking so that is what the car had at the time I took it to the dealer :-( Next time I go to the dealer I will put in some really cheap stuff.

I suspect the sensor/electronics are working but that there are conditions where it doesn't quite do enough.

Agreed. Or high octane!

The big problem is I have to figure out how to reliably reproduce the problem when the service tech is in the car. It does not occur 100% of the time. Like the original poster's car it only happens under certain conditions. So until I'm able to demonstrate it to them I doubt anyone will do much. At least they were polite and didn't openly say I was crazy. They even had a tech ride with me to see if I could reproduce the problem. I tried a variety of things including using the brakes to simulate the load from a hill but I could not get the car to knock when they were in it. It was when I mentioned the knocking tended to occur when climbing a grade that the service tech went from disbelief to thinking the problem might be real. That seemed to mean something to him. They were going to look into it and get back to me but that was a couple of months ago so ...

I now am paying attention for the topography (hills) near Honda dealers :-) and I'm trying to detect if the knocking is affected by outside or engine temperature or other conditions.

I'm unclear on what you are saying: did or did you not duplicate the problem?