Connecting rod bearing wear on the 3.5 V6

The bearing between the connecting rod and the crankshaft wears and can seize. Honda recalled 248,999 vehicles for it in 2023 and will replace the engine where needed, free. But the recall is not the whole story: NHTSA opened a fresh investigation in August 2025 into 1,410,806 more vehicles whose engines are failing the same way for what it says is a *different* reason. Being outside the recall does not mean being outside the problem.

Symptoms

A knock from low down in the engine that keeps time with engine speed, usually clearest at a warm idle. Honda's consequence line: "a damaged engine may run improperly or stall while driving, increasing the risk of a fire, crash, or injury." A seized engine at speed is the end state; the knock is the warning that comes first, if anyone is listening for it.

Likely cause

Given in one sentence: "the connecting rod bearing in the engine may wear and seize, damaging the engine." Honda does not publish why in the campaign, so this file does not either. What the remedy tells you is how far it goes — dealers "inspect and repair, or replace the engine as necessary", which is not a repair a manufacturer offers lightly.

How should it be checked?

Run the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls first. Recalls do not expire, so an outstanding one on a car this age is still Honda's cost, and on this campaign that can mean a whole engine. If it comes back completed, ask what was actually done — an inspection that passed and an engine replacement are the same word on a VIN check and very different facts about the car. Then, if the car is in the wider PE25-008 population, treat a clean recall check as not an answer. There is no repair to demand while an investigation is open, so what is left is the ordinary evidence: listen to the engine warm, look at the oil, and read the service history for anything that sounds like a bottom-end noise being investigated and dismissed.

How can you check it yourself?

Listen at a warm idle with the bonnet up, standing at the side rather than the front, for a rhythmic knock that rises with engine speed. Check the oil for metallic glitter. Then run the VIN — on this one the VIN check is worth more than the listening, because the recall may replace the engine outright.

The question to ask the shop

Has recall 23V-751 been carried out on this VIN, and was the engine inspected, repaired or replaced? If replaced, when and at what mileage, and is there paperwork? Has the engine ever been noisy at idle?