2000 Honda Odyssey EX from North America - Comments

Great van with a lot of faults. Never thought that could be said about a Honda. Have had numerous problems with the power sliding doors, jamming in the open position, not working at all to opening while driving (scary considering kids were in the van). Coupled with that problem, which seems to be ongoing, is now it needs a new transmission (at 40,000 miles). It is obvious that Honda has some very serious problems with this van and needs to come clean on this. How many other people have had similar problems and is this what the new owners can expect?

Is this what Honda has fallen to? Power sliding door problems should be investigated by the government. Defective transmissions.

I agree with the sliding door problem. My 2001 with 14,000 miles has been back to the dealer 3 times for sliding door problems. Alarms that won't go off. Also the sensitive remote control for the doors. Just by walking by the van or if the keys in the house, with the slightest touch, sends the doors open and closed. Very dangerous with small children. Watch it, they don't always reverse.

I own a 1999 Odyssey EX and have experienced similar problems with the electric doors. One now does not close all the way without a good bump from my hip. Roof rack trim fell off and various small insulating bits have loosened up. Light on clock also went out. I believe that Honda has a major flaw with their doors. As much as I like the vehicle's size and handling, I wouldn't buy another.

I also own a 1999 Odyssey EX and have experienced problems with the electric doors not latching, roof rack trim, light on clock. My experience with the dealer customer service at more than one location has been less than impressive. We love to take the van on road trips, but with these problems I am thinking about offloading the Odyssey.

We are also having problems. From door not opening at all, to door not closing properly, to door opening while driving. Already had vehicle in last year for same problem.

I have a 1999 Honda Odyssey EX (54,000 miles) with (unfortunately) the power sliding doors. The vehicle has been fairly reliable in most other aspects except when it comes to the doors.

The problems mentioned in the previous review have all happened to my vehicle. In addition, the driver's side power door now refuses to shut completely due to a latching motor problem which pulls the door flush to the side of the van. The door has even popped open while in making a turn (fortunately, my 5 year old daughter was belted in). You have to push the rear edge of the door in with your hip to latch it shut.

My recommendation is to NOT purchase the EX because of this door problem. Given another chance, I would not have opted for the EX had I known about the tremendous problems I, and others, would have with the power doors.

I own the 2001 Odyssey with 20,000 miles. A CV joint has been replaced and the rear electric door has failed. Service has been good, but the inconvenience is maddening. I love the size and ride, but quality is now in question. Perhaps I will analyze the alternatives better the next time around.

I have had similar problems with my 2001 Honda Odyssey EX. At 44,000 miles the clock light is out and the driver side door has now failed. I won't use the Honda dealer in my home town because of poor service. I'm about to try a new, more inconvenient one in the hopes of better service on this door problem. He has said the manufacturer may "help me out" with the door problem (secret warranty?). Just got the official Honda mailing last night that they are extending the warranty on the transmission to 100,000 miles. Hope they do the same on the doors.

I have a 2000 Odyssey with manual doors and I too experience problems with the sliding doors becoming stuck closed. So this problem is not just with the electric doors. This seems to be moisture related and especially bad in freezing weather, but it does happen in warmer weather as well. Even after using a lubricant, I have the problem. I wonder if this is a roof design flaw. In the winter (New England) I warm the car up for 20 ridiculous minutes and often still cannot slide open the doors... so I have to have my 3 kids crawl from the front to get into their seats. This is especially tough with an infant! I am terrified of having to quickly get my kids out in an emergency.

I also have a 2000 Odyssey with power doors and I'm also experiencing problems with the sliding doors becoming stuck closed or not working at all. So this problem is not just with the electric doors. Started at about 34,000 mile with the Passenger sliding door. Took four tries to get it fixed (one full day each time for repair work!) Now we just went over 38,000 and the Driver side door failed! Here we go again. I fortunately bought the extended warranty which will cover it. However, there seems to be a lot of this happening.

2001 Odyssey EX w/23000 miles another power door failure. The drivers side door seal must have frozen causing the power sliding door to fail once unstuck. This after 6 times back to the dealer to repair the passenger side power door. This car was made in Canada! Doors shouldn't freeze shut. Honda, if you are reading these real comments from real life "soccer parents" Please extend the warranty on these power doors. You know there a problem, the dealers tell us this. The Dealer tells me they are extremely expensive to fix once out of warranty.

Recently bought my Odyssey LX (2003 model) last September. We've been experiencing the sliding door jamming problems a lot. I took it to the dealer six times, but the doors works fine when they're at the dealer. The dealer indicated that they cannot take it unless they see the problem. They also said that they never had this problem before.

2001 Odyssey LX with 35000 miles. Have problem with sliding doors it get stuck in the winter. Also the clock light is out very inconvenent to see the time at night. No other problem so far.

For the first 10,000 miles, our 2001 Odyssey was a dream car. After that, our first problems were with the brakes. At 12,000 miles they were grinding badly and were told by the Honda dealer in Waukesha Wisconsin that they needed to be "deglazed". At 20,000 miles, which we were told was out of the warranty period, the dealer recommended completely replacing all of the rotors and pads. Only after talking to the district manager were they willing to admit that there may be a problem with the original design. Unlike most other owners, I was lucky enough to be able to convince them that they should pick up the $600 bill for the new brakes. Now I guess I have to worry about what will happen the next time I need the car fixed by this dealer.

At 24,000 miles the transmission failed and needed to be replaced. Luckily this was also covered under warranty or I would be $5,000 poorer. I am a little worried about whether this is going to be a regular 24,000 mile failure problem. A friend of mine with the same problem has told me that Honda has had such a big problem with this that they have extended the warranty to 100,000 miles. I am now checking this out.

This morning I am on the Internet because the Odyssey wouldn't start. The battery appears to be perfectly fine, and it appears that either the starter has failed or there is some quirky electrical problem. Stay tuned, this may be the next "commonly encountered" Odyssey flaw.

2001 Odyssey and I have had problems with my sliding doors. First winter they stuck once and it took dealer 72 hours to get fixed. This winter my car has been in and out of the shop first for sliding door not closing and they replaced the motor, within 24 hours the door didn't work again and they did something else, then a week later I was back and they claimed to have worked the door problem out with someone in Chicago?? Well now it started getting cold and I have had my door frozen shut 5 times so far. The worse being last week where we weren't able to get the door open or closed and the door needed to be reset at the dealership. I think this is getting a little ridiculous. The shop told me that they get at least 6 to 8 calls every time it snows with doors needing to be reset. They told me that I would need to warm up the car before trying to open the back doors and that the problem was no different then any door freezing (I said that at least I can open and close regular doors with a little bit of pressure). I have a newborn, a 4yr old and a 6yr old, and an open incision so I cannot climb to the back and my back door was frozen at the doctors this afternoon and I had to run the heat for 7 minutes before the door would open (that was in the afternoon. I don't think this is safe and a major issue that needs to be looked into by Honda.

I have a 2000 Odyssey with 32,000 miles and have just experienced the same problem with the power doors others describe. We live in California and probably the reason we didn't have a problem until now is the warm weather. We just took the van on a ski trip and one cold day first one door wouldn't open and then the other. We've now returned to warm California, but both doors are still defunct. I just checked and I think I purchased it three years ago this Wednesday so I need to get it in the shop fast before the warranty expires.

I agree that if this is a problem so many Odyssey owners are having Honda should be considering extending the warranty for the power doors. We are very loyal Honda purchasers (this is our fifth Honda) and would like to stay that way.