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Honda Odyssey Transmission Problems

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Comments

  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    Also, just drove our 2004 mazda mpv this evening

    I may be posting in enemy territory, but I have had my 2004 MPV LX since new, and it has been a wonderful van. Quality, fit and finish second to none. No problems at 36,000 miles. (knock on wood) :shades:
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    With my experience with American Honda, I suggest all Honda 6 cylinder car owners to trade their cars in before the lights come on. I suppose Honda has not developed transmission for bigger cars. You cannot rely on your dealership or American Honda to fix their problem. I got my new rebuilt transmission less than 2 months ago. When I traded it in on March1,2008, it was about going out.

    American Honda's attitude is shameful and disgusting. I am telling everyone to see the postings here if they do not believe.
  • gavanmomgavanmom Member Posts: 32
    Please look back and read all of my postings: gavanmom

    Also look for my postings on the odyclub board. I have a 2007 with the same issues, we are on out third transmission and in the middle of a lemon law case right now.

    Email me is you'd like, youngsinga@cox.net
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    Hey, all the power to ya:)

    Only question is: 4 years, and only 36K miles? I have an '04 Infiniti and I've already put 50K miles on it already (and I bought it in March of 05 brand new)

    My Odyssey's transmission (2nd one) has held up rather well.. I guess it's kind of hit or miss.. Definitely not acceptable for a Honda, but at least it hasn't failed yet ;)

    But yeah.. lately it seems like Honda is trying to cut back on the money it hands out for new transmissions.. Hopefully mine won't go.. If it does, I think I'll just try to sell the car, and if I can't, I'll junk it.
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    Only question is: 4 years, and only 36K miles?

    Yep. Will be 4 years old July 1st. Would probably be a bit less if my wife's carpool buddy hadn't retired about 6 months ago. I only put about 6k miles a year on my 1999 Buick Regal. Pre-owned it currently has about 84k miles. Both of us have short commutes to work.

    My Odyssey's transmission (2nd one) has held up rather well

    It seems auto. transmissions have been more problematic since going to a fifth gear, and the "smart" software that is suppose to learn a drivers habits for better performance. Some of the earlier MPV's have had the 2nd to 3rd gear shift shock. The 6 cyl Camry's are experiencing the same thing I believe. I'd rather have the dumb 4 speed transmission, that are reliable, in exchange for the better fuel economy(1 mpg better)
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • mnodysseymnodyssey Member Posts: 9
    Our MPV has 85,000 on it. Only been to the shop twice, once under warranty and the last time this last year for spark plug coil. Otherwise it drives great. I thought we were upgrading when we bought the Ody, we may have been mistaken.

    Glad we didn't trade it in.
  • mnodysseymnodyssey Member Posts: 9
    Thank you for the help. There were alot of useful informatoion. It is just extremely frustrating when you hate to drive a brand new vehicle. We were even thinking about trading it in and cutting our loses but we will see what the dealer can do with the issues.
  • conman68conman68 Member Posts: 3
    My 2001 Odyssey had the transmission replaced 14,000 miles ago. We broke a ball joint 150 miles out of the dealership, as the guy did not sufficiently tighten up the controller arm. The dealership fixed it at no charge, but no apology either.

    HERE IS THE MAIN REASON FOR MY POST, THOUGH......REAR MAIN SEAL.

    The dealership didn't offer one year ago, when they did the transmission, to have me pay $12 for a new rear main seal. This seal is between the engine and the transmission....separated by a restrictor plate. There would not have been a labor charge at that time........HOWEVER.....since I didn't know to ask them to do it, and they didn't volunteer that information, I didn't have it done. Less than a year later, my engine is leaking oil from the rear main seal (crankshaft flywheel). Took it to the dealer thinking it would still be covered under the 3-year/36,000 mile warranty that would come with the replacement transmission. WRONG. Since it's not part of the transmission....no coverage.

    I balked and told them to call American Honda, as I just bought a 2008 Pilot 3 weeks ago. Anyway, Honda gave me a 40% allowance, so my out of pocket cost for the $1,000 repair wound up being about $540. I have a case number with Honda to see if they will allow anything more. I've been waiting two days for a response, but since I've settled the bill, I don't expect anything more from them.

    PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE. If you have a honda transmission replaced, DEMAND they replace the rear main seal. :mad:
  • hansiennahansienna Member Posts: 2,312
    Lucky that I did NOT buy a new 2006 Honda Odyssey EX even though I liked it better than the 06 Sienna LE we bought.

    So far my sister's 2001 Ody EX is still running well at 88,000 miles with original transmission. :shades:
  • billcat1billcat1 Member Posts: 3
    We took your 03 Odyssey to the dealership yesterday and never got a call back from them so I called today.
    The transmission is shot with 93,500 miles on it!!
    I drove it with a Service Tech and was able to get it to vibrate & shutter while shifting.
    When we got back to the dealership I noticed he was in a hurry to get out of van and get back to the service desk but he wasn’t fast enough to keep me from hearing him say something.
    When he walked by the desk I heard him say something about a valve is going out?
    The service manager asked me three questions.
    1) It was dew for its 90,000-mile maintenance, which I agreed to get done.
    2) Was there anything else that we needed them to look at while they had the van! (Which surprised me)
    3) Did we have the Honda Care Warranty? (Which made me believe our transmission was dead)
    Now I'm glad we spent extra for the Honda Care Warranty because they're replacing it at no charge.
    The thing that I'm concerned with is that Honda will only warranty the new or remanufactured transmission till our currant warranty is up which will be at 100,000 miles.
    Doesn't seen right on a new transmission to not warranty it for longer than 6,500 miles
    We’re seriously looking at new vehicle now that we know the problems with Honda’s
    I’d like to thank all of you for your informative posting

    BC
  • 2002odie2002odie Member Posts: 32
    They could have bee talking about the Idle Air Control (IAC) Valve.
    That went out on mine the same time as the transmission.
    The engine would not hold idle at a stop light and would just sputter to a halt.
    This also caused the RPM's to surge between 1000-2000RPM while parked in the driveway...dealer wanted an extra $250 to replace it, I said no way, and did it myself for $110 (the price of the part at AutoZone), and did the labor myself.

    Good luck with getting the warranty on the replacement tranny.
    I was told that with no customer "participation" (translation: paying any $$$), that the tranny would have 12months/12,000 mile warranty, and that when the customer does "participate" then the warranty is 36months/36,000 miles.
    Not sure about your case, since you have the extended warranty...

    Also, make sure they replace the rear main seal (per the previous posting...) and tighten up the suspension (and recheck the front-end alignment too...)
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    You probably may know that my new rebuilt transmission with 3 years/36,000 miles was installed only on January 10,2008. It went out on me on March 1,2008 with less than 1,500 miles. Even with the new rebuilt, I still think it saves problem but just to trade it in. I don't think the rebuilt is any good.

    Honda's does not know how to make a transmission for big cars. They are so dishonest. You cannot rely on them to disclose any information about any defects. Honda does not care about human lives or road safety. Honda only cares about profits.
  • pgnagelpgnagel Member Posts: 60
    I really don't think it's reasonable for anyone to expect Honda to extend their warranty beyond 100,000, if that is what you purchased. If your tranny craps out at 90,000 miles and they replace it, then you have 10,000 miles left on your warranty, not another 100,000 miles on the rebuilt one. You cannot expect things to last forever.

    Our 1999 Odyssey has 140,000 and the original tranny. I service that transmission myself every couple of months. It still slips occasionally, and I drive it like the ears of made of glass, but it's my problem. If or when it locks up, or the soleniods seize then I have to fix it, not Honda.

    Also, Honda didn't design or build that transmission. One of their vendors did. You are right about one thing, the design isn't really right for a heavy vehicle. However, after your warranty expires, that's just too bad.
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    I think you are very confused and maybe I did not repeat all the words that I repeated said in my prior postings. Please go back to read my and other angry customers' postings and you will know.

    I did not expect the tranny to last forever. Honda did not replace my last tranny for free. I had to battle with them in order to pay only the labor charges. Please refer to American Honda's 03 Service Bulletin. Their transmission had a design flaw which could result in sudden transmission lockup due to heat buildup.

    I serviced my cars at Honda's dealership and did all the work there as recommended. I took my car there in 04 for their recall to let them install this oil jet kit which I found out from postings here that the reason for that recall was due their design flaw. When I asked my dealership at the time for the recall and they told me that the recall was to enhance the car's performance.

    My family and other people on the road almost got killed because my transmission sudden lockup due to heat buildup on a busy freeway in California which almost resulted in a deadly car crash if the other drivers' did not jam their brakes and swerved to the side of the the busy freeway. Whatever happened to me was described in their above service bulletin about their imperfectly designed transmssion.

    When it comes to a design failure, American Honda should have the decency to disclose the information to their affected and potential customers on the possible outcome. It was truly dangerous and my near death experience could have prevented if they did not lie to me about their recall. I like a lot of people blindly believe in Honda without doubts. If I did not blindly believe in Honda , I would have found out the reasons for their recall so I would not have been fooled by them.

    They paid for the cost of the transmission only because I studied all the postings here and did my own research but the battle was lengthy and hard fought. They could not deny their their responsibility because I learned everything here about their transmission flaw and was able to cite to them their service bulletin and whatever happened to me was exactly the same as what they described there.

    I did not expect American Honda to be responsible tor my tranny forever. But they should not conceal information and start taking responsibility on their design flaw. My rebuilt only lasted for less than 2 months and less than 1,500 miles after replaced. If you think that is the quality that you should expect from Honda, I can't say much about it. I have to tell you that my Toyota is still running well with nearly 300,000 miles on it without any transmission problem. At the time I bought my 03 Honda and that was their selling point that I could well expect it to last over 250,000 miles with only minor maintenance. My tranny died at 89,000 miles and my second Honda tranny died in less than 1,500 miles. That is what you call reliability.

    I have traded in my Odyssey with a Dodge because Dodge/Chrysler dare to offer life time warranty on their products and their prices are so good. I have the most pleasant buying experience at the dealership in Pleasanton, California. People should not blindly believe in Honda like a rock star fan but to objectively research on the car makers.

    My experience is that Honda only cares about profit and they don't care about human lives and road safety anymore.
  • hansiennahansienna Member Posts: 2,312
    April 2008 issue still recommends the Honda Odyssey slightly below the Toyota Sienna and does not acknowledge the many Odyssey transmission failures reported by Odyssey owners. ;)
  • mikeandgretchmikeandgretch Member Posts: 1
    My 2002 Odyssey had the rear main seal replaced a few months ago, with less than 90k miles. Seems like a pre-mature failure to me, but Honda said it wasn't. I guess they don't expect their vehicles to last very long. Repair cost at a Honda dealer was over $1200.
    After searching on this failure, it seems like more and more people are reporting it. Our van has always been serviced at the dealer and had the transmission replaced around 50k miles.
  • bobber1bobber1 Member Posts: 217
    Actually if you look in the transmission section of Consumer Reports it does show the Honda problem.
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    Actually if you look in the transmission section of Consumer Reports it does show the Honda problem.

    Yeah... on the 2002 and 2003 models. Not current enough to put on the not recommended list.
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • bobber1bobber1 Member Posts: 217
    Well the problem has been addressed in the current line up. Pretty much all the problems that people complain about are in the 99-2004 Hondas. Consumer Reports is showing exactly that.
  • sonofknudsonofknud Member Posts: 50
    I'm surprised they recommend them as good used cars for the 02-04 years. I believe the transmission changed in the 06-07 Odyssey. Adding a delay in going from Park to drive. Are you sure the 05-06 have different transmissions from the 02-04? I know the 05 was a redesign but did you use a different transmissions. They are weird about needing a towing package. I just wanted to put a bike rake on the hitch on my 06 and they said I would void the warranty on the transmission. That should have been a clue they have been having issues with the transmission. Haven't checked on the towing package for the 07 and 08. I know the Toyota allows towing up the 3500 without any package.
  • jettafacejettaface Member Posts: 15
    Sorry I didn't respond sooner to your question. After the dealer told me $4K or so to fix, I went to this site and printed a number of these complaints with the happy ending of Honda America paying for the fix. I went to the dealership with a folder and plenty of printout of complaints. I advised the dealership that I would contact Honda America. That made the dealership nervous. They told me the District Manager was due in the next day and he would review my issue and I would receive a phone call. I didn't wait for a phone call. I went to the dealership the next day armed with my folder full of printout of these complaints and LORD and behold, the District Manager stated Honda America would pickup repair fee. ;) This site is wonderful and without it I would have been behind the 8 ball. Again, sorry so long in responding. I hope you had a happy ending too.

    To others out there, do not fear about bringing this issue to light. Honda is well aware of the problem. The dealerships, I suspect, try to push back and get you to pay.
  • 2002odie2002odie Member Posts: 32
    Was your van actually noticeably leaking oil? Or did the dealer just tell you that it failed and needed replacing?
  • 2002odie2002odie Member Posts: 32
    Congratulations, you are one of the luckier ones, to not have to pay.
    I've seen other postings at odyclub.com for people who have had similar experiences to yours.
    It seems like Honda is playing the "one out of three get a tranny free" game.
    If I were you, unload the Ody after you get the new tranny, and find something else.
    You might not need to pay for the tranny now, but it will eventually become a money pit (motor mounts, idle air control valves, timing belts, and now I am hearing about rear main seals going out...)
    In my situation, I am stuck with it until I get my $3k worth of use out of it before trying to get rid of it...
    It's actually running pretty good now, but who knows how long that will last???
  • srickardsrickard Member Posts: 8
    We have had few problems with our 2003 Odyssey. Our dealer (Honda Cars of McKinney) has been great over the 5+ years we have owned the car. They have performed all service. My wife loves the van. However, 3 days ago the transmission failed. I was just barely able to get it to the dealer and they confirmed a transmission failure. The car has about 83K miles on it. I don't know the projected repair cost yet. I have opened a case with American Honda for assistance. Wish me luck!
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    I suppose your new tranny only comes with 1 year/12,000miles warranty because my case manager told me after my transmission was replaced that I only had to pay for labor as my new tranny came with a 3years/36,000 miles warranty. My new tranny died in less than 2 months and I only had driven it for 1,300 miles. If I were you, I might just trade it for an American car like a Dodge which comes with lifetime powertrain warranty. I traded mine for a Dodge after my tranny went out on me and I was too tired to work the warranty and didn't want Honda to rip me off for something else.
  • 2002odymike2002odymike Member Posts: 14
    Great Result - Congrats - I fought the same battle with my 02 and it was ultimately Honda Corporate that told me they wouldn't offer any assistance at all.

    The hitch issue mentioned above is also a good point; I put a hitch on my Van to haul my trash cans to the road in a little trailer - only ended up using it a few times and then just bought a truck.

    Maybe the dealer saw the hitch and just said no dice on that note - anyone with this issue remove your hitch before you bring it in; I hope Honda gets what they deserve on this issue - American carmakers would be lambasted for handling such an issue so poorly with such a clear design issue.
  • susiedkimsusiedkim Member Posts: 1
    i saw that someone on this forum was able to get their transmission replaced by honda america. right now my car is at a mechanic (not a honda dealer) and it isn't under warranty. is it worth is to ask honda america to cover this as well?
  • jal1948jal1948 Member Posts: 7
    I THINK THAT WE (THE AFECTED HONDA OWNERS) SHOULD CONTACT THE MEDIA TV/NEWSPAPERS ilustrating (in detail) all of this mess that have been brought upon us by Honda Motors.
    Most of us bought Honda vehicles based upon their reputation ...but sure had a rude awakening by experiencing this unexpected chain of events.
    Honda Motors abused ...and continues to abuse...all the afected customers by refusing to act responsibly and fairly with EVERYONE that had their transmissions failed due to A DEFECT on those afected transmissions.
    They are getting away with doing the barely minimum ,leaving thousands of inocent customer with little or no recourse of recovering their losses.
    The general public should be informed of this abuse!!
    Let's go about divulging the facts!!
  • carfishercarfisher Member Posts: 3
    I was left stranded yesterday with a failed transmission. It got to the shop today but with what I have found here, I feel that I already know where this is going to take me. We have 108k miles. My wife (her van) told me that she had previously discussed with the dealer that the D (DRIVE letter designation) was flashing and they told her that it was not a problem and that it would reset itself when restarted. We had purchased the 100k warranty and now it appears that they have postponed the inevitable just long enough to make it nearly impossible for us to win. Before reading these posts, I thought it must have just been a rare problem, but now I see that I have been duped. I am FURIOUS!
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    Just remember the lifetime warranty is non-transferable, requires an inspection every five years by a Chrysler dealer, and only applies to the engine and transmission- not bumper to bumper ;)

    Other than that, enjoy your new car!
  • ehmgvsehmgvs Member Posts: 4
    Took it to the local Honda dealer and they quoted $922.00. They said this was not unusual at this mileage, 81K+. I beg to differ. Then took the van to a Honda/Acura repair shop. They confirmed the seal leak and quoted me $650.00....18 month/18k mile warrenty. Guess who I'm going with? This was my first Honda, bought new and may be my last, but I really do like the Ridgeline. We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open. Many thanks for your reply.
  • srickardsrickard Member Posts: 8
    The transmission my 94 Chrysler Concorde failed at 44K. I got no help from Chrysler and had to pay for the repair myself. It was the last Chrysler I'll ever buy. I traded it on a Prius. Now if only Honda will help with my Odyssey transmission failure...
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    I understand your frustration. Honda's attitude is just disgusting. They don't care about human lives or road safety. I don't really know if the media or the government cares about the people. I filed my complaint with Safer Cars, BBB, Department of Consumers Affair but without success. If the government does care, they would not have allowed Honda to continue selling these cars until they have corrected their design flaw. Their transmission design failure traced back to 1999.

    The fact that the transmission could suddenly lock up which could result in deadly car crashes. Does anyone with the appropriate authority even care?
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    I understand your frustration. Honda's attitude is just disgusting. They don't care about human lives or road safety. I don't really know if the media or the government cares about the people. I filed my complaint with Safer Cars, BBB, Department of Consumers Affair but without success. If the government does care, they would not have allowed Honda to continue selling these cars until they have corrected their design flaw. Their transmission design failure traced back to 1999.

    The fact that the transmission could suddenly lock up which could result in deadly car crashes is extremely dangerous. Does anyone with the appropriate authority even care?
  • nash1234nash1234 Member Posts: 22
    I have an 07 EX with 1000 miles on it and the transmission issues on this thread really bother me. I want to know if there are some driving habits that may be triggering the failures such as abrupt starts, driving near mountains, hills, or towing a trailer - just as a general idea so that I do not do those kinds of things when I drive mine (which is a shame, I paid so much money for the van and I should be able to drive it any way that I like).

    Thank you.
  • mossreniemossrenie Member Posts: 2
    Please let me know how you opened the case with American Honda. We bought an 04 Honda Odyssey from Driver's Way in June with just 42,000 miles on it. The transmission went kaput on me this past Thursday. It presently has 51,000 miles on it. We are due with our second child within the next three weeks so the timing is horrible! We took it to a transmission shop who told us to take it to Honda, informing us that the 04 Odyssey had a transmission recall on it. We were very appreciative of their honesty. The van has been wtih Tameron Honda here in Birmingham for two days. They said they are calling American Honda "for us" and not to worry about anything, whatever that means. They also called yesterday and said they have to find a way to replicate the code that happened when the transmission failed on me last week. They can see that something bad happened, they believe me, but they are required to find a way to replicate the code. I have a bad feeling about this. The transmission place told us not to replace the transmission with Honda if they will not pay for it becuase of the price. They quoted us no more than $3200 to replace the transmission, if we have to. We really don't want to nor do we have the money with a baby well on her way! Any suggestions for what we should be doing to speed things along or get Honda to take us seriously would be appreciated.
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    You can open your claim with American Honda by calling the 800 in your owner's manual. Before you call, you should read the postings here which would help you to support your case why you believe Honda should offer you with assistance. You can refer to my posting #510 to know what you can expect from Honda. There are tons of useful postings here that would help you to battle with them.
  • maryh3maryh3 Member Posts: 263
    If the government does care, they would not have allowed Honda to continue selling these cars until they have corrected their design flaw. Their transmission design failure traced back to 1999.

    Angela, if you want to have an effect I'd go after Consumer Reports magazine on this one. Probably most of you bought your Odysseys because that magazine rants and raves about Honda and you believed them. I always felt you cannot know an autos reliabilty until it has been tested in the field in large quantities for a few years. Get a few miles on the autos before rating reliabilty - few autos have problems with less than 40,000 on them.

    But CR STILL has Honda rated so very highly - including relaibilty and in particular this most recent issue praised its "power trains" LOL. Their "used cars to avoid" does not mention the Odyssey and they still recommend this minivan. How does anyone know what the newer Odysseys will be like for transmissions? Do their previous models have a good reputation that they could predict stellar reliabilty for them? Don't you think that as the newer ones with the same transmissions get more miles behind them, that they should expect problems too?

    Instead of blaming the government, you ought to write a nasty letter to CR about themselves, your Odyssey, and your personal experiences. This magazine claims it is for the consumer -- then make them do their job!! If you feel misled -- tell them.
  • srickardsrickard Member Posts: 8
    I contacted American Honda at 1-800-999-1009. I pressed the menu number for customer service. You will need your VIN. The lady asked a number of questions and gave me a case number. I was called back the next day by by an agent and asked a few more questions such as "where have you been servicing your Honda?" (in my case, always at the one Honda dealer). He then asked what I'd like them to do. I suggested that Honda pay for the parts and I'd pay for the labor. I thought this fair since I had gotten 5+ years and 82K miles of trouble free driving from my Odyssey. The agent said that sounded reasonable and he would contact the dealer. The dealer called me about an hour ago and said that the labor to replace the transmission would be $680. I am very pleased with this outcome as the original cost of transmission replacement was ~$3500. I was always professional when talking to American Honda; never accusatory; never angry. They treated me the same way. :)
  • 2002odie2002odie Member Posts: 32
    I don't believe any driving habits contribute to the failures.
    Mine died 2 blocks from home, going 20mph around a corner.
    It's a family van, not a hot rod, so it's pretty tough to drive it in any crazy manner given it's high center of gravity and curb weight...so any "normal" driving conditions (driving on any road designed for auto traffic, whether mountainous, or flat highway) should not have anything to do with it...now that's assuming that the transmission was properly designed to handle normal everyday driving...which is apparently not the case here...

    Towing a trailer may be another story, if you exceed the total gross vehicle rating with the trailer in tow and a full passenger/cargo load, then all bets are off...

    So, bottom line, it's not a matter of "if" just "when" your tranny will go out.
    I've seen others who meticulously maintained their trannys with fluid changes, services, etc., and it still died, and I've read of brand new 07/08 Ody's with less than 1000 miles have the tranny die...it's a lose/lose proposition...
  • 2002odie2002odie Member Posts: 32
    You need to call Honda and open the case yourself, the dealer will not open the case for you.
    Also, did the other transmission shop clear out the codes? Did they tell you what the codes were? If they did not clear the codes, they should still be stored in the computer...
    What happened when it died? Flashing green "D" drive indicator? Check engine light? TCS light?

    Sorry to hear about your situation, we got our 2002 Ody in the first batch late 2001, to transport our growing family (1year old child at the time), and that was the primary reason, FAMILY transportation...

    Just hope and pray that your case manager at American Honda cares enough to not hose you completely, but otherwise prepare for an uphill battle, they will not make it easy for you...and I guess expect to pay anywhere from $0 to $$$$$ for the new tranny. You might also need a new PCM (tranny computer) along with the tranny.

    I think 04's are also covered by the 2nd gear oil cooler jet recall, you should double check to see if that was ever done...51k miles seems a bit early for tranny failure, but then again it's all over the map as you can read here...
  • mossreniemossrenie Member Posts: 2
    The other transmission place did not clear the codes and also wrote them down and called Honda for us before we brought the car to them. Honda was able to pull the codes from the computer as well (I remember there were at least two, one around 700?). When I was driving it last Thursday, I turned left from a stop at a red light, accelerating up an average hill. I was probably at about 25, moving towards the speed limit of 35 when the gears shifted higher, and I lost the ability to accelerate. When I took my foot off the gas and then applied pressure again, the gear was in fourth(?) and then a ton of lights came on, including the check enginge light that was blinking. The TCS light also came on. I pushed the TCS button, frantically trying to accelerate in very busy traffic but the light just came right back on. I turned the car off, said a prayer, then turned it back on and was able to accelerate, but the check engine light remained on. I turned into work (a college, front gate) and immediately turned around headed to the repair shop for them to pull the diagnostics. WIth only 51K on it, they were certain it was simply low transmission fluid and were shocked to see that it was more serious. They didn't even charge me for the diagnostics as they were just as angry about it as I was. Then again, I'm enormously pregnant right now, due in the next two weeks so I can easily pull the sympathy card!

    We do not see that the 2nd gear jet cooler recall kit was done, but we will call them to confirm that. It makes sense becuase I was in 2nd gear when the trouble all started. But again, Honda says they've not been able to get the van to replicate the codes again. I don't want to drive a ticking time bomb.
  • 2002odie2002odie Member Posts: 32
    If the code is still stored in the computer, then the dealer should not have to "replicate" the problem, that's the whole point of storing the codes...so they can read the codes and troubleshoot based on the codes and what may have triggered them.

    I am afraid your dealer might be giving you the run around right from the start, they should be able to get the codes (anyone with a $50 code reader from AutoZone/PepBoys/Kragen's can do it).

    Call American Honda, and calmly give them your story and situation, and hope they have a compassionate heart for your situation.
    =====================================
    Contact Honda:
    http://automobiles.honda.com/information/customer-relations.aspx

    Contact Us
    For further assistance, feel free to contact Honda Automobile Customer Service. Business hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Pacific Time.
    By Phone
    At our toll-free number: 1-800-999-1009
    By Fax
    (310) 783-3023 (24 Hours)
    By Mail
    American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
    Honda Automobile Customer Service
    1919 Torrance Boulevard
    Mail Stop: 500 - 2N - 7D
    Torrance, CA 90501-2746
    ===================
    Good luck!
  • jipsterjipster Member Posts: 6,244
    The dealer called me about an hour ago and said that the labor to replace the transmission would be $680.

    Wow... that seems like a really low price. Is that typical for trans. replacement labor?
    2020 Honda Accord EX-L, 2011 Hyundai Veracruz, 2010 Mercury Milan Premiere, 2007 Kia Optima
  • 2002odie2002odie Member Posts: 32
    Take it and run! You are lucky if that is all you have to pay.
    Better make sure of what exactly they are replacing.
    They should also replace the PCM computer.
    They may also try to stick you with "while swapping your tranny we noticed your motor mounts are bad, they also need to be replaced." and then try to get more $$$ out of you...
    Just make sure your new tranny is covered 3yr/36k miles, and try to get it in writing!
  • angelaychuangelaychu Member Posts: 54
    I have never read that magazine. The reason I bought an Odyssey was because it had a big name. I also trusted that that if there was any problems with their models, the government who had the jurisdiction to enforce them not to sell them until they have proved to the government that they had corrected their design flaw. I also firmly believed that the government would have imposed on the car makers to the affected and potential customers on the design flaw. Of course, now I know that's not the case and I am truly surprised.
  • srickardsrickard Member Posts: 8
    $680 was less than I expected ($900-$1000). And yes, it does include the PCM. As I said before, the dealer has always been great.
  • jchan2jchan2 Member Posts: 4,956
    Congrats- I remember back in '04 when my transmission went I paid a similar amount under similar circumstances.

    Did Honda put you in a rental car?
  • srickardsrickard Member Posts: 8
    Yes, they did. When I took the Odyssey in last Saturday, the gave me a free loaner - a 2008 Civic with 317 miles on it. This was before any resolution with American Honda. A fine dealer - Honda Cars of Mckinney, Texas. :D
  • carguy74carguy74 Member Posts: 18
    a little information on these trannys....honda , i believe warranties their trannys for up to 120,000 miles. a few miles beyond that can be up to the local area honda rep. to decide on good will. if your tranny fails within 120k, you shouldn't have to pay anything . don't quote me, and every dealer is different, but the one i know has not charged if within 100k to 120k. i'll chk this out and find for sure the max mileage . but i think this applies to only certain failures though...
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