Faults:

Our initial problem happened after we installed a mirror with a compass and temperature gauge. The check engine light lit up. The dealer informed us that Honda does not allow any after market equipment installed on their vehicles. We later re-installed the mirror and have had no further problems.

Our ongoing problem is with the electric sliding doors. They seem to stick or freeze whenever the temperature drops below -5C or when the humidity is at high levels. Manual operation of the doors is near impossible. This is a true case of unnecessary automation.

My wife constantly finds the car cold. Our previous van had dual heating controls. Honda was slow in equipping their cars with this wonderful feature.

The drivetrain is great. Any vehicle that revs at 2000 at 120 kmh (75 mph) is impressive.

We have put 135,000 kms (85,000 miles) on the van in 30 months making 3 cross-country trips for ski vacations.

Honda is so close to making this a great van.

Make a compass and temp instrument a standard feature.

Fix or eliminate the electric doors.

Eliminate the road noise.

Fix the heating system.

Faults:

Power sliding doors sometimes get confused on opening and closing. They will stop midway through operation. Dealer Honda of Oxnard lubes the rubber door seal and cleans the track portion of the door. Now we request this to be done on each 5000 mile service.

The transmission just failed last week at 37800 miles. The car would not respond in 3rd gear, the engine just revved up. Letting up on gas would let it shift up into 4th gear and continue normally. With it setting the engine malfunction error light. This happened twice and dealer HONDA of Oxnard checked it out and verified problem to be the transmission. Which they are replacing on warranty. The transmission fluid was full did not smell burned and all the services had been performed at the Honda dealer.

This Van has lead a sheltered life, with the services being done as they were due, The mileage is a little high for less than 2.5 years old, but mostly highway miles and long vacation trips. I'm the guy you would want to buy a used vehicle from (never have I neglected servicing the car when it was due). The tires still have 50% tread left and the MPG has averaged 18 city and 24 highway since new. From this you can see we treat the vehicle easy. I was dismayed went the transmission failed. Hey it's a Honda this shouldn't happen ever.

General Comments:

Honda is taking care of this problem this time, but, my thoughts are what happens next time? Some of the other people with transmission failures mentioned $5000. repairs. There goes the resale value. At least I have a responsive Honda dealer trying to do the right thing.