Honda Odyssey 2005+

rorr

Actually, my '00 Celica GTS has the same silly 160 mph speedo. And I can KINDA understand it in a 'sporty'-type of car (where I would also charitably classify a New Beetle :P).

I just don't get 160 mph speedo's in minivans, despite whatever 'sporty' pretensions they might have. :confuse:

What's next: 8000 rpm tachometers in diesel pickups?

cpsdarren

Yeah, I'd bet the majority of drivers never use over half of the speedo. IMO, even 120mph is overkill but would make it a bit easier to read.

77porsche

Hello-

I knoe your posting is quite dated by now, but I wanted you to know that my wife heard a similar noise when I was reversing into my garage. I did not hear it, but she swore it was a "clunking" sound. The dealer said they have heard this "issue" before and have advised owners it is the brake system engaging. The jury is still out on this answer.

As for the "engine braking," issue, I to believe that I have felt this as well. For me, when braking (and not braking hard), I can sense, at times, the car "lurch" to momentary stop, and then it resumes a gradual, smooth braking. If you experience this and are comfortable with the explanation, then it is easier to believe that there is nothing wrong here. I own a 2006 EX Honda Odyssey.

77porsche

oldarmy

Thinking about installing the child seats for my toddlers in the rear seat of our 06 Odyssey so we will have the second row captains chairs available for adult passengers. Any one else do this. Do you know if Honda has put any extra protection in this area for side and rear collisions?

sebring95

It's probably just as safe from the sides (curtain bags, etc.) but obviously you're closer to a rear impact. Physics is physics. I don't think there is any argument to the 2nd row being the safest for any passengers. Are you prepared to climb in/out everytime you need to load the kids? Unless you have adults in the 2nd row often, it would be easier to move the seats to the 3rd row every once in awhile. I've bucked the grandkids into the 3rd row before and it's no fun.

oldarmy

These are grandkids that my wife picks up and watches two days a week so the seats pretty much stay in the car. Properly installing these child seats is not a quick job so I do not want to remove them often. The kids are big enough to get themself in the seats and buckle in with a safety check by my wife or me so using the rear seat is not too difficult. Plus that alows us to use the second row when we occasionally have another grandchild in a rear facing baby seat or adults travel with us.

For all of you out there who believe hauling kids around ends when yours are grown..just remember you get to do it all again if you have grandkids. At age 61 I just traded my beloved VW Passat in on an 06 Odyssey so my wife would have a safe car to haul the grandkids around...also it is a terrific car for our trips. I went to the dealership to buy a Pilot but the Odyssey just seemed like more car for the money and a better long trip option.

sebring95

Sounds like your plan will work then. Although, if they're able to snap themselves in, they're probably getting close to booster seats. My oldest granddaughter recently switched to a booster and it is sooooo much easier to deal with. My oldest son has two kids and my youngest is still in college. We switched from a Tahoe to the Odyssey for better hauling and for the most part the Ody is so much better for actually hauling people/things. The 3rd row in most SUV's (even the big ones) are quite compromised.

kugs10

We just bought a 2006 Odyssey EX-L. I was disappointed to learn that Honda does not offer a cover for the cargo area. We have had two break-ins in the past where bags were stolen out of our car. We would like a privacy cover for the cargo area to prevent this from happening again. Does anyone know if there is an after-market option?

Thanks
Kugs10

cpsdarren

I have no problems with our kids in the third row. Severe rear-end crashes are pretty rare and the increased risks are mostly to adults in seating positions without head restraints.

The Odyssey is also somewhat unique among vehicles with 3 rows of seating in that it has side impact airbag deployment sensors for all three rows as well as a rollover sensing deployment system.

Also- www.suvsafety.info

oldarmy

Thanks..that website was very helpful in putting my mind at ease concerning kids in the rear seat of an Odyssey.

hirakawa

I plan to buy odyssey but my family is not with me.
If I buy it, I'd like to save some gas by making odyssey lighter.
second and third row seats can be taken off?
Just wondering if it is possbile.

Thanks in advance.

cccompson

The second row seats come out relatively easily (and are so designed for seating/cargo versatility). The third row is "permanent" but can, no doubt, be removed with some difficulty.

hirakawa

thank you for your reply.

do you think that removing seats can improve gas mileage a lot?

If not, I will just leave it in the car.

Just curious

Thanks again.

cccompson

Well, just guessing, the seats may weigh 250-300 pounds altogether. Can't see how taking them out would help fuel ecomony appreciably. Sure wouldn't hurt it though.

sebring95

Aerodynamics are more of an issue than weight at highway speeds. I've never noticed a difference in highway mileage between fully loaded (six passengers/cargo) or just the wife and I. That's a bigger variance than you'll get by removing seats. Completely unscientific, but what do you expect? :P

pmickle

No, I would guess that they probably wouldn't. Although I have not lifted any of the third row seats with out the assistance of the hinge, I have lifted the second row seats, and they are more awkward to hold and carry, then they are heavy. Also, the Odyssey weighs over 4500 pounds. One or two hundered pounds is not going to make much of a difference. Last week I had mine loaded with passengers and cargo, and it did not feel any different when driving it as it would empty. This says that in order to alter the gas mileage to a noticably different usage, there would have to be a much larger weight loss then a few hundered pounds.

boohonda

my 2005 touring has had something BAD happen to the motor - after keeping it for 6 WEEKS they think they have figured it out - i said it was a lemon and they disagree - have offered to fix it and extend the warranty to 120K - what do you think? Please post your opinions

macskc

I say stick to your guns and pursue the lemon law if you can. I just fought my dealer for the 3rd time on a tire issue and finally won on 05 EX-L. If the dealer has had it for 6 weeks I certainly hope they are willing to make a payment for you! I would contact your area Honda rep to see if that person has been involved with your case. For the amount of $ you pay for the Touring edition you should fight this thing. Good luck!

loncray

I think you need to very carefully read the lemon law for your jurisdiction. Just thinking a vehicle is a lemon isn't enough - there are very specific conditions for declaring a car to be a lemon. If you meet those conditions, Honda doesn't have any choice anymore, though you may have to seek legal help to cover yourself.

jinnis

On our first family trip my son went to put a paperback book in the pouch behind the drivers seat and the seat back fell apart in his hand. The new design is held together with defective plastic clips. We're on our fifth trip to dealer service and they still haven't figured out how to fix it. The Honda customer service line is of little help and just tells us to let the dealer figure it out. Honda needs to admit that these seats are defective and come up with a fix from the factory. All previous leather Odyssey seats that I've seen are sewn together. Why the clips on the new model? The seat pouch on the passenger side has since fallen appart when the service people were comparing it to the original defect. They say these can't be sewn. They tried glue. I think it's time for a recall!

cccompson

I've got the same problem with my front passenger seat - clearly it is a defective design - and apparently can't be permanently fixed.

hypercore

"Why the clips on the new model?"

Its about economics (which I can understand to a certain degree), and simply bad design and quality assurance (shame on Honda).

For something like this, I would perhaps advise getting it fixed yourself, by way of sewing it or getting someone that is good with tread and needle. Its a hard thing to swallow and just give up on the dealership & Honda, but for something like this, you may be able to do something about it yourself. Just my 2 cents.

hypercore

"As for the "engine braking," issue..."

My '06 EX is a week old; I've noticed this "engine-braking" as you've point out from the beginning and continue to do so. I'm no expert on this, but I don't believe the engine is doing this... its the transmission revving down. If you've ever driven a manual-transmission, you may have used teh engine to slow down the car. I use this on my Honda motorcycle.

My wife used to have a '94 Accord (used). It used to do the same thing, but the 'effect' was far more pronounced than what I feel in the Odyssey. I could be wrong, but I do not believe this is something to be concerned over. Its "HONDA", and if my past experience says anything, you don't have anything to worry about. Well, at least I am not concerned about it. I can almost guarantee every Ody probably does it to some extent. This effect (mild lurch) will probably become more pronounced as the vehicle gets older / more miles. Like I said, I'm no expert, but just going on what I've noted in my wife's previous car.

macskc

Just a thought . . . ask them to replace the entire seat. That is exactly what I would do. I have an 05 Odyssey and I don't have the same issue but if I had my brand new car in 5 times for that issue and the dealer doesn't know how to fix it, I would demand a whole new seat.

sebring95

RE: Downshifting while braking

This is becoming quite common for both performance and economy reasons. While coasting in gear, the engine is essentially injecting no fuel as long as the rpm's are kept high enough. A vehicle will stop more quickly with less brake use. And if you're slowing for a turn, the vehicle will already be in a lower gear for accelerationg out of the turn. My Tundra also does this, as does the Allison and many other "higher end" transmission.

I have a slight complaint with the abrupt nature of the downshifts in the Ody, but overall it's a good thing. I've always felt Honda transmissions were a bit rough shifting, although generally (prior Ody transmissions notwithstanding) they're quite reliable.

hypercore

"While coasting in gear, the engine is essentially injecting no fuel as long as the rpm's are kept high enough. A vehicle will stop more quickly with less brake use..."

Good point above... Its something one is not used to when driving an automatic transmission. On manuals, people would be "used to it" and some, like myself, would look for and anticipate it while down shifting (manually).

minivan561

Hi All,

Has anyone had a problem with the driver side of the minivan being lower than the right side by about 1 inch? Is this considered normal or does this sound like a defect?

Thanks,

2005 Odyssey EX

biscuit1941

My story is for a Ford, and was some time ago, but thought it might give some of you ideas.
I bought a PU from a ford dealer and found that the salesman had mislead me and the vehicle was totally unsuited for the use I intended. Spoke with salesman, dealer manager, Ford corporate tech, supervisor, customer service rep etc. No help at all.
I contacted the better business bureau. They said the dealer owner wanted to be contacted PERSONALLY (he owned a mumber of dealerships)prior to any reports being filed. The owner personally called me back in less than 24 hours, asked me what would make me happy and did exactly what I asked.

master1

If the whole car is on the same elevation without pot holes, the car should not be one inch off. If you have something on the right side of the car that is pushing down weight, it may or may not be ok.

davant

Has anyone had a problem with the right side of their driveway being an inch lower than the other either? Not being sarcastic here but how could you tell one side of the van is but an inch lower? If you'd go to that much trouble to measure be sure and use a laser level to check the surface you're on as an inch isn't much over the vans width. The problem may alignment but none of the Ody component adjustments should change ride height significantly. I know that a Porsche 944 has some adjustable preloading specifically meant to set each corner at a certain height as it cost me plenty to make it right. Are you also having drift problems with the vehicle staying straight? Do you have larger size passengers waiting for you in the van now, LOL?

raidun

My 2006 Honda Odyssey brakes sometimes make this awful grinding noise.

I called the dealer and they said that this is normal behavior as when rotors get wet this is some sort of imbalance.

Just washing your car and immediately driving the minivan recreates this nasty grinding noise.

I am not sure why Honda is not doing a recal and getting this fixed.

How does this Minivan behave in wet cold states?
I drive it for a while and the grinding noise comes. Wait 10minutes and it goes away. It sounds VERY bad, one thinks the brakes are gone and you are grinding down the rotors.

There is no way this is expected behavior.
Can we get everyone having this issue reply to this thread and get some traction.

I have always been a Honda owner and I am starting to think that over every time I hear that nasty noise.

Has anyone had luck getting it fixed permanently?

steves2

I live in Illinois and bought my car here as well. On a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama this summer, I noticed the same thing. I took my car to the Honda dealer just outside Gulf Shores to complain. Can't remeber the name right now, but they were very helpful. They replaced the front pads for free. The explanation was that Honda used pads that had a harder composite than previous and because people were complaining, they were doing voluntary replacements. It's not a safety issue, just more of an annoyance,. Good Luck!!

sebring95

There are new parts available for grinding brakes....your dealer is a rube (nothing new there really...).

I have chosen not to have the work done, at least not yet. Mine only does it after hard braking which tells me it's the hard pad getting heated up. They grab very well and show no signs of wear which is more important to me than some noise. I'm a lesser fan of soft pads that leave brake dust...I can live with a little noise.

Mine does NOT grind when wet though. If your brakes are making noise first thing when you drive it, that MAY be normal as rotors will get corroded from sitting. Very noticable if you don't drive your vehicle regularly. Nothing wrong at all with this, once the corrosion is cleaned off by the pads, they'll be fine.

If the grinding comes/goes while driving even when not wet, then it's related to the pad hardness. You might try to avoid hitting the brakes as hard and see if the noise subsides. If you like to hammer the brakes, the new softer pads might be quiet, but you'll likely have to replace the more often.

artgpo

I had the same problem with my '06 Odyssey. I noticed that with repeated stops as in stop and go on the freeway or a hard stop, that described noise would appear. This past Monday I took the van back to my servicing dealer. I was told the factory brake pads were of uneven thickness and replacements were provided, free of charge. The front rotors were also trued up. Apparently there is some type of known problem with certain brakes. I did a search online for a TSB but could find none. My Odyssey had just over 15,000 miles at the time of repair.

minivan561

Hi. I checked 2 ways while the van was in my garage (concrete slab foudation). One is to measure the distance from the bumper to the floor for the left/right side. The 2nd is how I initially noticed the problem - the rear driver side wheel sits into the wheel well more than the other side (less clearance between the top of the tire and the wheel well opening).

No heavyweights in the van - my wife is the principal driver at 135 pounds, and I (185#) tend to drive it on the weekends). Rest of passengers are 2 kids under 30# each and the weight is fairly evenly distributed while driving.

Also, no drift problems.

cbozzone

I just bought a 06 Odyssey EXL w/RES and noticed two thing that the dealer could not answer yet.
1- Can the 115V outlet be added as an accessory?
2- I noticed that all 3 12-Volt outlets do not work without the key in the ignition. This is the first car I've owned that had "switched" outlets. I would think this would be a big problem for minivan owners. Is this working correctly or do I need to bring it back to get those outlets "unswitched" so that they work off the battery all the time.
-Also does anyone know how to reprogram some of the options even though I do NOT have the MID that comes with the Touring version?
Thanks in advance.

davant

1- 115 added? Not by Honda, Touring has different wiring harness. Buy a $30 DC to AC converter as the integration in our Touring gets you no other bennies.

2- 12 VDC is working as designed. Generalization is that American brand autos have unswitched outlets. Far Eastern brands have ignition switched outlets and it varies on those from Europe but most have switched. You can overcome this by moving one wire once you ID an unswitched terminal.

- Reprogramming options isn't going to work, check the owners manual index under 'Cake and Eat it Too', LOL. Certainly not worth trading in for a Touring to fix this but recognize that Honda saves certain features for top trim levels.

hayneldan

My 03 Dodge Grand Caravan has 2 DC outlets in the front center of the dash. One stays on when the ignition is off the cap has a battery on it. The other has a key on it and is on it and is only powered when the key is in the on position. There are 3 other powered outlets that do not require the key to be in the on position. One in each of the two consoles between the front and second row seats and one on the driver's side just behind the second door. The option of powering them is done by moving one fuse from one position IGN to BATT. The upside is you can run AC adapters for Gameboy, or cell phone charger,or a car powered vacuum without turning the key on. The downside is you must remember to disconnect if the van is to be sitting for several days.

skyhawk

I just took delivery of a 2006 EX-L. I looked in the book and watched the DVD. Is there a way to get the doors to lock automatically when you put it in gear? If not this would be my first vehicle in close to 15 years that does not do this. Thanks.

sebring95

Is there a way to get the doors to lock automatically when you put it in gear?

Nope, Honda considers auto-locking doors a luxury feature and only includes it on the Touring. Hope you're not used to auto headlamps either!

It amazes me that a company can do such an excellent job on designing/building a vehicle, and then leave out little things that are very obvious.

skyhawk

Thanks for the reply. I traded a Malibu Maxx for my Ody. It had so many standard features that this does not. It was just too small. We winter in Florida and I needed more carrying room. I love the car and will have to retrain myself to do these little things. I did not want the run flat tires so the tourer was not a consideration. This is my first non-GM vehicle.

loncray

It's all part of encouraging folks to spend the (not inconsiderable) extra money for the Touring.

sebring95

I would have bought the touring in a heartbeat. You almost have to in order to get any decent options. But then they axe the 8th seat which is what makes the Ody a truly attractive vehicle for my use.

Honda and Toyota are always soooo close to perfect but bungle it on the little things. And it's the little things that tend to annoy the most.

per2

One tire has the different "DOT" number from the other three. It shows that one tire was made in "1706" (17th week of 2006), and the rest three tires were made in "2006" (20th week of 2006).

I don't think it is normal. If honda put tires made at different times on a car, it is hard to keep track of it. I check several other cars, all the tires have the same DOT number. Any clue?

sebring95

I'd take it back and demand a new vehicle. Totally unacceptable
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loncray

I'm sure that happens all the time. If one tire is a different size or tread pattern from the other three, then you've got a problem. They just took four tires off their rack at the factory, and one happened to be from an earlier batch than the other three is all.

rorr

Don't you guys all CHECK this sort of stuff BEFORE you take delivery of your new vehicle?

sheesh.....

What really bugs me is that I can't keep all the little 'H' logos on the centers of my wheels lined up. I mean, just this weekend I painstakingly jacked up the minivan and rotated each tire by hand so they all pointed the same way. But after my wife drove it yesterday, now they point in all different directions.

boy, that irritates me.....

per2

If manufactor put different tires on the car, I don't care. But I am afraid that some damage happened before I purchased the car, and it was repaired using a different tire.

sebring95

I don't think a three week difference really points to damage occuring. Unless it was damaged at the factory (which isn't all that uncommon) but I don't see this as a sign of major damage or anything. You should be able to find far more glaring evidence of such than a slightly off tire code. If this occured post dealer, the tire code would likely be much further off than three weeks.

civicnatty

hey ny name is nathan i'm new. i work at ts tech i build the ody seats and the olive looks awesome in the van.