I would go after the mis-fire or dead cylinder first
Only because I believe the VSA system uses the engine control and ABS.
If the engine is not running well then the VSA can light up.
Check engine flashing could be due to the fuel not burning proper in dead cylinder
This is bad for the catalytic converter. Possible damage if run too long.

A scanner or a power balance test should be able to identify the dead cylinder
Check for spark. A faulty coil over plug could be the cause.
So, try swapping the coil over plug. Then, if dead cylinder moves you know.
If it doesn't then must troubleshoot.
Good luck

 

I would go after the mis-fire or dead cylinder first
Only because I believe the VSA system uses the engine control and ABS.
If the engine is not running well then the VSA can light up.
Check engine flashing could be due to the fuel not burning proper in dead cylinder
This is bad for the catalytic converter. Possible damage if run too long.

A scanner or a power balance test should be able to identify the dead cylinder
Check for spark. A faulty coil over plug could be the cause.
So, try swapping the coil over plug. Then, if dead cylinder moves you know.
If it doesn't then must troubleshoot.
Good luck

Avisitor,
Appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts. I'll be looking to get my hands on a scanner, looking at one from Harbor Freight that's on sale right now. Wish there was an all in one scanner that I could also reprogram my TPMS sensors and get that light to finaly go off. Another topic for another day. My focus now is getting after this issue. I'll look to close the loop on this thread to share my findings through resolution.

More to follow.

 

Car ran fine yesterday - no issues. This morning upon start up, the check engine light is on. When I drove it out today it had diminished power and a pronounced miss (engine shake) and feels like it has a dead cylinder. The check engine light flashes and the VSA and /!\ lights are illuminated.

First, let's not get into throwing the kitchen sink at the problem just yet. All it's doing is causing confusion. One step at a time, we'll figure this out.

290k miles. Have you ever replaced the spark plug coils? I've had them start failing at 180k-220k miles. I have two out of four in our Civic that are still original at 243k miles. They do wear out. They've each given off hundreds of millions of sparks in their lifetime.

The misfire and check engine light are your clues. The others (VSA and caution light) only mean the VSA system is disabled until you fix the misfire. Once you fix the misfire, all your lights will go off once the code is cleared.

To check the coils, you'll need to remove the plastic piece on the valve cover that covers them. (Be careful, as two of those bolts are also holding down the coils beneath.)

Once you've done that, start the engine. Start disconnecting each coil, one at a time. All you have to do is push a tab on the side of the connector and pull it off the coil.

If the engine runs even worse, then that coil is good.
If the engine runs the same, then you've found your bad coil.

To double-check, shut off the engine and swap the possible bad coil with one next to it. (You'll have to remove the single bolt holding them down.) Restart the engine, and repeat your test. If the problem follows the bad coil, then that's your culprit.

Replacement coil? The major auto parts chains sell them, but quality is sometimes not good--I have had both good and bad luck with Auto Zone. (I've gotten a couple that were made in Japan that worked fine, but another I bought failed within the first ten minutes of using it.)

Since it's running bad, you need to find a coil locally, vs. waiting to mail order one. Honda's price will be very expensive. Denso is a good brand but also expensive. I bought a Delphi-branded coil from Napa Auto Parts for the TSX (similar K-24 engine, but different coil) and bought three more from Rock Auto, and they've been working fine. If you've never replaced them all, most likely if one fails, the other three will not be far behind. Order the other three online to save a few bucks.

Anyways, give this simple test a try and see what happens.

 

First, let's not get into throwing the kitchen sink at the problem just yet. All it's doing is causing confusion. One step at a time, we'll figure this out.

290k miles. Have you ever replaced the spark plug coils? I've had them start failing at 180k-220k miles. I have two out of four in our Civic that are still original at 243k miles. They do wear out. They've each given off hundreds of millions of sparks in their lifetime.

The misfire and check engine light are your clues. The others (VSA and caution light) only mean the VSA system is disabled until you fix the misfire. Once you fix the misfire, all your lights will go off once the code is cleared.

To check the coils, you'll need to remove the plastic piece on the valve cover that covers them. (Be careful, as two of those bolts are also holding down the coils beneath.)

Once you've done that, start the engine. Start disconnecting each coil, one at a time. All you have to do is push a tab on the side of the connector and pull it off the coil.

If the engine runs even worse, then that coil is good.
If the engine runs the same, then you've found your bad coil.

To double-check, shut off the engine and swap the possible bad coil with one next to it. (You'll have to remove the single bolt holding them down.) Restart the engine, and repeat your test. If the problem follows the bad coil, then that's your culprit.

Replacement coil? The major auto parts chains sell them, but quality is sometimes not good--I have had both good and bad luck with Auto Zone. (I've gotten a couple that were made in Japan that worked fine, but another I bought failed within the first ten minutes of using it.)

Since it's running bad, you need to find a coil locally, vs. waiting to mail order one. Honda's price will be very expensive. Denso is a good brand but also expensive. I bought a Delphi-branded coil from Napa Auto Parts for the TSX (similar K-24 engine, but different coil) and bought three more from Rock Auto, and they've been working fine. If you've never replaced them all, most likely if one fails, the other three will not be far behind. Order the other three online to save a few bucks.

Anyways, give this simple test a try and see what happens.

Wildcat,

Appreciate the well detailed response. I borrowed an ODB-II scanning tool from a friend and the code for Cylinder #1 Misfire was stored, as well as P1009. I followed your steps and traced the problem down to coil pack #1. I swapped it out with coil pack #4 and the problem followed the coil.

I'll be looking for parts after I post this and will look to see what is available considering its the weekend. I pulled the one spark plug and it does show wear and will be replacing those while I'm in there making the repair.

Now to decide if I replace them all or just the one? Leaning towards replying them all to be done with it and have three backups for as long as I own the car. I'll post another update, hopefully when it's all fixed.

More to follow.

 

Fixed ! - #1 Cylinder ignition coil was defective - Codes cleared, all is good!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to post and share their thoughts. I picked up a Duralast coil from Autozone for $44 (with a $10 coupon) and placed an order for OEM new old stock (NOS) Desno coils from Ebay to replace them all at the same time. I'll keep the Duralast coil as a spare in the event I need it.

The NOS coils I'm picking up from ebay are the older part number: 30520-pna-007 vs. the superseded 30520-rra-007. If anyone has any thoughts about the old p/n vs. the superseded p/n, Id be interested in hearing what you have to say. I

I also changed the plugs that were way overdue with Bosch Platinum 2 spark plugs. I attached a picture of the plugs if anyone is interested in seeing what the plugs looked like. I purchased the car with 67K miles and never changed the plugs. So best case, these plugs have 223K miles on them. Worst case, these old plugs were never changed and have been paired up with these coils since day 1.

Car runs just like it did the night before and am happy not to be looking to shopping for a new car.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the old vs. new Honda part numbers. All I'd worry about is how many miles the NOS coils have on them. If they had low mileage, you'll be good for quite a while. Most of the coils I've had that failed began when the coils exceeded 180,000 miles. And I still have a couple going with over 240,000 miles on them.

Coils wear out, so it's a common issue. No worries! Glad you were able to get back on the road!

For reference, when I bought the TSX, I bought it with one bad coil The owner had gotten the TSX from her parents a few years ago, and had just bought a new one. The local Acura dealer quoted her some insane amount to replace the coil--including labor, $338 for one coil, and $912 for all four! And I paid under $200 for all four coils...

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the old vs. new Honda part numbers. All I'd worry about is how many miles the NOS coils have on them. If they had low mileage, you'll be good for quite a while. Most of the coils I've had that failed began when the coils exceeded 180,000 miles. And I still have a couple going with over 240,000 miles on them.

Coils wear out, so it's a common issue. No worries! Glad you were able to get back on the road!

For reference, when I bought the TSX, I bought it with one bad coil The owner had gotten the TSX from her parents a few years ago, and had just bought a new one. The local Acura dealer quoted her some insane amount to replace the coil--including labor, $338 for one coil, and $912 for all four! And I paid under $200 for all four coils...

Wildcat,

Thanks for the advice on the part numbers. The coils I picked up on Ebay are new, never used Honda original (Denso) coil packs. They should arrive sometime this week. I'm glad it worked out and that I don't have to be shopping for a replacement ride for now.

 

Spoiler

Those spark plug have way too much rust on the threads
Have you thought about using a little anti-seize on the threads??

OOPs off topic

 

Avistor,

Thanks for taking a look at the posted pics. I did put never seize on the spark plug threads as you suggestted. They where definitely overdue and glad they came out without any issues. Car runs soo much better, I can smell it in the exhaust when it idles (weird I know). I'll put the other coil packs in when I get them. I did see some discoloration (browning) on one of the coil packs shaft, similar to the the one that was defective. I wonder if that's a sign that it too will fail soon.

 

Glad to hear all is well again. Sometimes it is scary when all those lights pop up.
Panic sets in and ... What do I do?? Then, should I buy another vehicle?
And it is such a relief to have it fixed and do it yourself (and saved money)
Thanks for coming back and updating us. It will help others.