Faults:
It ran find with only one issue with the sliding door until 120K miles. The ball or ball-joint on the sliding door "wore out" and the door would not open smoothly.
At 120K miles the transmission started to go quickly and we had it replaced. I was told by a non-Honda mechanic that if you "complain" to Honda they will cut the price on the transmission replacement. This worked and Honda cut the price from $3500 to $2100 (3 years/unlimited mileage warranty). I was told that Honda will take into consideration whether or not you have maintenance with a Honda dealer frequently or not.
The next issue happened when we brought the car home from the tranny replacement. The check engine light came on and it was back to the dealer. Catalytic converter had failed.
General Comments:
I'm now seeing on the web that these are the three issues with the van.
Sliding doors (the fuse trick will fix most issues)
Transmission (make sure you get it checked before the 100K warranty is up, at least a record of a complaint may save you money when it fails later)
Emissions (catalytic converter and/or EGR valve seems to go around the same time)
My mechanic (non-Honda) who I trust says that it's the best van on the road. I have to say that I like it better than any other van that I have driven. Just be prepared to pay for the repair/replacement of the above three items if you are out of warranty.
9th Sep 2008, 17:33
It is now September 2008 and I have officially unloaded this piece of garbage. What a disappointment! Everything that I read here has occurred to me and more! I am going to consider this an Odyssey problem and not a Honda problem. After doing all the work I reported back in 2006, I have done much more. The second sliding door went and that was it! I had been shopping for a Honda Accord for months when one day I went to start the Odyssey and the battery was dead. Whether or not it would have happened to any other car, I had had it and decided to see what trade in value a 2000 Odyssey LX had with 93,000 miles and some bumps and bruises. Went to 3 different motors and they all gave me $3,000-$4,000. That's it?! Glad to have it off my hands. More to come about the Honda Accord.