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But a week later the service manager called to inform me that an engineer higher up at Honda contacted him to say that he knew what was wrong with my van's brakes. In lay terms, it had something to do with air bubbles in the "black box" of the ABS modulator and it would require a special type of bleeding process to correct the problem. They performed the "magical bleeding process" on my '07 Touring and, I must admit, it feels a lot better. The pedal is firmer, doesn't require as much travel, and doesn't require as much pressure. I have been able to move my seat back a fair distance since the pedal no longer has to be depressed as far or as hard. I hope this "air bubble" problem is not something that will recur over time.
Interestingly, I asked the service manager why a bulletin isn't being disseminated by Honda regarding the issue (rather than denying that the problem exists), and he said Honda can't (or won't) because it would have to be evaluated by the legal department first! I wonder if it isn't really the bean counters who make the determination.
I haven't had a chance to take it in yet...have you found anything out?
Did you get your brake problem fixed? If so, could you please share what you did?
I get the problem when start the van and backing up from the driveway into cul-de-sac and go forward and make a left turn immediately.
Thanks.
The brakes on my 06 ODY have had a grinding sound on and off for about 2 years. Now have 25K miles and the sound comes and goes. Honda replaced the brake pads at 7K and said all OK. Started again at about 11K and Honda claimed that they could not find any problem or hear the grinding noise while testing it.
I have the oil changed at Good Year every 6K and they inspect the brakes. They don't report any problem. The grinding noise still comes and goes.
Good Luck.
I heard a similar noise a few thousand miles back (I'm approaching 44,000miles) and they replaced my power steering pump saying it had a leak and was boiling over. The problem disappeared for a couple months and then came back. I recently had it in and they said the pump was fine but they also heard the noise and thought it was coming from the brakes. They said it was normal!?!! I've never owned a vehicle that makes such a noise when turning at low speeds. Has anyone resolved this problem yet??
This incident happened 10 days ago. When I applied the brakes suddenly at a signal light, my Ody did not stop in time and rammed into the car ahead of me.
In the past, I have complained to the dealer a few times about the soft brake issue that I have been having with my 2007 Odyssey. They told me it is normal and then can do nothing about it.
Now, my insurance company decided to total the car. I am very frustrated and would like to know what my options are.
Thanks. :sick:
Soft-brake on my 07 Odyssey is part of my many reasons to switch to Pilot. Dang, I 'm a loyal Honda fan.
Brake is very important. That is one of reason I got rid of it and switch to Pilot 4x4. The Pilot's brake, suspension are much better, and driving/steering feel much solid, heavier car.
Only 08 Pilot complaint is the tire noise/handling. I bought a new set of tires to replace the OEM, cost about 400.00
The 2009 Pilot has much better OEM tires.
Has the replacement of the ABS Modulator been a permanant solution for anyone?
The brakes started to gradually get softer. In July I took it into Rusty Wallace Honda dealer. The service person informed me the brakes were close to failing.
The master cylinder was replaced. The brakes felt better for a a few weeks but went back to the same old squishy feeling. Took it in again to the same dealer and this time the master cylinder and modulator were replaced.
It wasn't long before the brakes went soft again. I had to make an emergency stop when an idiot made a right turn in front of me. There were 2 lanes. I was in the left. He pulled into my lane. I slammed on the brakes and the pedal went to the floor. Fortunately there were no cars in the right lane so I changed to the right lane. Otherwise I would have hit him.
This time I took the van into another dealer. Lute Riley and they did nothing but bleed the brake lines and tell me it was normal to have soft brakes.
What is the time limit for the lemon law? The Odyssey was taken in twice before the 1 yr anniversary.
What a joke. Does this dealer treat the buyers like 7 year-old?
but our car is totalled and our insurance bought us out.
I don't know what our options are, but I'm thinking law suit. Someone is going to be killed with these brake problems! I won't buy another Odessey.
What do you think?
I suggest anyone with this issue should file complaint to N'tl Hwy Safetyn (NHTSA) site.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
First trip to dealer about 5000 miles - pedal soft - travel about 2 inches before brakes engage - pedal will continue to travel down with pressure after coming to complete stop. Dealer bled the brakes -- some better but not as expected. Approx 1000 miles later soft again and same excessive pedal travel -- My wife dropped off the van to appointment I made. Service writer at dealer would not let my wife drive the van following inspection and test drive - dealer supplied rental car -- after inspection dealer ordered replacement ABS Module. After replacement off and on the brakes would feel firm pedal and minimum travel for engagement. 1500 miles later - soft pedal and excessive travel -- this time replaced the Master Cylinder - bleed brakes -- still not correct --- Service manager contacts Honda Tech Center that provided a special brake bleeding procedure. Brakes felt better for about 200 miles. Now back to soft pedal - long travel before engagement. My next step is to "demand" a factor rep meeting with dealer. I believe the dealer is doing everything possible -- Honda does not have a fix as yet and safety, crashes and deaths will be the results until fixed. My concern is complete failure of the brake system without warning --- Odyssey is a great vehicle - if I had searched for this brake problem before purchase I would be driving an Accord or Pilot.
Has anyone tried to tie this problem to Odyssey's built in the US or Canada?
As I find out more or have a solution/fix I will update.
Thanks for anyone else with input.
Air trapped in the ABS/VSA Modulator.
Applied tech line article and bleed modulator with HDS.
Conducted a brake bleed procedure and verified repair with test drive.
No mention of tech line article #
The mechanic also updated the ECM per bulletin 07-051 to help with line 1.
I am assuming line one was the brake problem.
The brake system was flushed out with new brake fluid. There was a qty 3 for brake fluid on the invoice. The service rep told me the fluid was flushed.
Since then the brakes have been excellent with little pressure on the pedal to start braking. Holding the brake down at a stop light I can put my left foot behind the brake pedal. I could never do that before.
This was done under warranty. No charge.
Time will tell if this fixes it. Unfortunately I work from home and don't drive much. Use my bike for short trips with 25lbs or less of cargo. So it will probly take 6 months to get 2k miles on it.
Had a reprieve of the problem long enough to go out of warranty. Dealer seems willing to work with me due to history of issue with grinding, but still acts like they have never heard of brake dropping to floor and losing power assist to brake. Well, yesterday I happen to have this happen while going downhill and the only thing that stopped me was a curb. Fortunately, I was turning into a driveway and not going down the freeway at 70 MPH. I think to myself...oh, #@$#%!!! My brakes just FAILED!! I have requested to meet with the manager of the dealership, service manager and asked if there is a Honda rep that I can speak with to address the problem. I am not sure if I can use the Lemon Law due to timeframes (GA), but the problem has been noted in service records since 2 months after I bought it.
I would love to hear from anyone who has had action taken by Honda to fix the problem or offer an alternative resolution. It sounds like buying a 2007 or 2008 would not help since the problem exists with both of those year models as well. I hate to think I am wasting my time trying to get it fixed and that I am stuck with a death trap to drive my 3 kids around in.
So how far is considered to be safe? I use the ballpark of a car length per 10 mile ... 4 car length for 40 mile or so.
I traded 07 Ody for a new 08 Pilot (8 seaters) and now 4.5 months later, the brake still going strong.
Actually, I tried to pump the brake when it happened and it didn't work. I try really hard not to follow closely, but in Atlanta with all the aggressive drivers, it is a challenge.
Dealer "could not reproduce problem," well, duh - neither could I, on demand. They did call and open a ticket with Honda Tech and engineers had them check and measure numerous things. Could not find leaks in master cylinder or any seals and did not want to replace anything (ABS modulator) without Honda's OK to do so. The computer did not register a failure. I told the guy I don't have any desire to waste my time at a dealership trying to manage a small child when there isn't anything REALLY wrong and it really did fail. I don't typically ram into curbs for fun. I understand that they wanted to figure out what to do without just throwing parts at it, but I did offer the service director the opportunity to drive it until the brakes failed again. So far, he has declined. Hmmm. He said he would get back to me when Honda responds and let me know what to do next.
I looked at the Pilot and sat in the drivers seat. It felt like I was in a big truck. It seemed pretty nice though, but 3rd row seat had very little leg room. I really like the minivan and hope there is some way to resolve the issue before someone gets hurt. I don't want to spend $37K for a Pilot to resolve a problem that could be fixed for much less while keeping the car I like.
Thanks.
I have a question and would appreciate any input.
I took my 07 Odyssey in yesterday to have the brakes checked--they feel like there is air in the brake lines. I had the oil changed at the same time.
They said they could not duplicate the break problem. I insisted there was a safety issue with the brakes and they asked me to come back tomorrow and take a ride with a mechanic. After I picked it up, I noticed that the mileage in and mileage out were the same and I confirmed this with my own observation. This made me think they did not try very hard to find the problem.
This morning I brought hot muffins when I brought my car in and told them I appreciated the good work they had done on my car. (I have not had good luck with car repairs in the past so I was trying a new approach). The mechanic got in the drivers seat, pumped the breaks a few times and said "order a master cylinder for this." I made an appointment for tomorrow morning.
I called them to reschedule to the afternoon and the person I talked to said they did not have me scheduled. They asked if I was the one that came in this morning. I said yes I was and that I could come in the afternoon and they said that would be fine.
Are they putting me off or did they just forget and are going to work me in? Since they didn't look at it yesterday and they said they did, I was wondering if they would just have me bring it in to appease me?
I am not sure I am understanding what is really going on here. I would appreciate any input. Thanks so much.
1. Early on was getting a really bad grinding noise when steering.
Problem: Wrong motor mounts installed during assembly and caused the steering pitch to be to sharp of an angle and binding things up.
Fix: Was without the car for a week so they could cut the old motor mounts out and install the proper ones.
2. Major grinding noise while breaking.
Problem: Wrong size breaks were installed on the front. Did a recall only based on if customer reported the problem.
Fix: Replace with proper size pads.
3. Have had a noise for a while like something was dragging on the front breakes. Not a constant thing and seemed to show up more after the car has set over night.
Fix: No clue, this is a still an on going issue. See more on this below.
4. Loud noise coming from the front end.
Problem: Wheel bearings went out.
Fix: Replaced
5. Noise still in front. Like in #3.
Fix: Had three people drive vehicle, all said it was rear rotars and not the front like we have stated. Then we were told our rear rotars were worn out at 44 thousand miles. We would need to replace them. They were going to cut us a deal since this has been an on going issue. They replace! Problems still there. So we tell them we shouldn't be paying for something if it doesn't fix the problem. They come back and tell us that their is nothing wrong with our old rear rotars and that the tech was in a hurry and just said that they "LOOKED" like they need replaced. He didn't actually test it on the machine. So we took the car back in, the removed the rear rotars. Put the old ones back on, tested everything and for the most part said everything looked fine. They were going to refund us our money and asked "were do you want us to go from here"?
How about fix the problem that has been an on going issue for 4+ months now.
It seems like all the wrong parts being intially installed when put together at the factory has led to other components to fail early. I shouldn't be replacing bears, rotors, and breaks at 44 thousand miles. My wife drives this vehicle only 8 miles one way to work and back. And to shuttle 3 kids around. Not driven hard at all.
Anyone have any advice they can offer up. Would be greatly appreciated!
1. What the problem could be?
2 What to do about our wonderful service department. When they say its one thing and then another. Then put parts back on that they said was a problem, but now all the sudden they are not. I don't feel safe with letting my wife drive this with our kids.
Regards
Frustrated Odyssey Owner
I would look into your lemon law in the state you are living in and see if you have the documentation needed to pursue moving forward. Also, a complaint to the BBB may get their attention. I would also meet with the Service director at the dealership you are using until your issues are resolved and request a meeting with a Honda representative if needed. (Cutting apart a NEW car - insane!) I am trying to work through these areas right now. Best of luck to you!
I have had brake problems with my '08 Odyssey from the time I bought it (as I believe others have experienced also). After a few attempts at repairing the problem, an updated Modular Assembly was installed in Nov. 2008.
Since this new installation we have not experienced any brake problems. However, I'm nervous that we will soon experience the same soft brake problems again; nervous that it is just a matter of time before they fail again.
I would like to know if anyone else has had an updated Modular Assembly installed, and if so, whether this seems to have solved their soft brake / failing brake problem.
Many Thanks!
KM HONDA OWNER