Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76-90, 91-105, 106-115
Only 130,000 miles? You're not even in the ballpark, yet. I have 250,000 miles on the engine and transmission in my Dodge, with nothing ever done aside from routine fluid changes and tune-ups. So just keep telling me how American cars are so much less reliable than Toyota. But don't be offended if I ignore you and scoff.
Now on the other hand, the way I see people driving, I definitely think they are way too hard on their vehicles, regardless of brand. They don't understand that they are abusing them, and they don't understand the concept of routine maintenance. Perhaps you and I are more interested in taking care of our respective vehicles, so I would admit that it is certainly possible to get 130,000 out of this crap-box Odyssey, but not if somebody is hard on it. Let us know how your Odyssey is holding up when it's 20 years old, and then we'll talk about reliability of American versus Japanese.
130,000 is not a lot, but compared with the other V-6 Accords and Ody's of the 99-04 range, that is good. Plus my tranny runs very well, shifts well and I bet I can get at least another 70,000 miles out of that tranny. I have Honda's and Toyota's in the family with over 250,000 on their trannys and still work well.
Will there be any American car companies other than the Japanese ones in 20 years?
Sadly, that is probably a real concern. Although American car companies make good products, they are encumbered by pension payouts, health care costs, and retirement plans (and rightly so, because the auto industry represents the pinnacle of the blue-collar American dream, or at least it did). It doesn't matter how good a product you make if you can't turn a profit, and Americans continue to prove that they only care about price, not quality. In 20 years, it may well be that Japanese car companies will be in the same situation as American ones are now, after China floods the market with cheap cars built by slave-wage workers.
I bought a 2000 Honda Odyssey in November of 1999. Everything was working fine until 40,000 miles. I had routine maintenance done on this vehicle regularly, but suddenly the transmission was stalling and the TCS light came on. I called the local dealership, and they told me to bring it in. I left the car with them for a full day, and when I called the next day they told me that they couldn't duplicate the shifting problems I experienced, therefore there was nothing they could do. I explained to them that the car didn't experience any shifting problems until the car was driven for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The service manager stated that they didn't have the time to drive the car around for that long, and to wait until it happens again and then bring it in immediately.
I didn't have to wait very long. The very next morning I had severe shifting problems, the transmission would not "catch" right away after I was stopped at a signal. I called the dealer from my cell phone and told them that I was going to break down in the middle of the road. They told me to bring it in right away.
I brought the car in, they told me that it needed a new transmission. I waited one week until a new transmission came in, and then I picked up the car. This transmission started leaking fluid in my driveway after 3,000 miles.
I returned the van and another transmission was installed.
Just thought I include a somewhat positive data point. I'm the original owner of a 2000 Odyssey with 217,000 miles. I never had any transmission problems - in fact very few problems with anything. I do have the check engine light/traction control light problem which was fixed by cleaning the EGR valve and it went away for about a year and came back on. I've since ignored it for about 2 years and haven't noticed any performance or engine problems.
To the above commenter, I am with you too. Mine is going to hit 200,000 miles without a hitch. Just plain ole maintenance. I have learned not to change the tranny fluid every 90,000 miles. more like every 30,000 miles, then it runs forever.
I own a 2001 Odyssey purchased new in May 2001, which has 59K miles on the Odometer.
Been in the shop couple of times for minor fixes like replacement of storage panel lid in the 3rd row and middle row seat rattles etc.
Had Engine oil changes done at the dealer for first couple years or so and since then have changed it myself every 3 months, period.
Battery was replaced at Kragen Auto for $60 about 2 months ago around 57K miles. Took it to the dealer for complete brake oil flush and tranny oil drain and refill at 48k miles 8 months ago. Never towed any vehicle and never noticed or had any tranny issues to-date, check eng light or TCS (Knock on wood). But we do occasionally pack the van with family & haul luggage etc for vacation and round trips etc.
Even though our van was not included in the tranny recall, we do however have our tranny covered for 100k miles or 7 years and also rcvd a 80k miles warranty extension on all emissions parts including the Cat converter and EGR valve.
Suggestion to folks who have posted here: check out the Odyssey club forums at http://www.odyclub.com/forums/
with lots of useful info including DIY and recall info.
Happy Ody owner (so far)
I bought a 1999 Odyssey EX in June 1999 and it was wonderful – for the first 60,000 miles. Then the check engine light came on. First the dealer checked some sensors ($900 + the cost of diagnostics), only to determine that it was the transmission. Now, to be fair, Honda ended up covering the cost of the transmission, but I got nothing back for the sensor replacement, even though that was obviously NOT the problem.
At 122,000 miles (March 2004), same thing except this time the dealer went straight to the transmission. As it was beyond the 36,000 mile warranty on the replacement transmission, I was liable for the full replacement cost. Now, 30 months later and another 60,000 miles down the road the transmission needs to be replaced yet again.
The car has gone to Jiffy Lube for oil changes every 2,500 miles and to the dealer every 7,500 miles for regular checkups. Because of that, the dealer was willing to forgive me some of the charges and brought the cost down to $3,400, parts and labor. We both worked on Honda and they finally agreed to pay 50%, so my out-of-pocket expense will be $1,700. Definitely better than full cost and my dealer, Heritage Honda in Parkville, MD has always treated me fairly and honestly (as far as I can tell), but there is definitely something systemically wrong with the transmissions, the engines, or both. It is beyond me why an auto manufacturer of Honda’s reputation would choose to risk that reputation by stonewalling and refusing to acknowledge the problem (s). Yes it would be very expensive for them to adequately (if not fully) correct the situation, but the loss of reputation and future business (I have no intention of ever buying another Honda) will make that sum look paltry by comparison.
To those of you who have bought Odysseys and have had no problems, I’m thrilled for you – I really am. But then again, you could be sitting on a time bomb. As I said to the customer service rep when I called last week to let them know how dissatisfied I was with their product, I could have bought a cheap American minivan and had exactly the same problems – but it would have cost me a lot less up front and I would have known what I was getting into from the start.
We know it is not the engine. That is the best part of Honda and why they build some of the best. Sadly, the transmission is not as good as the engine.
I bought this car may 2001, the car has 78,702k miles. I took the car to hondas dealer on October 2006 for a transmission fluid change. two months later (now december) the tcs light and engine light come up.
I took it right away to honda's dealer, where I change the transmission fluid. the serves rep told me the problem was that the transmision was low on fluid, I have no leaks on the car. the rep admitted that the mechanic who worked on my car did not put enought fluid to the transmission. after 3 hours, I went to pick up the car and came across with a surprise, that I needes a new transmission. I took the van home that same date and it worked perfectly, I had no problem. I asked the mechanic the next day, what was the problem? he said it had a bad egr valve and a catalyst converter, which they replace. in regards to the transmission he said it had a delayed shifting from park to reverse an vices versa.
I really don't want to change the transmission, I have a feeling the transmission is OK!!! I have told the mechanic I feel the tranny very good and with a smooth shifts, he tells me the problem is not the shift is a delay engagement.
I just hope the are correct about the problem, and not just change the tranny unnecessarily, and if they do change it I hope it last long.
If anyone can post there answer about how long your tranny has last before it goes bad again, I will appreciated.
I own a 2001 Odyssey that I have treated well and it has treated me well in return until now. It has 102 479kms on it and the check engine light and tcs light have come on lately. Initially, after checking the codes, the dealership said everything was fine because the van started up fine. The advisor said this even though the codes indicated a 3rd pressure switch failure and fuel too rich.
Luckily, my friend called the dealership and spoke directly to the technician who said the transmission was slipping and recommended a fuel system flush and replacing the transmission fluid. The work was done and five minutes after picking up my vehicle, the engine light and TCS light were back on. I wanted to cry.
When my friend spoke to the technician again the next day, the mechanic mentioned the problem with 2001 transmissions and the possibility that I would need to replace mine.
I am disappointed that initially the service department was going to let me drive a vehicle that needed service and that the transmission problem is hush-hush.
I am hoping and praying that the transmission is fine (although I fear the worse). But knowing Honda is aware of the problem encourages me to push for coverage under my warranty. Here`s hoping.
I have similar case with the Jan 9, 2007 posting. We brought in our 2001 Odyssey for a normal oil change in late Nov (about 99k miles) and shortly after that the check Engine light came up, but I was not able to bring right back to the dealer due to heave travelling schedule. I finally brought the car back to the dealer last night (102k miles) after two hours the service adviser called me to inform me that the transmission is bad that I will need to replace it. I went back to the dealer this morning and inform another service adviser that the check engine light came up about 1-2 yrs ago, but he told me that was due to the gas cap is not tight enough. Then I also informed him that I found out from the Internet search that there was an issue with Odyssey transmission. He told me that the coverage is only up to 100k miles. I almost feel cheated that the dealer/Honda USA did not inform us about an known issue. Now we are at 102k miles and the warranty just expired we have to pay $3000ish to fix a problem that was known by the manufacturer and dealership. I will contact Honda USA on Tuesday hopefully they can do something about it...
I just called the Honda customer service in CA. the representative told me that there was a class action settlement on dec 2006 so they extended the warranty coverage to 7 yrs/109,000 miles. She will send a DCS msg to our dealership so they will replace the faulty transmission. Thanks for this survey that I was able to find out more information on the 2001 Odyssey transmission problem. I hope our local dealership will honor what the Honda rep has told me.
The class action lawsuit and warranty extension by Honda is for the '99-'01 models. Unfortunately, I have a 2002 year model. I brought it in to the dealer and at first, I was told that I would have to pay $3500 to replace the transmission if needed, but later I was told that it is now under review by his manager and Honda may or may not pay for just the cost of the parts. I can't believe Honda have not learned a lesson from the long history of transmission problems and the class action lawsuit. I brought it in to another mechanic before bringing it into Honda and he told me that this is a well known design flaw that Honda has. My car has 50Kmiles on it. I bet for the newer models, the problem will not start to show until a little later on. No more Honda minivans or cars for me. I better go with a Toyota or a Nissan.