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Comments
It'll get better with time.
I am an '05 Odyssey owner and can not drive the vehicle from the serious back pain it is causing me. I've never experienced pain with any other vehicle I have ever driven, and that is many. I have not had back pain prior to owning this Odyssey.
The Odyssey seat is designed wrong. It will not "break in" and change. According to owners of a Better Back store near me, they tell me most of their customers are Honda owners. I wish I knew this before purchasing the Honda. Honda has not addressed the issue as of yet. We are trying to have them fix it, but with no success to this point. The pain is so extreme, and with 2 kids, a job, and an extremely hectic schedule, I would rather get rid of the van.
However, in the latest Insurance Institute tests, Honda did poorly on the dynamic headrest test for the models tested. The headrest geometry appears to be good on the Odyssey, but it was also good for the Civic and Accord models that did poorly overall. For some reason Honda chose not to use an active design. I pointed this out as a major safety deficiency on the hour-long telephone survey that Honda did with me.
Given that whiplash is the number one auto injury, it seems that Honda can't say it stresses safety as much as Volvo or Saab do. If it didn't design the headrests properly, maybe it didn't design the rest of the seat properly as well.
For those discussing gas mileage, it's normal to take a few thousand miles before it is optimal, but from mid-teens it sure has a long way to go. Those are SUV kind of numbers! Maybe you're supposed to kill the engine and coast down hill?
That car no doubt idled a lot during it's Pre Delivery Inspection and it was probably moved around the lot several times. It may not have been totally filled up. a lot of reasons to wait a few thousand miles before checking mileage.
That's what I do and recommend. Then keep tracking gas usage with every tank. After a few thousand miles you'll have a good understanding of the mpg you should be getting, and if your mileage suddenly plunges, you know you may need to take the van into your mechanic.
Some people get EPA estimated mpg from the first tank but the rest of us don't see that until the first few thousand miles on the van (if then).
Steve, Host
The new cars are then driven back to the store where they get PDI'd. They idle alot during this time. After that, they are constantly being moved back and forth as we have to jockey them around the lot. Of course this is about as counter-productive to getting good gas mileage as it can possibly be.
and, I can't speak for other makes but for some reason, Hondas seem to need a couple thousand miles before they settle in and get the best mileage.
I'm not one to check my own mileage very often. I figure it's going to get whatever it gets.
Sounds like an excuse to save a few bucks per car to me :-)
Gotta start somewhere - I keep track from the first tank and figure after 10,000 miles, it'll all average itself out pretty good.
Steve, Host
Never had a reason to go into one before.
My husband is now driving the Odyssey. He's in pain, so I know it's not just me.
Yes, it is 50 state emissions. Funny thing, I still had to do a smog for my van that was shipped from Texas. Silly. Factory sends it to out of state dealer, dealer sends to dealer in CA-no smog. Factory sends to out of state dealer, dealer sends to individual in CA-smog.
Ohmster
i'm from vancouver, canada, and i just purchased a 05 honda odyssey last month @ MSRP, but the thing is, i have not yet gotten the vehicle from them depite the fact that i paid my $1000 depoosit.
they keep on telling me that the odyssey that i've specified has not yet arrived (which is only an EX-L and apparently they only have the ones w/ the DVD pkg).
i'm wondering if they're trying to process this deal till the price of an odyssey drops so that they can make more money since i've already agreed to pay the current msrp.
anyways, dunno if anyone has seen an 05 odyssey around vancouver yet but plz help me out! thanks a bunch.
Almost every vehicle has exceeded EPA estimates when driven responsibly.
While I was back there, I did notice that under the plastic piece that covers the hinges that my rear seat hinges were rusted. For those who reported this before, I was wondering what your dealer did to correct the situation.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The dealer is getting our 05 Odyssey back too.
I am 5 feet and can't tolerate the back pain any longer. My husband is 5'9" and experiences the same pain when driving the van.
This is what we've done so far to try to correct it:
1.) had dealer remove the plastic Lumbar support.
this didn't help.
2.) had a piece of marine foam custom cut to fit into the thoracic area of the seat, and inserted it. This helped a little.
3.) used wire ties to pull back the wire lumbar support pushing the lumbar area forward.
This helped a little too, but you can only tolerate driving the vehicle for under 15 minutes. After that the pain and discomfort take over.
Now the dealer would like to try having the foam insert of the drivers seat modified by an upholsterer.
One other issue that could be causing the pain is the lack of a steering column. The steering wheel doesn't offer any telescoping option to move it closer, and it has an extremely short column causing the driver to reach further to hold the wheel. You can move the drivers seat forward to compensate, but then you're hitting your knees against the area of the dash below the steering wheel.
We'll update again after the upholsterer modifies the seat.
Anyways, I'm sure my dealer will give me a free cup of coffee to make up for the long wait. ;-)
And, the above assumes the odometer is reading 3% low rather than 3% high.
Most interstate highways have mileage markers. Check it over a ten or more mile range of markers and see what your odometer has ticked off, if you have any doubts.
To me, they seemed real comfy in the showroom and on the test drive, but I may take another sample. I also have lower back problems, so am real sensitive to this (I passed on a BMW just becasue the lumbar hit me wrong).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
This topic has been debated a number of times in Town Hall, but the consensus opinion seems to be that that provision isn't enforcable (based on contract law), at least as written in these contracts (you don't even have a date entered)! And even if they thought they could keep you r deposit, must dealers don't want to create the ill will and headaches of fighting with you, bad pub, etc.
I'm guessing if you back out, even if the van showed up tomorrow, they would be able to find a new buyer.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I think it's quite unfair to blame a well designed vehicle for causing so much back pain. Common sense says that there must be other issues, health or otherwise going on. IMO most vehicle seats (Odyssey included) are not going to cause severe back pain for the vast majority of the population.
Their user name also has "nissan" in it.
One does have to wonder just a bit?
I do have a question for you, diggin. I am the same height as yourself and find my head bumps the ceiling protrusion for the rear door track. Have you had any problem in this regard?
I know Odyssey owners of previous years, and they don't have pain with their vehicles either.
I never experienced this with any other vehicle I have driven, and that is many so this is very disheartening to me.
Please keep your responses to possible solutions.
To Jorge - I met with the upholsterer today. He is going to try to modify the foam in the seat. He won't be able to do anything with it until next week however but I'll let you know how that works.