Honda Odyssey 1999 - 2004

peterparker

I like the utility of the voyager.. didn't have any major problems, but in reality, I have no idea how someone can even compare it to the 2202 Ody... fit, finish, power, ride, seats(the 99 GV was like park bench seats compared to the bolstered Honda, doors... all much much better in the Ody.. even if it was $2-3 large more than a comparable Caravan, just the fact that I drove it off the dealership means a $24000 Caravan would now be worth around $1800 on trade and I could probably get more than I paid for my Ody within a week... Penny wise pound foolish.. made that mistake before.

calg

Sorry I can't help with the parking stop issue. I am not one who pulls all the way up to the parking stop (but I also don't leave the back of my car sticking half-way out of the parking space either). I just try to estimate to get the bumper over the parking stop... seems to have worked since I have not experienced the dreaded scrape. I guess I was always worried that something WOULD scrape on the bottom if I pulled up that far... some of those parking stops/curbs can seem pretty high off the ground.

jimblock

The Odyssey has a fairly low clearance. I have scrapped the bottom on several occasions on parking stops. I did enough damage that part of the bottom came loose and I had it replaced (for over $100). Since then I have been more careful. When parking I try to line up my seat with that of the car next to me, rather than estimating the front of the car.

Unfortunately, I consider this a DRIVER defect, not a car defect. My wife never has a problem, and I have scaped the bottom of our Acord in a similar fashion.

h1vc

Thanks.

diploid

I don't have an Odyssey, but I estimate the front of my Civic when I'm driving by looking at the reflection of the black area (where the wipers are housed) onto the windshield. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but it never fails.

billg7

for December. Also has the lowest 5 year "Service Cost" of all the vans at $1783 for both the LX and EX

Service Cost (SC) defined as the estimated 5 year cost of maintenance and unscheduled repairs, based on past costs from "IntelliChoice"

The higest SC is for the Dodge Grand Caravan at $4347. Toyota Sienna CE 5dr is the next to lowest at $2302.

billg7

Thanks for the inputs so far. I see others have the same problem.

I don't see how it is driver error. The reason for parking stops is so you stop your car on them with a front tire. That way you know you have pulled forward as far as you can go. That is the safest place to be. They are not to prevent you from running into the car in front of you or as a final emergency stop. Some parking lots don't have them. If you will look at a parking lot with parking stops, you will see that is how most drivers use them. Some just touch the parking stop with a front tire and then back off slightly.

So yes, the fact that the Odyssey stops the car with some other part of the car on the parking stop, other then a front tire, is a design error in the car, not the driver. It is a design error that causes damage to the car and it can get serious. So lets call a design error a design error and a driver error a driver error.

I would bet that if the Odyssey is used in a fleet of cars at companies, or for rental, they would be putting out quite a bit of money because of this problem.

That said, using the fool me once but not twice principal, after it happens to you once or even 2 or 3 times you can adjust for it. So I am guessing it will probably not happen again to me. I may end up further back however, sometimes, then is the safest position.

dmathews3

carleton1 says again and again and again And how do you find hard, unpadded armrests on the front doors more comfortable than those nice padded ones on the 99 GC? Don't you think you've run that armrest bull into the ground. There is more to a van than those flunky @#$% soft ones on the Caravan. Of course when that's all you got that's good to brag about than I would run it in the ground too. Besides that's the only thing on it that's reliable.

billg7

When I made a comparison of minivans to determine which one I wanted I listed the various features of each and assigned Very Important to Not At All Important to them.

The top feature safety, was assigned as VI. The folding down back seat was also very important to me as I often don't need the back seat and don't want to have to store it and have two people take it in and out. Cost of ownership was another. It was those three things that mostly did it over the others.

There were some minivans that were quiter but not by much and it was not significant at all. The Windstar was rated a better ride but I liked the Odyssey ride better.

So it turned out no contest. I did not care at all which looked the best, as minivans are not expected to look sporty. I was certainly willing to wait for the long time to get one, because a car is a long term investment.

Of all the things I can think of, where another minivan might have an edge that is significant, is some other minivans had seats that were a bit more comfortable and had a fancier interior. I don't see how those things can outweigh all the other positives of the Odyssey. But then the 2002 Odyssey design has overcome even those minimal disadvantages.

I don't think a person can come up with a rational reason for owning any other minivan then an Odyssey. I remember one person I meet, who was in his twenties in 1945 and served in WWII, who would never buy a Japanese car because of what they did to us at Pearl Harbor, but that is a very personal reason and he is certainly entitle to it. Perhaps I will never buy a car made in Afganistan. I have also heard that their quality control is not very good.

stever

Ok, let's take the arm rest comparisons to the Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans board, shall we?

Steve
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billg7

I would agree that if the probability is high that if you bought an Odyssey and had a number of transmission failures then maybe you should consider another minivan.

First of all it is obvious that you are just trying to win the argument against dmathews and are not really interested if the Odyssey is the best minivan or not. Most of us have been around long enough and have seen that so often that we can easily spot it. So your post contains no useful information.

Most of us could care less if you win or lose and I don't see why you should care about such a silly thing either. Your life will not change one bit one way or the other. For all I know dmathews may not even be a person. It may be the A.I. computer that IBM used to beat the worlds human chess champion or one of their much improved models.

The fact is that most Odysseys are not experancing transmission problems. When one does it receives an upgraded designed transmission under the warranty, which then does not have the problem. Consumers Reports follows these issues very closely and has not found that problem. Also note you are talking about a 1999 Odyssey and the 2002 Odysseys are what is now being sold

If you have found a real design problem with the Odyssey lets hear it. Don't make one up. I think I found one with my parking stop problem, but I also came up with a solution. Don't park your Odyssey up against the parking stop and you will not have the problem.

dmathews3

billg7 says: For all I know dmathews may not even be a person. There has been a number of Monday mornings that I have wondered that same question. On one of the other boards all carlton1 complains about is how much better the Caravan armrests are compared to Hondas. I dig him every chance I get as he is always slamming Odyssey. A [non-permissible content removed] for a tat.

dmathews3

carlton1 complains how bad the Odyssey trans is but it can't be as bad as DC's as they have there own newsgroup here with 112 posts just on their transmission

inky

http://www.auto.com/industry/iwira6_20011106.htm

Looks like you guys in the southest will get Alabama built ones very soon. Only 50 built to date but not for sale. Watch for that learning curve. ie Canadian Odyssey better assembly at first.

INKY

fishmonger1

I was the one who posted #3647 about the transmission failures on my '99 Odyssey. Let me clarify: There have not been 3 transmission failures. There have been 3 transmissions (i.e., the original plus 2 failures & 2 replacements). An insult to be sure, but let's not exaggerate. In addition, Honda USA extended the warranty on the transmission to 5 years/60K miles.

I posted this info in the interest of full disclosure. Buyers should know that while Honda is typically reliable, they are not infallable, and clearly they really screwed up with the '99 Odyssey transmission (the wait list for a new one was 300+ deep). In addition to the Odyssey, I have a 12-year-old Accord that's never had a problem, and a 2-month-old Acura TL that's been in for service twice to replace a shim and a hose. So perhaps the best advice I've seen on this board is to inspect upon delivery!

For what it's worth, I would buy an Odyssey again. The 2002 has been improved over what was already the best van in the business. However, based on my experience buying the first production run from Canada, I would try to wait a year for the Alabama bugs to be worked out.

caviller

Carleton1, can you provide any real data to support your claims, and not simply your usual anecdotal evidence from a few friends or posts you've read? In one of your previous posts (since deleted) on an Odyssey vs Chrysler thread, you touted the Consumer Reports' individual breakdowns for system reliability as a reason not to choose Odyssey. Granted, in other posts you claimed CR didn't present enough information on the number of respondents per vehicle, so it's unclear what you actually believed. In any case, here's some current data from the CR website, which shows an improvement for Odyssey since the April '01 edition:

The Odyssey transmissions receive the best reliability rating (full red circle) for '95, '96, '97, '00 and '01. Odyssey gets the second best rating (half red) for '99, and an average rating for '98. Meanwhile, the Daimler vans (twin vehicles are grouped for reliability) received the best transmission reliability rating for '01 also. For '97, '98, '99 and '00 they received the third-best or average rating, and for '94, '95 and '96 they received the worst rating (full black circle).



Overall, The Odyssey gets a "Red Check" for well above average reliability for '95, '96, '97, '98 and '01. It received a "Black Check" for average or better in '99 and '00. Meanwhile, the DC vans received the "Black Check" for '98, '99, '00, and '01. All previous years were below average overall.


Keep in mind that the average problem rate in Consumer Reports is only 0.2 problems per vehicle in the first 12 months. At that rate, a vehicle well below average would take years to have even ONE more problem than one well above average.

steeleng

I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for pointing out that the reliability between these two vans is not as far apart as some would like to believe. It is too bad that there is not more objective information out there. I still find many people bashing the reliability of vehicles that they owned over a decade ago and are unwilling to consider the possibility that the reliability could be improved.

I think that both the Odyssey and the current DC vans are excellent vans that have a lot to offer. I personally am planning on purchasing a used 2001 DC van in the near future. I like the Oddysey but I plan on taking advantage of the lower resale on the DC vans which will save me $8000 or more over purchasing a used Oddysey. I will use part of that difference to buy an extended warranty. My current vehicle is a Chrysler product and has served me very well for 7 years and I hope that the van will serve me as well.

caviller

Odyssey is not a great value used, since the prices often reach that of new vans because of limited availability.


Also, if you aren't already aware of it, 2001 MY DC vans made after July 6, 2001 have the revised fuel pump mounting flange. The IIHS claims earlier vans have an issue with potential fuel leaks from this part in a crash.


Enjoy the new van. With a 2001, you may not even need consider the extended warranty:-)

rodeodawg

On my drive into downtown Nashville this morning, I passed a big rig with 7 Odys on it headed north on I-65 and the company address on the truck door was out of Birmingham, Alabama. These were 2002s, one red, a mesa beige, and 2 or 3 of the darker greens.

I emailed my wife (who's been begging for an Ody for months--but I have finally talked her into waiting) to tell her that supply is about to meet demand.

Is the Alabama plant up and running.

rodeodawg

Nevermind. That link to the article answered my general question, but seeing what I saw was still strange. Why would 7 new Odys be coming out of Birmingham, Alabama?

caviller

Keep in mind that the plants also produce the MDX and apparently a new Honda version of the MDX. Depending on the popularity of those and future vehicles built along side Odyssey, there may not be as big of an increase in supply as you might expect. Only time will tell...

robr2

"Why would 7 new Odys be coming out of Birmingham, Alabama?"

The trucking company is most likely out of Brimingham and was carting vehicles from the rail depot to the dealer or storage lots.

num1mom

I am a little confused about where Ody's are built. I read a post somewhere that said to stay away from Ody's built in Canada because of warranty problems here in the US. Reading here, it sounds like all Ody's have been built in Canada until now when the Alabama plant is just beginning to produce them. Do you think the poster meant to stay away from the Canadian built ones that have their gauges in metric? Wouldn't it be better to buy one built in Canada rather than the new Alabama plant as Canada has been producing them for a few years and they hopefully have all of the production bugs worked out (and the warranty is honored here in the US)?

dave84

Odysseys built at the Canadian plant that are for US consumption (and therefore do not have metric guages) are covered by Honda's US warranty. It is Odysseys built for the Canadian market that US buyers want to be wary of, as American Honda will not warranty them in the US. And I agree with you that until the Alabama plant has had considerable experience in building the Odyssey, a Canadian built Odyssey would definitely be preferable.

hungyen

How to find out if your Odyssey built from the Canada or Alabama plan? Thanks you.

scanner

Honda Odyssey is less reliable than a Hyundai

.

stever

Interesting link - I like the % of owners who would buy again - 98%. Anyone care to look at all the rest of the cars listed there and see if any meet or beat it?

Steve
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stripedcat

Then again, look at the Dream Car category of the Ownership Survey ...

http://www.caa.ca/CAAInternet/automotive&consumerservices/frames1.htm

DTKWOK

Yes, the 99's had some problems, heck it's a first year model. Since the Odyssey's reliability is at or above those of DC van's reliability now, what does that say about DC vans, both now and in the past? How many more years does Dodge claim that they have over Honda in making vans? You would think by now, that DC vans are nearly indestructible based on this, right? But guess customer demand speaks for itself (to a degree). Have you looked at ads for DC vans lately? They have to resort to the family dog holding the American flag in its mouth for pete's sake! Talk about desparate.

stever

And with that note, please take the comparisons to the Honda Odyssey vs Dodge/Chrysler minivans discussion. Thanks!

Steve
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gfc4us

It is well known that Ody is not Honda-like reliable. However,
it is not fair to compare a Honda van with a Hyundai sedan.
Ody's reliability ranks #4 only behind Sienna, MPV, and
Quest/Village among vans. Furthermore, most Ody owners
purchased extended warranty. 2003 Sienna will be a killer.
It will combine Ody's room and features with Toyota reliability.

shued

1): New Odyssey will be built at new plant at Nov. 14. Until now, there have only 50 vans
built at this new plant.
2): At Canada, the maximum capacity of that plant
is 140,000 vehicles. Now it builds 110,000 Van
and 30,000 Acura MDX. The new plant will finally
build 180,000 Odyssey. And the Canada plant
will build 60,000 Acura MDX and 80,000 Honda MDX.
3): Personally, from long term reliability point,
Nissan (and Toyato too) is better than Honda.
A lot of 90-92 year Honda cars have more problems than Nissan (and Toyato too). CR only have 8 year
records, and Honda has better marketing too.
So most guys thought that Honda has better than Nissan.

mchwe

anyone have a good handsfree phone setup in their ody's? the dash doesn't have any good place to stash a handsfree cellular phone.

thanks for suggestions.

robr2

I installed a Panavise Indash Mount and a Pro-fit phone holder. The Panavise attaches to the radio mounting bolts inside the dash and is fairly solid. The Pro-fit holder screws onto the Panavise and it holds the phone either by the buttons for belt clips or the tab on leather cases. The Pro-fit included buttons and a belt clip, but I already had one on my Nokia.

I use an ear-nub headset pretty much all the time while driving. Although not as comfortable as a true hand free with speaker and microphone, it works great as a reasonable cost (appx $30) hands free solution.

I got the setup from canyonriver.com - a distributor in Texas.

dkrab

I have been reading these boards for many months now and have observed that scanner bashes Hondas on a regular basis. Whatever.

I just made my decision between the Chrysler Town and Country (any model) and the Odyssey LX; the Odyssey won. I own a '91 Plymouth Grand Voyager, and have had a fair amount of trouble with it over the years. But this is an Odyssey board, so I won't detail the problems. Rather, I would like to emphasize my reasons for picking the Honda. It's just more van for the money, even with the huge discounts DC is offering. Bigger engine, equal gas mileage, 5 speed automatic from a company with a better reputation for product reliablilty and customer service when something does go wrong, excellent dealer service department near my office. I also have a '98 Accord, and had a '94 (wrecked) and a '96 (stolen), and when I did have trouble with the '94, Honda made it right without any hassle at all. The '96 Accord LX was stolen when it had 36,000 miles on it, so I had to take what the insurance company gave me for it; their payoff plus $500 bought me a brand new Accord LX! So resale value is another big plus in the Ody's favor. Don't say it doesn't matter to you. If your car is totalled or stolen, you will care a lot about resale value!

phil47

are usually a pretty happy bunch. We like our vehicles and enjoy discussing them with other Ody owners. I guess Chrysler owners need to kick someone else regarding their purchase, because they got tired of kicking themselves...

stripedcat

If you notice, In the Web site, the Ody vs. Hyundai sedan is not intentional. It is just that they provide the results in twos and it so happens that these two cars are paired as they are last of one{Honda] and first of the other[Hyundai]. Check with the Buicks etc.,

lumanski

Sorry, I was tempted to write. If you think that you'll be happier with a Hyundai than an Odyssey..... then go buy one! Good luck cramming 7 people in there and good luck with trading it in in 5 years when the dealer will only give ya $2500 for it. Be real, the name might be close but the overall quality isn't!

caviller

You have been very critical of data from Consumer Reports in the past. So, why would you believe the data from CAA over Consumer Reports? Can you please provide any comparative information on number of respondents, margins of error, etc that might help us compare the two measures better? Sample size for the Odyssey was 66 from the CAA. You also neglected to post the link for the Caravan. Here it is:

http://www.caa.ca/CAAInternet/automotive&consumerservices/frd_2000/frd007.htm

Nither van looks particularly good to me. Odyssey did weigh in with lower repiar costs, better vehicle, sales and service satisfaction, and a higher repeat purchase percentage, for what its worth.

akin67

I dont even know why we are arguing about which is the better minivan. It is a known fact that the Honda Odyssey is not only better than anything Chrysler can muster up but it is in fact the best Minivan on the road, in every respect.

* Every major automotive magazine has the Honda rated as their best minivan. Honda beats out every alternative in comparison tests, road tests and value tests. (Car & Driver, MotorTrend, Road & Track, Popular Mechanics etc....)

* Every Consumer group rates the Honda the best overall minivan (Consumer Reports, Consumer Digest, and Yes EDMUNDS)

* Every user rating service rates the Honda the best (Epinions)

And lastly while Chrysler dealers have to resort to every gimmick and rebate and markdown to get rid of their vehicles and Honda get produce them fast enough to accomodate user demand is a testament to which is the better van.

Honda is the best minivan currently hands down. And it meets the needs of the majority of minivan shoppers better than any other van on the market.

steeleng

Please do not attack Chrysler owners as a whole. I have been monitoring both the Oddysey and DC minivan pages for quite some time and the owners on both sites are generally quite pleased with their vehicles. Also, there are probably as many Honda trolls on the DC page as there are DC trolls on the Honda page. Take it out on the specific trolls not just the owners in general.

BTW, I have said before that I think that both of these vans are very capable machines and if I were choosing a brand new van I would definitely consider the Oddysey. I will personally be purchasing a DC van because I can take advantage of the huge depreciation caused by the larger production volumes and perceived reliability to save a lot of money on a slightly used van.

I guess that I just don't quite uderstand why both boards seem to have so many posters who are obsessed with proving that their vehicle is the best. When it comes down to it, purchasing a vehicle is a subjective process. You pick the one that meets your particular needs and budget at the time. Should one's needs or budget change, their decision could very well change also.

stever

Well said; nice post.

Maybe you'll enjoy this article: Why Buy New?

Steve
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phil47

on all Chrysler owners (I used to own a 92 Jeep Cherokee and was very happy with it). It was directed at trolls on this board (you'll notice I didn't post it on any Chrysler boards, just here). If it offended you, I'm sorry, but it was not directed at you. I'm just getting tired of trolls coming on this board and stirring up trouble!

scanner

Who is this troll that everyone is referring to? This is my second post in this topic, so will someone please enlighten me. I thought everyone is welcome in any topic on Edmunds. I like this topic; think I'll hang around for awhile.

BTW, has anyone ever had their Odyssey catch on fire?

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/honda_fire.html

.

billg7

Reminds me of the kids saying "Liar, liar pants on fire."

Well you have given me some hope. If my Odyssey burns up it will give me a good reason to buy a 2002 model. Other wise I would not be able to justify the added cost to my self.

By the way thanks to the ETH spelling checker, I got the word liar spelled correctly. I couldn't find it even in a very big dictionary.

lie, lied, lying, liar. Now where does the a come from?

caviller

Scanner-

No. No fuel leaks from a cracked fuel pump mounting flange, either ( http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/caravan.html ). So, given the possibility of fires on these or any vehicle, do you have any data to show exactly what the odds are of having such failures?

I would characterize one aspect of a troll as someone who continually throws up distractions in an effort to annoy or anger readers, rather than someone interested in an open debate on the relevant subjects. If you are indeed interested in debating an issue, how about a reasonable response to my previous questions regarding your last post?

Your courtesy in this matter is greatly appreciated. Incidentally, Carleton1 hasn't bothered to respond in the debate from his last post, either.

ateixeira

Took a look at an Odyssey at Herson's Honda (MD) yesterday. Just the inside because it was past 9pm and dealer was closing, so no test drive yet.

We have a Forester and a Miata, so I'm trying to convince the wife to get a van as our 3rd car, since she wouldn't have to drive it daily, unless she chooses to, of course.

Any how, we started by looking at a Kia Sedona. Oddly enough, this was because Kia offers a free Shrek video to anyone going in for a test drive! This was enough to lure my wife in for a look at minivans. It was actually nicer than you would expect, but the cumbersome 3rd seat and lumpy driver's seat ruled it out. The wife also found it big (uh-oh, Odyssey is big too).

So we headed for the Honda dealer, which had only a demo, none on the lot. Up front they said a 3 month wait with a $500 deposit was required, and don't even think about dealing.

Well, welcome to you, too, sir. We looked at one and like the space, the seats were comfy. No moonroof, though? Is that coming any time soon? Aftermarket or no? Also, there is traction control, but is stability control offered, or will it be?

So, my question is, are any dealers in the DC/MD/VA area discounting at all? How is availability in general, now that the 2nd plant is supposedly up and running?

I'd like to look at an EX w/leather, most likely. If I'm going to talk her into a van, it's going to be a nice one. I'm such a fan of the folding 3rd seat that the only other van I'd likely get is the MPV, and only once the 3.0l V6 arrives. I know it's smaller but she prefers small vehicles.

Advice/thoughts appreciated.

-juice

raybear

Pretty much all are right at sticker. You may want to wait for the fabled Alabama plant to come online and see if production is increased.

I have to admit an Odyssey at sticker is a better deal than a lot of other vans at a discount.

diploid

Weird, huh?

And get this, "lay" is the past tense of "lie" (to recline) whereas "lied" is the past tense of "lie" (to falsify). Past tense of "lay" is "laid."

stever

Now imagine that English isn't your first language....

Did we mention that our Editor's Most Wanted Awards may be of interest to Ody owners and potential owners? Did I lied, er lie?

Steve
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