I own a '99 EX van with 33000 miles, and we are already on our second transmission. For the people posting whether they should worry about "just a little transmission fluid", the answer is Yes. We noticed this about 6 months ago, took it in and they replaced the seal at the differential to correct the problem. 2 months ago the leak was back, this time they said new tranny. Waited 6 weeks, rebuilt transmission finally arrived and was installed. For the record, the old transmission leaked and exhibited the hard shift from 1st gear to 2nd, the techs at 2 different dealers told us "it was normal" even though it didn't start doing it until 30000 miles. We really like the Oddy, but have decided to upgrade to the 5 speed automatic on the 2002 in the hopes that they have corrected all these problems.
Which brings up my second comment. We are on the wait list for a 2002 EXL-RES. We aren't big leather seat fans, but for anyone considering the I-VES or other after market add-on RES you might consider this. We have friends that bought a 2002 and had the I-VES system put in. The signal connection between the VCR and the stereo system is literally a radio signal, and on his system there was plenty of static and interference. With the built in DVD system from Honda, you get really nice central controls on the head unit, EXCELLENT sound quality on the DVD system, and the ability to "zone" the system (DVD movie through headsets while stereo plays separate CDs in the head unit). So I guess what I am saying is, aftermarket systems (even the I-VES from Honda), are usually not hard-wired into the audio system, and are never going to work as cleanly as the EXL-RES does. IMHO.
I would say that I am fortunate not to have any transmission problems with my 99 EX or perhaps I'm not paying enough attention to it? Am I part of a minority by not having any problems or are these transmission problems growing in numbers? Keeping my fingers crossed.
Glad you got you EX. This is the dealer I purchased my 2000 EX from in Mar 2000. Took it to Alaska in July 2000 with my brother-in-law. Gone for a month, traveled over 10,000 miles, enjoyed every minute and every mile. Am ready to do it again. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine. Only problems I had was for Dash Lights, had module replaced twice under warranty.
Hello, my wife finnally has succeeded in talking me into getting a mini van. We are the parents of 4 year old twins and our little Ford Focus ZX3 was getting a little too small. My wife has 2001 Jeep Wrangler Sahara. She won, she keeps her Jeep and I loose my car. Tomorrow we will be picking up our new 2002 Ody EX. This van was so hard to get. Only a few dealers would sell it at MSRP most of them wanted to charge me a premium price only because they had them in stock. Most of the other dealers in our area had a 5 to 6 month waiting list. We paid full MSRP. We looked at the Sienna and Villager but found that the ODY was a much better value. I hope we made the right choice. Seems like most ppl here are happy with their Ody's any input will be appreciated.
I'm on my second Ody (2002) my first being a '99. It's handily the best Minivan out there, and the significant changes made for '02 just distanced the Ody even more from the rest of the pack. You'll enjoy driving it, more so than you would have expected. It has the best steering response of any minivan, and the best 0-60 times. It's fun!
Paul, I also have a 99 EX, no sign of any transmission problems. We have just over 66,000 km on it.
shellymeister, we too are considering an 02 Ody, although probably not until the spring. I'd be interested in hearing about what you like best about the new 02 features.
Most people don't have tranny trouble. Our 00 shows no signs of it. But it does appear that the likelihood that one could have problems is greater than just pure random chance would cause. There does seem to be some kind of design and/or manufacturing issue. Overall, I think the Ody is less likely to have problems than just about any other minivan. But one of the problems that comes up a lot in that unfortnuate small percentage of vehicles with troubles is a very bad problem with the tranny.
Is it bad enough to dictate a recall? I don't know. I have not seen any figures, but my guess is that well under 10% of vehicles have it. The percentage may seem higher here because people with troubles are more likely to seek out forums to get/share info and vent. A lot of happy owners just lurk or never visit.
If you trust the subscriber-submitted data at Consumer Reports, less than 2% of 2001 and 2000 Odysseys had transmission problems in the last 12 months, and 2-5% of 1999 Odysseys did. Sienna, by comparison, was less than 2% for 2001, 1999 and 1998, and 2-5% for 2000. Caravan was in the less than 2% category for 2001, and 5-9.3% for 2000, 1999 and 1998. Chevy Venture was less than 2% for 2001 and 2000, 5-9.3% for 1999 and 2-5% for 1998. Windstar was 2-5% for 2001 and 2000, and 9.3-14.8% for 1999 and 1998. Nissan Quest was less than 2% for 2000, 1999 and 1998 and didn't have enough data for 2001.
Of course, we have no idea how serious or costly these problems are, margins of error, number of respondents per vehicle, or how respondents may have been biased by the editorial content of Consumer Reports.
In any case, Odyssey compares favorably to other Minivans overall and in the Transmission category in Consumer Reports, and the transmission category does not appear to track the frequency of online complaints.
If any of you Odyssey owners out there are approaching the 36K mark and still debating whether or not to buy the extended warranty -- DO IT! All the talk in the first 3000 or so posts to this group about Hondas being virtually bullet proof mechanically (as opposed to the "crap" built by Ford or Dodge) turns out to have been just so much wishful thinking. My '99 LX developed rough shifting patters at 45K miles and now the dealer tells me I need a new transmission (though my van has had all its required servicing and has not been abused in any way) for $4,500.00. Unfortunately for me, I didn't buy the extended warranty. I've never bought one, and looking back on the repair histories of the Toyotas, Nissans and Mitsubishis I've owned, an extended warranty wouldn't have been a good investment on any of those vehicles. But I'm sure sorry now that I didn't buy one for my Odyssey. To their credit, Honda has agreed to pick up all but $1,400.00 of the repair costs, but even that amount upsets me for a repair that shouldn't be necessary. Why, even my old Chrysler Town & Country lasted significantly longer than 45K before its transmission blew up! I still think that the Odyssey is quite a nice van. But, prospective Odyssey buyers need to be warned that this vehicle is not mechanically invulnerable, as many have claimed. You may well have the experience of Caravan and Windstar drivers waving at you as they drive by while your Odyssey sits disabled on the side of the road!
I just got the 2002 Buyer's Guide from Consumer Reports, and noticed that as well.
They list the '99 as a reliability risk, but that's it. Predicted reliability is average overall, which isn't bad, but Honda has been better. The Civic also dipped to an "average" rating. It had been better ever since I can remember.
Ted: I feel your pain, but the odds are the Caravan owners will be parked right next to you, and the Windstar owners wouldn't even have made it that far.
Don't wait around for a recall. They won't issue one unless it's considered to be an immediate safety issue.
The '99 transmission problems seem to first appear in one of two ways: either a leak (which may not always be noticed), or rough shifting. Our first transmission started "thunking" into reverse -- first slightly, but then increasing in both volume and delay time. By the time it was diagnosed and the new transmission was ordered and arrived at the dealer a month later, we had completely lost the reverse gear. 18 months later, the replacement transmission started leaking slightly, and this time they didn't let us drive the van home but instead gave us a loaner car for 5 WEEKS while we waited for the new "updated" transmission (we were #350 or so on the waiting list), and they extended our warranty by 2 years gratis. So what do you conclude? Does Honda know that '99 Odysseys have poorly designed transmissions, and are they concerned that it could become a safety issue? Absolutely.
Does this mean that all '99 Odysseys are going to have a transmission failure? Of course not. Most won't. But if I had a '99 that was still under warranty, I'd consider an extended warranty, or ask my dealer about any service bulletins and request a transmission inspection.
What makes me mad is that when I do decide to sell the '99, I'm going to have to disclose to buyers that the car has had three transmissions. That's when it's going to hit me in the pocketbook.
Is that required? As a buyer, I would like the repair history, but I didn't think it was required. You do have to disclose any damage that isn't repaired, if the car was ever under a salvage title or in a flood (big concern here in NC). Besides, presented in the proper light, it isn't necessarilly a bad thing - "the transmission was replaced at X miles, so it only has Y miles on it and is no longer one of the early 99 transmissions that had so much trouble".
I am also an extended warranty fan. Yes, I know they are a bad deal most of the time. But I know in advance how much that bad deal will cost me, which i can't know about possible repairs.
Selling with a "new tranny" could actually increase resale value.
You can roll the cost of an extended warranty into the loan, which helps a lot of people. The problem is for me, the price is already pushing my limit.
I seemed to have sparked a minor debate, I just wanted to clarify my position. I am an avid Odyssey supporter, and aside from the transmission issue I mentioned in 3757 above, we have had little to no other trouble with our van. If we had, frankly, I would not be on the wait list for another one, even if it does have a redesigned 5 speed transmission. I do not tend to purchase extended warranties on anything since my research on them shows that typically they are just another way for sales people to make additional bucks, and in this case I "won" that bet in the fact that mine failed while still inside of the factory warranty, albeit just barely. But for anyone that plans to "hang on" to a pre-2002 model, you need to be aware of the very real possibility that you will have eventual transmission issues.
Consider: my van only had 33000 miles on it. I do not tow anything with it (no hitch even installed). I rarely haul anything heavy in it (occasionally a pinball machine, but usually then I would only have 1 or 2 people in the van, so weight-wise it would be pretty much a wash). I don't live in a hilly or mountainous area of the country. I don't believe I drive the vehicle in an abusive manor. I do all the recommended services, usually at Honda.
Fact is, all Odysseys are created equal, it is fair to expect them to all wear out the same components since they are all built from the same parts, asembled on the same assembly line. I suspect that many of the people that say "I am not having any problems with my Odyssey transmission" need to back the van out of their garage and look for the spot. If/when you find it, you need to schedule an appointment with your dealer, assuming you are still under warranty...
I have to respectfully disagree with that. No assembly line is perfect; that's why QA doesn't pack up and leave as soon as one good model comes off the line (well, maybe they do at Chrylser... and mistakes will happen. The better manufacturers just make fewer mistakes.
I do agree that all 99-01 Ody owners (myself included) should be aware that this problem does occur on what seems to be a "higher than purely random error" basis and looking for leakage and paying close attention to how the tranny shifts is a very good idea.
As I previously stated, I have not noticed any problems with the tranny on my 99 Odyssey. I tow a tent trailer in the summer months which puts added strain on the vehicle. Being a new version of the Odyssey, I did purchase the extended warranty but that was mainly for the power doors but I can rest easy at night knowing that I'm also covered if the tranny fails. If I do encounter problems, hopefully it will occur far enough down the road that Honda will offer an upgrade to the 5 speed...if at all possible. Now that would be nice!
I do not buy extended warranties on anything but autos and have so far found them to pay off for me. The advantages are, some of which I listed above.
1. The dealer may sell some of these for up to twice what we here at ETH pay for. From what I have read, if you buy a current 7/100/0 warranty for, I think the current price is about $975, the dealer only makes about $200. So your average risk cost is actually $200/7yr = about $30/yr. That is a cost you will never miss, or if you do you probably can't afford an Odyssey, or other new car, in the first place. You save a lot more then that with the low interest costs these days. Cars cost a lot of money and the cost of the warranty is a very small part of that.
2. If the dealer tells you you do need an expensive repair you tell him OK, go ahead and repair it and you get a rental car for free. Without the warranty I am not going to trust the dealer, and am going to have to go to other dealers for a second opinion, and they will probably charge to check it out. On my Buick the dealer said I needed a new transmission and, even though I did not think I did, I had him do the job. I ended up with a brand new transmission after 45,000 miles. My transmission then lasted another 100,000 miles before it also failed. That paid for the warranty right there. Also he replaced my A/C compressor for some reason and it lasted till I sold the car. Actually my brother drove the car for another 20,000 miles, with the bad transmission, before he sold it as is, to someone.
3. The warranty is transferable and makes it so much easier to sell your vehicle to a private party. You get more if you sell it to a private party
4. The manufactuor does not charge extra for first and second year vehicles, so that is were it is really a good idea to buy the extended warranty.
5. You will know what your repair costs are on your vehicle
6. It is great piece of mind.
7. The vehicle/extended warranty combination can be considered about equivalent to buying a super reliable vehicle, for the small extra cost. Most of us would be willing to buy a super reliable Odyssey for only about $1000 more then the standard reliable Odyssey. It is not really exactly equivalent, as you have more of a hassle factor when your vehicle breaks down.
From all of the above you get more value then your pay out for an extended warranty, so it pays you. It does not cost IMHO.
You can offer a buyer more piece of mind - "It's in great shape; since it is under warranty, if there was anything wrong I would just go have it fixed." This is a big competitive advantage. Besides our 00 Ody (bought new), I recently bought an old style Ody. I shopped around and narrowed it down to one that an individual had and one at a Honda dealer. Price played into it of course, but a big plus was the dealer's ability to sell me HondaCare effective immediately.
I am sure someone will post that the math doesn't work - the average cost of repairs is less than the cost of a warranty and that's how they make money. That's true. But I don't own a thousand Odys; I own two. That's not enough to spread around the cost of replacing a tranny (which is unlikely to occur, but twice as likely as for most folks).
On all vehicles being created equal. There are too many variables for that statement to be true. Workers perform differently, they get distracted, materials are not always molded equally etc... Just so many variables. Not to say that you can not put processes in place to improve quality. You can.
Just look at Toyota, they have proven over the years that you can build a vehicle that is close to perfect. I think Honda comes a close second. I don't think the the fact that the 99 Ody is having tranny problems negates this. Keep in mind, that was the first time Honda began manufacturing a brand new vehicle in a brand new facility. It is not uncommon for that to happen. So if you want to reduce the odds of having problems buy from a manufacturer that consistently build better quality cars (Toyota, Honda) and avoid brand new cars from brand new plants (I ordered the 2002 Ody to replace my 2000 Ody and I am praying it is not from the new Alabama plant).
I also avoid extended warranties but not because I think their worthless, only because I most likely will upgrade to the new Odyssey before my warranty expires on the current vehicle.
I think the Odyssey is the best Minivan in the market by a wide margin, at least for now. Maybe the new 03 Siena when it comes out next year will be better but maybe not
akin67 says: Just look at Toyota, they have proven over the years that you can build a vehicle that is close to perfect. True but everyone must remember have you ever been by a car dealer who did not have a service department? No, because they all do more than oil changes. That is why I always buy the extended warranty. Honda's being 7 yrs. 100K will I'm sure come into play before the 7 years is up. I doubt out of 10 Honda Odyssey's or any other brand for that matter will more than 1 or 2 not need some kind of warranty work during that period. Do you really want to take the chance by saving about $125 per year.
billg7, I agree with many of your points, and you make a valid case for the benefit of extended warranties on vehicles. I have to criticize your math in your first point, however. In your example, the extended warranty is not costing you just the $200 dealer profit, it is costing you the full $975 that they charge for it. And second, to be fair, that cost should be spread over the final 4 years of the 7 years, not the entire 7 years (remember, they include a 3 year warranty for free).
I think that is the one aspect of extended warranties that I find border line rip-off. The very first new vehicle I purchased they offered me a 5 year extended warranty. So sitting there at the dealer, I said "Wow, 5 years plus the 3 years I'm already getting, I'd have a warranty for 8 years, that's not too bad of a deal", at which point the sales person corrected me and explained the 5 year extended warranty began immediately, not at the end of the factory warranty period (by my math, they were actually offering me a 2 year warranty, although I would certainly be paying for a large portion of it during the first 3 years that the vehicle was already covered by the manufacturer). So essentially, they are convincing the consumer to buy (partially at least) that which is already included for free.
If all Hondas are the same, why has my 99 with 48K miles on it with all OEM equipment, Including Firestone tires still running like the day I drove it home. Too bad they all weren't like mine.
o Don't assume that all pre-'02 Odysseys have the same transmission. Honda updated the design after the 1999 model production. I have only heard of problems with the '99.
o Forget legal disclosure requirements. arbarnhart, I hope that if you replaced the transmission on a car twice you would disclose it when selling the car.
o As for extended warranties, you've all offered some great food for thought. In the end, it's insurance; it has a different value for different people, depending on risk profile and financial profile. I for one wouldn't buy one on anything except a camcorder ;-).
RE: 3782 E Warranty I agree with what you say, except on one point. I think my math may be right, if I explain it to you. Since the dealer profit is about $200, from what I have been able to determine, I am saying that the rest of the $975 is the average repair cost that the dealer has to spend to repair Odysseys, which have the extended warranty.
Of course you might be lucky and not have to spend anything. But if the average repair cost is 975-200= $775, then on average, the average person, who buys an extended warranty on a Odyssey, is only spending $200 more then he would have over the 7 year period, if he did not have the warranty.
That average cost of 200 should be taken over 4 years, as you say,not 7 years, because a 7 year warranty is only for 4 years. Except on the 7 year warranty you do get a free rental car, if the car is in overnight or longer, + road service for the full 7 years. You do not get this if you do not have the extended warranty.
$200/4yrs = $50/yr extra.
The $50 is worth it to me for the piece of mind alone. For others they may consider it as insurance they don't want to pay for. I would say on anything else, except a vehicle, I can think of at the moment, extended warranties are not worth it and I don't buy them.
RE: 3783 My 99 has had no problems
I believe that in addition to being lucky, the way to have a more reliable car is to take care of it and drive it carefully. I do not do unnecessary accelerations, or hard braking on my Odyssey, or tow a heavy vehicle with it, and have all scheduled maintenance done on time.
Wow, some interesting points that I wasn't aware of. I did not know that there had already been a redesign of the transmission following the '99 model year, I was only aware of the 5 speed being put in the 2002.
But as far as the cost of the extended warranty, I will concede that if you shop around, the actual sales person selling the warranty is not making a huge heap of money on it. My only issue is, I don't tend to separate out "what the sales person gets" and "what the insurance company gets" when I look at it, to me it's just an extra $975, all at once, up front, probably financed with the car, that is paid during ownership month number 0 of having the van. If the payment of that fee were spread out somehow equally during the course of the actual warranty period, it might make sense to me. And let me just say, financed into the van loan is not the same as spreading it out equally, you might pay it off in small amounts each month, but they (Honda, whoever) definitely get all their money from you up front, either directly or from your finance company, and you are paying interest on it as you go. So the cost of that warranty, given the time frame it's paid, and the fact that most of us probably aren't buying 30k vans with cash, is substantially higher than $975.
That said, I agree, it is certainly peace of mind for some people to have it. I just have to ask, are you prepaying the total amount of every repair the van might ever need, or more?
I usually don't even consider extended warranties, but our 626 has had $1200 in repairs so far, in 6 years and 70k miles. It just has to be long enough to cover that much time. Up until 4 years and 50k miles there were zero problems. It's beyond the 4th or 5th year that counts.
So I personally would not pay $1000 for a 5 year warranty, but if it were 7 or 8 years I might.
Hello everyone, We are the new owners of a 2002 Ody Ex. After reading a lot of these post we are so glad we didn't get a 99. I always beleived that Honda's were as perfect as a vehicle can get. But after reading all these transmission problems in the 99 I'm a little bit worried about the rest of the vehicle. We just put about 150 miles on this Ody Ex. We noticed that this Ody rides very stiff. Is this normal? I expected the susspension to be much smoother. I can feel almost every irregular surface on the roads. The tire presure was set a 32psi by the dealer. I'm comparing this ride to the 2002 Windstar which rides very smooth. I'm just not use to the rough ride and just wanted to know if it is normal. Please let me know.
Compared to a Windstar, yes the Odyssey is firm (wouldn't call it rough). this is why the Odyssey handles much more better than other minivans. I understand that the '02 setup was softened up a little compared to previous years. For me, the Odyssey rides smooth, of course I've been trying a Nissan Pathfinder for about 10 years (talk about kidney belt!) .
I got the 7/100k/$0 shortly after I got my van. I shopped around and got a good deal. Now looking back, I do not regret getting it. I have already used it for having someone to jump start my van once.
We didn't get one for our ML320 and now 4 years have passed and warranty has expired last month. As all cars do, everything seems to go wrong AFTER the original warranty expires. My husband kicked himself for not getting it way back when. So, now we have decided that, when the repair bills reach $2,500, we will consider trading it in. AND, we will definitely get an extended warranty for our next set of wheels.
We are thinking of buying a 2002 EX to replace our 1997 Grand Caravan. The dealer told us that they could add leather later to an EX instead of us buying an EX-L. Does anyone know if the book value of an EX-L would be higher than an EX with leather added later? Would someone be able to determine that leather was added later by the VIN number or something?
That was kind of the same story the sales person told us once he "hooked" us on the Honda RES, but then realizing he was getting in just a regular EX in the color we wanted the next day. So all of a sudden he could install an aftermarket RES that was "just as nice" as the factory Honda DVD system. Fact is, I checked out such an installation, and my humble opinion is that "factory installed" is always preferable to aftermarket accessories in almost every category. I would tend to include leather seating in that assessment, just because I saw some of the ones they were doing back in '99 when leather wasn't an option for the Honda. Frankly, the ones I saw were pretty obviously not done well, but that doesn't speak to every company that does the work. Plus, I thought there was a concern about non-factory leather on the 2002 given the side impact airbags that deploy from the side of the seat?
I doubt that anyone would ever research the fact that you had added the leather yourself, but the question is, will you be as happy with it as if you had waited just a little while for what you want to come in?
signed, still happily waiting for my EX-L RES to come in...
As I just told my buddy....I love Honda's but I hate all dealers. He ordered an EX-L and the dealer told him they would install a DVD for him at "cost". Well, I drilled my buddy with questions to ask the dealer because I smelled a rat. I don't believe the costs were that much different but I think the thing that turned my friend was: Would you rather have it installed at the facory while they are putting it together or have your dash and headliner taken apart at the dealer. He changed his order to an EX-L RES and now the dealer will have to look to another buyer to try and meet his November accessory quota.
The big turnoff for me with the dealer RES systems is the sound quality, plus the installation issues that you mentioned. I challenge anyone to honestly compare the I-VES system to the Honda factory DVD system. Major sticking point, the audio connection between the I-VES unit and the stereo system was a radio signal generated by the I-VES (and it sounded as such). The radio had to be tuned to the specific frequency for it to work (tacky, clunky).
Cut to the factory DVD system. Everything can be controlled from a very slick head unit, and the sound quality was impressive. Signal is hard wired, and you could play a DVD through the wireless headphones and still play a CD through the head unit and speakers at the same time.
When the sales staff says "we can install a RES in this van for about the same money", everyone needs to realize they are NOT installing the same system available from the factory. Either in looks, performance, functionality, or resale value.
anyone with good or bad experience with these on their odyssey. was thinking of getting one, but heard of some stories where certain brands left marks on the hood. any comments would be appreciated, thank you.
I have to agree with the others. Go with the factory installed option whenever possible. Two years ago I purchased a 2000 ODY EX. Since leather was not a factory option at the time we had the dealer install aftermarket leather. Nothing wrong with it but I can tell you for certain it is no where as nice as the factory installed leather on the 02 ODY. We are in the process of upgrading to a 2002 now.
And the gentleman that raised the side airbag issue made a real good point. How will you ever know if the airbags will deploy properly in the event of an accident? The dealer I am sure will assure you that the aftermarketr leather installation will not affect this, but will you ever know for sure? And is it something you want to take a chance with?
Go with the factory leather I am certain it willbe better athan anything you can install aftermarket. I suspect the dealer is looking to make additional profit by have you opt for aftermarket.
I have to agree with the seats, but am divided on the DVD system. We almost bought an EX with aftermarket DVD and leather, but decided to go with an EX-L (side airbags issue). No dealers in our area were going to get an EX-L/RES in Mesa until after Christmas (3 months away at the time).
Although the factory system is nice, there are a few things to consider about an aftermarket system:
1. You can customize it any way you want to. Size of screen, placement, number of screens, head unit, placement of player, and how much you want to spend. They color matched the trim ring of the screen, looks factory. You can face the DVD player forward so front seat passegers can manipulate it, or backwards under the passenger seat so the people who will actually be using it can change disks.
2. Several shops I talked to about upgrading my speakers said that it would make a difference, but ultimately the limiting factor of the system is the head unit. I don't know if you can buy a RES optioned Oddy and then change out the head unit, but you might. Going this route would mean that the DVD would be hard-wired like the factory system, with no loss of sound quality with a better head unit. You may lose steering wheel controls, though.
3. I paid less. $1200 for the whole system, including screen, DVD player that also plays mp3s, 120V converter for playstation, 2 wireless headphones, fm-modulator, and remote. $200 more for an extended, 5-year warranty, for a total of $1400. I may add a head unit with its own screen, so the player will be hard wired and the front passenger can enjoy the movie also.
4. An aftermarket system would allow you to have an entertainment system and NAV. I know you can do this with the factory system (according to posts on Oddyclub), but would require extensive modification to the factory system.
Just some things to consider. I'f I'd been able to get an EX-L/RES in the first place, I would have done it, but aftermarket options aren't necessarily second rate.
Not sure if this is the right forum, but I'll give it a try. I'm trying to install the hood part of the nosemask on a 2002. There are two bungee straps on either end of the mask. The directions show the locations on the hood where the "s" hooks attach. One problem. The two inner locations shown on the instructions are covered by an underhood cover. Anyone encounter this?? IF so, how did you resolve it?
If the ride is rough, check the tire pressure. Often cars are shipped with lots of pressure in the tires to avoid flat spotting. The dealer is supposed to air them down upon delivery, but many forget.
I live in the Cleveland< Ohio are and have driven on ODY EX on last winters snow and ice. It performed as well as any other automobile if you remembere that this van weighs over 2 tons and will not stop as quickly as a lighter car. The Traction Control(TCS) works well when trying to start up on ice or snow and the ABS works well also. I Have the Michelin Symmetry tires that came on the van. The main thing to rember is take it easy-no jack rabbit starts, no quick stops and leave manuvering room to avoid the idiots that are out there with you on the road.
Some good points for sure, especially the additional flexibility of aftermarket and combining it with the NAV. I missed out on NAV by buying a late production '99 the first time, it is disappointing that you can't get both NAV and RES from the factory.
It isn't as bad as rear wheel drive vans, but isn't as good as the little lighter FWD vehicles either. The weight is the biggest factor. Starting in 2nd gear helps (when you put the shifter in 2, it really is second gear only).
Comments
Which brings up my second comment. We are on the wait list for a 2002 EXL-RES. We aren't big leather seat fans, but for anyone considering the I-VES or other after market add-on RES you might consider this. We have friends that bought a 2002 and had the I-VES system put in. The signal connection between the VCR and the stereo system is literally a radio signal, and on his system there was plenty of static and interference. With the built in DVD system from Honda, you get really nice central controls on the head unit, EXCELLENT sound quality on the DVD system, and the ability to "zone" the system (DVD movie through headsets while stereo plays separate CDs in the head unit). So I guess what I am saying is, aftermarket systems (even the I-VES from Honda), are usually not hard-wired into the audio system, and are never going to work as cleanly as the EXL-RES does. IMHO.
Paul
Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine. Only problems I had was for Dash Lights, had module replaced twice under warranty.
Seems like most ppl here are happy with their Ody's any input will be appreciated.
shellymeister, we too are considering an 02 Ody, although probably not until the spring. I'd be interested in hearing about what you like best about the new 02 features.
Most people don't have tranny trouble. Our 00 shows no signs of it. But it does appear that the likelihood that one could have problems is greater than just pure random chance would cause. There does seem to be some kind of design and/or manufacturing issue. Overall, I think the Ody is less likely to have problems than just about any other minivan. But one of the problems that comes up a lot in that unfortnuate small percentage of vehicles with troubles is a very bad problem with the tranny.
Is it bad enough to dictate a recall? I don't know. I have not seen any figures, but my guess is that well under 10% of vehicles have it. The percentage may seem higher here because people with troubles are more likely to seek out forums to get/share info and vent. A lot of happy owners just lurk or never visit.
Of course, we have no idea how serious or costly these problems are, margins of error, number of respondents per vehicle, or how respondents may have been biased by the editorial content of Consumer Reports.
In any case, Odyssey compares favorably to other Minivans overall and in the Transmission category in Consumer Reports, and the transmission category does not appear to track the frequency of online complaints.
Unfortunately for me, I didn't buy the extended warranty. I've never bought one, and looking back on the repair histories of the Toyotas, Nissans and Mitsubishis I've owned, an extended warranty wouldn't have been a good investment on any of those vehicles. But I'm sure sorry now that I didn't buy one for my Odyssey. To their credit, Honda has agreed to pick up all but $1,400.00 of the repair costs, but even that amount upsets me for a repair that shouldn't be necessary. Why, even my old Chrysler Town & Country lasted significantly longer than 45K before its transmission blew up!
I still think that the Odyssey is quite a nice van. But, prospective Odyssey buyers need to be warned that this vehicle is not mechanically invulnerable, as many have claimed. You may well have the experience of Caravan and Windstar drivers waving at you as they drive by while your Odyssey sits disabled on the side of the road!
They list the '99 as a reliability risk, but that's it. Predicted reliability is average overall, which isn't bad, but Honda has been better. The Civic also dipped to an "average" rating. It had been better ever since I can remember.
Ted: I feel your pain, but the odds are the Caravan owners will be parked right next to you, and the Windstar owners wouldn't even have made it that far.
-juice
The '99 transmission problems seem to first appear in one of two ways: either a leak (which may not always be noticed), or rough shifting. Our first transmission started "thunking" into reverse -- first slightly, but then increasing in both volume and delay time. By the time it was diagnosed and the new transmission was ordered and arrived at the dealer a month later, we had completely lost the reverse gear. 18 months later, the replacement transmission started leaking slightly, and this time they didn't let us drive the van home but instead gave us a loaner car for 5 WEEKS while we waited for the new "updated" transmission (we were #350 or so on the waiting list), and they extended our warranty by 2 years gratis. So what do you conclude? Does Honda know that '99 Odysseys have poorly designed transmissions, and are they concerned that it could become a safety issue? Absolutely.
Does this mean that all '99 Odysseys are going to have a transmission failure? Of course not. Most won't. But if I had a '99 that was still under warranty, I'd consider an extended warranty, or ask my dealer about any service bulletins and request a transmission inspection.
What makes me mad is that when I do decide to sell the '99, I'm going to have to disclose to buyers that the car has had three transmissions. That's when it's going to hit me in the pocketbook.
I am also an extended warranty fan. Yes, I know they are a bad deal most of the time. But I know in advance how much that bad deal will cost me, which i can't know about possible repairs.
You can roll the cost of an extended warranty into the loan, which helps a lot of people. The problem is for me, the price is already pushing my limit.
-juice
Consider: my van only had 33000 miles on it. I do not tow anything with it (no hitch even installed). I rarely haul anything heavy in it (occasionally a pinball machine, but usually then I would only have 1 or 2 people in the van, so weight-wise it would be pretty much a wash). I don't live in a hilly or mountainous area of the country. I don't believe I drive the vehicle in an abusive manor. I do all the recommended services, usually at Honda.
Fact is, all Odysseys are created equal, it is fair to expect them to all wear out the same components since they are all built from the same parts, asembled on the same assembly line. I suspect that many of the people that say "I am not having any problems with my Odyssey transmission" need to back the van out of their garage and look for the spot. If/when you find it, you need to schedule an appointment with your dealer, assuming you are still under warranty...
IMHO
I do agree that all 99-01 Ody owners (myself included) should be aware that this problem does occur on what seems to be a "higher than purely random error" basis and looking for leakage and paying close attention to how the tranny shifts is a very good idea.
Driver factors may also influence tranny longevity, though in your case I think that was not the case.
If you were a lead foot that towed a large boat every day in hilly San Francisco, then it would. ;-)
-juice
1. The dealer may sell some of these for up to twice what we here at ETH pay for. From what I have read, if you buy a current 7/100/0 warranty for, I think the current price is about $975, the dealer only makes about $200. So your average risk cost is actually $200/7yr = about $30/yr. That is a cost you will never miss, or if you do you probably can't afford an Odyssey, or other new car, in the first place. You save a lot more then that with the low interest costs these days. Cars cost a lot of money and the cost of the warranty is a very small part of that.
2. If the dealer tells you you do need an expensive repair you tell him OK, go ahead and repair it and you get a rental car for free. Without the warranty I am not going to trust the dealer, and am going to have to go to other dealers for a second opinion, and they will probably charge to check it out. On my Buick the dealer said I needed a new transmission and, even though I did not think I did, I had him do the job. I ended up with a brand new transmission after 45,000 miles. My transmission then lasted another 100,000 miles before it also failed. That paid for the warranty right there. Also he replaced my A/C compressor for some reason and it lasted till I sold the car. Actually my brother drove the car for another 20,000 miles, with the bad transmission, before he sold it as is, to someone.
3. The warranty is transferable and makes it so much easier to sell your vehicle to a private party. You get more if you sell it to a private party
4. The manufactuor does not charge extra for first and second year vehicles, so that is were it is really a good idea to buy the extended warranty.
5. You will know what your repair costs are on your vehicle
6. It is great piece of mind.
7. The vehicle/extended warranty combination can be considered about equivalent to buying a super reliable vehicle, for the small extra cost. Most of us would be willing to buy a super reliable Odyssey for only about $1000 more then the standard reliable Odyssey. It is not really exactly equivalent, as you have more of a hassle factor when your vehicle breaks down.
From all of the above you get more value then your pay out for an extended warranty, so it pays you. It does not cost IMHO.
You can offer a buyer more piece of mind - "It's in great shape; since it is under warranty, if there was anything wrong I would just go have it fixed." This is a big competitive advantage. Besides our 00 Ody (bought new), I recently bought an old style Ody. I shopped around and narrowed it down to one that an individual had and one at a Honda dealer. Price played into it of course, but a big plus was the dealer's ability to sell me HondaCare effective immediately.
I am sure someone will post that the math doesn't work - the average cost of repairs is less than the cost of a warranty and that's how they make money. That's true. But I don't own a thousand Odys; I own two. That's not enough to spread around the cost of replacing a tranny (which is unlikely to occur, but twice as likely as for most folks).
Just look at Toyota, they have proven over the years that you can build a vehicle that is close to perfect. I think Honda comes a close second. I don't think the the fact that the 99 Ody is having tranny problems negates this. Keep in mind, that was the first time Honda began manufacturing a brand new vehicle in a brand new facility. It is not uncommon for that to happen. So if you want to reduce the odds of having problems buy from a manufacturer that consistently build better quality cars (Toyota, Honda) and avoid brand new cars from brand new plants (I ordered the 2002 Ody to replace my 2000 Ody and I am praying it is not from the new Alabama plant).
I also avoid extended warranties but not because I think their worthless, only because I most likely will upgrade to the new Odyssey before my warranty expires on the current vehicle.
I think the Odyssey is the best Minivan in the market by a wide margin, at least for now. Maybe the new 03 Siena when it comes out next year will be better but maybe not
In 12 months inventory will be higher on the lot but see no real deals forthcoming. Perhaps less over MSRP gouging.
INKY
I think that is the one aspect of extended warranties that I find border line rip-off. The very first new vehicle I purchased they offered me a 5 year extended warranty. So sitting there at the dealer, I said "Wow, 5 years plus the 3 years I'm already getting, I'd have a warranty for 8 years, that's not too bad of a deal", at which point the sales person corrected me and explained the 5 year extended warranty began immediately, not at the end of the factory warranty period (by my math, they were actually offering me a 2 year warranty, although I would certainly be paying for a large portion of it during the first 3 years that the vehicle was already covered by the manufacturer). So essentially, they are convincing the consumer to buy (partially at least) that which is already included for free.
o Don't assume that all pre-'02 Odysseys have the same transmission. Honda updated the design after the 1999 model production. I have only heard of problems with the '99.
o Forget legal disclosure requirements. arbarnhart, I hope that if you replaced the transmission on a car twice you would disclose it when selling the car.
o As for extended warranties, you've all offered some great food for thought. In the end, it's insurance; it has a different value for different people, depending on risk profile and financial profile. I for one wouldn't buy one on anything except a camcorder ;-).
Of course you might be lucky and not have to spend anything. But if the average repair cost is 975-200= $775, then on average, the average person, who buys an extended warranty on a Odyssey, is only spending $200 more then he would have over the 7 year period, if he did not have the warranty.
That average cost of 200 should be taken over 4 years, as you say,not 7 years, because a 7 year warranty is only for 4 years. Except on the 7 year warranty you do get a free rental car, if the car is in overnight or longer, + road service for the full 7 years. You do not get this if you do not have the extended warranty.
$200/4yrs = $50/yr extra.
The $50 is worth it to me for the piece of mind alone. For others they may consider it as insurance they don't want to pay for. I would say on anything else, except a vehicle, I can think of at the moment, extended warranties are not worth it and I don't buy them.
RE: 3783 My 99 has had no problems
I believe that in addition to being lucky, the way to have a more reliable car is to take care of it and drive it carefully. I do not do unnecessary accelerations, or hard braking on my Odyssey, or tow a heavy vehicle with it, and have all scheduled maintenance done on time.
But as far as the cost of the extended warranty, I will concede that if you shop around, the actual sales person selling the warranty is not making a huge heap of money on it. My only issue is, I don't tend to separate out "what the sales person gets" and "what the insurance company gets" when I look at it, to me it's just an extra $975, all at once, up front, probably financed with the car, that is paid during ownership month number 0 of having the van. If the payment of that fee were spread out somehow equally during the course of the actual warranty period, it might make sense to me. And let me just say, financed into the van loan is not the same as spreading it out equally, you might pay it off in small amounts each month, but they (Honda, whoever) definitely get all their money from you up front, either directly or from your finance company, and you are paying interest on it as you go. So the cost of that warranty, given the time frame it's paid, and the fact that most of us probably aren't buying 30k vans with cash, is substantially higher than $975.
That said, I agree, it is certainly peace of mind for some people to have it. I just have to ask, are you prepaying the total amount of every repair the van might ever need, or more?
So I personally would not pay $1000 for a 5 year warranty, but if it were 7 or 8 years I might.
-juice
We didn't get one for our ML320 and now 4 years have passed and warranty has expired last month. As all cars do, everything seems to go wrong AFTER the original warranty expires. My husband kicked himself for not getting it way back when. So, now we have decided that, when the repair bills reach $2,500, we will consider trading it in. AND, we will definitely get an extended warranty for our next set of wheels.
I doubt that anyone would ever research the fact that you had added the leather yourself, but the question is, will you be as happy with it as if you had waited just a little while for what you want to come in?
signed,
still happily waiting for my EX-L RES to come in...
Cut to the factory DVD system. Everything can be controlled from a very slick head unit, and the sound quality was impressive. Signal is hard wired, and you could play a DVD through the wireless headphones and still play a CD through the head unit and speakers at the same time.
When the sales staff says "we can install a RES in this van for about the same money", everyone needs to realize they are NOT installing the same system available from the factory. Either in looks, performance, functionality, or resale value.
And the gentleman that raised the side airbag issue made a real good point. How will you ever know if the airbags will deploy properly in the event of an accident? The dealer I am sure will assure you that the aftermarketr leather installation will not affect this, but will you ever know for sure? And is it something you want to take a chance with?
Go with the factory leather I am certain it willbe better athan anything you can install aftermarket. I suspect the dealer is looking to make additional profit by have you opt for aftermarket.
Although the factory system is nice, there are a few things to consider about an aftermarket system:
1. You can customize it any way you want to. Size of screen, placement, number of screens, head unit, placement of player, and how much you want to spend. They color matched the trim ring of the screen, looks factory. You can face the DVD player forward so front seat passegers can manipulate it, or backwards under the passenger seat so the people who will actually be using it can change disks.
2. Several shops I talked to about upgrading my speakers said that it would make a difference, but ultimately the limiting factor of the system is the head unit. I don't know if you can buy a RES optioned Oddy and then change out the head unit, but you might. Going this route would mean that the DVD would be hard-wired like the factory system, with no loss of sound quality with a better head unit. You may lose steering wheel controls, though.
3. I paid less. $1200 for the whole system, including screen, DVD player that also plays mp3s, 120V converter for playstation, 2 wireless headphones, fm-modulator, and remote. $200 more for an extended, 5-year warranty, for a total of $1400. I may add a head unit with its own screen, so the player will be hard wired and the front passenger can enjoy the movie also.
4. An aftermarket system would allow you to have an entertainment system and NAV. I know you can do this with the factory system (according to posts on Oddyclub), but would require extensive modification to the factory system.
Just some things to consider. I'f I'd been able to get an EX-L/RES in the first place, I would have done it, but aftermarket options aren't necessarily second rate.
Mike
-juice
The Traction Control(TCS) works well when trying to start up on ice or snow and the ABS works well also.
I Have the Michelin Symmetry tires that came on the van.
The main thing to rember is take it easy-no jack rabbit starts, no quick stops and leave manuvering room to avoid the idiots that are out there with you on the road.