Faults:

The passenger sliding doors are noisy when van is driven over bumpy surfaces. The dealer, Excel Honda in Montreal Canada, said that all LX models are this way and that it is normal. We are now trying to deal with Honda Canada.

General Comments:

The promises made by the sales person prior to purchase were outragously unrealistic. We bought the van because we needed a larger one and Chrysler was not an option due to major problems with our previous van; 1998 Dodge Caravan.

The Odyssey so far feels solid, other than the door problem, has lot's of power, is very comfortable, and we like the styling.

The optional in-dash CD player is more expensive than an after market Alpine audio system that includes AM/FM CD/MP3.

Faults:

Severe torque steer. Not correctable. "They are all like that." I guess they are all deficient then.

Severe pull to the right. Took four visits and three "cannot duplicate" visits to fix it. Had to bring a print out of the TSB 00 067 to get the subframe shifted to fix the problem.

Blotches on silver paint, very ugly. "They are all like that," says dealer.

Sticking sliding doors. Dealer used spray on gaskets. Did not solve problem. Rattle in right sliding door. Dealer did something which did not help.

Check engine light comes on when driving. This is not predictable and not just at start up. Dealer says cannot duplicate.

Transmission seems to hesitate, stutter and the engine flares. Dark looking transmission fluid. Dealer says cannot duplicate, they are all like that.

Instrument panel light flash on and off at unpredictable times.

Dealer uses 5W-30 oil, but owners manual says only 5W-20. They cannot give a good reason why.

Dash rattle. Dealer tries, but fails to improve on it.

General Comments:

Poor rearward visibility.

Noisy compared to friend's Camry.

Gas mileage 14-24. Most often 15. Not very good.

Handling good for a van, but worse than any late model car.

Front tires wear fast even with rotation every 6000 miles.

Saggy rear suspension causes lots of inside edge tire wear.

Good engine power for a van.

Faults:

The battery died after 3 days. After one year, the battery has died 4 times. Dealer cannot find sporadic problem.

Most recent dead battery, could not shift into neutral, even with key to on and brake depressed. Van was pulled frontward into garage and could not get van out to jump it. Seems like potentially serious safety issue.

Just bought jump start battery to carry in back. Have another appointment with dealer to check it again.

Transmission has hard hesitation when cold at first accelerating to exactly 63 mph, especially when going slightly uphill. It consistently skips, like it is confused between gears. Dealer says it is 'normal'.

General Comments:

Overall, van is comfortable, powerful.

Rear folding seat has been useful & convenient.

Electric doors are pretty noisy on 11:00 pm put-the-baby-to-sleep runs, switching power doors to manual requires monster biceps.

Good storage capacity for it's size, good fuel economy.

Back seat can only fit two car seats - no room for 3rd person. When kid get out of car seats (a few more years) it will be a 7 passenger vehicle again.

Wish there was a full size van with dual electric doors!