2002 Honda Odyssey EX review from North America

Both dual power doors tend to have a mind of their own and have done weird things since new. The dealer has never been able to diagnose the events. Sometimes the doors will not shut up all the way and they will reopen. The dealer cleaned all the sensors and replaced the pull handles.

The 4-red light indicators, on the dash, that shows when a door is open, came on sometimes while driving down the road. The dealer was never able to solve this one as well.

Our rear tires “Feathered”, as they call it, since the van was new. We have had the brakes checked, alignment, balancing, rotation, etc. and we still can’t get more than 20,000 miles out of any brand of tire with out damage to the tires. The tire warranties do not cover this claims as they say that the van has a suspension problem. The van has never been wrecked or abused.

The front driver’s side wheel bearing started to make a growling sound at less than 10,000 miles. The dealer, that we bought the van from, said that it was caused from gravel stuck on our tires. We went to another dealer and they replaced the wheel bearing under the warranty coverage at no cost to us and they apologized for the other dealer and said that they will make a phone call.

This one is the big one. At 81,000 miles the transmission went out right as I took off from a stop light. It just went clunk and the engine revved up and the van started to roll backwards. It all happened so fast that the car behind me ran right into my back bumper as I rolled back into her car. No damage was done other than paint transfer scuffs. She even used her old car to push the van into a parking lot for me.

We had the van towed to Honda and they said that there was nothing that they could do, because of the build date of our van. They apparently have put a 100,000 mile warranty on some transmissions, but ours missed the extended warranty for these "weak transmissions". After fighting with Honda, they finally agreed to exchange our transmission, but we had to pay a Honda dealer for labor. The labor cost was still almost $2,300.

We have had the transmission oil changed like it should have been.

We had the van towed to a local shop and had the transmission completely rebuilt for $1,300. Not bad, but the owners of the shop go to our church and are good friends with my sons.

Unfortunately, less than 1000 miles after the rebuild the transmission is starting to do odd things such as buzzing in N and P. When I gassed the van hard the transmission made a loud screaming sound as it shifted into the next gear.

Even though the shop told us to bring the van back if we had any problems, we don’t want to do that. We have just traded the van off for another Explorer at the Ford dealership. We told the Ford place that the transmission is acting weird and they said that they appreciated our honesty and still gave us the full trade in value.

My sales guy said that the van will go to auction because it has too many miles on it. I sure feel sorry for who every buys it.

The van had great power and is very comfortable. The front seats had really nice center arm rest.

The van never had a flat. A first time event of any vehicle that we have owned.

We never got the mpg that was on the sticker. We averaged right at 15 mpg with half city and half freeway.

The van handled very good for a mini-van.

The seats are very well positioned and comfortable.

The heater and a/c works quick, including the rear defrost.

The van kept up with traffic while loaded down with people and tons of supplies on our trip to yellow stone national park last year. We were able to pass sports cars and still keep up speed while going up the mountains. I cannot say this of another van that we drive on a regular basis that belongs to my mom and it is not a Honda. Think of wind and starts.

We thoroughly enjoyed the van, but once again, I am responsible for the safety of my family and that is why we got rid of it. We just can’t take the risk of pulling out in traffic and getting hit in the side and killed.

I think that they are great vans that need a beefier transmission according to Honda and our mechanics.