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I bit the bullet & bought an Odyssey. I'd buy another one tomorrow. My doors work, my transmission doesn't clunk, the van doesn't drift right, it's smooth as silk at 90 mph, I get 17mpg city and 24mpg highway (going 80), and the radio is fine (much better with CD). I've only got a little over a year & 14,000 miles on it, but the van is trouble-free. Be aware that people who have problems are much more likely to post, and there are plenty of happy Odsyssey owners out there.
I own a 2001 Ody LX with about 4,000 miles. It's our first, and likely last, minivan (probably won't need one by the time it wears out-- knock on wood). Before buying, I did a lot of research, both on Edmund's posting boards and others (such as Yahoo), and in Consumer Reports (I'm a 15-year subscriber). I looked at crash tests and safety ratings on government and Insurance Institute Web sites. I also read each and every review of the Odyssey that I could find on the Web-- probably totalled about 25, from various magazines and newspapers around the country.
The Ody was the overwhelming top choice of these reviewers through the 2000 model year. Yeah, this didn't take into the account the redesigned Chrysler "Best minivan ever" (their words)-- but from what I've heard, it's more of an incremental improvement in a few areas rather than a sea change. I know one of the reviews I read (a small newspaper somewhere) picked the Chrysler first, probably two others picked the Sienna, and ALL the rest picked the Ody. Not to mention 2 consecutive Edmund's "real world minivan vacation" tests that picked Ody. It was a close call for some reviewers-- not as if every one of them saw the Ody as "head and shoulders" above the rest-- but they picked it first nonetheless.
Not to state the obvious, but as I'm sure you and most other people know, all vehicles can have problems (and most do); and furthermore, a brand-new car with NO problems in its first year or so is relatively new-- cars are complex machines especially these days with all the electronics and computer controls, and there is usually some "shake-out" period where minor production issues come up and are fixed.
That said, so far-- fingers crossed-- I've had zero actual "problems" with our van. Not being speed maniacs (as many posters and most Americans seem to be), indeed not driving too many freeway miles period, we haven't had the van up to 70 mph too often. But the few times we have, I've noticed no "shimmy" or vibration-- the van is VERY smooth at ANY speed we've driven so far. We also have no tranny "clunk". Pull to the right? None at all-- nor to the left either. We have manual doors so no problems related to power doors (I knew from research they were a problem, indeed on EVERY maker's van if you read all the posting boards, and it's one reason I decided to get the LX). Gas tank slosh? Sure-- and I really don't give a rat's patoot. Either the kids are talking or I have the radio on, so it's not very noticeable; it's ONLY noticeable to me with a tank 3/4 full or higher; plus, I've been told by others with minivans that ALL of them have this to one degree or another due to relative placement of the gas tank. Shifting? I'd read about the "weak detentes" etc. and just paid attention from the start to pull forward a little when shifting down to drive so as not to miss it, and NOT pull forward on those rare occasions when I want D1,2, or 3-- it took a few days of driving until it became unconscious, and I now think it's a pretty good "system". The Grade Logic Control isn't perfect-- I'd say there's a little more "searching" back and forth between gears at about 40 mph than other cars I've driven-- but not to the point I consider it important. I usually drive less than 40 in 30 mph zones, and more than 40 in 45 mph zones-- we don't seem to have many 40 mph posted zones in our area.
While I don't count this as a "problem"-- at least not yet-- the only minor "issue" I'd list is that on a few occasions, the van has not started immediately with a quick turn of the ignition, as it should and usually does. It took a 2nd, longer, engagement of the starter to take hold on these occasions. We're in MN-- and "No", this didn't happen on below-zero mornings (which we did have plenty of this past winter)-- it actually happened on somewhat warmer and DAMP days. I think it could be related to dampness. If it never happens in warmer and drier weather, and if it always starts after a second try anyway, I'm not worrying about it. For some of these real minor things, the chance the dealer's repairmen could goof something up while working on it doesn't make it worth the hassle for the chance of having a super-minor "problem" go away.
Note that we DID buy the extended warranty with our Ody, getting the $795 price (thanks to reading about that price in the main Odyssey board here-- our dealer did sell it for that after first claiming $1,200 was their "Internet price" and the lowest Honda would allow them to sell it for). From all the reading I'd done, I became convinced that these big, heavy "mini"-vans just do go through transmissions faster than passenger cars, and if we need a new tranny at 80,000 miles, that will more than pay for the cost of the warranty-- not to mention all the other smaller things it may cover after 3/36,000 expires. If we don't need a new tranny ever, great-- but I'd guess we'll still probably break even on the warranty price in the end if we keep the car until 100,000 miles.
To me, the Ody, while by no means perfect (as others have noted here, the "perfect" minivan has not yet been made-- all have some compromises, not to mention people's ideas of perfect do differ anyway), is very good to excellent. I think it drives and handles amazingly car-like for a big vehicle-- almost no noticeable body lean except on very sharp curves. And of course it's huge inside. The main drawback to me is the gas mileage. Before fully broken in and during cold weather, we had tanks at only 13 mpg for mostly city driving (keep in mind that's also Twin Cities gas with ethanol added, which reduces mpg by about 10% by most people's judgement). More recently, in warmer weather and presumably mostly broken-in by now, we've been averaging 17 mpg again leaning mostly to city driving (probably 40% highway and 60% city on average). I wasn't really expecting better than this, but held out hopes maybe it would exceed expectations in this area. I would be happy with a smaller engine with more "sluggish" accelerat
ion and thus probably better mpg, but most people apparently want jackrabbit acceleration these days (and effortless 90 mph cruising as well), so the market responds, and in a 4,200 lb vehicle, thus the low mpg. Unfortunately for people concerned with gas mileage (we're probably in the minority anyway), none of the big 6 cylinder minivans these days does any better overall than the Ody, and most do a little worse (lots of Windstar owners talk about 12 mpg in the city). A co-worker with a 2001 Sienna is getting mileage almost identical to what we get in the Ody-- and the Sienna is 3 or 4 hundred pounds lighter.
I would never badmouth the Sienna and we may have been as happy with it, or close, or maybe even happier? (though I doubt the last) But in our Sienna test drive, I felt the ride was TOO "isolated" for my tastes. The handling was mostly
I would never badmouth the Sienna and we may have been as happy with it, or close, or maybe even happier? (though I doubt the last) But in our Sienna test drive, I felt the ride was TOO "isolated" for my tastes. The handling was mostly car-like, but I LIKE to feel at least some road surface, it gives me more handling confidence-- and the Sienna was pretty plush or isolated. It is a little quieter. If good reliability, isolated ride, and quiet are pretty important to you-- buy Sienna. If plush interior and the most bells and whistles are #1 on your list and other things secondary, buy a loaded Town and Country (and pay lots more than for an Ody, even after cutting your best "deal" on the Chrysler). If an overall mix of good performance, tops in safety ratings, tons of space, at least "decent" expected reliability, and very good value for the dollar compared to other vans (even with Ody at full sticker price) are what you're looking for-- I'd still say you can't do better than Ody, and Sienna probably is 2nd with the notable drawback of less room inside (still "enough" if you mostly haul people and not lots of other stuff).
I don't have my new Consumer Report Auto Edition with me at work today (I usually do!), but I don't remember their listing the '99 and '00 as "below average" for reliability. I think it was "average", as is their prediction for '01 reliability. Sure, I would agree most people do and should be able to expect Honda to do better than that given their history-- but it is a much heavier and larger vehicle than they're accustomed to producing. Hopefully the problems will stay mostly on the minor side.
I'm sure some readers and posters here have done so already, but if you really want to scare yourself, go out and look at the Windstar Problems posting board. Those poor people can only dream of having problems no more serious than gas tank sloshing, shimmying, and cheap stereo speakers. They're too busy getting new engines and transmissions installed every few months to worry about things like that. And, their experiences with Ford dealerships seem at LEAST as bad as what anyone here seems to encounter from the Honda dealers. That's even though Ford owners in general are less picky than Honda owners, in my estimation. Don't get me wrong-- I'm not saying you can't go ahead and expect perfection for $26K; and I don't see a good reason why the Ody should NOT now match other Hondas in reliability (or come darn close) after a few years of production. They certainly SHOULD fix any noticeable shimmies, pulls, or "clunks" and do so without a huge hassle, etc. But all in all, I think it's a good car and the bulk of the postings in the Problem area here are centered around what I'd call relatively minor, if annoying, items. I think someone needing a minivan who can at least not pay OVER sticker price for an Odyssey will probably not regret the decision. Sorry for the length of this post, I tend to be wordy.
BTW, the grade logic works wonder with Accord, (i.e, lighter car)
Happy driving.
My 2001 EX Odyssey is less than a week old. When I picked it up from the dealership, I noticed that the gas tank knocks when either stopping the vehicle or starting to move the vehicle from a full stop. In addition, the gas makes a mostly-continuous "sloshing" sound when I'm driving it.
I arranged to go to service today. When I came in I was told by the service manager "there is no reason for anyone to come out and listen to the knocking/sloshing....Honda is aware of the problem and there is no fix for it."
I told them that I was very concerned since this is a GAS TANK problem....(I have a 3 year old and a baby on the way), and they said there was nothing that could be done.
I went home and called Honda.....I was told by a customer service rep that "ALL 2001 Honda Odysseys are experiencing this problem", and all he could suggest was arranging for someone to "put insulation around my gas tank to decrease the noise."
I have a friend with a 2001 EX with no such problem and am wondering if anyone reading this can provide me with either suggestions or input as far as their 2001 vehicles are concerned. I have a very hard time believing that ALL 2k1 Odysseys are delivered with this defect, and Honda continues to manufacture them despite their inability to fix it.......not to mention the fact that my friend has no such problem.
If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it!!
BTW, NEVER top off your gas tank when you are refueling! it is dangerous.
Happy driving
We got on the local freeway loop and I got the feeling I was about to get the same old story, "this is normal, road vibration, etc.." To my surprise the gentleman said "this road is way to rough, is there a freeway with a better surface we can drive on"? So I led him to a section of I-10 that had been recently re paved. We were chatting about sports when the surface changed from concrete to asphalt, he suddenly stopped talking and started paying attention to the vibration and shimmy that was suddenly apparent. For the next few minutes he didn't say a word, he changed lanes several times slowed down and sped up, then turned to me and asked "is this what your feeling when your driving"? I said "yes this is it". He then down shifted to third gear, tried different lanes and speeds, but the vibration refused to go away. At this point I suggested we turn around before we ended up in Tucson. As we did, he admitted to me that he felt it best between 60 and 75 mph, and the concrete surface did mask the condition to where he was unable to feel it.
I couldn't get him to commit to what he thought the problem was, he said he'd rather a field engineer drive/diagnose what was really going on.
On our return trip he repeated everything he did earlier. And true to form the van vibrated until we reached the concrete surface again. At this point he said that if he thought it were the wheels alone he would OK a set of alloys in a heartbeat. But he felt there was more to it than just wheels. This was the most information I got out of him on the entire test drive. I finally felt some validation. So I agreed to let my van be used as the guinea pig for their testing.
I should know early next week when to expect an engineer to be calling on me. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction to getting to the bottom of this nagging problem.
Will keep everyone posted.
I have had my 2001 Odyssey EX now for just a few days, and have noticed some weird behavior with the electrical system. Firstly, the day after
I get it home from the dealer, I open the passenger-side door with the remote, and it opens halfway. I hit the button again, and it closes. I hit it again, it opens halfway. I open it from the dashboard button. This issue doesn't seem reproducible thus far.
Secondly, when closing the Rear Cargo Door, it shuts firmly, but when I go to lock the Van with the remote, it will not lock. I open the drivers doors and see that the the light in the dash that indicates that the rear door is open, so it will not lock, and the lights will not go off - lovely. I think I'm a nucklehead and re-shut the door and check again - same thing. I end up doing this about 15 more times shutting the rear door with increasing intesity. Eventually I have to manually lock the van from the inside, and all is OK.
This seems very odd behavior for a van with less than 300 miles on it don't you think? I plan on keeping track of when all this happens so I can report the frequency to the dealer in case I have to go in for repairs.
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark
Really!? How so? I do it with every fill up, especially when I'm in an area where the gas is less expensive. Never have had a problem.
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
The rear hatch problem may be that, although it looks closed, it's not quite latched (I had this problem). You can check it by trying to open it w/o lifting the handle to see if it opens an inch before catching (which is what is used to do to me). If this is happening, you can try adjusting the rubber bumpers on each lower corner of the hatch to make it close more securely every time (which is what worked for me). It took just a few minutes.
Well, the gas station owners probably hated you. If you spilled the gas while topping off, you were risking his business and other people around you at the time. Few people realize that we are driving a bomb with us every day.
Now, onto the contruction of a fuel tank. In order for fuel to be drawn out, the tank has to be vented throu vent lines. The vent lines lead to charcoal canister which traps gasoline vapors before they were released into our atmosphere. those vent lines are for gasoline vapor, not liquid fuel. When you topoff your tank, guess where the extra liquid fuel ended up to?, your tank's vent lines. The result will be possible fuel leak or damage to your EVAP system, not to mention damaging to our environment. We just elected a irresposible leader, that does not mean we have to follow his lead on carelessness to our environment:)
BTW, anyone who drives an Ody undoubtedly has experience with the static shock. Do ground yourself first before reaching for that pump.
Damn! whoever said driving is safe and enjoyable.
happy driving
dc_sports_rule "Honda Accord Problems Part 2" Apr 8, 2001 5:28pm
dc_sports_rule "Honda Accord Problems Part 2" Apr 10, 2001 7:50am
Steve
Host
Vans, SUVs and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
Thanks
Happy driving
Odyfan, if you're going to paint yours, be sure to use a product like Rustpho or similar (should be available where you can purchase automotive paints) to clean and prep the surfaces prior to painting. These products contain phosphoric acid, which will both remove the rust and leave a very light phosphate coating on the surface to which the paint will form a good bond. If you don't do this, the paint will flake and peel. (FWIW, metal finishing is how I earn my living.)
Fight them under your lemon laws. Worst thing that can happen is you end up with a vibrating van with a real good warrenty that Honda will stand behind. To all those who do fight I hope you have better luck than I in getting results in the US. In Canada I needed to prove it was a manufacturing defect but since all Odysseys supposedly have the vibration it is thus not a defect but a characteristic of the vehicle.
Our other vehicle is a 92 Civic now with 174,000 and still going strong. In 1993 I was at the Honda dealership for a 15,000 mile oil change. They noticed the tires were wearing and volunteered a free set of Michelins, saying Honda realized they had placed poor tires on the 92 Civics.
Things have sure changed with the customer service we are now getting from Honda.
If they could replace bad tires on a $9,000 Civic it sure seems they could help us out on a $26,000 Ody!
Back Again, We have had our Odyssey for 6 weeks now, Absolutely love it, it was worth the wait!
In my Ody manual, and every where else the fuel tank capacity states 20 gallons, have filled up at least once a week since our purchase, at the pump it seems to top off at 12 gallons, seems impossible to have an 8 gallon reserve. Anyone else encounter this out there?
Finally, I'm about to buy to Michelin X-ones (or Sam's version), but have thought about the Michelin Symmetry and Goodyear Aquatred 3's also. Anyone have any comments on any of these tires? I had a set of the orginal Aquatred's on another mini-van once. The tread life was absolutely miserable. They are claiming much better performance now for some reason.
The rust won't affect the vehicle's drivability anyway.
Happy driving!
gareyg: If you are experiencing wear on the outer edges of your front tires and the dealer is telling you there's nothing wrong, may I suggest you go to an independent front end shop and get a second opinion. If they tell you the alignment is within specifications then there is a problem with the suspension geometry that Honda missed. But if there is a problem, get before and after printouts of the alignment and bring them with the bill back to your Honda dealer. Outer edge wear is usually caused by to much camber, improper toe-in, or under inflated tires(under inflation will cause tires to wear on both the inner and outer edges). As far as my van is concerned no noticeable tire wear, but I'm on my second set of tires in less than 7000 miles. As far as Honda's customer service is concerned it is deplorable. My best advice is if you can't get anywhere with your local dealer, call the American Honda Customer Service office for your area. I believe you can find the number for your area office at http://www.honda-odyssey.com/ under news link. Good luck and don't give up until you get some satisfaction.
I had the same problem with the vibration, as I have posted earlier, on my 2001 LX. Took the van in and had a balance and tire rotation. The dealer told me that one tire was "off" by 1 pound, and another was off by 1/4 pound. I'm not really sure what that means, but I have not had any more problem now after about 300 miles of driving since the balance. I remember some of you saying this fix might last a while, but not for long, so I am ready to go back in the minute it starts again, if it does. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I am really sorry that imhip lost in arbitration. What do you do now? Go for a lemon law?
Will keep you posted.
However, after reading some of the posts in this forum, I am confused. Although it still appears to me that the problems experienced by Odyssey owners are less severe and less frequent, it still seems to have its own share. I am paranoid about safety/reliability because it is primarily my wife with our son who is now six months old who is going to drive the van.
We have already put down a refundable deposit for a 2001 Odyssey LX after test driving it and liking it. The dealer gives a lifetime guarantee on the powertrain as an added incentive provided you get the vehicle serviced at their location. Am I making the right choice by going in for an Odyssey if reliability (my definition of reliability: no major problems. I am not bothered about problems like rusting exterior, etc.) is my prime criterion? Is there any other minvan out there which would give me better odds on reliability?
Thanks.
Do any of you happy owners (door problems, gas sloshing, transmision noise, rear washer sprayer (they do suck) feel like your wheels are out of balance all the time or that you need an alignment?? That is what those of us with the vibration are feeling. Harmonic vibration.
I have exhasted my means of dealing with the vibration here in Canada. We have no lemon laws. Can't sue once you have arbitrated. I maybe down, but Honda has to deal with me for the next 4 years or 75,000 KM. They also still owe me a test drive on the highway to show me that the other Ody's vibrate. Don't know what happens if it doesn't. Perhaps I will make them an offer to buy it.
Has anybody had this vibration go away without selling the van?
Phil47? Didn't you have problems before on a 99 before 01EX or am I confussing you with someone else in Calgary?
Do all Ody's have this problem? (I don't think so but Honda is telling me all Ody's do. There are only 5 of us in this forum who seem to have a problem with it) Anybody try or hear of Dynamic balancing using a Hunter GSP 9700 or does anyones mechanic have one? It is suppose to balance the rim and tire assembly for both the up/down tire out of round (static vibration, normal tire balance) and the side to side (dynamic vibration, sidewall stiffness) as well as match the low spot in the rim with the high spot in the tire for a more uniform fit. In the US you can do a search for the nearest location. I am currently awaiting word from the Hunter.com (very informative web page) for a location of one of these machines in Toronto so I can blow some money to see if this works.
For now, unless someone can convince me otherwise, I will keep my GG LX (Fern in Canada just like the interior) vibrator and hope the vibration will either become a non issue (like the gas tank slosh, I actually heard that the other day but I really had to listen for it) or something will break on the van and I will be vindicated (fat chance, somehow it will be normal wear)