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

user777

brugg: did you look at post 2755? i'm not sure - maybe your problem is mechanical and this won't help. i have manual sliders so i don't know about the procedure referenced in that post. just thought i'd point it out.

joeengineer

Took me a few tries, but I believe I have down.
I first checked if any screws were loose, found all good, I then studied the mechanicals of the door operation, again I could not find fault.
Third I began to adjust the screw rubber grommets in the back, again nothing. Then I removed the three front rubber spacer/grommets from the door. Aha big difference rattles almost dissapeared. From this I found the door is able to twist and vibrate normal without being annoying, I noticed the primary latch is the one making all the ruckus, so I tried one more thing, I placed all the stationary rubber spacer/grommets back in the door then I added small cut pieces of 1/2 inch rubber weathersripping to the head of the spacer grommets, this forces the door to push out against the latch, making the latch fit tight, not giving any play.
This I believe to be the solutions: Honda must redesign the front rubber grommets/spacers to fit snuggly againt the body, make them adjustable, or redesgn the door latches to latch tight or have an inability to vibrate freely when closed.

needavan1

I experienced the same thing with my 2004 ODY! My ODY will be going to the dealer in three days. Please let me know if they identified and fix your problem? To me it looks like, it's going to be hard to reproduce!

ody02

I have an 02 Honda Ody. I have just bought a pop-up trailer with a weight of around 1700lbs. The trailer has electric brakes on it. I am wondering if anyone has ever installed electric brakes themselves and how easy is it. I have already purchased the brake control and the 7 pin harness with wire already. When I look by the brake pedal to determine the cold wire to hook to I see a 2 pin connector with the same blue tape on it that the rear wiring adapter had on it. Could I get lucky and have this be my cold wire adapter??? I have talked to other mini van owners(non Honda) and they have said that their van came with a female/male connector ready to hook to for a brake module. I guess this whole message is to find out if anyone knows what wire I need to hook to for the electric brake!!! :confuse:

03babymover

Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to your question. But I might recommend having a professional do it, because if you get it wrong (which might include just splicing in at the wrong portion of the correct circuit) you can have all kinds of electrical and /or computer problems. A good hitch shop will not charge very much. I've let them do all my hitches.

Which brings me to another thing. I would never tow anything with this or any other mini-van. They are built on car platforms with the same transmission that the car had, though they now handle a 1,000 lb heavier vehicle. You are just asking to chew up your transmission. I have a hitch on ours, but only to put a bike rack on. Even that has me nervous.

trickleforge

Speaking of Dash Light issues, I noticed an interesting problem with my 2000 Odyssey. At random driving occasions, a trio of dash indicator lights (TCS, ABS, and BRAKES) illuminates and does not turn off until the engine is turned off and restarted. It's always these three indicator lights and they never turn off without powering down the vehicle. Any ideas on what could cause this curious situation?

cindythomas

We recently purchased a 2005 Honda Odyssey and with only 700 miles on the odometer, the only problem we have, and one not evident when first purchased, is the developed of an intermittent whistling-like noise on the driver side. The noise begins around 35 mph, varies in amplitude, and takes all of the joy after spending 31K on a new Odyssey. Even my wife, who has driven in the Odyssey twice, both times in the driver’s side, and is usually oblivious to similar things, commented about the noise last Saturday during a local drive.

I have examined the door seal, found one very slight indentation on the inner door seal, but at this time, don’t believe it by itself is responsible for the noise. Another area that looks suspicious is on the front part of the mirror housing is a horizontal area about ½ “height where no seal exist. Perhaps some wind is entering here so I placed a temporary weather seal there to block any wind but during a Saturday drive, it had no effect. The noise is still there when the door is opened or when the window is rolled down when driving.

I am now beginning to believe it may be a partially closed driver side’s vent. While it makes no difference when opening or closing this vent by its manually operated roll switch, this is the next suspect. I went by the local Honda dealer Saturday and spoke with the service representative and will bring it in sometime this week. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this can be fixed quickly.

Has anyone ever heard of a similar noise and how it was resolved?

rsblaski

Do a search for "wind noise" in this discussion and you will get a list of 64 messages related to this. Honda is aware of the problem and issued a TSB regarding the cowling in front of the windshield. It is apparently a quick and easy fix.

joend

Did you have any luck finding out what this is? We've had the same problem (2002 Ody). Had it in twice now for over $400 and still not fixed.

strongs120

Hello.
We've a 2005 EX RES/NAV and just realized you can't play the XM-radio and the CD changer at the same time (one in front with other in rear). This is documented in the manual but I'm hopeful there is some sort of workaround or 'hack'. Anyone know???

Thanks!!

sebring95

I haven't figure out or seen a hack for that particular issue. The only way you can listen to CD in rear and XM in front is to load the CD into the DVD player. Not the best solution I know!

liujn

Mine works. It didn't work when I tried to play CD in front and XM in rear. The blue screen on the RES said that the XM MODE is not supported. The 'hack' is to play CD in the DVD player.

cindythomas

Thanks for your reference to Honda Service Bulletin 04-078 and how it may be the cure for the whistling-like noise coming through on the driver&#146;s side door or windshield frame of our new 2005 Odyssey (<1K miles). Unfortunately, after taking the Odyssey to the dealer Monday, the technician stated that our van was manufactured several months after this problem was first identified and the repair kit was installed at the factory.

He then examined our Odyssey for an hour, discovered that the driver side black vertical piece is loose at the bottom, &#147;may&#148; be missing an attaching clip, and &#147;may&#148; be the source for the noise. Also, placing wide masking tape over the entire vertical plastic trim eliminated the noise when he test drove the vehicle. In the end, he didn&#146;t want to remove the strip until he has a full kit of new holding clips on hand if he has to replace one so he ordered one which may come in this Friday or next Wednesday. We&#146;ll keep our fingers crossed that it isn&#146;t something else.

While the source of the noise is still unknown, it has certainly deflated my confidence in the quality of the Honda Odyssey. Yes, it may be an isolated case but it has already cost me several hours of time and at least 2 trips to the dealer (20 miles round trip). This is my first new car ever and after spending a premium to get the Odyssey, I didn&#146;t expect to be putting miles on it traveling to the dealer to fix something that, at this point, seems to be poor workmanship. I give an update after our second visit.

My question now is &#147;Where is the famous Honda quality on this vehicle&#148;.

liujn

I can feel you. I have a 2001 Toyota Rav4 which is the 1st year of this generation. It was made in Japan. I thought it would be save to buy a made in Japan Japan. Guess what? I run back to the dealer's several times for the rattles, weather strips, wind noises, and other body integration issues. With the under-sized engine, which they replaced in the newer model years, I could not help myself to yell at them. I have a 94 Camry, it is old but it is very solid in quality. Lesson learned is that never assume it is a perfect car; talk to the owners of the car before jumping quick; compare/test drive different brands; inspect the car carefully before driving it home. Just picked my 05 odyssey 2 weeks ago. So far I have been very happy about the van. Haven't discovered any issues yet but only time will tell.

wendell95

I have a 2003 Odyssey and the rear end is too low under load. After much looking I found a rubber spring to replace the original bump stop. It is a TIMBREN #HROD2. However, the rear springs must be removed to install the new, longer bump stop rubber. Before doing this can anyone tell me if they have had experience with the TIMBREN or is there is a better way? Thanks.

ycz

My wife&#146;s 2003 Odyssey makes a short squeak noise from the rear while applying
the brakes. It does not happen every time, 80% or 90% time we can hear the
squeak noise. When happens, it is occurred the first few seconds while applying
on brakes. Sometimes we hear the noise while release (step off) the brakes too.
The van has been dealership twice for the same problem. We are told the brakes
are working fine; both front and rear pads have more than 60% left, other brake
parts work well too. They basically told us they do not know the problem.
Anybody on the forum had the similar problem? Should I try another
Honda dealership to fix the problem? Thank you very much for any information.

oneconsumer

It is becoming noticed that the new 2005 Odyssey has a major engineering defect. The fan in the 2005 Honda Odyssey constantly generates heated air about 110 degree when one chooses not to use air conditioning but only the vent to draw fresh air from outside. Apparently the heated air from the engine has leaked into the air duct or air intake. This becomes more apparent when the vehicle is stopped, since the hot air from the engine would stay around the air intake area, rather than be blown away. The dealer said there is no thing they can do to correct the problem, since this has something to do with the engineering design of this new model. The dealer also admitted that there are gaps in the insulation seal around the air intake area. But I think this is not the only place that hot air gets into the air duct.
Apparently this is a serious engineering defect. In order to keep comfortable inside temperature, the air conditioner would have to work excessively at all time in order to cool down constant hot air in the vent pipe. It also explains why so many drivers of the new Odyssey are complaining that they got much lower fuel efficiency than the manufacture claims in the window stickers, namely 19 miles per gallon. It is likely that people reporting good fuel efficiency were driving in the cold season or with the AC turned off or without automatic climate control. More complaints are expected when the hot summer comes. Honda should issue a recall and fix the problem.
To check if you got the same problem; try drive the car for at least 45 minutes without AC, stop the car, and turn fan speed to high. If you got hot air (hotter than outside temperature), then you got a defect.
The goal for this posting is to invite all 2005 Odyssey owners to test drive the way I indicated and report the problem, so that Honda will issue a recall and fix the problem.

lumbar

Is this now the "official" thread for this "major defect"? Perhaps it would be helpful if you cross-referenced the other topics where you posted this for the benefit of those who would like to read more, including any responses.

lastwraith

No offense meant, but just about every car I've ever owned has blown air at least somewhat hotter through the vents vs what the real temperature of the air is outside. So this may not be a very scientific test. Unless there is a major temperature difference, I don't see how this will prove much.

Air coming through your vents basically has to pass through an oven (your engine) to get there. No matter how well insulated the passage, after 45 minutes of driving the air in there is going to wick some of the heat from the surrounding ventilation passage. The only way to get truly outside temperature air is to open the windows.

This is not to disagree that there may be a defect, just to clarify that just because the air coming out of your vents may be a bit warmer than the outside air....doesn't mean that everyone has a faulty vehicle.

However, a cursory search or two online has revealed no other evidence of this "engineering fault". Do you have any links to share?

oneconsumer

When I drove to dealer's service center, the air was tested 110 degree from the vent, while outside temperature read 71. We need other Odyssey owners to test drive the way I indicated and see if they also get 100 degree or so of temperature in the vents.

lastwraith

A 30 degree difference is something else entirely, I'd be curious to see what other people's experience is. I'll have to have to check out my in-laws' Ody next time I am there.

badgerfan

If your 04 Odyssey was so bad, why did you buy another Odyssey? I certainly wouldn't give Honda another chance so easily.

masterpaul1

Assuming that you are not over loading your Ody., I think the best thing to do is buy some heavy duty springs and have air adjustable shocks in the rear. I'm not sure how effective replacing the original bump stop would raise the rear. The rubber bump stop is to prevent metal from bumping against metal. It sounds like your rear springs are stressed and need to be replaced. I would first try to buy some rear adjustable shocks, fill them up with air and see what happens. Most air adjustable shocks are rated at being able to provide up to an additional 1000lbs when filled with air. I had a 1986 Lincoln Town Car that had rear air adjustable shocks. Sometimes it would sag in the rear when loaded with five people. All I had to do was put some air in the air shocks to solve the problem. We have a 2001 DGC that has the original leaf springs and shocks in the rear. When it's time to replace the rear gas shocks, I will have them replaced with air adjustable shocks. You will have a more stable and stiffer ride. :shades:

liujn

I highly doubt the dealer has discovered the real problem. The air duct is located behind the firewall which separated passenger and engine compartment with insulation and sheet metals. The air intake is located right below the windshield wiper. When the hood is closed, it is also sealed from the hot engine air. Then when the car is in motion, the fresh air, that gets into the engine compartment, was pushed downward instead of upward.

I agree that when car has been driven for 45 minutes, the air in the air duct can get a little warm, but I don't think it can hit 110. This is certainly a problem to me. Here is what I will look for:
1. check if someone didn't accidental turn on either REAR or FRONT heat. I don't know if you have an auto climate control system or not. If you do, operating it can be a little tricky.
2. you may have a faulty heat switch or air exchange unit. It let the hot air from the heat core into the passenger compartment although you never turn on the heat.

Of cause, this problem can be contributed by other faulty parts. Without inspecting it in person it is difficult to make any conclusion, but I think these are the right directions you need to head to.

I have a 05 Ody EXL-N+R , and I don't have this problem.

isellhondas

If other owners aren't experiencing this problem, why would they want to test for something that isn't bothering them?

pgrover

Hi; you mentioned in a 2004 post that your 2000 Odyssey had had a squeaky drum fixed under your extended warrantee. Was is difficult to get this done under the extended warrantee? I too have the 100K/7yr package (never yet used!). My dealer installed shoes at 80K miles for me and that began the squeaky Odyssey for me. Tightening, loosening; replacing shoe clamps, cleaning; then last week grinding the shoes. This week (92k miles) the problem recurred, and after holding and inspecting it for half a day, the dealer told me to forget about it, it wasn't worth the trouble, or the money ($300) that I would have to lay out for a new drum set (redesigned/fabricated by Honda in response to the quite widespread squeak problem.)
So I've called Honda Care and customer relations, who opened a case, with no guarantees of course. But I wondered if you have advice for getting work done on "routine maintenance" items like brakes. (You must have a super nice dealership to work with.)
Thanks in advance.

mike68

Any word on what this problem was? I have a similar issue with 01 EX @ 80K. Mine is a loud, distinctive roar ( almost sounds like a truck with nobby offroad tires). Very pronounced between 20 and 45 mph but can be heard throughout speed range. Seems to correlate directly with tire or vehicle speed and not RPMs which leads me to believe it has nothing to do with the infamous tranny problems.

oneconsumer

As I said, others may have driven their cars in automatic climate control or AC mode and therefore have not noticed a problem that is there. If this is the case, we are wasting gas, our precious natural resource. We also need to help Honda find out if this is indeed a defect that needs to be fixed.

oneconsumer

Thank you for your helpful suggestion.
The hot air occurred when automatic climate control and AC are turned off, i.e., in fresh air mode.
Could a faulty heat switch or air exchange unit cause hot air even when NO heat is asked for? I know my dealer checked the air exchange unit, it works properly. What do you mean by "other parts"? Your comments may help my dealer.

stickguy

Frankly, if you are that concerned about the small incremental increase in gas by the AC working a little harder, you shouldn't be buying a 4,500# big box with 255 HP.

liujn

There is a switch or valve that controls the engine coolant flow from the engine to the heat core. If for somereason, the switch can not completely stop the coolant flow into the heat core, you will get warm air from the air vent. Normally the auto climate control system sends electronic signal to the switch and instructs it to open at a certain percentage or fully close. The amount of the openning is calculated based on the temperature setting, cabin temperature, coolant temperature, fan speed and etc. (I am not a Honda engineer so I can not give you more definent answer).

There are a couple things you can do if you haven't done.
1. What happen if you use the recycle mode? Do you still get the hot air?
If you do, it means this problem has nothing to do with the air intake leakage.

2. Have you tried to adjust the temperature setting all the way down? (lower than the outside temperature) Normally if the temperature setting is higher than the cabin temperature, the auto climate control will automatically engage the heat switch without your knowledge. I remember you did say the fan was on. This means the auto climate control was not completely off.

3. You never mentioned about the air temperature from the rear vents. Was it normal?

oneconsumer

Thanks. I will check out point #1 and #3. Regarding point #2, yes, I did set the temperature both lower and all the way down, hoping to drag the temperature down. But hot air continued blew in. The service man who frist tested my car indeed noticed the problem and took in my car. But next day, a different service man took over the job and did not discover the problem. I believe he did the test when the engine was cool, without realizing that the problem happens when the engine becomes very hot (perhaps at least after half hour of freeway drive).

oneconsumer

To report the hot air problem (see previous posting), visit www.nhtsa.dot.gov and file a complaint, or call 1-888-327-4263. The latter may be easier, because error message may appear when saving your filing on line. Perhaps, there are other government agencies that handle this kind of cases. But I do not know.
I was forced to file a complaint, because my Honda dealer ignored my case and sent me home. They want me to live with it.

dave594

Sounds like a wheel bearing. I had a similar roar from the front starting at 40 mph. I thought it was the tires but they checked out fine. Turned out to be the wheel bearing going bad. I've heard Ody bearings going bad isn't that uncommon.

mike68

Thanks for the feedback. I am thinking bearings as well. I did not know the Odyssey had a little reputation for that. Better than the tranny though. No problems with that so far.

rorr

"We need other Odyssey owners to test drive the way I indicated and see if they also get 100 degree or so of temperature in the vents."

I tested my wife's EX-L last night in the driveway right after she got home. The van idled in the driveway for 15 minutes (after it was up to operating temp) while I did some minor yard work. Ambient air temp (according to the thermometer by the kitchen window) was a bit over 80.

No hot air from the vents. It looks as though this "major engineering defect" doesn't affect us. Thank goodness.

marklsparkle

The dealer replaced the transmission at Honda's cost. Now the car has a new transmission but my gas mileage has severly declined. I was getting about 17.2 to 18 mpg around town and over 23 on the highway but now can barely break 15 mpg around town and 19 on the highway. I took the car back to the dealer but they say all the parameters are within specification so I am not sure where to turn next. I think the dealer mechanics depend on just the computer read-outs, I guess I will go to a mechanic that is more "hands-on" maybe he will have a clue.

marklsparkle

Get it fixed before your trip, my 2003 lost its tranny at 55k miles, it started out being jerky but soon turned to serious slippage. In mine, the fluid was burned after only 11k miles from when it was replaced during the tranny recall. Honda paid the bill.

oneconsumer

Hot air blows out no matter the fan is in recycle mode or fresh air mode. But when in the latter mode, the air seems hotter. All the rear vents get hot air too.
I brought my car to the dealer again today, and it happened another Odyssey came in for the same problem. His vent blew 100 degree of hot air, mine 110, while outside temperature was around 75. When the engine lid was opened, it was extremely hot. Dealer still need to figure out what is the cause or causes and the remedy. It appears that people are now beginning to notice this problem.
Dealer kept on persuading me just use the AC and live with it. But this is like a stupid guy turns on his heater to 110 degree in his room and in the same time turn on his air conditioner to cool it down to desirable temperature, while in fact he can achieve this by using the fan to draw cool air from outside.
We need more people to pressure Honda take this issue seriously.

raleighwolf

Not sure what is going on....but....

The ONE time I actually need the NAV to get somewhere, it froze.

Arrow quit moving on the screen and no directions given.

I tried everything I could think of...turned off the car, started NAV again...

Anyone seen this?

liujn

Based on your finding, it is extremely likely that it is one of the following problem.
1. The switch couldn't fully shut. It is located in the back of engine compartment. There is a steel wire attached to the switch on one end, connected to an electronic motor behind firewall. This motor gets the command from the auto climate control system to open/close the switch. Anyway, it should be very easy to exam.

2. A problem with the flap door that opens to expose the heater core to the passenger compartment. If it could not be fully closed, you would get the hot air. To trouble shoot, the dealer has to dis-assemble the dash board. It can be very time consuming. Maybe this is why they have done so.

Remember, any of these problems can be either a machanical or electrical problem. I don't think this dealer has the expert to figure out your problem. Can you try another dealer?

sebring95

I'm not sure how long periods of driving would really effect this. The engine operates at 190ºF after just a few minutes (watch the temp guage) and that temp is maintained with the radiators.

nwng

and fresh air mode pretty much everyday except for a couple of days when it hits 90 outside. The air that comes through the vent is a bit warmer than the outside air, but it's never "hot".

btw, this happens to my other cars too, the "fresh" air that comes through the vent are usually a little more warm and damp than the outside air.

oneconsumer

Thank you for helpful notes.
It sounds this hot air problem affect different cars in different degrees. Some get very hot air (110 degree like mine), some get 100. Perhaps the temperature depends on how much hot air leaks through the switch or flap door, which both are supposed to close when not heat is selected.
Another thing I discover is that while the dealer was testing my Odyssey and another customer's side by side, my car's outside temperature read 75, while the other had 84. That means the thermostats are not precise. I am not sure this is related to the hot air problem.

liujn

First, when two cars were idling side by side, the heat from one car could affect the temperature reading on the other car. I won't make such conclusion unless they were separated with enough distance, and there is no other heating source interfering the measurement. Plus the hoods were fully closed.

Second, you told me that you had lower the temperature setting to the lowest. If so, it would be below 60F I believe. There is no reason for the heat to turn on at this temperature if everything is in perfect working order.

I still think this is a defect, not a design issue.

dhfd

I was reading thru trying to find more info about a different issue I had read on another board (hot air from engine compartment coming into cabin) when i saw this...Wife and I test drove an '05 Odyssey today, and was hearing a similar whistling sound...salesperson was saying it was the protective plastic on the car?! We were pretty set on the Odyssey EX, but after seeing the "hot air" post and this one it does make you wonder about the quality. Quality and reliability being a big concern for us right now b/c of issues w/ '02 Passat.

Cindythomas-has the dealer installed the clips? did that correct the whistling?
thanks for any info!

dominickc1

My 04 Odyssey was a Demo from another State and they used as a shuttle and the owner of the dealership drove it up north to his cabin and had chip marks all over the paint and the carpet was stain. It wasn't the Honda Corpation fault at all. The hot air problem that you people are having goes away after awhile mine does.

brugg

I believe there is already a connector for trailer lights. I don't think you need anything else (I believe the brakes are activated by the brake lights.)
Now where is it. The service manual references it but I don't know exactly where it is.
I think I found it once. Maybe under the left panel by the hatch (where the acc outlet is.)
It is not out in the open, you have to find it and get it there (like under the hatch back).
good luck .

brugg

I haven't read all the posts on this but my 2000 will blow heat when everything is off except for outside air IF the TEMP knob is set high enough. Turn it all the way down and check it.

brugg

OK, I have determined that the CLOSER MOTOR is not operating.
The 2 switches that signal the motor to run work as prescribed (same as right side). The motor has about 1 ohm continuity (same as right side). The contacts are all clean. Fuse 13 was pulled and the doors cycled thru their operation.
The only thing that happens different now is that the slide motor stays on longer waiting for the closer motor to complete the latch.

The only thing left is the controller. OR is it?
any help out there?
thanks