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Honestly, my transmission downshifts so easily I don't know how yours is holding that low of rpm while pulling a hill. Perhaps your transmission isn't downshifting as swiftly as it should so there is some lugging occuring. I have a couple of steep hills on our daily route that I've tried to climb without downshifting and can't do it.
My car has same problem.
I already had 3 times services with this and other problems (changing power steeling pump, sliding door, )
Last time, they replace engine mount. (It is like a brain surgery for human)
After that, I feel it is ligher.
But humming sound problem doesn't fixed.
And also I heard some different suspicious sounds (like a dove's coo in low speed 0-45 mile per hour)
I don't feel any brand new car with it.
I never had this kind of experience with Toyota.
I really disappoint with Honda.
Do you think I can apply Lemon Law?
DL (davidbhlee@msn.com)
For all you in the humming club, if you had to do it all over again, would you still get an Odyssey? Is there anyone out there whose Odyssey is NOT humming/vibratting?
Thanks for your help!
The ride is very smooth and comfortable. I would still get the Odyssey if I have to do it all over again. Just my personal view.
Yeppo
I recently bought the Odyssey 2006 EXL. Overall, it is a very good van. However, I have noticed four strange things about the van:
(1) A light surge/click sound in the gas pedal occurs after every time I start the car and drive off. It actually happens about five seconds after I start driving and my vehicle reaches around 5-10 MPH. I have found out that it's the ABS check sound, which many members of this forum who own both the 05 and 06 models have noticed. I hope this is normal.
(2) Every time when I decelerate - e.g., when I prepare to exit the freeway - the ECO light comes on and I feel the transmission shift to lower gear. The van stutters. Is it normal?
(3) At stop lights, when I put my foot on the brake pedal, I feel a slight continuous pulse/vibration on the pedal. Is it considered engine vibration that a few members have described? When I put the gear to neutral, the pulse/vibration is dramatically reduced. That is the only pulse/vibration that I feel. I do not feel any pulse/vibration on the steering wheel or the gear stick.
(4) When I accelerate (i.e., depressing on the gas pedal), I feel quite a lot of vibration on the gas pedal and overall noise. Is it engine vibration/noise? I have only noticed the overall loud noise while driving on the freeway or going up hills. I did not pay attention to recall the exact RPM or speed at which these symptoms occur. Is this part of the humming/droning noise that people have noticed?
Please share with me your experience and/or comments.
Thanks,
Mike
I've not noticed any hum/drone noise and I tend to hear everything. There are some rattles but there may be things stuffed down into cubbys, I dunno. The tires are a bit noisey and the ride is a bit rough over bumps. Handles quite good though and steering quite accurate. I'll trade rough ride for handling any day. I usually keep my foot pretty hard on the pedal (ex-racer, can't help it) and we average about 22mpg for the most part. Long trips have turned 26mpg.
Thanks to everybody who replied and shared this solution!
1. Toyota van does make loud noise at low RPM too. It struggles quite a bit in hilly conditions where the Honda just zooms thru. After this experience, I will give Honda a break in their humming sound
2. The Toyota van's ride is very unsettled. It has the un even feel even on the smooth CA roads. It does get better at we loaded the vehicle more. Even my daughter noticed that. It reminds me of the old Buick vehicles in the 90. So Sienna is very close to Chrysler tuning.
3. Handling and Steering: Honda kicks Toyota soundly. I never have the security of sport car in the Toyota. In fact, it again reminds me of the 90 Buick: too light to steering, a bit sloppy but secured on corner
4. Sound system in the Toyota has the cheap BASS and TREB boostings that give me the nauseated feel. It seems to have less Electrical noise than our Honda for those who like to listen to radio (AM/FM)
So indirectly, I like my Honda a lot morte after living with the Toyota for 2-3 days
jt
Trust me, you don't want to be a member of the club. But you can still own an Ody.
Despite what the people at Honda would described it as a "characteristic", not all Odys have the problem. So make sure you test drive extensively the exact one that you're going to take home. For our case, we test drove extensively the demo Ody (which didn't have the problem) and not on the one we drove home ( :lemon: )
It might be a characteristic to them, but to us who has to live with the problem, we call it a defect.
2) If it stutters, IMO that can't be normal. If it sounds like deceleration from engine braking then it should be normal.
3) Yea, we have that annoying "characteristic" too. That seems to be a separate issue from the 1500-2000rpm hum.
4) IMO, this vibration is related to #3
ALso, the drumming noise is common (there is a technical name for it, but I have heard it called "helicoptering") in many cars, not just the Odyssey. It has to do with the unequal air pressure with one window open. The Ody's aerodynamics seem to be favorable for causing this.
It is almost the same deal as when you blow across the top of an empty bottle.
The simplest solution (other than closing the windows) is to open another one to equalize the pressure. A front window, or the moonroof, should do the trick.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
This seems to be a problem with Pacificas and is due to some form of resonance. (See Pacifica posts about this). We have both a 2005 Pacifica and a 2006 Odyssey but have never noticed a problem. I can't say, however, that either vehicle has been driven with only the rear windows down.
This noise seems to be common problem on many vehicles: Odys, Pacifica, HHR, Lexus,...It is deafenning at above 30 MPH. We have it on our new Odys also. It makes the second window less usable when the front windows are close.
jt
the severity depends on many factors including vehicle geometry of the cabin space, the speed you are travelling, how far open one set of windows are, etc.
it's very similar to the standing waves one creates when blowing across the open end of a bottle.
i used to be able to create deafening noise in my VW Jetta, my Toyota Corolla and many other rentals I have driven. it is definitely not a phenomenon associated with SUVs or Mini-Vans.
you have to adjust the front and rear windows to provide a path of air rushing past the vehicle to pass in and out of the vehicle more freely.
I think the older model Odysseys were somewhat better in this regard because you could vent the rear-most windows.
I belong to the first group. I just took my 2006 EX-L an a vacation for a total of just under 1000 miles. Much rain and some snow in the Cascade mountains of Western Washington. Many hills. Up one particularly steep hill on the I-90 I could see that there was going to be a convergence of slow moving semi trucks ahead of me with fast moving traffic coming up behind and a pretty good rain falling and misty. These are dangerous situations that I don't like. I got on the gas and got up to 85 mph without any effort at all and passed the trucks on the far left with a whole lane to spare before they all started moving over and before anyone coming up behind me needed that lane. I do not like driving this fast, but I will readily if I feel that it is the safest thing to do and I have a vehicle that I feel confident in. The transition from 65 mph to 85 mph going up that steep hill was effortless and quick. The van felt smooth and steady and I know that it had a lot more to give if I needed it. Very reassuring. I passed everyone, slowed back down and gave the van a little pat. A potentially dangerous situation avoided. Great van.
Knock wood, but so far the only "problem" we have had is some rattling in the pas. side slider (about 15K on a '05 EX-L) that I haven't bothered to have looked at yet. But, that annoyance is far outwieghed by the driving pleasure, comfort, and how well it works for travelling.
So, even someone that had some of the teething problems (say, a new PS pump) that were fixed could still love their vans.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
It is not a clunking or intermittent sound but more just an additional, somewhat higher pitched version of the normal revolution of the belt on the pulley.
Another sound we have noticed is what appears to be a somewhat pronounced "transmission growl" that is only noticeable in lower gears but is especially noticeable when backing up in reverse gear after a long drive. If I had to describe it, it sounds like any transmission does when you downshift into a lower gear at high rpms- like it strains a bit.
These noises that would probably sound pretty normal in a much older vehicle but we bought this Odyssey new (1/05) and it only has 22k on it. I have followed the maintanence schedule of changing the oil every 3-4k and most of its driving is highway based. I tow a small trailer about 2x a year for less than 150 miles, but the Odyssey has a cooling package installed and the trans oil looks pink and clean.
I have an appointment at the dealer but I am afraid that since the noises are much more noticeable after 20 -30 minutes of driving, the dealer will give me the old--"unable to replicate the problem" reaction and therefore, "unable to fix" response.
The vehicle runs well, the gas mileage seems appropriate, and no engine lights have appeared. The only reason these trouble me at all are that they are a change from the first year of driving.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated?
The first thing you need to do is calm down. No kidding. Things are never as bad as they seem. I was almost exactly where you are a year ago. True story: we had just purchased a new EX. I didn't want a new van, but my Toyota Previa had 212k on it and I wasn't going to invest in the trans. and engine repairs needed to keep it on the road. RIP.
We are historically Toyota people but being open-minded, I wanted to check out everything that was available. We read CR and ordered their reports, shopped online, emailed various dealers, took our time. We waited until Christmas eve to visit the dealer and picked the Odyssey up the day after New Years. I was patting myself on the back for shopping at the right time of year, making a good deal on the van and the financing, and letting my wife pick the color; which I regret to this day.
A week after we got it, the door locks froze up. As we rounded a corner, the unlatched door swung open and if she hadn't been belted in, my wife could have tumbled out. Shortly after that, the sliding doors wouldn't open either. We had some freezing rain and the doors' electronics fell victim to it. Of course, when we got to the dealer, it had warmed-up, and the doors had unfrozen and dried out. Since the dealer couldn't reproduce the problem, they wouldn't take it any further. I thought "oh great, now we have to wait for more freezing rain, etc." The dealer had had no fix except to lubricate the mechanism. I'm not a mechanical engineer but I knew that if water penetrating the locks was the culprit, that fix was not going to get it done. It didn't help that my wife was that smart as well, not to mention the neighbors. Sheesh.
Luckily, the service manager got a fax from Honda two days later instructing him to check the locks on all his Odysseys. The ones that had been sitting in the shade were still frozen. That put us right where you are now. Honda of America to the rescue--but not right away. We got the same verdict you did, some engineers in Ohio were working on the problem and nothing could be done until they had it figured out. Meanwhile, my doors were opened up like recently fileted fish, wires and cables everywhere. I was bummed out to say the least and wishing I had stuck with Toyota.
I remained calm, pointed out that my wife was almost expelled from the vehicle, and told the dealer I needed a replacement car until mine was fixed. Ok, perhaps I should have said "could have been expelled from the van," but needless to say, he ordered up a rental; some heavy, overpowered Lincoln from Enterprise. What a dog. When I almost wiped out in a snowstorm, I called him and told him I wanted to be in a Honda not a Ford until my van was fixed. He set me up in a nice three year old CRV which by the way, we loved.
Over a period of four weeks, we drove the CRV and waited. I spoke to Honda of America several times. they were patient and professional. The dealer was equally professional. All the while, I was picturing two guys in Ohio spraying vans with hoses and waiting for them to freeze up in some factory parking lot. I told the Honda rep. that I felt that any fix they came up with that was not "designed in" was an afterthought, untested, and I was very concerned about the fix over the life of the vehicle. I reminded him about my Toyota and told him I fully expect to drive this for 200k as well.
The Honda rep. came through. He asked me if adding Honda Care, a three year warranty addition or 60,000 miles whichever comes first, would make me feel better about the purchase and repair. I said, "you bet."
So they fixed the van, I have Honda Care in writing, and 22,000 miles later, we are basically happy campers. I'm a show me kind of guy when it comes to cars and service so I have to tell you, Honda did the right thing. I respect them for that and I am glad I bought one. Jeez, I sound like a commercial for Honda but hey, it is loyalty earned. We live in PA and the dealer was Piazza Honda of Reading. Kudos to them. I believe that Honda of America is very conscious of how competitive this market is and they don't want to give an inch to Toyota. Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.
P.S. I do have one regret, the dullsville slate green color doesn't make driving a mini-van any easier. The silver one was cool and the red one was killer. You didn't buy the green one did you? -Mike :shades:
Second, an observation:
"I previously had a 2000 and sold it it 2004 with nary a problem."
A review of the 'Problems and Solutions' board for the previous generation Odyssey would lead some folks to believe that Honda was incapable of building a minivan that DIDN'T have major transmission problems. Yet you apparently got that one Honda Odyssey 'with nary a problem'.
What's that tell you?
It tells me that the issues encountered (whether with the previous generation Ody or current models) can get blown way out of proportion on these message boards.
Just one comment: 2000 Model Year Odys did not have Automatic Transmission problem since it had 4 speeds only. Honda had problem when they introduced the 5 speed version (upto model year 2004): its second gear lacks lubrication. All owners with this type of vehicles got recall notices. The failure rate on this transmission is rather high for automotive standard.
jt
I own a '00 Odyssey EX w/125k and it had two replacements at 95k and 105k.
Lastly, the tranny still clunks when downshifting to 1st on a slow roll.
Also, the dealer didn't tweak anything. American Honda was involved at each occurance. They shipped the remanufactured unit in a crate and I had a loaner car to use while being repaired.