Honda Odyssey Transmission Problems

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  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    Dealer called. Faulty heat sensor. We'll be back in the Ody tomorrow.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Glad to hear that one worked out.

    Steve, Host
  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    can you explain what you mean by heat sensor? so an Auto Transmission has a heat sensor? what does it do for ya except blink the light associated with the gear you're in?

    thanks
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    The biggest enemy of your automatic transmission is excessive heat so if the heat is too high you can fry that thing. The sensor is there to detect exactly that problem. In this case the sensor was just getting a false reading.

    That potential heat problem is why you need a transmission cooler if towing with an Ody or pretty much any minivan.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • doncasdoncas Member Posts: 11
    Glad to hear you are back in your Van. Be careful when auto repair facilities tell you that a sensor is bad. The Honda dealer would have had to run a test on the transmission heat sensor to determine if it was faulty. Hopefully they did not just replace the sensor with a new one and call it quits. The point at which a heat sensor would declare a problem probably varies from sensor to sensor depending on the quality. Your transmission may be on the high end for heat generation and the old sensor was detecting a little low. The new sensor may have a slightly higher threshold which is why it is not reporting a problem. Make sure you pay close attention to the operation of your transmission. Good luck.
  • blmccallblmccall Member Posts: 5
    My 99 Ody has 42500mi and has a shudder, shake or vibration in D4 and not in any other gear.It does not shake all the time and the dealer has not felt it yet but has flushed the tranny and it is not as bad.Has anyone else had this problem and what has the dealer done to cure the problem.I have a Gold certified used car warranty until may 05 and I understand that Honda has extended the warranty on the trannies on 99,00,01 Odys for 100000 mi or 7yrs.(from NHTSA TSBs) and verified by Honda Canada.

                 Have a fun spook day y'all
                           canuck
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    It was the dealer that fixed it. They repalced the sensor and tested the tranny which works fine. I drove it two hours home.

    They covered the rental I had to get and ended up giving me a free oil change because they couldn't get their computer to bill the oil change while doing the rest on Honda's nickle.

    Works for me.
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • crkeehncrkeehn Member Posts: 513
    that only repalce sensors. Good dealers will also replace them ;-D
  • fezofezo Member Posts: 10,386
    Glad you pointed that out.

    I've since had them replaced istead of repalced. Seems to run better.....
    2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
  • nine51nine51 Member Posts: 77
    Pardon me for this little rant, but... when I started driving 34 years ago, I don't remember anyone having transmission failures with automatic transmissions like we've seen in the last 10 to 15 years. 30+ years ago they were hauling 4000 lb cars around powered by 6 and 7 liter V-8's, and they lasted 150,000+ miles or until the bodies rusted off the frame. Why can't someone build a transmission for a V-6 powered vehicle that lasts the life of the car and not quit after 40K? OK, so Chrysler has been having failures since the late 80's in their vans, and they are still having failures in the SAME TRANSMISSIONS! Can't they figure it out? Now Honda, builder of some of the most reliable cars in the world, is having problems, and those problems go on for years. You would think that the warrantee claims would be much more costly than fixing the problem parts in the first place. Sounds like they should hire a few more engineers and fire the bean counters.

    OK, rant over.
  • rbell2rbell2 Member Posts: 180
    This is interesting - I know that the Ody has experienced some transmission problems just based on reading this board and based on Honda's free extended coverage on them, but . . . . . I found it interesting in my 2004 Consumer Reports Buying Guide I received yesterday that there has never been a "poor" reliable year on Ody transmissions since the bigger model came out. In fact, most of the years report excellent and a couple show good for transmission reliability. Maybe this issue isn't as big percentage-wise as I was thinking/concerned about.
  • crkeehncrkeehn Member Posts: 513
    I'm glad to hear that the replacement of the sensor was so successful and that the van ran better.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    But, of course, the people with problems like to vent and forums like these make a good podium.

    They are not "poor"...far from it!

    nine51,

    I'm afraid your memory might be a little fuzzy.

    I started driving about the time you did and I remember the automatics of that time quite well since I've always been in an auto related field.

    It was VERY common to need a transmission overhaul around the 60,000-80,000 mile range.

    Back then, people simply expected and accepted it as a "normal" thing.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    You must be referring to the 60's. I remember a friend's '68? Cutlass Supreme; tranny died right at 60k. No one blinked an eye.

    Back then lots of people only drove 5 to 8 thousand miles a year too.

    Steve, Host
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    My '62 Impala SS needed it's powerglide overhauled around the 60K range. This was pretty normal. the Powerglides were actually pretty tough compared to some of the others.

    Today, people are aghast if they have to overhaul a transmission at 125,000 miles!

    Funny, back then, Chrysler was known for bulletproof transmissions. A Torqueflight was near impossible to kill. Today, they have tons of problems with transmissions...go figure!

    Of course, back in the sixties engine overhauls at 75,000 miles were normal too.

    100,000 miles on an unopened engine was unheard of.

    Showing my age again....
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    The good ol' days weren't in many respects. Cars were really awful back then.

    To the original poster, when Honda first announced the extended warranty program for transmissions, it was widely reported that the problem affected 1.2 to 2% of the transmissions.

    Not a huge number in other words, unless yours was in that percentage (I think Pat84 threw the curve way off with his three replacement Ody trannies)

    Steve, Host
  • just4fun2just4fun2 Member Posts: 461
    My 67 Chevy Impala SS 427 w/4speed would burn the tires off from light to light, and that's the way we drove back then. No oil changes every 3K or transmission fluid changes ever!

    Today's vehicles are pampered with preventive maintance. They should last forever compared to how we drove and maintained the cars with the old PowerGlide trans.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Heh, don't you remember all those valve adjustments, checking the gaps on the plugs all the time, replacing them every 12,000 miles, the lousy ride of most wallowing tanks back then? Not to mention the bias belt tires.

    Anyone who changes their oil every 3,000 miles must be old school and hasn't read their manual or believes the Jiffy Lube ads (maybe some gelled Toyotas need it that often <g>). I go 7,500 myself, and 30k on the tranny fluid. 105k on the plugs.

    Steve, Host
  • just4fun2just4fun2 Member Posts: 461
    Old school or not. Check out the MPV board msg 6874 and you can see that a lot of people like to keep up on "over" maintaining their vehicles.

    Give me spark plugs every 12K miles and valve adjustments over transmission failures at 40K or less.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    It's your time and money :-) (and Bottgers)

    bottgers "Mazda MPV" Nov 14, 2003 2:47pm

    Steve, Host
  • danogdanog Member Posts: 318
    It isn't just Honda Odessey's. We just had out TL bought back because it had 4 replaced transmissions in under 33,500 miles. I wasn't driving in the 60ties but I wouldn't mind making it 75K and needing some maintenance. But to have multiple problems in a very short life span isn't my opinion of a quality vehicle.

    Dano
  • kimo9kimo9 Member Posts: 71
    By reading posts its easy to get the wrong sense of how many transmissions are actually having problems. If you saw 6 or 7 posts in a row saying, "Yeah, I'm having problems too.." One could easily fall into the trap of assuming that the majority of Honda transmissions are poorly built.

    In my opinion, the fact is that people generally have something to say only when there is a problem and they want it fixed. They find sites like Edmunds to voice these concerns and to look for solutions.

    It would be interesting to find the percentage of complaints using posts here at Edmunds. Transmission problem posts divided by the total number of Odyssey owners registered on Edmunds. The actual percentage would be much less as not all odyssey owners are participants here. Just my 2 cents.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Is way over the top if he changes his fluid at 10,000 miles!

    And he want's to do this filthy job HIMSELF?

    No thanks!
  • user777user777 Member Posts: 3,341
    remember when we landed on the moon?

    now that was engineering.

    since then...perhaps longevity has been compromised somewhat by factors like:

    more traffic (congestion, lights, stop signs, traffic patterns, road infrastructure)

    more frequent trips in the car

    more gears

    more complexity with engine control interfaces

    vehicle weight

    trend from conservative over-design with excessive margins to less-conservative, higher tolerances

    push to reduce material quantity / weight, use of "advanced" materials

    changes in assembly processes

    more complicated cooling because of increased requirements

    costing out: sub-contracting component and sub-sytem manufacture
  • lauroblaurob Member Posts: 9
    Bought brand new 03, was back in shop before 1200 miles. Stayed there 18 days & we drove rental while waiting for &#147;Honda Tech&#148; from Calif. Transmission slips/bucks while driving at a steady 45-55 while tachometer is jumping from 0 to 3. "Thrumming" noise from drive train(?) at same speed. Gear shift lever won't go in D3 at times. Worst part... when accelerating from stop engine revs, but car won&#146;t go, then it &#147;catches&#148; and shoots out. VERY dangerous when entering roadway/trying to pass. Also getting 14mpg city & highway combined.
    Windshield, rearview mirror, and driver&#146;s side mirror all had to be replaced due to huge distortions. New windshield NO BETTER!
    Here&#146;s the best part, the dealership says, &#147;We drove it, & it didn&#146;t happen to us. You must come drive w/us to prove it.&#148; WE DID... Now they say, we admit there is a problem, but we don&#146;t know what&#146;s causing it, and if we don&#146;t know what&#146;s causing it, we can&#146;t fix it... Here&#146;s your car back!!!! All done very politely, but still a smokescreen to avoid responsibility. We have a brand new $30,000 car that we&#146;re afraid to drive w/our children.

    Has anyone else out there had these specific problems? What was done to fix them? Any advice/suggestions on where to go from here with Honda Company? Thanks in advance for any ideas/help...
  • bigdadibigdadi Member Posts: 72
    Use The Lemon Law.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    no problems whatsoever. the Odyssey is a 2002 EX model bought in December 2001, and I've been driving a lot of highway miles lately. 37,000 miles and running strong. Lucky me. Maybe mine was the first car built on Monday.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    Your situation is pretty typical. The vast majority of people have few if any problems.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    there was a time at the mall when the sliding doors wouldn't shut automatically and I just kind of manually pulled it shut, and that problem has never resurfaced.
  • jacklegjackleg Member Posts: 5
    I just ditched my 2001 Town and Country after the trans died at 83,000 miles . A/C compressor and drivers side window motor at 77,000. Went with a 2004 Odyssey EX. Talk about taking a beating on the trade in . I was told that the 5 speed in the 2004 is a new version and I did notice that the trans on this vehicle is manufatured in Japan . I bought the extended warranty anyway for piece of mind . I know all car manufactuers have some problems but after talking to many people the Honda seemed to have the best odds .
  • leonmacha1leonmacha1 Member Posts: 16
    2002 Odyssey tranny failed at 45000 miles(third range was fried). Out of warranty. Honda replaced it at no charge. Dealer did charge for replacement of two shift solenoids prior to determining that the repair was incorrect and that a full transmission was needed. Upon properly documented complaint to Honda USA, the full $1000 was reimbursed. Totally honorable treatment of the problem to this point.
    Watch for ANY inconsistency in the performance of your Odyssey tranny and get it documented with a visit to your dealer. Mine started with a small
    'stutter' accelerating through third range and decelerating to a stop. New tranny (rebuilt) is flawless after 5000 miles.
  • leonmacha1leonmacha1 Member Posts: 16
    When you have a problem with your Honda and your dealer seems unable or unwilling to acknowledge the problem (very common), place a call to Honda USA Customer Relations. Voice your complaint and obtain a complaint file number. Then procede to work with the dealer, let them know that you are following the rules and documenting all details.
    An informed consumer always comes out ahead of the dummies.
  • freda2freda2 Member Posts: 2
    Just bought 02 ODY with 23000 miles,it was "bucking" dlr changed the EGR valve it corrected the problem told dlr transmission jerks when downshifts ,they said it is normal they all do that. I can really feel the downshifting of trans. It's not smooth , planning to take it back to dlr to check it again.
  • dchoppdchopp Member Posts: 256
    B.S. I have an 02 and the transmission shifts very smoothly when driving and down shifting. Just remember that when you are decending a hill the grade logic will kick in when the brakes are applied and the trany will down shift and the smoothness will depend on your speed.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    My van is perfectly fine too. I guess good maintenance is crucial to keeping the car in order.
  • freda2freda2 Member Posts: 2
    I guess mine has some problem. My wife drives the ody and she complains that when she is decelerating to a stop,she can tell that the van stutter.I felt the same thing,i don't think thats normal specially with only 23k miles.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    my power door wouldn't shut in front of the local JCPenney, but I closed it shut manually and then I locked the car and went shopping. That was at about 20,000 miles. I'm at 40K, and no problems.
  • paednochpaednoch Member Posts: 3
    My best freind is the sales manager of a huge domestic car dealership here in the midwest. They have every domestic make under one Auto Mall. He told me that he read in a trade publication that nearly 90% of all New and used car dealers in the US use edmunds or a similar type of website on a regular basis when dealing with and during the customer "talks" process. This happened with me and My ody purchase 10 days ago. My salesman logged on to edmunds with me right at the dealership and did a side by side with the sienna. Now WHY I AM I MENTIONING THIS... My freind tells me (oh by the way he knows I won't buy domestic) that he personally knows salesman logg onto web sites like this forum posing as customers and contrive and fabricate "problems" like bad trannies. He says that due to the horrid circumstances with the Dodge tranny fiasco in the 1990s minivan drivers are skittish about trannies in particular. I had a bad experiece with a cravan blowing its trannie. Tim (my friend) says that minivans will always be the leader in tranny failure numbers but not in rate. Simply because there are more minis out there than any other car. The failure rate is slightly higher than other automobiles idusty wide.Mostly becuase minivans are used more often in stop and go of non-highway driving and are now showing up in comercial delivery use. he says that dodge (he sells them) has fixed thier problems and insists that Honda doesn't really have any more problems than any other foereign or domestic make. He did chime in and say that Honda should be given a medal for supporting thier customers with the tranny warrantee good faith milage adjustment. just my two cents. Some posters here may not even own minivans they just want you to steel away from a product by playing on your fears.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    That doesn't sound right. Usually salespeople log in and post as happy customers and try to send business to themselves. And usually the shill posts are so obvious they wind up getting booted.

    It seems a bit of a stretch for a shill to bother to post phantom problem tranny problems around the net, especially since recurring problems will be independently verified by TSBs and the various reliability reports by JD Power, CR, etc.

    Steve, Host
  • just4fun2just4fun2 Member Posts: 461
    I don't know about sales people, but I have stated before that what is said on these forums should not be taken as the absolute truth.

    Why is it so hard to believe that a person who likes a Honda and hates a Toyota, wouldn't say terrible stories about the Toyota they didn't own?

    Consumer Reports relies on its subscribers for their reliability ratings. Is CR positive that these people actually own the vehicles they are reporting on?
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    I suppose it's possible but I think it's pretty far fetched.

    The ones I don't like are the ones where a poster says.."DON"T BUY FROM ABC FORD" and then go's on to tell a sad tale of how they were cheated or mistreated.

    I always wonder if the "damaged party" was a disgruntled ex-employee or a salesperson/service manager from the Ford store down the street.

    Some people come here to share honest experiences or to seek advise and support.

    Others come to whine and invite others to their own "pity party". Misery does love company.

    All in all, people just need to have an open mind when reading all of this.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    remember to do a reality check.
  • just4fun2just4fun2 Member Posts: 461
    I watched Dateline on NBC last night and I can't believe that car sales people would have time to log on and give misinformation, they seem to be very busy taking advantage of their customers who buy from them. LOL!
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    when they don't have a lot of customers, they just click on their computers and log on.
  • isellhondasisellhondas Member Posts: 20,342
    We even have some spare time before we have to go into work!
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    over their lunch break!
  • dweickdweick Member Posts: 3
    Trouble shifting when cold, getting worse. Have to let off the gas and give it time to make the shift. Already replaced the transmission fluid and it's getting worse. 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd are the worse.

    Am I looking at forking out money to replace solenoids first or is it likely the whole tranny that is going to need replacing?

    I've had all the other usual complaints, manual sliding doors stick badly (left rear door handle actually broke loose probably from yanking on it too many times), rear spoiler seal strips dangling out, clock light burned out. Other than the tranny we haven't had any serious problems. We like the car but if the 2004's haven't been much improved I'll be taking a hard look at the Toyota.
  • cccompsoncccompson Member Posts: 2,382
    We have a '99 Odyssey that was built in the first month of production. First transmission went bad just after 40,000 two years ago. Fortunately, Honda replaced it totally at their cost without our even asking they do so.

    Now, at 71,000 miles, the second transmission is failing. Car was at dealer today and they have ordered yet another tranmission! This too will be covered by Honda.

    We had been debating whether to replace the vehicle and this settled it because I don't have much faith this third transmission will be any more durable.

    That said, because Honda did stand behind the product, I concluded a deal on a Honda Pilot tonight. Personally, I would have preferred another Odyssey but it is my wife's ride and her choice.
  • dbidermandbiderman Member Posts: 5
    We have a 2002 Odyssey and the transmission went bad at 37,000 miles earlier this week. We had a few driving issues the previous week and brought it in but the dealer couldn't find anything wrong with it. Dealer will be fixing it w/o cost to me (duh!). When I pick the car up I'll ask what the exact problem was so maybe others will know.

    We had a 96 Grand Caravan and went thru 3 transmissions in 110,000 miles. Looks like Honda's are no different. Is there anything my wife is doing re driving that is contributing to the transmission problems?

    Thanks!
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Probably not, Dbiderman. Minivans just seem hard on trannies.

    Some say you should come to a complete stop before engaging reverse (or vice versa). Gunning it between the stop signs prolly doesn't help much either. But the general consensus is that most minivan transmissions are adopted from sedan platforms, and the extra weight of a van tends to wear them out prematurely.

    But you don't hear about the ones that last forever; I suspect the real world failure rate is around 2 or 3 % for all makes/models.

    Steve, Host
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