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Also, nice to know there are plenty of others having same issue......I dont feel so silly when talking to repiar people and they start making it seem like it is your fault battery sucks after 2 months instead of 2 deades....my old mpv had the same battery for almost 7 years before it needed to be replaced
That was a great car but fundamentally we outgrew the MDX. The 3rd row seats in the MDX, and all cars of that SUV class, are too small for teenagers and adults.
Of course we never saw ourselves as "minivan people". I had my sights set on Toyota Sequoia until I spent a day in one traveling to a sporting event with two families. The ride, the electronics, and mileage, are so compromised in that car that it really opened our eyes to something else.
We were concerned about the all-weather capabilities of a minivan. Weather isn't too much of a concern here in Northern Virginia but my wife and I have jobs that don't permit "snow days." The 30" blizzard last winter didn't help our decision making.
To make a long story short, we closed a deal on a 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite in Smokey Topaz in November.
The new Sienna was an obvious alternative. My kids thought the 2nd row seating was more comfortable in the Sienna, but otherwise the Odyssey was better in almost all respects for us. For me, the deciding factors were the quality of interior materials and the ride quality. The Odyssey interior has a hardy, modern interior quality as compared to the Sienna, IMHO.
The ride quality is no comparison. I'm "a car guy" (my other car is an Audi S5) so the floaty, isolated feel of the Sienna was a turn-off from the moment I test drove it.
On the other hand the handling of the Odyssey is outstanding. It is a big car, no doubt about that. I'm still overrunning curbs in it when i turn. But the road feel, responsiveness, and overall Noise, Vibration, and Harshness, are incredible.
As far as all-weather capabilities are concerned, I mounted a set of Dunlop Winter Sport 3D's on our Odyssey a few weeks after delivery. We've had a couple mild snowfalls and the car has performed exceptionally well. Front-wheel-drive + Snow tires = perfect for the mid-Atlantic.
I won't say I look forward to driving the Odyssey over my S5, but I don't avoid it.
OK: I actually look forward to driving the Odyssey when it comes to trips over 30 minutes with my two kids.
From my perspective, this Odyssey is the best engineered car I have ever owned. It is not perfect. At this price point, the lack of an auto-tilt-telescoping steering wheel and key-less start is ridiculous. Also, the Bluetooth functions are buggy, at best. I'm hoping for an update at the dealer soon.
The looks are in the eye of the beholder. My wife and I were turned off at the first pictures but now we absolutely love the look of this car. I understand how polarizing the 2011 could be but for us, we think it is fantastic.
My kids (14 and 11) are now planning long road trips this summer when they hated going anywhere over four hours in the MDX. Maybe that's the best testimonial.
23 Civic Type-R / 22 MDX Type-S / 21 Tesla Y LR / 03 Montero Ltd
Obviously you still don't want a warning light coming on in your van, but by suspicion is that Honda shortly will have a software update that dealers will be able to perform on these that will elimate the problem.
I feel Sienna cut costs in visible places- plastic dashboard and interior,cheap headliner but they are better equipped with keyless ignition ,HID headlights,Laser cruise, standard backup cam even in base LE trim, 6 speed AT with a more powerful engine. Odyssey cut costs where it is less visible- no keyless ignition, 5 speed AT except in top trim Touring,no laser cruise and no back up cam in base trim. But the dashboard materials quality is much better. Also road noise is supposed to be less than the previous version. But it costs more too. :shades:
So I think it comes down to personal preferences. I dont need a minivan anytime soon [non-permissible content removed] I have a Lexus GX and Camry but I am eagerly awaiting the new larger Prius [ maybe a wagon or mini-minivan] . Maybe 3 yrs down the line I may buy one of those especially if its fuel economy is closer to 50 mpg and it has a 3rd row. Would love sliding doors on it instead of regular doors !! :P
Well it has been 3 days, it is still on. I took to dealership, they charged the battery. Warning is still on. I had an emotional breakdown at the dealership, it doesn't help that I am way pregnant, and that I emptied my savings account to purchase this car.
Now what? Do I worry? Do I ignore the signal? If my Subaru would fit 3 car seats, twin stroller and diaper bags, I would have kept it. Now I am wondering if I should have squished us all in there.
After talking with friends who "know a little about cars" they suggested it is probably a defective sensor in the car setting off an alarm and that the battery itself is plenty charged and not going to die anytime soon. Like I said I have been driving the car 3 weeks like this with not one problem. Doors still open and teh car still starts.
I think what we all need to do is go to the dealer for service. not only to make them aware of the problem, but also to establish a record for ourselves. I will take this car in every time the warning goes, until they have it fixed. By having a record of a problem it protects us from future costs when the warranty runs out.
Good luck with the car and lots of luck with the babies!!
Thanks!
That's a lot to pay for a minivan. I know. But remember I was replacing an Acura MDX. We test drove a 2011 MDX with similar options and it stickered for $54K.
After New Years, I loaded up the minivan with donations to Goodwill and recyclables for the dump. The space in that car was freakin' incredible (don't snicker previous minivan owners). I have to admit I had the 500-watt stereo crankin' and the sunroof open as I made my rounds. What a great car.
Also, does the nav system allow manual input while the vehicle is underway?
I saw it's about $142 on Bernardi the other day and thought it's still expensive for 4 pieces of plastic sticks.
However, since then, we've noticed a few things that we aren't sure are normal:
1) When the car downshifts from 4th to 3rd and 3rd to 2nd, the tachometer jumps a little. You can't feel anything when braking but when you're coasting, you can feel the car give a slight "pull back" feeling which is the only way I can describe it. It's probably a jerk but since the jump is slight, it doesn't feel like a full jerk.
2) When the car is driving around 30-40 mph, at times the tachometer revs up to about 2-2.5K RMPs and then will suddenly drop by about 1K RPMs. The shifting just doesn't seem as smooth. However, I can't always reproduce this and don't know if it's just the way I'm driving.
Since we only had it a few days before the check engine light came on, we didn't really pay attention too much to how it drove. We've put about 1000 miles on it since the check engine light came on and it hasn't reappeared and otherwise seems to be driving ok. Are these driving experiences normal with the Odysseys?
Front passenger door is out of alignment.
2nd row seat behind driver gets stuck and unable to move seat forward to get to 3rd row.
2nd row seat behind passenger doesn't latch back into place after moved forward to get into 3rd row.
Believe temperature gauge is inaccurate, as well.
Have had this in to dealer 3 times to have problems fixed and they are still problems. Bringing back for fourth time on Tuesday.
Has anyone else had problems with their 2011 Odyssey, other than battery light (i fortunately haven't experienced that).
Thanks!
engr Mark
I kinda had the same problem with my transmission on my 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring. When the vehicle downshifted from 3-2 and 2-1 there was a slight judder, not very noticeable per say but apparent none the less. The slight judder did not occur all the time but maybe 30-50% of the time.
I brought it into the Honda Dealer, after the service rep, service manager and parts manager all test drove my vehicle and called the Honda Engineer rep and this is the conclusion they came up with: When the transmission downshifts this is so happen when the engine goes into the variable cyclinder management (i.e. switches from 6 cylinders to 4 or 3), the slight judder is caused by the downshift of the transmission and the deactivation of the cyclinders. What also supports this statement is the"eco" light comes on when it judders therefore indicating the deactivation of the cylinders. Well I am not sure if I believe them but their argument is logical i guess. Also the service manager / parts manager test drove other 2011 Touring / Touring Elites that same morning and according to them the transmission did the same.
Did not ever have a check engine light or problems upshifting though.
Hope this helps.
Thought I would share a couple things concerning the 2011 Honda Odyssey Touring:
1. Slight judder when downshifting from 3-2 and 2-1. Read my previous post to Pup975. I found this very interesting, don't necessarily agree with the engineers that designed the vehicle like this but at least I don’t think this is a problem.
2. Convex Side Mirrors. Believe it or not! I would consider myself a detailed oriented individual and I noticed when driving the 2011 Odyssey the side mirrors were a little distorted toward the outside edges. When I brought the vehicle into the Honda Dealership they told me the mirrors were actually slightly convex so you could have a wider angle to see more of your blind spot and further to the left/right. I haven't bought a car in 10 years and I thought wow, the engineers really were thinking when they built this vehicle. So if you have a Honda Touring (not sure on the other model 2011s Odyssey) look closely at objects through your side mirrors and you will see a slight distorted picture because of the convex mirrors.
Of course maybe the Honda Dealership was telling me this stuff to get me off their back......
Did anybody else notice these things and/or confirm with their Honda dealer?
The VCM system is not a transparent or seamless system despite what the Honda literature tells you. I have the first generation '06 Odyssey and '10 Pilot both with VCM.
What I can say is the vibrations will become more noticeable as the car gets older. My '06 Odyssey has 80k miles and the VCM & transmission issues are getting to the point where we are considering a new vehicle.
I bought the Pilot when our Odyssey's VCM quirks were somewhat acceptable. If I would have known the system would degrade to the point of embarrassment when driving with people I would have stayed away.
The VCM system is not worth all of the issues for a lousy 1 or 2 mpg.
The other models have Halogen lights - which I find to be pleasantly bright and completely functional.
Auto on/off means the headlights will turn on automatically at night and off when you shut the car off and after daylight is bright enough. You can turn this off and control the lights manually.
QV
I find the dealers really don't know every feature on every model.. I had one tell me the driving experience on the touring/elite is exactly the same as all other models. I had to remind him that the top 2 models have a 6 sp transmission..
He actually has it exactly backwards. I just got the Touring - it has the auto on/off which is really nice, but no HIDs. I don't miss them, but if you ware used them maybe you would.
Torque converter judder will occur on acceleration when the VCM system is off (all cylinders firing). Typically happens around 1500 RPM under light load. The vibration is a pulsing or "wobbling" type action.
In my experience, VCM vibration does not shake the entire car. It is a buzzing or continuous noise felt through the steering wheel and heard behind the engine firewall. Again, it helps if you can identify when the engine goes in & out of ECO mode.
DIAGNOSIS
Test-drive the vehicle on a smooth road, preferably one
with a slight incline, at speeds between 30 and 60 km/h
with the shift lever in D4. Let the vehicle shift into 4th
gear. While maintaining a steady speed, press lightly
on the accelerator pedal; this action causes the
transmission to rapidly engage/disengage the lock-up
clutch, placing the lock-up clutch in the partial lock-up
mode.
I believe I have this judder and it occurs at when holding RPM at 1500, incline works best but this can be duplicated on flat roads, key is to hold rpm steady at 1500, feels like driving over a washboard, turn overdrive off, rpm will ramp up and judder is gone
QV
On the phone, the service dept at the dealership where I bought it (in Pittsburgh) said it was happening because of the way we were using the car - lots of short trips - and I needed to drive it more, but I convinced them to let me take it in.
They serviced it this morning - at first it was the same story about "the way cars are these days." After taking a look, they said the battery charge was really low, and they would do diagnostics once it was charged (which was going to take 90 minutes). Maybe 30 minutes into the charge they said it was clear the battery was bad and they put in a new battery and said I should have no more problems. Drove it home - a 25 minute drive, 15 miles - and got the same "Batt Low" error message when I turned the car off. Tried a short drive a few minutes later and the same thing - "Batt Low" both when opening the side door and when turning the car off. Infuriating!
The service dept is closed now but I will call again Monday. I really regret buying this car, but maybe they will fix it somehow.