Honda Odyssey 1999 - 2004

darelldd

Alabama has quite poor coverage for the NAV system. There is a page on the Honda site that shows what areas are covered. There are four or five states that show nothing. Bummer.

- Darell

phoenix2001

Does the 7 year warranty cover the DVD system? If so that would be a great deal, you can't seem to get an electronics warranty to go past 1 year anymore. Any opinions?

bjc4

Regarding the maintenance questions. thank you for responding. I am not sure if we have a problem or not. As mentioned, the tires have only $29,000 on them and I don't drive particularly hard and brake hard etc. But it is good to know what might be causing the problem. Thanks again. And any further advice would be welcome.

arbabc

The dealership is in Bedford Ohio. Their standard deal on the Ody is MSRP -200, for all customers, no haggle, no fuss. Locals will know what dealership I am talking about. They are small dealership but they treat their customers like family, and have a really nice service department. I'll post more specifics and contact names after I speak to the salesrep. I don't want to jeopardize my chance at having an Ody for a good price quite yet.

Anyhow, the gentleman I have bought cars from for friends and family, recently passed away. I got to talking to the manager about my old friend and how he always took good care of me and my friends and that his son was now a salesman at the dealership, etc. That's how the deal came up. I am not sure if anyone else will be able to get the same deal. Mind you, I have never owned a Honda, but lots of friends have bought them through me. And no, I don't need to make a penny on any of that. I make plenty good money cleaning up Oracle bugs. Thank you Oracle, for keeping me in business.

edwinfong

I had the 30k service done by the Honda dealer. When they did
the auto transmission service, they put in Castrol ATF instead of
Honda ATF. I complained to the service manager informing him
that the owner's manual specifically said "Use only Honda ATF in
the transmission". We opened a bottle of the Honda ATF and it
looks and smells differently than the Castrol ATF. He then drained
and refilled the trans with Honda ATF. One of the reasons why I
didn't buy Daimler-Chrysler mini vans was their reputation of losing
their transmissions at 60k. It appears that one of the reasons for this
was using the wrong ATF in them, something about the "slipperyness of
the fuild between different brands". A word to the wise.

dmathews3

I have an 01 nav and the 7/100/0 and it covers everything except wear items for the warranty period. I looked this up for someone else in months past and it does say the nav system is covered so I guess it would cover the dvd on the 02 models too.

hdcruzr

I just ordered the EXL-RES ... What am I going to do with all my kids Video Tapes? Can you "burn them" to DVD format? Is there an easy way to install a Video Cassette Player under the middle seat? Should we just start renting or buying new stuff in DVD? I WOULD APPRECIATE BRAINSTORMING ON THIS TOPIC. Thanks!

viskha

I just ordered a '02 Ody RES yesterday but would also like the navigation system. Any thoughts on if I should get the RES and add a laptop (on a removable table available at the Delorme website) with Delorme Navigation system (total around $1,300 but may look "cluttered) or change to the NAV version and add an "after-market" entertainment system (around $700+/-)?
Is NAV or RES better for resale?
Thanks in advance for any input.

mtempel1

Hello all, been lurking for a while and enjoying all the posts and good info. Wife test drove a 2001 today in anticipation of buying a 2002. When I visited the dealer earlier in the week, salesguy said $500.00 gets us on the waiting list and being on the list means we'll pay MSRP, no extras. After test drive today, when I asked them about the MSRP, they claimed that they did not know. When I brought out the printout from collegehillshonda.com with the price, they began waffling. Anyway, we continued talking and when it became apparent that we were not putting down a deposit today, the sales guy offered to place us on the waiting list anyway, no deposit. Gave me a "unit number", whatever that is, not a VIN#. 2002 GG EX-L, September allocation. I said OK and figure I'll negotiate (as much as one can on one of these) if they ever call. Anyone heard of this no deposit waiting list ploy? Maybe the sales guy gets something for adding names to the list, even without a deposit?

jmurman42

The Havasu Blue is available in the Spring, not in the Fall.

jmurman42

I just received a memo from Honda Technical on the Towing package for the 2002.

The 2002 has a seperate system than the 2001. The 2001 system will not work on the 2002. The towing package includes the Power Steering Cooler and a heavy duty Automatic Transmission Cooler. This is specifically designed for the new V6 and 5 speed auto trans.

The Towing Package will not be available at the time of vehicle release. It will be available within a few weeks though.

dmathews3

Get the Nav and get an aftermarket entertainment system. I use a laptop for Navigation in my motorhome and it's a pain in that even though it's 36' long. You have a wire going to the power, wire going to the GPS that lays on your dash, someway of holding the laptop secure so it's not a danger in a accident. Then theres a matter of hearing what was said. Unless you are driving accross country with your radio off you won't hear the spoken commands as the sound on laptops leave a little bit to be desired. With the Honda Nav. the radio dims and the command is given, the radio goes back up and all is happy. Plus the nav comes in handy daily, not just on trips. I needed a key made so looked in phonebook and found a place. Wrote down phone number and punched it in the nav. It brought up the business I wanted, hit ok and it took me right to the door even though I had never been there before. Just my 2 cents.

tag9

One option would be to get an AC/DC VCP. I had to replace one last year and bought a Philips brand for around $80.

According to the 02 specs, the Ody system has auxiliary inputs so it should be a simple matter to just buy a VCP and plug it in. You could always have it professionally installed, of course.

Right now, DVD burners are NOT cheap and the market is a mess. There are three different standards; DVD+RW, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM. HP recently announced a DVD burner which should be available next month. The drive itself is supposed to retail for $599 and the discs for $16. Although rewriteable, it seems it would be more cost effective to just buy the pre-recorded DVD titles. Anyway, considering how long it takes to burn a CD full of music (or data), I sure wouldn't want to mess around burning a bunch of movie titles on a 4.7GB DVD....yikes!

slocko

You can buy a video card for your computer and connect your vcr to it. You can then make vcds of your tapes.

Here is a link:

http://www.dbsforums.com/ubb/Forum14/HTML/000460.html

kcf41

Looking to buy a mini-van and notice that the Odyssey LX model doesn't have a CD player. Why? Seems to me, that a (basic) CD player should be standard on ALL new vehicles. What gives?

DTKWOK

With Honda, the "lower end" models only come with cassette/radio's while the EX's come with the CD player standard. (I personally think that they should have a CD/cassette/radio setup -i.e. Sienna?). But, you could always add a CD player to the Odyssey. I think some of the other car companies also do this too.

tag9

A few considerations when transferring VHS tapes to the VideoCD (VCD) format:

1) Max length for VCD is 80 minutes so they come up a bit short with respect to standard-length feature films.

2) Although virtually all DVD players manufactured in recent years will play VCDs, some will not.

3) The quality of VCD is similar to that of VHS while the resolution of DVD is several times that of either VCD or VHS.

Regardless of whether a VHS tape is transferred to DVD or VCD, you still end up with a **copy** which will never look quite as good as the original. However, a transfer to DVD will generally be of much higher quality than a transfer to VCD.

Considering the cost of pre-recorded DVDs is hovering around 15-20 bucks and the fact that DVD quality is superior to anything else out there, the investment in terms of time, equipment, and blank media appears to be unwarranted. In my opinion, one would just be better off buying DVDs from the likes of a Best Buy, Circuit City, or Amazon.

Of course, transferring home videos or TV shows to DVD or VCD is another story; I think that will be the primary market for this equipment.

flxomac

has anyone ordered an oddy with exterior/interior color combination that is not the stock standard? for 2002 I would like the exterior red with fern instead of quartz fabric. is this allowed, and how long would this take to fulfill??

p.s. 2002 information (pics, colors, specs) can be found at odyclub.com

viskha

Thanks a lot for your "2 cents" - it helped me make up my mind. I'm getting the NAV (hope the dealer lets me change from RES to NAV since I only ordered the RES on Friday!). Any recommendations, anyone, on an add-on, after market Entertainment system that looks good and "integrated" and works well (DVD &/or VHS)?

gpe2

Can anyone give me leads as to Honda dealers in Bay Area/Sacramento who will sell 2002 at MSRP or will permit order w/o deposit? $1000 over MSRP is best I've found so far in limited number of calls.

vincereynolds

I wittled down my van choices to the Sienna and the Odyssey. The price that I paid was 1000 over MSRP here in the Atlanta area, but the dealership ate the last two months of my lease plus I did not have to worry about the $300 disposition fee. So in the end, I paid a little under MSRP because of that "great lease idea" that I had a three years ago.

For those of you still debating on a van I have a very lengthy and detailed account of choosing the Odyssey over the Sienna at

http://www.epinions.com/content_34199539332

dmathews3

Oh one more thing I should have told you. Where you live, is that one of the places that the Odyssey incompasses? If your area isn't listed you again may want to reconsider. If you go to the Odyssey website and find where you can order the update DVD's for the Nav and bring up the page there is a place there that you can click on and it lists what is covered. Click on each state and it even gives you a picture of the parts of the state covered besides the written cities.

viskha

I have heard Navtech (the makers behind Honda's Navigation system - as well as many other systems) have stated that, because of popularity & demand, they should have most of the country covered by the III quarter of this year. Read this somewhere on edmonds chat boards.
Currently my local city is listed but not much else in the state. (Incidently, I do have a Navigation system in my Acura RL; however, it is not DVD but the older hard disk format).
Thanks for your input.

dkrab

Anybody else notice that the 240 HP rating on the 2002 Ody is with regular unleaded? On the 1999-2001, you had to use premium to get the 210 HP, otherwise you got 205.

kcf41

I'm looking for a great deal on a '01 LX model in the Atlanta area. Any suggestions? I just left one dealership and noted that their sticker price was almost $4000.00 over MSRP! Can you believe it?! Man, talking about greed....

silverody

I live in the Wash DC area and found most (80% sample size 5) of dealers doing MSRP. One dealer wanted to add some accessories so I walked out.

I read regularly about MSRP+ in the Atlanta area. Is it because of high demand or low supply?

I should be fortunate, there is a lot (IMHO) Honda dealers in the DC/Baltimore area. It seems lately that I'm seeing a lot of Odys on the road (maybe more than MB-Chryslers minivans).

BTW, I own two Hondas (91 accord and 95 passport). Cancelled on an 01 Ody in May but expecting an 02 in Sept/Oct timeframe.

scsmith38

We are waiting to buy an Odyssey untill we see the new 2002 Red color. One dealer said he will be getting one in that was already sold in two weeks that we can look at. Being the impatient person that I am I was wondering if there are any pictures on the internet of the Odyssey in the Red. Does anybody know how long it takes Honda to put on the 2002 information on their web site or when the 2002 brochures will be coming in?

diploid

I believe torque is now a healthier 242 lb-ft for the 02 model, also. Regular unleaded.

And, 5-speed automatic tranny.

The 02 Odyssey is going to give the Town & Country a run for its money. So much for the moveable console...

slocko

I was assuming that the reason you want to transfer vhs to vcd is because you have a lot of 30 minute kid tapes like I do, that are not available in dvd. vcd quality is as good as the tape.

I don't recommend transferring anything that is available on dvd already.

flxomac

and available at odyclub.com, along with color chart. see the general discussion forum for this information.

tag9

Whoops! Slocko is correct; completely forgot about those 30-60 minute purple dinosaur/yellow bird/blue bear tapes. VCD could be the answer here, provided, of course, that the player in the 02 Ody will read them (assuming it's going to be a newer model, chances are good that it will).

Regardless, assuming the kids can't live without those shorty VHS tapes, I'd still check into having an independent shop install a VCP. It shouldn't cost all that much and would at least save the time involved in transferring the tapes to another medium.

slocko

I will probably go with a vcp also since I want the nav system. I am looking forward to transferring my home videos and kid tapes to vcd. I have a 300 mega changer so once I add the home videos to my collection, it will be more convenient to watch them. Right now I have to go dig up the tapes which sometimes is not worth the effort.

By the way you can check out www.rearseatvideo.com for some vcp/dvd systems made for the Odyssesy. Not a very professionally looking site though.

yfn_spiderman

I got on the 2002 Odyssey lsit in July, the only thing that needs to be done is for my wife to choose a color. Since the brochures are not out yet, and we are thinking about the Red Rock Pearl, my dealer suggested that we should look at the Accord's Firepepper Red Pearl.. it's the same thing.

dplaisance

We purchased a Honda 2001 Odyssey LX. We are getting 12-13 MPG. If we are lucky we get 18 to 20 on the HWY. We have taken the car back to Honda to have it tested and they concluded it got 15MPG(Off course they drove it on a HWY and the traffic volume was low!) We have the district manager giving us the run around asking us do we run the air conditioner- do we have passengers in the car, Etc. I would like to know if anyone else is having this problem with the gas mileage.
Does anyone know of a class action suit? We would have never bought this car had we known.

phil47

With around 8000 miles on our 2001 Ody EX, we are getting exactly the 18/25 estimates. The highway number was confirmed after a 1200 mile trip through the mountains averaging around 65 mph WITH A/C blasting and always using a lead foot to pass (OK...I tend to be impatient following campers on uphill climbs). I expected less due to the hills and A/C so I was pleasantly surpised. The Ody was an absolute pleasure to drive. Plenty of power and super comfortable. Using premium unleaded to our destination versus regular unleaded on the return made NO difference. 2 adults, 2 kids and TONS of luggage. Nothing on the roof rack.

If the van is "broken in" and you are only getting 20 mpg on the highway...something is wrong.

carleton1

Odyssey Red Rock Pearl on 2002 Honda color chart looked like a deeper red than my good friend's 2001 Firepepper Red Accord EX 4 door sedan. Maybe the larger area of the Accord made a difference as compared with color chart.

cupfan

Just a note. I have a 2001 EX built in late January. My van most definitely has a 5 speed transmission installed.

I'm curious as to how many other owners also have it. It's a simple test.

At about 65 mph, on level ground or slight upgrade, push down just enough on the accelerator to downshift. It's perceptible, but just barely. Look at your tach to be sure. It will lower about 450 rpm.

Now, while you're still accelerating and before it upshifts again, manually shift into D3 and FEEL it downshift.

I'll be amazed if the 2002 isn't exactly the same ratios.

yfn_spiderman

Is there one on the web???

cnybro

Hate to break the news to you - but you have a 4 speed. That slight downshift you feel is the torque converter - not an extra gear. All 4 speed autos with overdrive do this.

lumanski

I confer with cnybro. My EX was built in March-01 and I am 99.9% sure its a 4-speed.

bjk2001

My 01 EX Ody was built in July 2001 and I have a D-4.

cupfan

Torque converter or not, I've got 5 distinct separate ratios to use, unlike any other 4 speed I've ever owned.

In other words, I can give you a specific rpm for D3 and two more at a constant 60 mph.

seguy

if you drive in D3, you can feel the same change in rpm by adjusting throttle or going up a slight grade, although the transmission is still in 3rd. try it in 2 also. I believe most modern automatics have a lock up torque converter which saves the transmission from downshifting quite so frequently.

phil47

You're right, the lock-up TC does add a useable (albeit limited) additional ratio. I've often heard it referred to as a half gear (4.5 speeds?). However, by the same logic you could call the 2002 tranny a 6 speed (5.5 speeds?). We'll just never win this argument :-)

darelldd

While I understand the "distinct" gear ratios being felt, please be assured that there are only 4 actual gears in the '01 transmission. The torque converter can do some interesting things, and one of them is to offer up the afore-mentioned 1/2 gear feel. Think of it as slipping the clutch.

- Darell

phoenix2001

Well, the dealers in Phoenix are sticking to their MSRP plus policy which is causing all the other dealers in Arizona to keep their prices high. Even Tucson which used to be at MSRP is charging more for 2002 models. I called a Honda dealership in Albuquerque, NM and the incredulous answer I got was that they were watching the dealers in Phoenix and Denver to see what to price their Odyssey's.

Still, I found some dealerships outside of Arizona willing to go below MSRP (at least $500, maybe more) and all stated that they would not charge above MSRP. The other good news is that one-way tickets out of Phoenix may be as low as $68 and you save money on sales tax too. The MVD has told me that Arizona residents will be charged 7.0% on out-of-state new vehicles instead of 8.1% and 7.6% in Phoenix and Tucson, respectively, when you register your car.

So I hope this helps someone out there. I'll be looking for an Odyssey in November earliest. I just wish I could wait longer because I'm sure prices will fall with the economy and the new capacity in Alabama.

jrdowney

All of you that rationalize MSRP as a good/fair/amazing price are missing the main point. The real measure is what the dealer (and Honda) is making per sale. Based on historical information their profit per vehicle is pretty high on the Odyssey. Now you may see it as a great price but any way you cut it the company is the one walking away with most of the money. I think you would be better off simply being happy with the purchase and not trying to justify what you paid.

silverody

I heard people complaining about the colors on the 02 brochure and stating that they don't look quite right. GG looks brown and HB looks more like GG.

I'm not going to make judgements on the Redrock Pearl until I see it in person. The shot of it in the brochure looks very nice.

Even though my handle says silver ody (initially planned on getting the 01 SS), I've decide to go for the Redrock Pearl or MB for 02.

billg7

That is good information. If you live in one state why not consider buying your Odyssey in another state, if you can't find a reasonable deal in your state. I did this once, many years ago on another vehicle, by taking a plane to the other state and then a taxi to the dealership, and it worked out well.

Of course if it is a long distance ,it may not be worth it. You have to consider the cost of the plane fare, the cost to drive the vehicle back to your home state, and the hassle involved. I think I would want to be able to save $500 or more after all my expenses. You may be able to get a good deal on the extended warranty at the same time. Also I would want a contract in writing, as I would not want to get to the out of state dealer and then have him try to raise the price on me.

California residents may not be able to do this, because the smog equipment requirements may be different. You could call the DMV and the auto manufacturer to find out.

It sounds like with the improvements in the 2002 Odyssey and more people aware of the advantages of the Odyssey that demand is actual up from last year. I think with the improvements and with the added luxury models it is going to be hard to compare an Odyssey with any other mini van and then chose the other mini van.

Some will chose another van because they don't want to wait months or pay above MSRP. If I was an auto dealer I would not want to anger my potential long term customers by charging over MSRP. I don't think it will pay off for them in the long run.

diploid

Maybe it's just my area, but I've had my share of going to the dealers and trying to negotiate. I go to either Honda or Toyota dealers, and then to GM divisions (Chevy, Pontiac, etc.). I stay away from Ford and the Europeans (too expensive, in dollar-for-dollar thinking).

But anyway, the Honda dealers are very bad. They act as if you're the one who needs them, not the other way around (and I wasn't even looking for something as in-demand like the Odyssey). It wouldn't surprise me, now that the Odyssey is even more appealing to buyers, that these very same Honda dealers will not change their attitudes.

I'm not saying that every single one of the individual sales rep were bad, but in general they are. My Honda dealerships are usually very busy, so you just can't walk in and say "I want Terry because she's nice." Whoever spots you first will be the one showing you around.