It ran find with only one issue with the sliding door until 120K miles. The ball or ball-joint on the sliding door "wore out" and the door would not open smoothly.
At 120K miles the transmission started to go quickly and we had it replaced. I was told by a non-Honda mechanic that if you "complain" to Honda they will cut the price on the transmission replacement. This worked and Honda cut the price from $3500 to $2100 (3 years/unlimited mileage warranty). I was told that Honda will take into consideration whether or not you have maintenance with a Honda dealer frequently or not.
The next issue happened when we brought the car home from the tranny replacement. The check engine light came on and it was back to the dealer. Catalytic converter had failed.
I'm now seeing on the web that these are the three issues with the van.
Sliding doors (the fuse trick will fix most issues)
Transmission (make sure you get it checked before the 100K warranty is up, at least a record of a complaint may save you money when it fails later)
Emissions (catalytic converter and/or EGR valve seems to go around the same time)
My mechanic (non-Honda) who I trust says that it's the best van on the road. I have to say that I like it better than any other van that I have driven. Just be prepared to pay for the repair/replacement of the above three items if you are out of warranty.
I find it interesting that a supposedly competent mechanic would call a vehicle with such major problems at such low mileage "one of the best on the road". Some of our friends have put over 220,000 miles on 4 different Dodge Caravans and one Chrysler Town and Country and never encountered any major problems with any of them. Cars built today should NOT require transmissions at a mere 100,000 miles.
If you ask most transmission shops what kind of transmissions they install the most on any minivan they will say either a Ford Windstar or Dodge Caravan. Though any transmission can last a long time with great care, I believe it a shame that they had these transmission problems with the Odyssey. Take in mind that a lot of cars need the Catalytic Converters replaced around this time. That is the reason for the warranty for them till 80,000 miles.
To the above comment. It might be true that Windstar or Caravan have the most transmissions replaced. However, there are far-far more of these on the road than Odyssey. You really need to know the percentage of transmissions repaired to make a valid comparison.
Looks like you lose with Honda, Dodge, Ford, and GM when it comes to minivan transmission. I think Toyota is the only one here with a bulletproof design.
I have been very disappointed with the reliability of my Honda Odyssey. The brand is considered highly reputable and has a price premium (and supposedly a resale value) to match - but my experience with the Odyssey has been one of repeated mechanical break downs and poor performance.
Particular problems have been with the sliding doors which have required replacement latches/contacts and still do not lock properly. The alarm on the vehicle goes off for no reason every few nights. The transmission has worn out and needs replacement. Perhaps most irritating have been the other minor repairs that have been required, for example a problem with the rear door latch that required a complete replacement part at $250.
These are the sorts of problems I would expect on cheap brands at high mileage - not on an expensive brand with a reputation for reliability. I will not consider buying another Honda - the reputation is not backed up by performance.
A Honda Civic is just like an Odyssey... So do not buy the Civic!!
I have a 2002 Honda Odyssey with 150,152 miles, the transmission has been replaced twice and in need of another one. First one at 36K and second one at 56K. The third was verified by the dealer when the engine light came on and we took it to the dealer and up popped code $$$???!!! Can you believe this?, three tranmissions by 150k and within a 5 year span.....unbelievable! Will not buy another Honda.
We previously owned two Volkswagen's a 1988 Jetta GL (240,000 miles) and a 1990 Vanagon Carat (250,000 miles). The Jetta's transmission was never replaced and still ran strong and the Vanagons's was finally replaced at 245,000 miles. We switched
because of Honda's excellent reputation for reliability and felt
the Odyssey would out do our VW's...wrong! boy were we wrong! Definitely inform anyone who is considering purchasing an odyssey to watch out for those tranny's!
I purchased a 2000 Honda Odyssey (100k miles) 3 years ago, and it began having problems with the sliding doors, and not to mention, it needs a new transmission. I had never been more disappointed with a Honda in the past, but this will be the last Honda I will purchase!!!
Nothing wrong with the convenience of a minivan, I say.
Google Answers did a nice comparison of the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. Worth looking at, if you ever want to reconsider minivan bias:
Http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=787136
<a href="http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=787136">Best Minivans</a>
See you on the road!
Dave.
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