2002 Honda Odyssey EXL 3.5 from North America

Summary:

Annoying problems and bad, bad dealer make Honda 's reputation suffer badly

Faults:

Sticking sliding door gaskets. Unable to exit car from middle seats without climbing to front seats.

Drift to the right on all roads even roads crowned to left.

Heavy torque steer. This cannot be fixed.

Splotchy silver paint.

Cranks, but no start at times. Sometimes have to wait several minutes to restart car.

12-15 mpg in city driving. Poor mileage.

Loud clank from rear brakes.

General Comments:

Dealer has high prices and bad service. Bad, bad dealer Scott Robinson is so bad that I will be returning to Toyota or some other brand for the next vehicle. All lip service and no listening to the customer. They are uninterested in fixing the problem once they have your money.

Engine and cornering good for a van, but high prices and bad dealer service are strong negatives.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 1st September, 2003

2002 Honda Odyssey EX 3.5 from North America

Summary:

Best van on the market, even for the price tag

Faults:

In the first six months I had to have the left side sliding door adjusted so that it closed all the way. If I made a hard right turn, the interior lights would pop on. The dealer fixed this problem in just under an hour.

Front driver wheel bearing started making a whirring noise at 27,000 miles and was replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

Although you pay sticker price for these vans right now, it's worth it. Every person I see with a old Chrysler mini van has blue smoke out of the tailpipe at stoplights. A friend of ours trades up in Chrysler vans just to avoid the major repairs.

The horsepower of this van is fantastic. For all those folks who are blowing through tires at just over 30K and or getting poor gas mileage, you are simply putting your foot down too hard on the gas. This van accelerates in a hurry, from a dead stop or when passing. We regularly drive from North Carolina to Ohio through the mountains of Virginia and asking this van to do speeds in excess of 70 or 80 uphill is no problem at all.

The seats are wonderful and we don't even notice them after sitting in the car for 8 hours straight. By comparison, my Mother in law has a brand new Passat and you notice the seats after riding in the car for even an hour. The third row seat, because of its design, is not very comfortable for American adults. The good trade off on the third seat is all that room behind it when it's up and it is just so darn easy to stow!

I do think the interior plastic leaves a little to be desired. It looks fabulous in the showroom, but you have to be really careful not to scratch it or gouge it - the material is a little too soft and marks easily.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th August, 2003

14th Mar 2004, 22:57

Since you are still in love with your Honda Van, get down to Honda and see if you can upgrade to an extended warranty on the transmission. The replacement cost is over $5000.00 and when Honda pulls the plug on goodwill replacements on trans that are just out of warranty you will be stuck! My Odyssey with less than 38000 easy no tow,no abuse miles is going in tomorrow for a goodwill trans replacement. Good Luck.

2002 Honda Odyssey LX from North America

Summary:

Solve the sliding door noise problems and you have the prefect Mini-Van

Faults:

Automatic sliding doors rattle and rub/squeak when vehicle drives over uneven pavement. Dealer stated this was normal and suggested treating weatherstripping around sliding doors with silicon on a regular basis.

Front and rear brakes make popping sound when braking the first time after vehicle has been parked for a period of time. Dealer again stated this was normal.

General Comments:

Great acceleration. Gas mileage is average.

Cabin noise increase the faster one drives.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 25th April, 2003

26th Mar 2004, 10:45

Popping brakes only when you go from braking while reversing to braking going fwd (the calipers shift). Indeed normal, but annoying as most other cars don't do this.

The rattling doors in ours were due to rusted (in the 1st year!) door parts. I have been in other Oddys without ANY rattles.