9th Aug 2006, 16:13

Yes, I must agree that Honda has let me down on this one! I have an old 1994 Honda Prelude, and drive the hell out of it, and don't do anything great for it, and it still runs like new, with 300,000 kilometers on it!!!

My Odyssey on the other hand, only has 80,000 kilometers on it (and my wife is a very easy driver... slow I guess), and it is on the second transmission, rattles like hell, is unreliable, electrical problems, power sliding doors are a waste of time, money and more problems...

For what I paid, I am honestly disappointed in them, and I noticed that I am one of many mad owners... next time, Toyota gets my business as my friend has a 2001 Toyota Sienna and LOVES it, and drives the hell out of it, go figure eh?

Honda lost me....one more promising customer down the drain!

10th Dec 2006, 21:19

2002 Honda Odyssey LX with 66k miles, auto trans.

I have a newly installed transmission from the dealer--probably a rebuilt tranny. I am very disappointed in the quality and the number of trans failures that other users have reported. Until three weeks ago, our family was all Honda, all the time, for the last twenty years of car ownership. Not so in the future. In this case, Honda covered the tranny under warranty (we are outside of warranty period). I wonder how long the rebuilt tranny will last.

While in the shop for tranny, the dealer also replaced a wiring component for the power steering harness (some sort of connector). This was apparently causing the idle to "hunt" up and down while at a stop (in gear or in park). That problem got fixed, but now the instrument panel lights are out (this makes night driving a bit more difficult) and the parking lights are out.

Oddly, the stereo briefly stopped working, the instrument panel went dark, and the parking lights are out (stereo was on, and unit LCD displayed all the right visual cues, but no sound). I found a blown fuse for the panel lights. I replaced the fuse, and the stereo works again, but the panel lights and the parking lights are still out (the fuse blew again when I turned the lights on). I generally don't believe in replacing a fuse more than once without identifying the root cause of the blown fuse. Maybe the lighting wiring is shorted to the speaker wiring, but who knows where? I hate troubleshooting electrical problems on a car, even though I am a capable technical troubleshooter (I don't feel like troubleshooting all day at work and then doing more troubleshooting when I get home).

I am getting beyond the point of minor irritation with this car, which is supposedly the most reliable, well-designed minivan (although I think the Toyota Sienna has overtaken Odyssey). I am frustrated with taking this car to the dealer for repairs.

My next vehicle will be something other than a Honda, even though I have owned seven Hondas so far (no problems with any of them until the Odyssey--just grew out of them or wore them out around 200,000 miles).

I no longer trust this vehicle to get my wife and kids around without leaving them stranded.

11th Dec 2006, 16:14

Wow, you have reservations against Honda. 20 years and one bad car and you are leaving them. Well, I would not want to be your friend. What if I accidentally killed your lawn or something else and then someone like you would do to an old trusted friend. GET RID OF THEM? In this case it is Honda and not a human being, but I think you have to bite the bullet and buy another (maybe not a 99-04 Oddysey) but maybe the new and improved ones. People like you are scary!

21st Dec 2006, 15:07

Good Lord!!I am in the process of purchasing a 2002 Honda Odyssey and you guys have just scared me silly. I am from a Caribbean island, and these cars are being sold to us at a cost of $2,600 to $2,800 US. I am now worried that I might be buying trouble!

Could they really be that bad? If I take back my deposit, I stand to lose quite a bit of money, according to the the contract I have signed.

HELP!!!

27th Dec 2006, 20:08

I just got off the phone with Honda USA. They have decided to offer me a new transmission 75% off of the warranty price (which is 2800 dollars). That would make my cost about 700.00 dollars. They investigated and found that I had my 30,000 mile service done by Honda and at 54,000 miles I had my transmission oil replaced by Honda. Before I they confirmed the service they were only going to give me 25% off of the 2800 dollar price. It seems that Honda wants to do the right thing and "help" on these transmission replacements. Please do not pay the 5200 dollar price. I think just talking to Honda USA about it will give you some kind of price break. My second piece of advice is to educate yourself as much as possible and let them know that you are aware of the "Odyssey Transmission problems" on Honda Odysseys.

11th Jan 2007, 01:09

I have a 2002 Odyssey van with 80,000 and it's in the shop for transmission replacement. Very disappointing! Of course, when purchasing my van in 2001 I did not buy the extended warranty because I was buying a Honda. The van is the noisiest vehicle on the road and it's hard to hold a conversation and listen to the radio. The transmission starting slipping and the "malfunction indicator" light came on. The dealer wants $3000 for a reman tranny. I'm getting it replaced by a local independent shop who I can trust.

I have not had any problems with the sliding doors, but the clock light and the a/c display light is out and has been out since about 60,000 miles. I brought the van twice to have the these lights replaced, but the dealer is out of stock.

For the money the radio system is junk.

Overall satisfaction is bad.

20th Jan 2007, 14:40

I have an 02 Odyssey. The other day while changing the battery, I somehow crossed the cables and I touched the negative cable to the positive terminal on the battery with the negative terminal already connected to the positive cable.

For a brief second, the horn on the van honked and the battery sparked so I yanked it off then realized what had happened. My kids were fighting in the background and I think I just got disoriented momentarily and did this backwards.

The battery 120A fuse was blown and I replaced it. Now the stereo/rear DVD system doesn't work. I have checked every fuse in the car and none are blown. This includes the interior light/radio 10A fuse.

Could there be another relay or breaker that has gotten blown?

Please offer any insight (without chiding please for the blunder) if you have any.

Thanks.