Question for Honda Odyssey owners

[ShanaMama]

We are starting to shop for our next vehicle and an unbelievable deal on an Ody just fell into our hands. While researching, one mechanic told DH not to touch an Odyssey because the transmissions are known to blow. This is an 02 with 40K miles. Has anyone heard of this before and what has your experience been?
TIA

[gatorruth]

I have a 2006 model that I LOVE! I havent' had any issues with it, neither have several friends with older models. I get the oil changed when the little light tells me to and that's about it... Does yours have the auto-open doors? You'll NEED it with 2 kids... when I got mine, I told the dealer- any color, the only thing I wanted was the auto open doors. It's been such a big help...

I hope you get it!!

[bubbaray]

Yes, the pre-2005 Odys had transmission problems. Not sure the severity.

HTH

[bnme]

I have a '03 with 38k miles. We haven't had any problems and I love it. I also never heard of this and now I am keeping my fingers crossed!

[o_mom]

Yes, it is common. My sister had her 2001 go at just over 100K, but Honda covered it even out of warranty. We have a 2002 and have no problems at 75K, but we bought certified used, so the transmission is warrantied to 100K

From the feedback on Odyssey boards, it seems that if they are going it is usually around 100K. You would have 60K before that and depending on your car purchasing habits, that may be fine for you, especially if it is a really great price. Also, there was a recall on the transmission for that year, so make sure that it has had the recall service, which may included replacing parts of the transmission.

[ShanaMama]

I'm googling 'Honda Odyssey transmission' and getting tons of hits. I just registerred on Odyclub- hopefully that will be a good resource. From my limited info- gathering it seems that there were indeed problems on older models but in some cases Honda paid to fix them or extended the warranty. I'm not too clear, but will be happy to update as I find out more info. Thanks for the replies.

[KBecks]

you should visit odyclub.com forums. Yes there are issues with some transmissions, so you are taking a little bit of a chance. However, I think it's certain years more than others and so I'd research which years are the most vulnerable. I would also check into what kind of warranty if any the car still has or the seller is also providing.

[hellokitty]

We have a 2001 and have not had any issues with it. I also wonder how well the ones that blew were taken care of. I know some ppl think, "oh hondas are really tough, I don't need to do much to them." However, you still need to take care of the car, get oil and maint checks, etc.. Some ppl don't bother with that kind of stuff... makes me wonder if cases where it blew up was when the owner (or previous owner) did not take care of the minivan according to honda's recommendation.

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

There have been some huge issues with the 2000-2002 Ody transmissions. That being said Honda MAY have extended the warranty on the transmission to 100k, but I have no idea if that is transferrable.
If you can, I would stick to looking at a 2005+. There are som really really great deals out there right now, esp. if you are wanting a 2007 off the lot, you can get it at dealer cost (which is currently $2500 under invoice!)
Valerie

[ShanaMama]

There have been some huge issues with the 2000-2002 Ody transmissions. That being said Honda MAY have extended the warranty on the transmission to 100k, but I have no idea if that is transferrable.
If you can, I would stick to looking at a 2005+. There are som really really great deals out there right now, esp. if you are wanting a 2007 off the lot, you can get it at dealer cost (which is currently $2500 under invoice!)
Valerie

We weren't really sure we were looking for a minivan, I actually want an SUV. We certainly can't afford a new one. But this is some crazy story where the wife was in a minor accident and is so traumatized she can't look at the car anymore. They already replaced it & are now selling the Ody for a steal. (This is a friend of DH, so trustworthy.) Our dilemma is do we take it or wait it out since we don't actually need it now. I don't think we'll get this good of a deal, but then again I don't want to buy a problem. I am really not sure what to do on this one.

[mytwosons]

OMG! Our Oddy was horrible! We went through 3 transmissions and only one was covered.

The first trans went right out of warranty. They replace it with a used or rebuilt one w/a 12k mile warranty. That one went after about 6k miles so it was covered. The third one started to go after about 25k miles. That car was a huge money suck. I don't miss it at all!

The trans is the big problem, but if you dig, you'll also find people have tons of trouble with the radio going out and the power side doors.

[SheriRae]

We had transmission problems with our 2001 after 100,000 BUT this did not stop us from buy a 2005. As someone already mentioned don't buy pre-2005 and you should be fine.

I LOVED our '05 Odyssey never had a problem. Just recently decided to go sell it for AWD as we live in the Northeast. I'll miss my Odyssey though!!

[KBecks]

I own a 01 Acura TL which also has reported transmission failures but we got lucky and have no problems with ours. Even in years with bad trannys, it's not every car that suffers, just a handful.

That said, you need to decide if you really want and need this car or if you want to wait for the vehicle you really want. I like to buy cars that are the ones I love and hang onto them for years. But your process and situation may be different.

Minivans are great. I drove some older models before buying a 2007 and they aren't as nice. Some used I drove were rough and some were not.... it all depends on the individual vehicle. You must go for a long test drive if you are serious and figure if the car is desirable or not.

Good luck!

[ShanaMama]

OMG! Our Oddy was horrible! We went through 3 transmissions and only one was covered.

The first trans went right out of warranty. They replace it with a used or rebuilt one w/a 12k mile warranty. That one went after about 6k miles so it was covered. The third one started to go after about 25k miles. That car was a huge money suck. I don't miss it at all!

The trans is the big problem, but if you dig, you'll also find people have tons of trouble with the radio going out and the power side doors.

What year was yours?

[ShanaMama]

Minivans are great. I drove some older models before buying a 2007 and they aren't as nice. Some used I drove were rough and some were not.... it all depends on the individual vehicle. You must go for a long test drive if you are serious and figure if the car is desirable or not.

Good luck!

Great advice. I need to see it & drive it- I'll be using this car for my 45 min commute to work, so I need to like it.
DH and I haven't really agreed on what car we want, but kinda agree that a minivan would best serve our current & future needs. This fell into our lap, so
I decided if it's a good deal I'm ready to go soccer mom. But it is a pretty old model, and with the reported problems I'm not sure it's worthwhile.
I'm still wondering why Edmunds recommends it so highly if there were so many reported probs?

[bubbaray]

I'm still wondering why Edmunds recommends it so highly if there were so many reported probs?

Because of the minivan class, even with reported problems in both the Sienna and Odyssey, they had FAR fewer problems than their domestic competition.

BTW, if you are looking at other Honda/Acura products, the tranny problems are with the Accord powertrain, which (until recently) was the tranny for the Accord, Ody and most of the Acura sedans.

[mytwosons]

What year was yours?

I think it was a 2000, maybe a 2001. I always take excellent car of my vehicles and have always gotten well over 100k miles on them, even the one domestic I owned.

[ShanaMama]

We decided not to take it. If we do go with an Ody we think it's safer to stick with an 05 or later. For now we'll keep driving our car until its slow & painful death- may it not come very soon! Then we'll figure out what we want, need and can afford.
Thanks for all your help and replies. They were extremely helpful in our decision.