2000 Honda Odyssey EX from North America - Comments

I have a 2000 Odyssey with the same door problems. I have had it in three times so far, My wife just called me today saying the door wouldn't latch again and the alarm sounds the entire time you are driving. With 54,000 miles on the van, this will be the first time the problem will not be covered under warranty. I am really getting frustrated and from reading everything on the internet, it looks like a recall should be in order. Can you imagine going on a long trip and having the door alarm buzzing the whole way? Absolutely ridiculous, I am about to cut the wire to the alarm.

The power sliding door on our 2000 Odyssey has not functioned since the last ice/snowstorm. When we bought the car, I was wary about the electric sliding doors, and now wish I had bought an extended warranty on the car. I take small comfort in knowing that I am not the only one experiencing this problem. Does anyone out there know how a consumer (or group of consumers) can convince an auto manufacturer to extend the warranty to cover a defect like this?

I also have a 2000 EX Odyssey like the rest of the people posting here I have had some issues with the vans doors thank goodness this is the only problem I have encountered. Here is a little tip for all of you out there with the door buzzer problem. If you turn off the power doors from the inside the buzzing will cease. There is a switch on the dash above where you open and close the doors if you turn this to the off position the buzzing will stop.

The doors do seem to have issues when it gets cold and they work fine when it is warm. I have a good friend that is a GM for Honda, I am going to have him get one of there service departments to look at the van for me. When they fix the problem I will post the fix. Thank you all for your posts and good luck. Hopefully it is an easy fix like some of the others like the grounding for the door module being loose or one of the tracks being dirty.

Thank you for all of your posts and please get in touch with me if you have any questions or there is a recall sent out on the van for the doors.

My email address is rdaikawa@yahoo.com.

I am at my wits end with my 2000 EX. Tomorrow will be the fourth time that I have dropped the van off at the dealer. Twice the dealer has replaced the door locks. The dealer also replaced the switches on both automatic doors. I took my Honda in for repair one month prior to my warranty expiration. Each time I have brought it back, the dealer hasn't charged me. And if they try to charge me, I'll tell them it wasn't fixed the first time when I brought it in under warranty.

My powered doors act up in humid environments. I'm wondering if the electric contacts are somehow corroded? I'll propose that to the dealer tomorrow. In addition, the problem surfaces when I engage the handle to open the door, as opposed to using the remote. Wish me luck tomorrow.

Frustrated in Texas.

I have the 1999 Odyssey LX, first year of the new body style that is still current. I have had problems with the side doors not shutting all the way and not being able to open them (I am in southern California). More importantly, I cannot leave the doors open for more than about 30 minutes as the lights drain the battery completely then the car won't start. It's like "unload those groceries quick kids or the car won't start!". I have also had the severe grinding of the brakes mentioned in a previous post that is apparently being 'glazed' over by Honda. They also would not cover the door handle that broke as a result of trying to get the side door open. This is my last of many Hondas.

We purchased a 2001 Odyssey new in November 2000. Have had the vehicle in once for the doors/problem. They corrected the problem the second time, said they got a good ground on the motor wire. Now we have 40,000 miles and the clock lite does not work. bklanecky@waldinger.com.

My 2001 EX has had similar problems (frost, door not opening/closing, door buzzer going off continually). So far I've never experienced a door opening while I was driving...I've got a Canadian model with an after market warranty (No American Honda).

Here they are in order of occurrence.

#1

Frost issues causing the doors not to open when its real cold. Not a very common occurrence where we live, but still a hassle. But its not just Honda that has this problem. I've experienced this with other cars (not Vans).

#2

Feb 2003, right sliding door was not closing fully. When the door is closed using either the switch on the dash board or the door handles it appears to close normally. However when you put the Van in Drive, the buzzer goes off.

When this happened initially we were able to press the door close switch on the dash for a second or so and this would latch the door properly. Took the Van in to Dealer for 30K service and told them there was a problem with the door. They checked out the door and found everything to be fine.

Same problem happened 2 days later. Except now its worse.

Pressing the dash button no longer corrects the problem.

We've been closing the door electrically, and then turning of door power until we can get this worked out.

When the right side door is electrically driven closed, you can press on the back edge of the door with the palm of your hand, causing the door to move inward (toward the seats) about an 1/8". The left side door does not move at all when closed. (Kind of like you'd expect!).

When I talked to Honda during the 30K service, they told me there are no mechanical adjustments for the door latches or motor. They said if I had further problems they probably would recommend replacing the door motor. But I'd have to pay the bill on that (part and labor), though it was likely my warranty would pick up the cost of the part.

#3

June 2003. Still have the same issue with right door.

Now my 6 year old daughter tried to open the left door from inside when system power was turned off -because of problem #2.

Now this door is not responding to door Open/Close commands. It acts like the motor is stuck. I'll check fuses etc. I'm able to manually open/close and latch this door.

_______________________________________________________

Now I've had it. I'm going to talk to Honda about this clear design flaw. I'm an electrical engineer on a mission. These guys are amateurs.

This is my third Honda vehicle. I've never been so disgusted..

Jeff

ttle

I too have the Problems with a 2001 Odyssey. The door will not close all the way, and it has popped open when driving. I too have kids and all the negatives on this board scare me. Does anyone know who we could formally complain to at Honda. Way above the dealship level. I know that if they get enough complaints they are required by law to fix the problems.

I have a 2000 Odyssey and manual sliding doors. The sliding door on the driver side would always get stuck. From what they are saying, it is the padding around the door that is the problem (so they replaced it with a softer version). What they didn't tell me was that you need to lubricate it every 6 months. A few days ago, the door handle broke and the only thing holding it in place was a tiny plastic rod!! After much ranting, screaming, and complaining, American Honda finally agree to fix it. The other sliding door didn't have this problem, so why just one side?? Honda knows this is a problem and won't admit it. From the constant sticking of that door to the occasional screeching brakes and other complaints from friends who own Hondas, it's an overprice piece of junk. Will probably never buy another Honda again. All the other Hondas we own don't have these problems. Anything to save a buck, right Honda??

Has anyone had any problems with a 2003 Honda Odyssey? Just curious, since I own one now and am worried after hearing all the problems that previous models have had. Any helpful info will be great.

I have a 2000 EX with only 36,000 miles and have experiencd the sticking door problems like everyone else. I have had other problems as well. The transmission was replaced at approximately 15,000 miles and then about 5,000 mile later, I had another problem where all of the fluid leaked out. Another problem is with the check engine light. They have fixed this at least 5 times. Their first answer each time is that I am not putting the gas cap on tight enough, then it was a mouse chewed a hole in the gas and the lastest which we got or van back today was that they replaced the entire fuel neck. The service has been always friendly, however, the visits are a huge pain.

We have a 1999 Odyssey. We had problems with the sliding doors when we first purchased the vehicle. They are working well now except for a couple of instances usually in warm weather. At about 50,000 miles the "check engine" light came on and it needed a new catalytic converter and some sensors. The catalytic converter was covered under our extended warranty. The "check engine" light has come one again with the traction control light. Turns out we need a new transmission. If it weren't for the extended warranty, these experiences would be a nightmare. We are seriously considering a Honda Pilot, but will not buy it without the longest extended warranty. I think the days of driving your Honda for 200,000 miles without a problem are over. They are still great vehicles, just always opt for the longest extended warranty.

We just purchased a 2002 Odyssey EX as a certified pre-owned Honda. I noticed the problem with the sliding door yesterday as we ran some errands. I didn't panic, but managed to get the door closed and drove home. Once home I tested out the doors protocols. Some advice on my findings to fellow Odyssey owners: If the drive is engaged in any gear other than 'P' the door will not open, if you try you should get three warning chimes in quick succession. Followed by no response from the door till you put the car in 'Park' and try it again. Anything driven by solenoids (electric motors) should be given a little patience when operating. I believe the cause of door motors failing is due to frequent interruption of its action without it being able to complete an open or close cycle. Honda would benefit its customers if it would fit stronger more heavy duty solenoids for both doors and have sensors that are a bit more sensitive as it takes a great deal of pressure to cause the door to reverse due to an obstruction.

My 2000 Odyssey EX purchased in April 2000 has recently experienced the power sliding door problem--hesitation during open and close travel, will not latch close properly, as well as grinding noise coming from the upper bearings. The transmission has recently started slipping, and not engaging properly, upon acceleration. Having purchased the extended warranty at time of purchase from the dealer (84M/75K), I thought I would be fully covered for a while. The dealer has just called me today (after inspecting the van) and informed me that the extended warranty does not cover all charges that will be incurred/billed by the dealer for the repair of the doors (about $200 of the total bill will not be covered)??!!! I am extremely confused since on my extended warranty form, I should have been responsible for a max of $50 deductible (for any item covered under the warranty). Does anyone have any experience with this situation, and have any advice you can give? Now that the dealer has inspected the van, I cannot even get it back without paying the $175 diagnostic cost that the dealer is charging to tell me that I was right and the sliding doors does not work properly, and need to be replaced. It seems to make perfect sense that the failures are are occurring at a higher rate right after the mfg warranty (3y/36K) has expired. My van has very low mileage (25K) and the frustration is beginning to mount. (The service Manager said the repair to the transmission SHOULD be fully covered... hmmm) Any advice on the extended warranty issue, and how to go about getting my bills paid, would be greatly appreciated. Tkx in advance.

Huey

vhl1966@yahoo.com.

Fix for inoperable electric sliding door on 1999 Honda Odyssey:

I had a problem with the door not working at all on my '99. We took it to the shop and the locking mechanism was replaced ($200+). We had to take it in 2 more times and they cleaned the contacts, and gave us some more mumbo jumbo.

As of late the door stopped working again and I knew there was a better solution than taking it back to the dealer. I got this tip from an anonymous friend. He said to pull the passenger side fuse for 30 seconds. I found that the door in question had to be closed and it worked like a champ.

1. The van was not running

2. The door was closed

3. Make sure the lower track below the door is free of trash, etc.

3. Pull fuse 13 for 30 seconds and replace.

The passenger side fuse box is located at foot level on the passenger side below the dashboard. The right side of the floormat if you were sitting in the passenger seat. Mine has a plastic flap that stays open all the time. It has a cheap plastic latch on it that never stays latched. The flap has the fuse diagram listed on it and the fuse box also the the fuse numbers listed on it. The diagram lists fuse 13 as 'clock backup'. Yea right!

The door became immediately operational. The friend said that the lower track below the door being blocked can cause the door to trip and stop functioning.

Woohoo, saved my self a trip to the Honda dealer and probably $200.

Enjoy!