16th Jul 2008, 21:04

I have a 1999 Odyssey with about 74K miles and have been generally happy with it until this past week when the check engine light came on. My mechanic said the cat converter and both O2 sensors needed to be replace. I'm surprise that the cat converter needed a replacement so soon (I had a Honda Accord which ran great and was sold at 98k miles).

The only other issue I had was all the gauges on the dash went out at about 68k and the dashboard had to be replaced for about $800. The mechanic founded the problem to be a burnt-out component on the computer board - which may have been caused during a jump-start. Sounds odd since I didn't jump-start the car when the problem occured... and after the replacement, the odometer got reset to ZERO.

17th Jul 2008, 12:57

I have had similar experiences as the other bloggers on this thread with the 99 Odyssey. I too feel it has not been as reliable as other Hondas, particularly my 92 Accord. The transmission has been the most disappointing, changed out at 112k. The rebuilt model that was installed also did not work properly and a third one had to be installed two weeks after the second.

The cat has been replaced, as have O2 sensors more than once. There have been other relatively minor nuisances such as a sliding door handle and the light on the clock. I have not had the brake problems others have had, but I replaced the front pads and rotors with OEM parts at 100k.

The most recent problem has been as described in the Dec. 2007 entry. The instrument panel lights up and the van shuts off while driving down the highway and then turns itself back on. No codes were recorded on the computer. I found that the positive cable was not making good contact with the battery. I have replaced the whole cable assembly and it now makes good contact. We will see if this problem is fixed. The van now has 158k miles on the odometer.

14th Jul 2010, 18:26

Both my daughters have owned Honda Accords, and a 1999 Odyssey (personally, I wouldn't take a Honda on a bet).

The engines have been great, logging very high miles. The automatic transmissions have been so-so, the Odyssey being the worst. The cars run a long time (but you really hoped they wouldn't). The trim work, body work, air conditioning, brakes, emission controls, suspension and electronics have been terrible on all the Hondas they've owned.

My younger daughter bought a new Honda Pilot (the little bread-box looking van). It was noisy, so uncomfortable, a 60 mile drive was agony, so underpowered it couldn't get out of its own way, and didn't get all that great fuel mileage. She kept it about a year and traded it for a Ford Escape.

So far, no problems, it's comfortable, has good power, and as good or better fuel mileage with a V6.

28th Nov 2010, 01:07

1999 Honda Odyssey Van - 184,000 miles. Check Engine Light stays on close to 100% of the time. When it goes off, I take it for inspection and passes. Mechanic said EGR valve is 'lazy'. Code is for EGR valve and sometimes catalytic converter (which I believe was replaced along with O sensor). Had ignition switch changed when stalled several times - lights all were off when stalled.

Just had new problem - Check Engine Light flashing. Engine also sounds like it's struggling. Just hauled a full van moving from apt. to apt. Sounds like problem with firing.

Been happy with car for the most part. Have replaced brakes several times, which sounds like maybe too often? Got rid of scraping sound of rear brakes with last change. Also new rotors in front. New tires.

Flashing Engine Light I think is a signal that either take it to 200,000 or time for a new car. Thinking of a Civic for good mileage and no more hauling stuff for the kids... they're grown up now and the mommy van is no longer needed :)