7th Jul 2008, 17:20

I just had two motor mounts replaced by the dealer on my 2003 Odyssey. I inspected the used mounts. The rubber in the center of the mounts were torn and I was told they were hydraulic mounts. The engine never seemed to vibrate nor did I sense that there was a problem. I remember when I owned a 57 v8 Chevy; a motor mount broke and the engine literally would raise up when I rev-ed the engine.

I hope that I really did need the repairs.

21st Nov 2008, 10:25

I also have a 2003 Honda Odyssey and needed to replace the transmission a few months ago. After fixing the transmission, I started to feel like something was wrong with it again, so I brought the car in and they say I have two broken motor mounts. I also brought it into a service station and they said that usually when you replace a transmission, you should also replace the motor mounts. They also said the it is very possible that the motor mounts broke when changing the transmission. Could this be true and the dealership didn't tell me?

21st Nov 2008, 12:47

To the writer of 21Nov08 10:25. If you read enough of these comments and reviews you will see some small amount of truth to the mechanic's statement. I can't remember if the comments I read where from an Odyssey, but I do remember it was a minivan mom who was rather upset that the dealer was not taking responsibility for the broken motor mounts after a tranny job. All the best and Merry Christ mas.

11th Dec 2008, 11:31

I took my 2003 Odyssey in and they also said some of my engine mounts needed to be replaced, too. Does this mean I am driving my van too hard? I only have 52,000 miles on it but I do a lot of driving around town (not as much freeway), so I am surprised that they are broken.

7th Jan 2009, 22:32

We just had to replace 2 motor mounts on our 2003 Odyssey and it only has 64,000 miles on it, is this normal or is this a bigger problem with the transmission etc? It costs us about $700.

23rd Jan 2009, 19:38

About the motor mount breaking. I did some searching on the web and turned up that the Odyssey motor mounts have a break away design so that in an accident, the engine goes under the passenger compartment. It helps the safety ratings. There do seem to be a lot of complaints about this issue.

24th Jan 2009, 00:44

Someone relayed that they heard at a dealership that maybe the Odyssey broken motor mounts came from too much stop and go driving. I really doubt that that is a problem on any model car. I once asked an automotive suspension engineer if habitual aggressive driving would cause miscellaneous mechanical breakage like that. He said if I wasn't doing anything that was severe enough to require realignments, then no way. What he told me instead was that the worst thing that ever happens to a car by far is the rail car trip shipping it from factory to the dealership. Rail shipping sometimes involves severe jolts, for instance when rail cars slam into each other in rail yards. A lot of times the overstressed part takes years to completely fail. Parts are engineered to take these jolts, but there is a practical limit to what it makes sense to design for.

He specifically mentioned cracking of motor mounts and cracked windshields (but as generalities, not specific to the Odyssey.) By the way, a broken windshield would normally just be repaired at the dealership and then the car sold as brand new with no notification to the owner and that is perfectly legal.

12th Feb 2009, 22:29

I just bought a 2003 Honda Odyssey with 64,000 miles and have to have the front and side Motor Mounts replaced. It will cost about 600.00. I hope this price is about right. I see a few comments about cheaper and some higher.

8th May 2009, 22:47

I was just told our 2004 Ody needs 3 motor mounts for the price of $750. Only 73,000 miles it! Terrible!

6th Jul 2009, 12:47

I had our 2003 Honda Odyssey motor mounts (front and right) replaced recently when I complained to a local mechanic (not dealership) that I thought I had suspension problems. It came to just over $600. I still feel as though there are problems with the suspension, but cannot afford another $600 right now. The vehicle has 120K miles on it.

14th Jul 2009, 02:14

My sister recently gifted my folks with her 2004 Honda Odyssey with 65,000 miles on it. I just got the rear brakes fixed at a Honda dealer in Northern Virginia to help out my folks. Of course, the Honda service folks said it wasn't just the pads, but also the rotors, and they weren't sure they could machine the existing ones down and still be in spec on the width, so I was basically talked into getting new rotors (because I love my parents and their safety on the road is a priority).

What was interesting is after all the discussion leading up to this, the mechanic then takes me aside and mentions a broken front engine mount. I really wasn't in a position then to be talked into taking on another major repair (new rear brake pads and rear rotors came to 519 bucks), so I just listened politely, vowing to do some research.

I've never dealt with Honda service before, but with Toyota, they always list what they recommend and what you've declined. In this case, I had this private conversation with a mechanic, but my customer service rep wasn't even going to write the recommendation to get the front engine mount repaired on the service invoice until I said something. (I wanted to document their suggestion for my sister.) The mechanic also suggested I think about changing the timing belt, and that didn't show up on the list of service recommendations.

I'd like to think they were being honest, but I walked away feeling as though they were scrambling in this economy to trump up all levels of repair business. Does anyone ever wonder like I do that maybe some mechanics are breaking the engine mounts for business?

I've only owned Nissans and Toyotas, and while they've surprised me sometimes with issues, never has the problem been an engine mount!

19th Jul 2009, 08:59

I have a 2004 Odyssey with 71k miles and surprisingly was told that the front engine mount is 'bad'. My other cars are or had been at least 10 or 13 years with significantly more miles than 71k and have absolutely no problems with engine mounts! I am feeling either my dealer is out to rip me off, or my Honda Odyssey is a lemon, after seeing so many complaints about engine mounts. Maybe it is time to break the perception that Odyssey is a reliable van?

22nd Jul 2009, 19:02

I have a 2004 Honda Odyssey with 115,000 miles. It has been a great van except for an intermittent idle problem and intermittent shake on the passenger side. I had it to the dealer three times and each time was told there was nothing wrong. Just recently the shaking became worse, so I brought it to a small mechanic my friend recommended. Right away he said I had a bad motor mount. I do most of the work myself and just use mechanics to troubleshoot.

After I pulled the front center motor mount, it was obvious that it was shot. The hydraulic fluid leaked out when I turned it upside down. This mount is a vacuum controlled mount that activates when the engine is under 800 rpm. The vacuum opens the valving in the hydraulic mount allowing the fluid to flow less restricted and dampen vibration. It works just like a regular shock absorber when when the vacuum solenoid shuts it off over 800rpm. Changing this mount seems to have fixed my vibration problem and idle problem. I was very disappointed Honda could never figure this out. I bought the mount online for 114.00 free shipping and installed it in two hours. By the way, it is a pain to put in. Hope this helps.