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Comments
Convince me there is no fix like the Honda people tell me. I disagree for now on the resale value. They are still very desirable vans and I don't think the vibration is an issue than effects that many of them. Just look at them all in Odyssey XXX. I have driven an 2000 EX and it was smooth. Honda still owes me a test drive on the highway to prove that all Odys vibrate. I would still buy an Ody but only after driving the one I was to get for about 3 hours on the highway. Toyota and Mazda are too small for me and the family's stuff but these would have been the next logical move. I have always been a loyal Honda person (20 years) and now I find myself looking at Pontiac (what poor crash tests) and Ford (head gasket problem again ) ??? It is a scares me to trade something that I still have 4years and 75,000 KM of warranty for something with a 3 year 60,000 KM that I know will have a poor residual value. I think I would rather vibrate along until the warranty is up than get nailed with a guaranteed low resale value on a North American and guaranteed mechanical problems. Vibration isn't so bad when you consider the alternatives.
I've never owned a 99, just my 2001EX which has no hint of a wheel balance problem. Sorry to hear about your trouble. I think it was 2K1Odyssey who owned a 99 before his 2001 and also lives in Calgary. I haven't heard from him in awhile (too bad, he was always quick to help). Good luck.
I really hope thats the end of your vibration problem. Keep us posted and good luck.
rianno777: I have to agree with imhip2, when I consider the other alternatives I'll stick with my 00 LX DEP vibrator. I've only had the van since September 2000 and would take too much of a loss at this point if I traded for something else.
I did hear from Am. Honda today, the field engineer will be here on May 2nd. What kills me is the Denver office closes for good this Friday, so the rep I've been dealing with will be gone as well as the the other Denver rep who actually drove the van. She told me my file will remain open and will be transferred to the office in California. If we end up back at square one again my wife and I decided we will buy the alloy wheels ourselves and be done with it and Honda. After 18 years of loyalty to Honda we're done. As I've said before it's not the product it's the people. You just don't treat long time customers like fools. And Honda's customer service leaves alot to be desired.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks for the info on the auto trans noise when shifting (post 642). Unfortunately, the clunk I feel and hear is not during shifting but rather while the vehicle has been already moving in reverse for a few seconds. I read many unfortunate postings by others about this phenomenon (yet to be explained by Honda) and was thankful I didn't have their problem -- until approx. 20k miles. This is on a transmission that was replaced at 5k miles due to transmission shifting problems (self-diagnosed as grade-logic problem). At this rate I'm changing my transmission as often as I change windshield wipers. In any event, I appreciate your remarks.
My question to the multitudes is: HOW MANY OF THE TOWN HALL READERS HAVE HAD THEIR TRANSMISSIONS (or vehicles) REPLACED?
2000 vibrating LX with 24,000 KM (15,000 miles).
Whoosierdaddy: Where is your dealer? I am willing to drive there tonight.
I have Symmetrys on my Subaru and X-ones on my Camry. Both tires do well on dry roads. IMO the symmetrys produce slightly less road noise but the X-ones have better traction on snow and on wet roads. I don't have experience with either tire on the Odyssey as I'll be buying my van tomorrow. However, my father is very satisfied with the X-ones on his '95 GC. If you are going to keep the van for quite a few years/miles I'd recommend the X-ones. In the end the price difference is probably a wash because the X-ones should last longer. Let us know which type you decide to buy and how you like them.
Scooderduder
Thx
Azon Chan
@ 6000 miles our van is great. No problems at all.
Re: tires? My Michelin dealer told me the X-ONE is really great in the rain but less effective in snow than the Symetry.
You might set your "A" trip odometer on zero at fillup, and drive it about 350 miles, and then fill it up. If you average 20 miles per gallon, you will have used about 17 gallons. The fillup should be about that much. I know you'll be nervous because the gas light will be "on" but that will verify that the fuel level sensor is bad. Good luck.
Decide to get dynamic balance done on Sat at one of the tire places on the list provided from Hunter (75 KM from home). They found that one of the tires Honda gave me when they replaced my Firestones with Michelins was defective. Needed a 32 Ounce adjustment which he said was totally unacceptable and the tire should be replaced. They didn't have one in stock but using the dynamic balancer they managed to adjust the weight needed on this tire down to 20 ounces which he said was still high but it would definitely help. He is ordering me a new tire under warrenty as he is a certified Michelin dealer (along with Firestone, BFG, Goodyear Etc.)
Now the ride home was smooth as glass, even with the defective tire. But I expected this to last only 150 KM or less like the high speed balancings I have had done in the past. Well so far I have gone 250KM and I am still not feeling much. My wife is doing an airport run today so that will put on another 150KM's. I hope it holds up. I've never had this Van not vibrate for more than 150KM.
Nice to know you can still get good customer service somewhere. I'm sure Honda could have figured out it was a defective tire but they chose to say the vibration is normal. I also would have thought Honda would have checked out the new tires for defects before they sent them. I know they had numbered them all and told the Honda dealer which tire was to be put at which location on the Van. Honda isn't just lacking in customer service in my books but are
to the point of being negligent in there duties. It is not because they are incompetent, they know what harmonic vibration is and thus I assume what causes it. They have chosen to do nothing about the vibration for me leaving me to figure it out on my own. That is negligence. The defective tire is also negligence. I will wait to see if the vibration is gone before I consider taking action against them.
I will keep you posted on my findings.
Tires can and do pick up bits of tar/gravel used
in the laying of asphalt. Eventually most of what
is picked up wears off but it might account for
intermittent out of balance tires and pull to first
one side and then the other.
vehicles besides nissan and toyota. Your problems are probably a fluke but that is what the warranty is for. Hope you have as many happy years with your hondas as my family has had with ours.
the van pull to the right immediately. Have a local dealer to check the problem, it got fixed within a couple hours. Actually this is a well known problem to Honda. They even has a service bulletin which shows the step by step procedure to address this issue.
Before the problem was solved, the van shifted to another lane at highway speed (65 mph) within 6 seconds with hand off the steering wheel. Now it goes as straight as an arrow. Don't let the service tech fool you the pull is due to the road condition.
As for brake noise, the only noise I hear is when I back up, brake, shift to drive, then press the brakes again (as in a 3-point turn)...the noise I hear is of the pads sliding to one side or another within the caliper. My 92 accord used to do it also. Shouldn't be anything to worry about...it is probably more noticable on a pad that is over 50% worn. New pads and some fresh anti-squeel greese on the backs of the pads should solve your problem. I have 40Kmi on my second set of pads (first set replaced due to TSB about brake noise at 5Kmi)...I suspect I will be replacing them real soon...say 45-50Kmi. I think the noise will go away but eventually return.
I had the other brake noise that the TSB was written about...they wanted to turn my rotors along with putting on new pads...I forbid them to turn my rotors as it would only weaken them and bring on other problems. Ever since I have had the new pads, the brake noise only occurs when slowing down to a crawl from very high speeds...per Honday, the TSB would remove 60% of the noise...that it did since it is 'mostly' gone. Only happens once in a very long while.
Also, Someone once posted about tires...I have Michelin X-Ones...had them on my Accord and ditched the Firstones at 20kmi. I have been very happy since. I even did a size 0 size increase (per discounttire.com) to 225/60 instead of the stock 215/65. the tires fit the rim much better than the other size plus give a nice ride at 35psi.
-r
FWIW, I've found that tire pressures have a pretty profound influnce on gas mileage.
I also have a great service department which I use for routine maintenance. They wash my van with an oil change.
My Firestone tires are maybe 1/2 worn. They look like they'll go to 55-60 K miles. My gas gauge reads perfectly and I get about 21 MPG with 50 % highway and 50 % bumper to bumper.
When I read about problems and "all Odysseys do it " comments, I know that someone is being BS'ed.
At worst, the service tech is lying, at best, he's too inexperienced on the Odyssey.
2004 Honda Accord EX-L Graphite Pearl
2007 Honda Civic EX - Atomic Blue
2013 Honda Civic LX - Crimson Pearl
If you want to compare tire sizes, check out the following URL: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
The van is great except my delear is corrupt. The dealer also tried to tell the IRS I bought the van under my buisness so i could get away with the tax all because of the extended warranty that they should not of sold me in the first place because its under a buisness name and now they will not give my money back for it. Now I have my accountant and lawayer working on this one.
tire pressure is better to use...The one recommended by the car manufacturer or the one
recommended by the tire manufacturer.
The way I see it...the recommendation of the tire manufacturer is the one that should be followed. After all they did the engineering and anufacturing of the tire. Why would anyone else be more knowledgable?
The stickers on the door jambs are tire pressures recommended by the auto manufacturer. On the cars I have owned, they are usually several PSI lower than the tire manufacturer's recommendation.
The only reason I can see for the auto manufacturer to give a lower figure is to make for a softer tire which theoretically makes for a softer, smoother ride. Never mind the fact that you can reduce the tire mileage substantially with this approach. This also increases the
risk of an overheated tire which would be prone
to a blowout. Perhaps this was the reason that Ford SUVs and Firestone had so many tire failures.
BTW I have an 83 Accord that has exceeded 180,000 miles. I put the third set of tires on it last
fall. The last set still had some useful tread life but with winter and snow approaching figured I needed better tread to get through the winter.
Anyhow, Honda recommends 30 PSI while the tire
company recommended 34 PSI which is what I used.
No tire failures and averaged 60,000+ miles per set of tires. Doubt I would have gotten that kind of mileage at 30 PSI.
Kind of lengthy, but curious what other people think.
+ One of the rear window vents had to be remounted and the paint refinished as the window began to sag. I'm nervous about leaving them open on a bumpy road as they are not supported very well.
+ Had a slight leak around the green eye on the battery after a month or so - dealer replaced it.
+ Have noticed the "antifreeze-like" odor from the vents at times, but have never been able to find a leak or other evidence. Dealer pressure tested, could not find anything.
+ The brake pads were replaced as part of the TSB in the 5-10k range. I changed these around 39K, still a little life left. I originally bought the Albany lifetime pads from Autozone. A mistake. They made all kinds of noise, pulled them out, put extra silicone on them - no help. They ultimately refunded my money and I ordered Honda pads on line. Noises gone. Lesson learned.
+ Replaced original Firestone Affinities a couple weeks ago with Michelin X-Ones based on feedback I received on this site/TireRack data. Seem like good tires, although I haven't noticed much reduction in road noise. Affinities were worn quite a bit on outer edges We (wife of course) let the tire pressure get low for a period. Mid tread still good.
+ Ordered the Honda splash guards on-line just after we bought the van. Work well at keeping tar/mud of the van, fairly small and inconspicuous. Less than 30min to install, no drilling.
+ Added a remote to the door locks ('99 LX did not have) - $29 dollars at Sams for a Bulldog kit (vs $200+) for the Honda items on-line. Less than an hour to install. Just connect a few wires around the driver kick panel - don't need to remove anything. Wife loves me more now.
+ Have not had the pull to the right or any transmission problems. As an aside, I NEVER get the rotors refinished, I've only had bad experiences in doing this. I had a Prelude for 16 years and never once had the rotors turned. Likewise, if the alignment is ok, don't mess with it. Prelude never was realigned from the day I left the dealer and no unusual tire wear. Similar story on an Astro van.
+ We do have a problem now - the check engine light keeps coming on intermittently, van runs rough intermittently, may quit once in awhile. Started a month ago and we've been back to the dealer 6 times to no avail. They replaced the O2 sensor first, then cleaned the EGR valve, then tighten some gasket/seal on the intake manifold, ... They have now collected some data (via computer)while driving around town with my wife and shipped the data to Honda people in California. Now recommending swapping out the EGR valve. The good news is the dealer has paid for all this (O2 part was $300 alone), even though the car is out of warranty - we didn't even ask them to cover it. ANY ONE HAVE THIS PROBLEM/SOLUTION?
+ Get around 19mpg in town, best on road, fully loaded + 4 bikes on the back, has been 25.5.
+ Have extended mechanical breakdown coverage thru Geico - pretty sure its a much better deal than through dealer, did not investigate a lot though, can cancel at will if desired.
If I replace them with another set that is not the same as the original (e.g. 40psi max rather than 35psi), I ignore the pillar pressure and start with about 38psi and then monitor for even wear. The pillar PSI value means nothing if you change tires with different characteristics like sidewall stiffness and rubber compound.
Pillar is 30psi for original Firestone tires (35psi max on sidewall) on 1989 Camry. I put 32psi in front and 28 in rear. Tires rotated 4 times throughout its life, which lasted ~50k miles. Replaced with Michelin X's (44psi max)and put 33psi and 29psi. So far they have lasted 55k - rotated twice so far. On our 2000 EX, it's 36 in front and 32 in rear. 7k miles and not rotated yet. This is the only way to inflate tires.
Jack
The mechanic checked and got the same error codes. He said that he's seen cases with Honda engines where the passageway that returns the exhaust gases to the intake side gets clogged up with carbon; and he recommended a special proprietary $150 solvent purge of the system.
I did a similar process myself with a $1.79 can of aerosol carburetor cleaner. The lights stayed off for about 30K miles and just came on again this past week. I redid my own cheapie purge and the lights are now off again.
FWIW, I was just perusing the NHTSA web site; and there is a TSB out for problems with the EGR valve. I've ordered and am awaiting a copy.
I did order the TSB from NHTSA. I'll check it out to see what it entails. Actually, this probably comes under the classification of a "Hidden Warranty" and, as such should be a freebie; but I have 92K miles on it, so they just might decline. If the dealer will do it for free, I may have them do it when they change the timing belt, which is due at 105K by my shop manual. That's one job that I'm not equipped to do. *:o))