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I may be posting in enemy territory, but I have had my 2004 MPV LX since new, and it has been a wonderful van. Quality, fit and finish second to none. No problems at 36,000 miles. (knock on wood) :shades:
American Honda's attitude is shameful and disgusting. I am telling everyone to see the postings here if they do not believe.
Also look for my postings on the odyclub board. I have a 2007 with the same issues, we are on out third transmission and in the middle of a lemon law case right now.
Email me is you'd like, youngsinga@cox.net
Only question is: 4 years, and only 36K miles? I have an '04 Infiniti and I've already put 50K miles on it already (and I bought it in March of 05 brand new)
My Odyssey's transmission (2nd one) has held up rather well.. I guess it's kind of hit or miss.. Definitely not acceptable for a Honda, but at least it hasn't failed yet
But yeah.. lately it seems like Honda is trying to cut back on the money it hands out for new transmissions.. Hopefully mine won't go.. If it does, I think I'll just try to sell the car, and if I can't, I'll junk it.
Yep. Will be 4 years old July 1st. Would probably be a bit less if my wife's carpool buddy hadn't retired about 6 months ago. I only put about 6k miles a year on my 1999 Buick Regal. Pre-owned it currently has about 84k miles. Both of us have short commutes to work.
My Odyssey's transmission (2nd one) has held up rather well
It seems auto. transmissions have been more problematic since going to a fifth gear, and the "smart" software that is suppose to learn a drivers habits for better performance. Some of the earlier MPV's have had the 2nd to 3rd gear shift shock. The 6 cyl Camry's are experiencing the same thing I believe. I'd rather have the dumb 4 speed transmission, that are reliable, in exchange for the better fuel economy(1 mpg better)
Glad we didn't trade it in.
HERE IS THE MAIN REASON FOR MY POST, THOUGH......REAR MAIN SEAL.
The dealership didn't offer one year ago, when they did the transmission, to have me pay $12 for a new rear main seal. This seal is between the engine and the transmission....separated by a restrictor plate. There would not have been a labor charge at that time........HOWEVER.....since I didn't know to ask them to do it, and they didn't volunteer that information, I didn't have it done. Less than a year later, my engine is leaking oil from the rear main seal (crankshaft flywheel). Took it to the dealer thinking it would still be covered under the 3-year/36,000 mile warranty that would come with the replacement transmission. WRONG. Since it's not part of the transmission....no coverage.
I balked and told them to call American Honda, as I just bought a 2008 Pilot 3 weeks ago. Anyway, Honda gave me a 40% allowance, so my out of pocket cost for the $1,000 repair wound up being about $540. I have a case number with Honda to see if they will allow anything more. I've been waiting two days for a response, but since I've settled the bill, I don't expect anything more from them.
PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE. If you have a honda transmission replaced, DEMAND they replace the rear main seal. :mad:
So far my sister's 2001 Ody EX is still running well at 88,000 miles with original transmission. :shades:
The transmission is shot with 93,500 miles on it!!
I drove it with a Service Tech and was able to get it to vibrate & shutter while shifting.
When we got back to the dealership I noticed he was in a hurry to get out of van and get back to the service desk but he wasn’t fast enough to keep me from hearing him say something.
When he walked by the desk I heard him say something about a valve is going out?
The service manager asked me three questions.
1) It was dew for its 90,000-mile maintenance, which I agreed to get done.
2) Was there anything else that we needed them to look at while they had the van! (Which surprised me)
3) Did we have the Honda Care Warranty? (Which made me believe our transmission was dead)
Now I'm glad we spent extra for the Honda Care Warranty because they're replacing it at no charge.
The thing that I'm concerned with is that Honda will only warranty the new or remanufactured transmission till our currant warranty is up which will be at 100,000 miles.
Doesn't seen right on a new transmission to not warranty it for longer than 6,500 miles
We’re seriously looking at new vehicle now that we know the problems with Honda’s
I’d like to thank all of you for your informative posting
BC
That went out on mine the same time as the transmission.
The engine would not hold idle at a stop light and would just sputter to a halt.
This also caused the RPM's to surge between 1000-2000RPM while parked in the driveway...dealer wanted an extra $250 to replace it, I said no way, and did it myself for $110 (the price of the part at AutoZone), and did the labor myself.
Good luck with getting the warranty on the replacement tranny.
I was told that with no customer "participation" (translation: paying any $$$), that the tranny would have 12months/12,000 mile warranty, and that when the customer does "participate" then the warranty is 36months/36,000 miles.
Not sure about your case, since you have the extended warranty...
Also, make sure they replace the rear main seal (per the previous posting...) and tighten up the suspension (and recheck the front-end alignment too...)
Honda's does not know how to make a transmission for big cars. They are so dishonest. You cannot rely on them to disclose any information about any defects. Honda does not care about human lives or road safety. Honda only cares about profits.
Our 1999 Odyssey has 140,000 and the original tranny. I service that transmission myself every couple of months. It still slips occasionally, and I drive it like the ears of made of glass, but it's my problem. If or when it locks up, or the soleniods seize then I have to fix it, not Honda.
Also, Honda didn't design or build that transmission. One of their vendors did. You are right about one thing, the design isn't really right for a heavy vehicle. However, after your warranty expires, that's just too bad.
I did not expect the tranny to last forever. Honda did not replace my last tranny for free. I had to battle with them in order to pay only the labor charges. Please refer to American Honda's 03 Service Bulletin. Their transmission had a design flaw which could result in sudden transmission lockup due to heat buildup.
I serviced my cars at Honda's dealership and did all the work there as recommended. I took my car there in 04 for their recall to let them install this oil jet kit which I found out from postings here that the reason for that recall was due their design flaw. When I asked my dealership at the time for the recall and they told me that the recall was to enhance the car's performance.
My family and other people on the road almost got killed because my transmission sudden lockup due to heat buildup on a busy freeway in California which almost resulted in a deadly car crash if the other drivers' did not jam their brakes and swerved to the side of the the busy freeway. Whatever happened to me was described in their above service bulletin about their imperfectly designed transmssion.
When it comes to a design failure, American Honda should have the decency to disclose the information to their affected and potential customers on the possible outcome. It was truly dangerous and my near death experience could have prevented if they did not lie to me about their recall. I like a lot of people blindly believe in Honda without doubts. If I did not blindly believe in Honda , I would have found out the reasons for their recall so I would not have been fooled by them.
They paid for the cost of the transmission only because I studied all the postings here and did my own research but the battle was lengthy and hard fought. They could not deny their their responsibility because I learned everything here about their transmission flaw and was able to cite to them their service bulletin and whatever happened to me was exactly the same as what they described there.
I did not expect American Honda to be responsible tor my tranny forever. But they should not conceal information and start taking responsibility on their design flaw. My rebuilt only lasted for less than 2 months and less than 1,500 miles after replaced. If you think that is the quality that you should expect from Honda, I can't say much about it. I have to tell you that my Toyota is still running well with nearly 300,000 miles on it without any transmission problem. At the time I bought my 03 Honda and that was their selling point that I could well expect it to last over 250,000 miles with only minor maintenance. My tranny died at 89,000 miles and my second Honda tranny died in less than 1,500 miles. That is what you call reliability.
I have traded in my Odyssey with a Dodge because Dodge/Chrysler dare to offer life time warranty on their products and their prices are so good. I have the most pleasant buying experience at the dealership in Pleasanton, California. People should not blindly believe in Honda like a rock star fan but to objectively research on the car makers.
My experience is that Honda only cares about profit and they don't care about human lives and road safety anymore.
After searching on this failure, it seems like more and more people are reporting it. Our van has always been serviced at the dealer and had the transmission replaced around 50k miles.
Yeah... on the 2002 and 2003 models. Not current enough to put on the not recommended list.
To others out there, do not fear about bringing this issue to light. Honda is well aware of the problem. The dealerships, I suspect, try to push back and get you to pay.
I've seen other postings at odyclub.com for people who have had similar experiences to yours.
It seems like Honda is playing the "one out of three get a tranny free" game.
If I were you, unload the Ody after you get the new tranny, and find something else.
You might not need to pay for the tranny now, but it will eventually become a money pit (motor mounts, idle air control valves, timing belts, and now I am hearing about rear main seals going out...)
In my situation, I am stuck with it until I get my $3k worth of use out of it before trying to get rid of it...
It's actually running pretty good now, but who knows how long that will last???
The hitch issue mentioned above is also a good point; I put a hitch on my Van to haul my trash cans to the road in a little trailer - only ended up using it a few times and then just bought a truck.
Maybe the dealer saw the hitch and just said no dice on that note - anyone with this issue remove your hitch before you bring it in; I hope Honda gets what they deserve on this issue - American carmakers would be lambasted for handling such an issue so poorly with such a clear design issue.
Most of us bought Honda vehicles based upon their reputation ...but sure had a rude awakening by experiencing this unexpected chain of events.
Honda Motors abused ...and continues to abuse...all the afected customers by refusing to act responsibly and fairly with EVERYONE that had their transmissions failed due to A DEFECT on those afected transmissions.
They are getting away with doing the barely minimum ,leaving thousands of inocent customer with little or no recourse of recovering their losses.
The general public should be informed of this abuse!!
Let's go about divulging the facts!!
Other than that, enjoy your new car!
The fact that the transmission could suddenly lock up which could result in deadly car crashes. Does anyone with the appropriate authority even care?
The fact that the transmission could suddenly lock up which could result in deadly car crashes is extremely dangerous. Does anyone with the appropriate authority even care?
Thank you.
Angela, if you want to have an effect I'd go after Consumer Reports magazine on this one. Probably most of you bought your Odysseys because that magazine rants and raves about Honda and you believed them. I always felt you cannot know an autos reliabilty until it has been tested in the field in large quantities for a few years. Get a few miles on the autos before rating reliabilty - few autos have problems with less than 40,000 on them.
But CR STILL has Honda rated so very highly - including relaibilty and in particular this most recent issue praised its "power trains" LOL. Their "used cars to avoid" does not mention the Odyssey and they still recommend this minivan. How does anyone know what the newer Odysseys will be like for transmissions? Do their previous models have a good reputation that they could predict stellar reliabilty for them? Don't you think that as the newer ones with the same transmissions get more miles behind them, that they should expect problems too?
Instead of blaming the government, you ought to write a nasty letter to CR about themselves, your Odyssey, and your personal experiences. This magazine claims it is for the consumer -- then make them do their job!! If you feel misled -- tell them.
Mine died 2 blocks from home, going 20mph around a corner.
It's a family van, not a hot rod, so it's pretty tough to drive it in any crazy manner given it's high center of gravity and curb weight...so any "normal" driving conditions (driving on any road designed for auto traffic, whether mountainous, or flat highway) should not have anything to do with it...now that's assuming that the transmission was properly designed to handle normal everyday driving...which is apparently not the case here...
Towing a trailer may be another story, if you exceed the total gross vehicle rating with the trailer in tow and a full passenger/cargo load, then all bets are off...
So, bottom line, it's not a matter of "if" just "when" your tranny will go out.
I've seen others who meticulously maintained their trannys with fluid changes, services, etc., and it still died, and I've read of brand new 07/08 Ody's with less than 1000 miles have the tranny die...it's a lose/lose proposition...
Also, did the other transmission shop clear out the codes? Did they tell you what the codes were? If they did not clear the codes, they should still be stored in the computer...
What happened when it died? Flashing green "D" drive indicator? Check engine light? TCS light?
Sorry to hear about your situation, we got our 2002 Ody in the first batch late 2001, to transport our growing family (1year old child at the time), and that was the primary reason, FAMILY transportation...
Just hope and pray that your case manager at American Honda cares enough to not hose you completely, but otherwise prepare for an uphill battle, they will not make it easy for you...and I guess expect to pay anywhere from $0 to $$$$$ for the new tranny. You might also need a new PCM (tranny computer) along with the tranny.
I think 04's are also covered by the 2nd gear oil cooler jet recall, you should double check to see if that was ever done...51k miles seems a bit early for tranny failure, but then again it's all over the map as you can read here...
We do not see that the 2nd gear jet cooler recall kit was done, but we will call them to confirm that. It makes sense becuase I was in 2nd gear when the trouble all started. But again, Honda says they've not been able to get the van to replicate the codes again. I don't want to drive a ticking time bomb.
I am afraid your dealer might be giving you the run around right from the start, they should be able to get the codes (anyone with a $50 code reader from AutoZone/PepBoys/Kragen's can do it).
Call American Honda, and calmly give them your story and situation, and hope they have a compassionate heart for your situation.
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For further assistance, feel free to contact Honda Automobile Customer Service. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Pacific Time.
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Mail Stop: 500 - 2N - 7D
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Good luck!
Wow... that seems like a really low price. Is that typical for trans. replacement labor?
Better make sure of what exactly they are replacing.
They should also replace the PCM computer.
They may also try to stick you with "while swapping your tranny we noticed your motor mounts are bad, they also need to be replaced." and then try to get more $$$ out of you...
Just make sure your new tranny is covered 3yr/36k miles, and try to get it in writing!
Did Honda put you in a rental car?