5th Jan 2003, 05:52

I have seen some of the minor problems others have stated in this section. I have had to apply silicone lube on all the doors' weather striping due to the doors sticking to the weather striping; Gas mileage is still significantly below EPA estimates; So so defrost design; Driver's seating position less desirable then any Honda I have ever driven, my brother's 1976 Civic CVCC included; and poor dealer support (Scott Robinson Honda, Torrance, CA).

Also, I have found that the van's handling is much improved when the front tires are inflated slightly above Honda recommendations (36 PSI Front/Rear). I'm using 40/36 F/R. The handling is pretty loose at anything below 32 PSI.

10th Apr 2004, 23:12

You need the AC to come on when it defrosts for two reasons, 1. The compressor speeds up the process. 2. Your ac fluid tends to trap mositure over time, if you don't run the AC in the winter months the lines rust out and your into costly AC repairs.

18th Jun 2009, 23:53

The van is now a bit over 70K miles. No new issues with the re-built transmission installed by a Honda Service Center a few years back @ 41K miles.

We also had a bad SRS air bag sensor in the front passenger seat, it was difficult to replace by the dealer, it took them 3 tries to do it right.

One of the middle seat belt buckles broke, Honda dealer replaced it at no cost.

The sliding doors still sticks if I forget to apply silicone lube to the weather striping every 6 months or so.

Also, the front suspension is very sensitive to wheel balance and roundness of the tires.

Both front brake rotors warped between 40 - 50K miles. Got some inexpensive rotors from Kragens, no problems so far.

19th Jun 2009, 00:23

One additional note regarding the transmission, I had installed the small transmission cooler from the towing package at ~20K miles. It was not difficult to install if you are mechanically inclined. You need to remove the front bumper cap, but it's just a bunch of plastic snap-screws, and install a couple of screws that holds the tranny cooler in-place and connect a few small hoses. The instructions were very clear.

I view this upgrade as cheap insurance for the transmission, and would recommend it for any Honda and Acura vans and SUV's using the 5-speed transmission from ~2002 - ~2005.

Bought the cooler from www.handa-accessories.com. I use them about once each year, no problems so far, I think they are a Honda dealer selling over the Internet, typically discount is ~30+% from Honda retail.