Honda Odyssey: Problems & Solutions:(1995-2004 Models)

green2000

We also experienced a mysterious, and frustrating knocking rattle in the door. It turned out to be only when the middle row seatbelt(s) were twisted a half turn and the metal clip was occasionally hitting the plastic armrest for the third row! (It was hard as heck to figure out...)

lash119

I have a '01 EX w/ 13k miles. The drivers side sliding door often will not close all the way. It closes almost all the way , but then pops ajar. It doesn't do this when I bring it to the dealer so they can't determine the cause. Has anyone else experienced this problem?

mikensue

Yes! We, too, have a driver's side sliding door that won't close all the way at times. This same door will then not open. You can pull all you want -- it won't budge. Then, after driving down the road a few miles, the dome light comes on along with the door ajar warning.

The dealer claims the rear seatbelt must be sticking in the door -- impossible. The carseats are always in the same place. And as far as it being the driver's seatbelt improperly retracting and sticking -- well we'll keep a closer watch -- but we're doubtful.

phil47

Mine did the same kinds of thing...intermittently. My dealer didn't have to see it happen, they just listened to my description and then took the van in to "adjust" the doors. They adjusted and cleaned a number of items, and also adjusted the latch torque as per the TSB (I don't have the number but it has been posted before). No problems at all since. They are operating flawlessly, even in snow, ice and subzero temps (knock, knock).

duyenanhusa

aspesisteve,

go for the DVD and get a portable GPS.
Check out "Street Pilot III" from www.garmin.com

A lot cheap than factory NAV.

taxmanjeff

My 2001 LX had sliding doors that stuck frequently until I had the local Honda dealer replace the subseals on both sides. Supposedly the official fix involves changing the seals to ones made from a different rubber compound. Whatever they did the doors work fine now. There is a service bulletin out regarding this but it's not necessary to know the number. When I told the service manager about the problem he knew what to do right away. Apparently I was not the first (nor the last) to complain about sticking doors.

dmathews3

duyenanhuse said: get a portable GPS.
I say go for the Nav and buy the DVD aftermarket. Those portible GPS's are ok but no where near as nice as the Nav. Where the DVD's are as nice and depending on what you buy better than factory. Remember you buy the portible GPS and don't like it you can't add the Nav later to the dash but you can a DVD.

jnash2

I would like to hear from the people who had this part replaced in their 2002s. I'd like to know if you think the van performs better or if you have any problems with the new set-up or any other info you want to add.

rictom

I have a 2000 LX, no major problems. I've been reading about the various problems that can happen, and wondering about the extended warranty. My LX has low mileage and I think the 3 years will be up before the 36,000 miles, and it seems if I'm going to have any problems they may show up around 25k (brakes, transmission clunking)or could show up after 36k. I know there are dealers who sell the 7/100,000 between 750-$900 (I have those names somewhere, hope they still do)
My question is, the extended warranty is really a 4 year 64k warranty, at least for me since I wouldn't get it until I get near 36k, so would paying $800 for a 4 year warranty be worth it? I guess no if I don't have any problems, and of course if I do.....but I haven't had any of the 'normal' Ody problems so far....
argh!

sgergen

is for 7 years and 100,000 from original date of service (day you bought the van).

Yes, there is overlap.

Scott

chas400

30,000+ on a now 30 month old EX, and when my wife tries to bring the driver's seat to full upright/forward position with power recline control, the motor makes a thap-thap-thap-thap sound rather than simply stopping or whirring when the seat comes fully upright. There is additional motor noise as the seat is adjusted, and these are new symptoms. She and I change - I drive the van on weekend trips, she during the week, so we often used this feature. Dealer AutoWest Honda in Roseville California has a mechanic who says this is "normal" noise. Well, we never heard it before, so if anyone who has an EX, especially a 99, would please check theirs by bringing the driver's seat to a fully upright / forward degree of recline (or all the way back to near horizontal does the same thing I found on testing the extreme positions) and post the results? I suspect - strongly - I'm not getting the truth. And if it is "normal", it sure wasn't for the first 30 months / 30,000 miles....

Thanks - Charlie

dmathews3

Just checked wifes 01 and no noise at either end of recline/upright. Your service dept. lied to you. I can bet that the part is the same now as then. Auto manufacturers don't change those kinds of parts unless there is a design change and they can't use it anymore or they find a cheaper one. I would tell dealer that you posted question on Edmunds and had over 15 answers and no one had the noise, so replace it. He lied to you, so I see no reason you can't lie to him.

edm85

I just sold my 2001 EX Odyssey and bought a 2002 EXL Odyssey. Because the center tray between the front two seats is so hard and everything slides around, I cut a computer mouse pad to fit the tray and used the back side. It worked fine on the 2001, but on the 2002 there seems to be more vibration.
Anyone out there have a better solution or a way to reduce the vibration?

mschafer

I have 127,000 miles on my 99EX. I have never heard the noise, and I adjust the seat to full forward every day. My butt hits the lever on the way out, and reclines it some; so I always bring it back to full forward when I get back in.

Find another dealer.

kpny

I have a 99EX with 57,000 that's sitting in my driveway waiting for a new transmission. I too had the thapping problem at 29,000. Dealer tried to deny problem but did lube the seat tracks and cables. Of course this did not solve the problem and I brought it back a few months later. They determined that the gears were stripped and replaced the reclining adjuster. That solved it; those were the days when I was still under warranty.

sam082158

My 2000 Honda Odyssey with 43,000 miles started smoking this week. I checked the oil, thinking it might show that it was low. It was about an inch above the full mark! It's been about 3000 miles since it was changed at the dealer. I took it in and they admitted it had been overfilled and gave me a free oil change and a wash. They say that they are sure no damage was done. If it hadn't started smoking, I wouldn't be so worried about it. Funny how it took about 3000 miles for the smoking to start. By the way, it only smoked occasionally upon warm start-up.

QUESTION: Do you think any damage could have been done?

fibber2

Mitchell,

If you don't mind me asking, how did you fair financially turning over a 1 year old Ody? As a habitual leaser, I bought an '02 EX with some reservations. If I were to decide to move on in a year or two, how would I make out? Did you sell it privately, or trade it in?

Thanks for sharing some details...

Steve

edm85

Steve,
The 2001 Ex I had, I had leather put in , cross bars and mud flaps. The 2002EXL came with the leather, cross bars and mud flaps.
I sold the 2001 for $28,250 in a private party sale. I paid $31,077 driveaway for the 2002. That included 6% sales tax and $40 tag and title fee. Considering the 2002 has more HP, side airbags, heated seats and a five speed transmission, I thought that was pretty good.

Ed

chunkasmom

I got my van used from a dealer in Nov of '01. Come December the transmission started slipping on cold mornings. It really has to warm up a good 7 minutes before it stops. Has anyone had this problem? I also jave the sticking doors problem and the noisy brakes. I gotta say, I thought this was supposed to be the best van out there. So far, I'm not that happy.

asm4

We just bought a 2002 EX. The very next morning we noticed a puddle of some oily-like liquid whenever we warm up the engine in the morning. This oily substance is right underneath the hood and this happens only when the engine warms up first thing in the morning. We immediately contacted the dealership and they say they had no idea the van sitting on their lot for 10 days before we bought it had any problems. They think it may be lubricant mixed up with the AC system that is leaking along with the normal condensation of the AC unit. They say this is normal. Funny thing is it is 30F in the morning and we do not have either the AC or the defrost running when the engine is warming up. The dealer suggested that he will put some dye in the engine oil next week to make sure that engine oil is not leaking. Somehow we find all this very fishy. Has anyone else had similar problems? Please advice.
Also, there is some condensation right beneath the passenger side sliding door---seems to evaporate quickly. Is this normal?
Do we have any consumer rights, especially since the van is brand new? Thankyou.
PS:seeingred - did you have similar problems

dmathews3

Thats why I don't buy used vehicles. It's to easy to doctor up a bad vehicle, trade it on a new one and let the next person worry about fixing it. I'd buy a cheaper new vehicle before I bought a used one. Once I traded in a pickup with winch, huge tires etc and came accoss the company who bought it used. They told me that the Olds dealer told them that I had died and wife got rid of it because it was just to big for her. Well I told him that I just came back from the grave and why I got rid of it. He wasn't to happy.

cupfan

OK, I've seen it described in here before, but am hoping to get some advice again.
The driver's side power door on our '01 just quit. Wouldn't even open manually with the latch.
The buzzer also goes off continuously in gear. Luckily, I knew about the master switch.
Sometimes the rear of it is sticking out a little, but when it's pushed back in, the buzzing still won't stop.
Fob and dash switch won't work either.

Dealer appt. is still a ways off. Has anyone else recently had these problems?
Actually, I did get it open manually once and got it closed again. All the contacts looked fine, no misalignment.
A few weeks prior to this I did hear a slight knocking sound with the track as the door would open.

fibber2

Ed,

Thanks for sharing that. Beth was afraid that she would not like the Honda after good experiences with the Dodge and Ford. I assured her that if she was really unhappy, we could always move on in a year or two without losing too much on the deal. Your experience supports the point.

BTW, it is different, and there are some things she is not crazy about, but overall, I think she is falling in love with it.

Thanks,
Steve

dj5

My wife bought a 2001 SS EX Odyssey in January 2001. She now has 19,000 miles. Last week she had to replace the front brake pads. Understand that the Odyssey goes through brake pads so was not too concerned. Now yesterday it started to hesitate, the wife took it into the dealership and they said that they need to replace the transmission (under warranty). They said it would take two days but they would give her a loaner. If problems continue, I will trade for a 2004 when they change body styles.

mschafer

My 99EX had its pads changed at 60,000 and 120,000 miles. In both cases, there was still a fair amount of wear left on them.

dmathews3

Brake pads and mileage do not go together. You could have had 99% of the mileage on the highway where the person with 19K could have been all city stop and go driving.

auburn63

If you are going to mess with your doors before going to the shop then you should do a little diagnoses first. Try and see if you can pull a fault code from the computer. Turn the ignition key on car off, then turn master switch for doors off, then push a door button (on the master switch) open and hold it, with 1 secound pauses while holding down on the open button flip the master to on wait 1 secound then flip it to off wait 1 secound then let go of the open button and look at the door warning light on the dash and count the long and short flashes.If the light does nothing then you didnt time it correctly, if it comes on and stays on their is no code for that door, if it flashes then count the code. The longs count for 10 the short for ones. Example 2 long and 5 short is a 25.Tell the advisor at the dealer the code you get and follow the below to clear and re-learn the doors.

You need to pull the fuse on the top row, 4th fuse in from the door, in the passenger side fuse box. Keep it out for 15 secounds and then re-install. You will need to reset the clock when you are done. Now you will need to re-learn the doors. You can do this by turning the power on the master switch, push and hold a door switch until it completely opens then push and hold it till it fully closes. Repete for the other door. Now try and see if the doors will operate now.

Or just wait for the service appointment ..Good luck

keithrichmond

> College Park Honda in MD stinks. Dont buy from them!!!

Someone posted this earlier back. We too had terrible experiences with our purchase from College Park Honda in MD. They totally did a bait/switch on us. I live 1.5 hours away in VA - I called them on the phone on a random Saturday morning and ask if they have any in stock - sure! they say. They tell me about a specific van in the color we are looking for - sure! they say. I ask if they'll sell it at sticker price - sure! they say. I drive the 1.5 hours with family in tow, excited to soon be driving home in a new van. We get there, the van is there as promised, with a "sticker" price that has $4k dealer market adjustment. I probe the salesman about this and get the response to just work with him and he'll get it for my suppsed sticker price. 4 hours (!) of dealing later with the sales mgr. I drive home in our new van - I get it for $400 over sticker. The look on my families face about 3 hours into the dealing when I told them I was going to walk made me have to buy the van.

Fine, why am I telling this story? Because while we love our van, this is an Odyssey Problems forum - Honda has a serious problem with their dealers. Recently our neighbor ordered an '02 on our recommendation from Congressional Honda in MD. They put the deposit down and were told to wait 2 months. A few days later they got a call that their van was in and they had to drop everything and go to the dealer immediately or loose their van and deposit. They called me practically in tears after they had been pounded by their sales staff on purchasing several thousand dollars worth of dealer add-ons. They had a really negative first time Honda buying experience, just as we did. Would either of us buy another Honda again - doubtful.

Also, this problem is 2 phased. We have had some minor nagging problems with our van - and hence my participation in this forum over the last few years. We have been so fearful to take the van in to get any kind of warranty work done because our nearest dealer in VA (Koons) has been really combatant on our problems. All we've ever been able to get them to service was the broken door handle and seal replacement. The vibrations, noises, etc have all been denied for one reason or another. I recall posting in a previous message how I can't wait to be out of warranty so I won't have to think about taking the van back to any dealer...I still feel that way.

Honda's problems start on day 1, at the dealer. Until they can fix that problem you won't get me to buy another new Honda...

Keith Richmond
Warrenton, VA

mschafer

Consumer Reports just made an interesting set of observations. Both Toyota and Honda make some of the best cars.

Both Toyota and Honda have the absolute worst service and customer relations through their dealers.

It has been likened to the best looking girl in high school. She can act like a bi**h and still get all the dates she wants. The less pretty girls need to be nicer in order to get a date.

Supposedly, Honda has already taken some steps to try to improve this lousy dealer customer service and attitude towards customers; and, as always, I guess we'll see what we shall see. So far, it hasn't taken effect at the once closest to my home.

tju

Slipping on cold mornings is also how our transmission problem started in our '99 LX. It ended about three months later with a new transmission. Unfortunately it was out of warranty. Honda paid part, but we still had to pay for a big chuck of the cost. We're quite disillusioned with Honda.

dmathews3

I think that is the biggest problem with foreign cars unless you buy the extended warranty they won't take care of you. My 97 Tracker wouldn't shift into reverse last fall and I took it to the Chevy dealer and they found after pulling it that it would cost almost $1500 including parts. $650 was just the labor charge to pull the trans (four wheel drive). I called Chevy after they said that the linkage in the top of the trans had rusted. I explained to them that even though its almost 5 years old that it only had 27K on it and that all maintainance had been preformed at the dealers on or before required and that the rust was something I could not prevent as it was inside the trans. When it was over and done with I paid $350. Thats one thing I have found is the American Manufacturers will work with you if you talk to them calmly.

fibber2

I have this mental image of the service techs from my local dealer cleaning out the neighborhood WalMart's stock of JB Weld. Funny, I was looking at the stuff just the other day. They claim to be able to seal block cracks and stand up to machining. But on my new Ody? I think not!

Guess it is time to crawl underneath for a look...

Thanks for the link,

Steve

stever

I dropped a canoe on my driver's side mirror and used JB to fix the busted innards.

Two days ago I dropped a kayak on it (yeah, I'm a klutz) and busted the mirror innards again. Maybe I didn't mix it right the last time I fixed it?

Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards

fibber2

If my engine needs JB Weld, remind me to check that YOU are not mixing up the product!!! ;-)

Steve

bear21

I have purchased 2 Odysseys, a 99 in 99 from Piazzi Honda in Langhorn PA and recently a 02 Nav from Southeastern Honda in Palm Bay FL. Both dealer experiences have been beyond expectation. C.R.Platt was especially considerate and helpful at Southeastern. I would not hesitate to deal with these dealers for any purchase or problems in the future.

dave594

keith, I'm sorry to hear of your problems with DC area dealers. I bought my 99 ody from Bill Page Honda in Falls Church. I ended up buying from them after getting the runaround from Fairfax Honda. The van is now over 3 years old and out of warranty. So far so good. But Bill Page is pretty straightforward in their service department, and was only one of two Honda dealers given a good rating by Washington Checkbook magazine (The other was down in Woodbridge). I've had a few warranty things done with my Ody and they performed the work on it with no problems. Give them a try if nothing else.

cupfan

Thanks for the solution to the door problem.
Actually, just pulling the fuse and re-inserting it worked.
Saved me a dealer trip. Thanks a lot!

kute

I have had this Ody for over a year now. Didn't have any problem until this one. The Parking lights, tail lights, instrument panel lights, side marker lights, rear license plate lights stay on, even after turning the van off and keys removed. When you open the door, we hear a reminder chime as if the ignition switch is in Accessory (I) or Lock (0). I have already drained my battery once. Can any one help me if there is a simple solution? Thanks!

mdossan

I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey with about 4,000 miles. There is a loud howling noise coming from the front of it intermittently around 80 mph.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks.

auburn63

Sounds as if your van has a drivers side multiplex unit problem. There is or was a service bulletin for a similar problem with the dash lights on the odyssey, but not for sure of the year ranges. Call your dealer and ask them to run a VIN status check for open recalls to see if yours is in the range. Good luck

auburn63

Only wind noises we have found so far involve the roof rack cross bars installed backwards. Other than that or if you do not have a roof rack I don't know of anything else that is common..

jl926

Just got ours 2 weeks ago.

has anyone had the following problem:

Rear Air - turn the fan on high, ac compressor button off. Fan speed in the rear sometimes fluctuates as you are driving around town. This only happens when the fan speed for the rear is on high.

Fluid levels- Both power steering and coolant levels were at high with cold engine. Now after 400 miles with engine cold, levels have dropped about 1/2 inch from the high mark. Is this normal during the break in?

AlSO:

Any break in tips.
I hear that there is special break in oil in the engine and one should not change this oil until the first 5k miles or 5 months whichever comes first.

Thanks all for your help!

bigjim01

I had the rear window motors replaced on my '99 Ody. The dealer had to access them thru the large panel in the rear right of the van. Thats where the rear air handling unit sets. After he replaced the motors, I got a loud flapping noise and occasionally a fluctuating flow in the rear A/C outlets. This only applied when I had the rear fan on the high position. It was OK when slower.

I removed the panel myself and I could see a plastic sheet behind the air handler. This sheet was covering a fender well cavity of some sort. I think it was intended to act as sort of a cold air plenum/return for the rear unit. In any event, it was loosened by whatever the dealer did and that caused it to flap and get sucked in against the fan inlet and caused the restriction. I solved the problem myself by taking a long screwdriver and punched holes in the plastic sheet till It quieted down and stopped flapping in the air intake. Seems OK now, works fine. Don't know if it works as designed, but it works OK for me.

If you're still under warranty, I'd take it to the dealer and tell them to inspect the plastic sheet behind the rear air handling unit.

Hope this helps.

kute

The Parking lights, tail lights, instrument panel lights, side marker lights, rear license plate lights stay on, even after turning the van off and keys removed. (See # 1644). I took it to the dealer, but the problem didn't show up at the dealership. He ran status check on the VIN number, but couldn't find any recalls. I drove the van back to work and this problem came back. This is so weird. Sounds like lose connection somewhere. Any ideas?

len_a

I'm far from an audio enthusiast but since the beginning I've found the sound system in my Ody to be less than adequate. It's difficult to describe but certain parts of music just sound garbled almost like a vibration as if the speakers can't handle even the most basic low volume music. Honestly, I think my 1990 Civic sounds better. I know the weaknesses in the sound system have been discussed before but the search engine here doesn't seem to be working.

I was never sure what to do about it but yesterday I had the van into the dealer for it's 15k service and explained the problem to them. They said I could have the SPEAKERS replaced under warranty if I wanted. The thing I'm worried about is just getting another set of the same sub-par speakers put in. The dealer said the part number of the speakers had not changed since 2000 indicating that Honda has not changed the speakers available for the 2000 Ody.

So I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with getting the sound system fixed through the dealer? If you had speakers replaced did it help? I guess I have nothing really to lose by letting the dealer replace the speakers since there is no cost to me but it might be just a waste of time.

Please share your experiences with fixing the sound system in the Ody especially if done through the dealer.

BTW, why is the "Honda Odyssey and Sound" board marked 'read only'? I would think this post would belong there. Yes, I'm new.

skubes

99LX with 55,000 miles suddenly has double "kathunk" sound in reverse. Honda dealer (one I trust) says it's tranmission. Quotes $4000 to replace with rebuilt unit. He says all replacements are always really rebuilt ones, not new ones (is this true?) and only have 12000 mile warranty. Went to a Cottman Transmission place and they say they repair existing tranny, almost never replace completely. But they charge $350 to completely dissemble tranny and then tell you wants wrong and what cost will be. Also only 12000 warranty. I'd hate to spend $4000 and have problems again in a year! Has anyone else gotten tranny repaired at non-Honda place? What should I do? (I should have bought extended warranty, but didn't.) Wonder what I could get in trade in for a 2002 Ody - anyone do this? I'd rather pay $7000-8000 for a new LX than $4000 to fix old one (but I'd be sure to get extended warranty next time!!) Any advice?

len_a

I intend to have the dealer replace the speakers but I wanted to find out if there were different Honda part numbers for the 2000 and 'better' 2001 speakers. The dealer says the part numbers are the same but I wanted to see if anyone here already went down this road and knows the story.

rob133

Has anyone with an Odyssey had the engine sludge problem that the Toyotas have been having? There are hundreds of posts from different Toyota drivers who have had their engine fail. Seems like the Sienna has the most failure. Supposedly more than 3000 people have had the problem so far. I dont know how to link to a different page, but you can search by Sludge and you will see what I am talking about the Toyota.

rob133

Here is a link to more information on the Toyotas.

http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=38302

mschafer

I have 127,500 miles on my 99 OdyEX. Oil (not synthetic) and filter were changed at 1,000 miles, 5,000 miles and every 5,000 miles thereafter. No sludge yet.