Honda Odyssey 2005+

onleewords

What kind of deal are you getting on Ody 05 and which model?Dealer in Richmond,VA are not ready to reduce price at all.They are selling at MSRP.

Thanks

fertilitydoc

I noticed the same problem with the Navi on our Silver Pearl EX-L Navi/RES. The Navi did not automatically change to night view when the head lights are turned on. I had suspected a production glitch. But no...check out the manual. There is hidden solution in one of the troubleshooting sections. When the dashboard brightness toggle is placed on maximal brightness, it overides the Navi and keeps it on the Day Mode. If you decrease the dashboard brightness control off it's maximum then the Navi auto switch to Night Mode funnctions normally again. So if you are driving in the rain on an overcast or rainy day and adjust the dash brightness to maximum, it keeps the Navi in day mode when it is not completely dark outside but you still need your headlights. Try it....it should solve your problem

Kevin L

mybuy

I picked up my Ocean Mist EX-L RES/Nav a week and a half ago. Overall, I've been pleased with it, but have had problems with the NAV getting stuck on the map screen. No matter what button you press (like Audio!), the map stays on the screen. The only way you can unfreeze it is to turn off the engine. That got very frustrating on a 300 mile trip to Michigan this weekend. It's happened about a dozen times so far. Has anyone else seen this problem so far? I'm still out of town and haven't been able to get back to my dealer yet.

elaine

I have an EX-L with NAV/RES. According to the brochure, I should have an exterior temperature indicator. This sounds like a fancy description of a thermometer. But, I can't find it in my van or in the manual!

Thanks for any help.

tcsubwoofer

The temperature indicator is located on the left side of your odometer display on the dash behind the steering wheel. It is very nice to know what the temperature is.

hawaii1

Is your wife still having back pain with the 05 Odyessy? We are looking seriously into getting this van but I have had back trouble over the years and I am concerned. I found it to be o.k for the most opart at least compared to the 02 Odyessy (we had that van before).

fredf3

I finally bought an EXL Navi RES in Silver Pearl with gray interior on 10/30. I bought it for $500 below MSRP at Manly Honda in Santa Rosa in Northern California. They were great to deal with and very low pressure. I had major problems at two other Northern California dealerships that I would like to share:

I had received a written quote for $500 below MSRP from Charmichael Honda, but they did not have the van I wanted–EXL Navi RES.

At Honda of Vacaville, I was told they only do MSRP on my first visit. On my second visit to look at an EXL Navi RES in Sage Brush Pearl with olive interior, I was promptly told that they would price match for $500 below. After looking over the van for a few hours and calling my 8-month pregnant wife to view the interior color, I went to discuss a deal. The salesman then told me that van was not for sale as it was “pre-contracted for” and another salesman had forgotten to list it on the board. I was then told that I could pre-contract for MSRP because he was mistaken about price matching. He told me they did sell an EX for $500 below, but only because it had been on the lot for 21 days and why would he sell me a Navi model for below MSRP when he could easily sell it for more. I told him because he promised me that price and I just wasted several hours looking over a van that I could not buy. He said it was MSRP only.

I then called Autowest Honda in Roseville and learned that they had a Navi in Slate Green. I told the internet manager that I had been quoted $500 below MSRP and after he talked to his sales manager, he agreed to match it. I drove up there (about 40 miles) and he stated that he could do the deal for $5 below MSRP. I thought he was joking and said $500 below. He said it was $5 below and he thought that was fine because I said I would not pay MSRP. Who buys a $34,000 car and wants $5 off?!? And why would he need to check with a sales manager to do that?!? Needless to say, I immediately left.

By then, my wife had called Manly Honda in Santa Rosa (70 miles) and they quickly agreed to sell for $500 below MSRP. They put the van through PDI and detailed it while I was on my way. After a thorough inspection and test drives, they cleaned the van up while I did the paperwork in one hour. While they did try to sell me useless items (vehicle etching, leather guard, extended warranty), they were very low pressure.

I have enjoyed this bulletin board and have learned great information from it. Please benefit from my experiences and DO NOT BUY from Vacaville Honda and Autowest Honda in Roseville. They tried to pull their dirty tricks to get me to invest my time and energy at their dealership and then change their prices–the old bait and switch. When I called them on it, they could care less because they take the attitude that there are hundreds of potential customers out there. Please help me to let them know that Odyssey customers are smarter than that.

BTW, the van is awesome!!!

recfive

Yes really bad. They removed the Lumbar assembly but she is still in pain. We love the van but what good is it if she can't be comfortby in it. I am going to talk to the Honda Dealership owner this morning to see if we can get this fixed or if they will buy back the van. She is in so much pain that she has been in tears for the last week since we took delivery. We also heard of a person that had a problem with a Accord seat, evidentlt Hondas are not designed well for shorter people..

isellhondas

Everyone is different. Hondas are known for having firm, supportive seats. I have never, once, had a customer complain about seat comfort on a Honda I have sold them and I've sold over a thousand Hondas. Still, on these boards, there will always be the person who finds a seat uncomfortable.

Probably the case with any car out there. I do know what is uncomfortable at first can become comfortable after a person get's used to it. Just like a firm mattress.

stickguy

I found the last gen Ody to have unfomfortable seats up front (to me, at least). This was just from sitting in them, and during a test drive. Can't really say how they would feel on a long drive.

The new ones just seem to fit me much better, and are more comfy overall. But, agian, who knows what would happen after a few hours in the saddle.

ric345

Aha! I did remember that the brightness is on max so I'll try it, thanks for the solution!

aaykay

I have heard of the Navi freezing up in sub-freezing temperatures (rarely) but once it starts, it should not be acting up anymore. I would suggest that you get it to the dealer pronto.

martyb

I just found this on ours. Push the small button that protrudes from the gauge cluster - it will toggle between total mileage/trip mileage and outside temp/trip mileage. Too bad you can't see it all at once, but having temp is nice.

just4fun2

I would try and sell the van myself. The dealer isn't going to give you what you can get from a private party. Read some of the post above about how hot this van is and you shouldn't have any problems selling it, unless it isn't that hot where you live. Remember, they know that you are unhappy with the Honda Ody seat and they have you over a barrel.

Seat comfort is my complaint with vehicles today. The seats are made in a mold and the foam is cheap. Look for a seat that has bottom seat support springs ( the way good furniture is made) and you will be more comfortable.

Good Luck.

elaine

Thank you! I hadn't tried the button because I figured that would just re-set the trip miles. I was getting really frustrated!

sepa

See you got Ocean Mist.

How does the actual vehicle color compare to the brochure, or the Honda website (both of which differ from the other)? Thanks.

mybuy

The OM color can actually look like both depending on the lighting. In brighter light, it's looks more blue with a touch of periwinkle, in dimmer light, it looks more grey. It's a bit of a chameleon color, but I really like it.

Even though I'm frustrated with the Nav freezing up, the good news is that it's a a great long haul car. Very comfy, love the rear heat which we got to use in Michigan, great sound system. And the best news is that the third tank of gas saw a 23.3mpg (calculated on the Nav calculator, of course). I haven't seen any other OM's anywhere yet, so I do like being unique and turning quite a few heads.

andreab

Richmond Honda agreed to $500 off MSRP for a touring NAV/RES.

pka

Can somebody please help by commenting on the best prices paid for accessories for detailing the car...for example...Roof rack cross rails, fog lights, wheel locks, mud guards, or the Honda sports package?
Can anybody mention the various terms and cost paid for the extended warranty (Honda Care)?

mom2three

Nowdays so much of the car is computerized, it's not like you can fix it yourself.
I have the touring with DVD/Navi and I am currently shopping best price for 7 year/100,000 mile for added piece of mind "down the road." It is way too high tech not to invest in the extra coverage in my opinion.

stever

Check out the HandA ad at the top of the discussion :-)

Steve, Host

hansienna

Agree with isell's comments about Hondas having firm, supportive seats.
    In my opinion, the Odyssey has THE best seats of any Honda. I have not found any competitor seat to be as comfortable as a Honda seat.

gary

I am considering purchasing an '05 Ody EXL RES about 1 year from now. I was wondering if the Extended Warranty is recommended, worth it, and how much. Also, what is the warranty 'extended' to? (I assume the standard is 3 yr, 36K miles.)

I've never purchased an extended warranty and am thinking of doing it with my next vehicle purchase. I have a 1998 Accord EXV6 with 90K miles. The alternator failed and it costed me $450 to replace at the dealer. I guess this would have been covered by the extended warranty.

Anyway, just looking for your opinions.
Thanks!

ace1000

I just paid $1880 for a 7 year, 100,000 mile, $0 deductible Honda Care warranty that is fully refundable at the end of 7 years if I don't use it. The refundable provision is not offered by Honda Care. It is provided by the dealer.

I haven't bought an extended warranty on any other vehicle because the warranty is most often not a good deal. This includes cars that are not as reliable as Japanese cars, such as my Volvo with 154,000 miles that has never needed a repair. I decided to get this warranty on the Odyssey because it is refundable and because the previous Odysseys have had some expensive problems. If I don't use it, the out of pocket cost is the interest I would have earned on the money for 7 years. The lost interest seems like a good trade off for the extra 4 years and 64,000 miles of protection. I still have one month to cancel it and get a full refund if I change my mind.

If you had such a warranty on your Accord, you probably would not have used it to pay for the alternator. The warranty would be close to the 7 year period when you could get a full refund, which would be much more than the $450 repair. That is the problem I see with the refundable warranty. Unless the repair is over $1000 and occurs early in the warranty, a person would probably not want to use the warranty. Each time a repair of a few hundred dollars occurs, you would hope it was the last and not use the warranty. You could run up quite a bill from a series of repairs without ever using the warranty, which defeats the purpose of the warranty.

A Honda is not likely to have many repairs one after another. I expect I will use the warranty to cover any major repairs if they occur and pay for any minor repairs on the assumption that there won't be many of them.

onlysurfer

We leased 2004 odyseey EX with cloth seats and our experience is that seats are not as comfortable as comparable Toyota models are. (EX-L seats may be more comfortable, I don't know)

My experience with 1997 Honda Accord was the same.

The only reason I may not buy a Honda again in near future would be the seat discomfort.

stickguy

the '05 seats are noticeably different than on the '04. The latest Accord is the same way. Of course, only you can tell if they are more comfortable.

cccompson

I had a conversation with a Honda salesperson the other night. He addressed this exact point saying normally he does not try to steer his customers toward extended warranties. He said, however, that he had checked on the price of a replacement NAV until for the '05 Odyssey and the price is (hold your breath) $4800.

Lesson learned - an extended warranty might not be such a bad idea on a NAV equipped vehicle.

amykkbc

So exactly what does this refundable warranty cover?
Timing belt? can I replace the timing belt in the 6th year, if the scheduled replacement is after the 7th. year?
How about scratch, breaking glass, flat tires, bumpers?

aaykay

In my Acura, I never faced any problems at all with the NAV in over 4 years/60K miles of owning the car. I have never heard of anyone who owned a Honda factory NAV equipped car, needing to replace the unit or have it repaired. I have heard of other things that have failed in Hondas but never a NAV. I think the salesperson employed a scare tactic to steer you toward purchasing the extended warranty.

But nevertheless, modern day cars have a million different expensive components, including engine components, transmission components, suspension components, various sensors etc., that can go wrong and an extended warranty may be a prudent thing to have, even though you may not need to use it.

stever

Extended warranties may not be worth the price (Holland Sentinel)

Steve, Host

hansienna

I once read in Edmunds that after a person decided to buy a new vehicle, the salesman tried to convince him to buy an extended warranty.
    The buyer replied: "You just told me how reliable this vehicle is. Were you telling me the truth then or now"? (or words to that effect).

stever

That's probably why most places hand you off to the F&I person after you think you have a deal with the salesperson.

I get a bit antsy about the extended warranties knowing they are pushed in the Rip-off room along with the VIN etching and mop & glow packages. (CNN). But my van doesn't have power doors or RES or NAV.

Steve, Host

scienceman

I was told by a salesman today that Honda could get vans out within 4 weeks of order date now that they're no longer building any '04 models. Does this jive with what anyone else has heard?

andreab

I don't know about the 4 weeks wait time, but a salesman did say that all of their 04's were gone, and they were no longer in production. Don't know if it was just a line or not.... I was negotiating on an 05.

andrewtran71

Man, after reading your post, I feel like getting the Touring w/NAV too!

Except black leather?
My problem with this is if you scratch a little bit, it shows up BIG on black, but you won't even notice on beige color.
I don't care about the heat w/black leather, but the scratching part annoys me.

andrewtran71

"warranty that is fully refundable at the end of 7 years if I don't use it. The refundable provision is not offered by Honda Care. It is provided by the dealer."

Oh my gosh. That is a great deal!
It's a win-win situation.
I need to buy from a dealer that can offer that kind of warranty.

andrewtran71

I test drove a Sienna Limited once, and when I asked the salesman about the extended warranty, he said, "Why? This thing is so reliable, you would be wasting your money on extended warranty."

A salesman said that to me!

onlysurfer

More on seat comforts, or lack of it, I think the problem is about insufficient thigh support. The seats cushions do not extend far enough to support thigh, perhaps measurement comparison with competing models may shed some lights on this.

The back support is not good either. Our Odyssey has lumber support knob which we tur to all the way to "firm" to make it bearable. We have 2004 Odyssey on a two year lease and so plan to get 2006 odyssey, Sienna or a large SUV in about sixteen months. (I know, there is plenty of time to go but I enjoy reading this message board)

stickguy

to me, it seemed that the Honda has a longer bottom cushion for better thigh support. Short cushions seem to be a common problem these days, and it drives me nuts. I love the sport seats in a BMW, they have an extendble thigh support.

Anyway, if you tilt the front of the Ody seat up, it sull give you more thigh support, since your legs are at a different angle. I found it real easy to get a comfy seating position, but I do like to have the front tilted up quite a bit.

masterpaul1

If you have the regular bumper to bumper warranty that comes with the vechicle, I don't see why an extended warranty would be necessary. (Everything will be covered under the bumper to bumper warranty.) When me and my wife purchased our used 2001 DGC last year, it didn't come with a warranty since it was over the 3 yrs/ 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. We purchased the Maximum Care Bumper to Bumper Warranty for $1800 which was for 3 yrs/70,000 miles. A few days after purchase both front power window regulators went. Each regulator cost $150 witch didn't include labor. The total was about $500.00, but with the warranty we paid only $100. We've had our van for a little over a year now, and only have used the warranty twice.

pka

Can somebody please give out advice on what to look for to make sure all goes well when picking up your new car upon delivery (for example...i read somewhere one should make sure the sticker is on the window and not removed (by the way...any advice on how to remove it properly); ant etc...anybody have any regrets or experiences to avoid when taking car for delivery. Can somebody please give an idea...on what to anticipate after one leaves a deposit for a car...I am very curious...when does one talk to the F&I dept? when does one get to negotiate and add on accessories? Ofcourse this cannot happen at time of delivery of base vehicle? can/does it? thank you..

chuckels

I used to work in Industry as sales manager, so
I think extended warranty’s are a waste of money.

If you must have it, don't buy at dealer.

YOU CAN FIND IT ELSWHERE CHEAPER.

The F&I manager is a salesperson, who gets paid by you buying his products. Extended Warrant, paint sealant, auto loan, Gap insurance, etc, etc.

Say no, and save money. He will try many times to wear you down. I have bought 5 Vehicles in last year for my family, and I get total price on internet, (Out The Door), walk in with my home improvement or my own auto loan check made out to the faxed amount sent by dealer.

I'm out the door in 15 minutes!

I just bought Honda Odyssey Touring-Ocean Mist, from Bedard Brothers for $ 960 over invoice with $ 59.00 Doc fee.. Saved over $ 3,000 from my local dealer, Hall Honda.

Our first Honda!!!

masterpaul1

Your correct about that you can find it cheaper else where. But the one thing that you forgot to mention is that the dealer of that vechicle might not okay the warranty on the work. Also, I've heard of people with an extended warranty from another place outside of the dealer, that needed warranty work done and the vechicle had to sit at the mechanic for a rep. to check out the vechicle. I'm sorry but that's to much of a headache to try and save money but be inconvenience like that. So beware when you purchase an extended warranty from other places instead of the dealer. you might be saving a lot of money now but only to be inconvenience down the road if you needed to use it.

Correction to my earlier post #1575: extended Maximum Care Bumper to Bumper Warranty to 75,000 miles or May 2007(which includes a $100 deductible per every visit, first day car rental up to 100 miles free and 30$ a day rental car allowance, $1,000 trip interruption and road side assistance which included sign and go towing and roadside assistance up to $100 each occurance),

zebra5

Can anyone on this board tell me something about the history of VCM. Is the '05 Oddy the first vehicle to introduce this technology? Someone told me Caddilacs had this several years ago, but no longer. If that's true, why not?

VCM sounds like a great idea if well-executed, and a potential disaster if not. Somebody convince me there's no reason to be concerned.

robr2

Back in the mid 80's, Cadillac had the infamous V8-6-4 system that was horrendous in reliability. I don't know why it didn't work well but I suspect it had something to do with the control systems available at the time.

For the 05 model year Honda introduced it in the Odyssey and as did Chrysler on it's Hemi engine. Since it is new technology, who really knows how well it will work. I can assure you that both companies did plenty of testing before introducing something as advanced as this.

hansienna

Thanks chuckels for a 2nd opinion that supports the link Steve provided.
     I would NEVER buy an extended warranty but I am glad the original owner bought a 7 year 75,000 mile extended "Added Care" warranty for the 2002 Chrysler T&C LX I got from him. That provides me with the original 7 year 100,000 powertrain warranty plus 7 year 75,000 miles on virtually everything else in addition to the powertrain.

bepete

Go with the Touring NAV/RES.
 
My other car has black leather and I've never had problems with scraches. But I can't vouch for Honda. I can't imagine keeping beige looking as new. One of the (many) reasons I passed on a Sienna. When you consider all Odysseys have a black and silver dash, black seats are the perfect match.

andrewtran71

You have a point there.

So Touring W/NAV Black Nighthawk with Black Leather and silver/black Interior, huh?
Yeah, I might go for that.

Silver and Black and Chrome.

Man, you are convincing!

cpstar

pka, do a google search on "2005 honda odyssey forum" and skim through the top hits. There are specialized sites for this vehicle and most of your queries (if not all) would be answered if you willing to spend time reading the responses at those sites.

isellhondas

A little history on VCM. It was a one year disaster for Cadillac. 1981 was the only year they had it. Cadillac at the time was frantically trying ANYTHING to lower their gas mileage to please the feds. The next year, they dropped the 4-6-8 for the HT 4100 engines that were so much trouble Cadillac lost a lot of their long time loyal customers. It took them until 1988 to get these engines right.

With Honda it's a far different story. Technology has come a long, long way since 1981 and the ill fated 4-6-8's.

Honda tests new product extensively in Japan under the worst possible conditions before mass producing anything.

I sure wouldn't worry.