Way off topic : purchase advice please on a honda odyssey, Anyone here have one . things to look for when buying Options

[wndsrfr]

Definitely test drive an Odyssey... Get a good straight road and absolutely floor it... you will be A..Mazed!!! After being pushed back in your seat you'll be grabbing your wallet to pay the asking price no dickering!
Serial Ody owner... zero mechanical issues...

[flyer86d]

A couple of customers had them when I had the garage. They all loved them until the transmission failed. The trans has a stacked case like a motorcycle engine. There is no pan or a filter to service. When it goes, throw it in the trash and install a new one for big bucks. And they didn’t fail at high mileage. Also, the timing belt is not the worst one that I have changed but not the best. While Volvo and Audi have figured out how to attach the timing belt cover with a couple of clips, Honda insists on using a maddening number of 6mm bolts..... I prefer the 2012 or newer Grand Caravan. Just saying.

Charlie

[Valy]

There are 2 issue to check, especially on newer models:
1. Transmission health
2. There is an issue with the valves. The computer shuts off engine banks to save fuel, keeping the valves open. Sometimes there is a miss and detonation at the wrong time when the bank is powered back. This causes damage to the head (not immediate failure). It's more common on cars with high highway mileage.

[ConeDodger]

Not that far off topic. Mueller’s 914 has an Odyssey motor I think...

[thelogo]

A couple of customers had them when I had the garage. They all loved them until the transmission failed. The trans has a stacked case like a motorcycle engine. There is no pan or a filter to service. When it goes, throw it in the trash and install a new one for big bucks. And they didn’t fail at high mileage. Also, the timing belt is not the worst one that I have changed but not the best. While Volvo and Audi have figured out how to attach the timing belt cover with a couple of clips, Honda insists on using a maddening number of 6mm bolts..... I prefer the 2012 or newer Grand Caravan. Just saying.

Charlie

There seriously is no way to flush and change trans fluid?

What signs will indicated trans issues?
As ive only ever owned a manual

[IronHillRestorations]

We put 190K on our '06 Ody, and it was a great vehicle. ad a wheel bearing replaced and CV boots, regular maintenance or better, no major problems. I wanted to keep it but Mrs. Kiehl was tired of driving a van and wanted a smaller car. We sold it (too cheap) on Craigslist in less than 24hrs. A well maintained Ody is a 250k miler or more

[Dave_Darling]

Some of them (don't know which ones, sorry!) are somewhat notorious for transmission problems. I've talked to one guy who had 350K miles on his, but was on transmission number four...

--DD

[euro911]

A friend bought one, and stopped by to show it to me.




As she proceeded to show me all the features it had, I felt that I had to tell her that she was totally out of her element ...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[IronHillRestorations]

I had our transmission fluid changed every 75k miles, and the (unknown to many) transmission filter cleaned at the dealer ($ouch). They always said "you don't have to service it yet", and we never had any transmission problems.

[mepstein]

I don’t think we ever serviced the trans. 275k. My wife always has good luck with cars.

[JOEPROPER]

[quote name='thelogo' date='Apr 25 2019, 10:17 PM' post='2708757']
[quote name='flyer86d' post='2708711' date='Apr 25 2019, 05:48 PM']
A couple of customers had them when I had the garage. They all loved them until the transmission failed. The trans has a stacked case like a motorcycle engine. There is no pan or a filter to service. When it goes, throw it in the trash and install a new one for big bucks. And they didn’t fail at high mileage. Also, the timing belt is not the worst one that I have changed but not the best. While Volvo and Audi have figured out how to attach the timing belt cover with a couple of clips, Honda insists on using a maddening number of 6mm bolts..... I prefer the 2012 or newer Grand Caravan. Just saying.

Charlie
[/quote


There seriously is no way to flush and change trans fluid?

What signs will indicated trans issues?
As ive only ever owned a manual
[/quote]
Trans is a drain and refill. about 4 quarts at a time. Use OEM Honda DW1 fluid.

[thelogo]

Drain and refill . my kinda job (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smoke.gif)

[fiacra]

A couple of customers had them when I had the garage. They all loved them until the transmission failed. The trans has a stacked case like a motorcycle engine. There is no pan or a filter to service. When it goes, throw it in the trash and install a new one for big bucks. And they didn’t fail at high mileage. Also, the timing belt is not the worst one that I have changed but not the best. While Volvo and Audi have figured out how to attach the timing belt cover with a couple of clips, Honda insists on using a maddening number of 6mm bolts..... I prefer the 2012 or newer Grand Caravan. Just saying.

Charlie

Bought a 2001 Honda Odyssey in 2003 with 19K miles on it. The transmission failed at 63K, within the mileage warranty but 4 months out of the time warranty. No relief from Honda, despite multiple attempts. There is a known issue with fluid flow around second gear that causes these transmissions to fail. We had a Honda specialty shop pull that transmission, send it out for rebuild, and confirmed it was a failure of second gear secondary to fluid flow. Still, Honda wouldn't budge. The transmission failed again at 126K miles, despite changing the fluid every 7.5K miles (recommended by the transmission rebuilder). Turns out, with a lot of research, that there are filters at the relays that clog and restrict fluid flow. You can take out and clean them and that will prevent failure. Honda didn't figure this out, but some dedicated Odyssey owner did. You can find all of this on the Odyssey boards. We had to junk the Odyssey, despite the fact that everything else worked great! Too much $$$ to rebuild the transmission again. Then within a few weeks my 2001 Civic also had it's second transmission failure at 136K miles. It went to the junkyard as well. Very frustrating...especially since we got no help from Honda for either car. So, no more Hondas for us, despite the fact that I have owned Hondas for over 30 years. My wife is a dog trainer, and we own German Shepherds, so we did look at the Pilot just to be fair. Turns out it will not hold two XL size dog crates. So, if you want to transport large dogs, and have them safely in crates that are tied down, the Pilot will not work. The only vehicle that we could fit the crates in was a Toyota RAV4. Has to be gas, can't be hybrid, as the battery takes up space. Even the Highlander couldn't fit two XL crates. If you are seriously considering an Odyssey do a search on Odyssey transmission issues and you'll see why the nickname for these vehicles is "trannybomb."

[thelogo]

A couple of customers had them when I had the garage. They all loved them until the transmission failed. The trans has a stacked case like a motorcycle engine. There is no pan or a filter to service. When it goes, throw it in the trash and install a new one for big bucks. And they didn’t fail at high mileage. Also, the timing belt is not the worst one that I have changed but not the best. While Volvo and Audi have figured out how to attach the timing belt cover with a couple of clips, Honda insists on using a maddening number of 6mm bolts..... I prefer the 2012 or newer Grand Caravan. Just saying.

Charlie

Bought a 2001 Honda Odyssey in 2003 with 19K miles on it. The transmission failed at 63K, within the mileage warranty but 4 months out of the time warranty. No relief from Honda, despite multiple attempts. There is a known issue with fluid flow around second gear that causes these transmissions to fail. We had a Honda specialty shop pull that transmission, send it out for rebuild, and confirmed it was a failure of second gear secondary to fluid flow. Still, Honda wouldn't budge. The transmission failed again at 126K miles, despite changing the fluid every 7.5K miles (recommended by the transmission rebuilder). Turns out, with a lot of research, that there are filters at the relays that clog and restrict fluid flow. You can take out and clean them and that will prevent failure. Honda didn't figure this out, but some dedicated Odyssey owner did. You can find all of this on the Odyssey boards. We had to junk the Odyssey, despite the fact that everything else worked great! Too much $$$ to rebuild the transmission again. Then within a few weeks my 2001 Civic also had it's second transmission failure at 136K miles. It went to the junkyard as well. Very frustrating...especially since we got no help from Honda for either car. So, no more Hondas for us, despite the fact that I have owned Hondas for over 30 years. My wife is a dog trainer, and we own German Shepherds, so we did look at the Pilot just to be fair. Turns out it will not hold two XL size dog crates. So, if you want to transport large dogs, and have them safely in crates that are tied down, the Pilot will not work. The only vehicle that we could fit the crates in was a Toyota RAV4. Has to be gas, can't be hybrid, as the battery takes up space. Even the Highlander couldn't fit two XL crates. If you are seriously considering an Odyssey do a search on Odyssey transmission issues and you'll see why the nickname for these vehicles is "trannybomb."

Are you just referring to the 2001 or 2nd generation
As being ( trannybomb)

Or does this nickname apply to all model years ?

Josh

[euro911]

One word ... TOYOTA (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[fiacra]

A couple of customers had them when I had the garage. They all loved them until the transmission failed. The trans has a stacked case like a motorcycle engine. There is no pan or a filter to service. When it goes, throw it in the trash and install a new one for big bucks. And they didn’t fail at high mileage. Also, the timing belt is not the worst one that I have changed but not the best. While Volvo and Audi have figured out how to attach the timing belt cover with a couple of clips, Honda insists on using a maddening number of 6mm bolts..... I prefer the 2012 or newer Grand Caravan. Just saying.

Charlie

Bought a 2001 Honda Odyssey in 2003 with 19K miles on it. The transmission failed at 63K, within the mileage warranty but 4 months out of the time warranty. No relief from Honda, despite multiple attempts. There is a known issue with fluid flow around second gear that causes these transmissions to fail. We had a Honda specialty shop pull that transmission, send it out for rebuild, and confirmed it was a failure of second gear secondary to fluid flow. Still, Honda wouldn't budge. The transmission failed again at 126K miles, despite changing the fluid every 7.5K miles (recommended by the transmission rebuilder). Turns out, with a lot of research, that there are filters at the relays that clog and restrict fluid flow. You can take out and clean them and that will prevent failure. Honda didn't figure this out, but some dedicated Odyssey owner did. You can find all of this on the Odyssey boards. We had to junk the Odyssey, despite the fact that everything else worked great! Too much $$$ to rebuild the transmission again. Then within a few weeks my 2001 Civic also had it's second transmission failure at 136K miles. It went to the junkyard as well. Very frustrating...especially since we got no help from Honda for either car. So, no more Hondas for us, despite the fact that I have owned Hondas for over 30 years. My wife is a dog trainer, and we own German Shepherds, so we did look at the Pilot just to be fair. Turns out it will not hold two XL size dog crates. So, if you want to transport large dogs, and have them safely in crates that are tied down, the Pilot will not work. The only vehicle that we could fit the crates in was a Toyota RAV4. Has to be gas, can't be hybrid, as the battery takes up space. Even the Highlander couldn't fit two XL crates. If you are seriously considering an Odyssey do a search on Odyssey transmission issues and you'll see why the nickname for these vehicles is "trannybomb."

Are you just referring to the 2001 or 2nd generation
As being ( trannybomb)

Or does this nickname apply to all model years ?

Josh

Honda claims to have fixed this issue post 2005, but not until after it was litigated. I have heard, and read, plenty of stories of 2006 and later model year Odysseys having transmission issues. Too bad, as the engines seem well designed and have great power. Other than the transmission, we really liked our Odyssey. More than anything I was disappointed to find that Honda would not stand behind their cars. I won't bore you with a long story, but suffice it to say we ran up the chain of command as far as possible, both politely and professionally, but were brusquely rebuffed at all levels. No more Hondas for me, but you're welcome to try your luck (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) We replaced the Odyssey with a 2017 Rav4 and the Civic with a 2016 eGolf. So far we love both of them far more than we did our Hondas (but not as much as our 914's).

[fiacra]

One word ... TOYOTA (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

[pedrok]

Hi
I have Odyssey also, what I have read is that the transmission will not last more than 120k & a friend also broke at same miles
Mine is 129k, I FLUSH the trans oil almost every year and installed an oil cooler, so far no problems
Hope it helps
PK

[thelogo]

One word ... TOYOTA (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

Im totally ok with a toyota

I just was surprised that 2006 odyssesy and later dont have
Reliable trasmission

But something tells me this is the result of people
Driving their van way too aggressively.

My driving style is extremely light on the controls
But i dont wanna chance a trans failure so i may avoid the odyssey

Thoughts ?

[thelogo]

A couple of customers had them when I had the garage. They all loved them until the transmission failed. The trans has a stacked case like a motorcycle engine. There is no pan or a filter to service. When it goes, throw it in the trash and install a new one for big bucks. And they didn’t fail at high mileage. Also, the timing belt is not the worst one that I have changed but not the best. While Volvo and Audi have figured out how to attach the timing belt cover with a couple of clips, Honda insists on using a maddening number of 6mm bolts..... I prefer the 2012 or newer Grand Caravan. Just saying.

Charlie

Bought a 2001 Honda Odyssey in 2003 with 19K miles on it. The transmission failed at 63K, within the mileage warranty but 4 months out of the time warranty. No relief from Honda, despite multiple attempts. There is a known issue with fluid flow around second gear that causes these transmissions to fail. We had a Honda specialty shop pull that transmission, send it out for rebuild, and confirmed it was a failure of second gear secondary to fluid flow. Still, Honda wouldn't budge. The transmission failed again at 126K miles, despite changing the fluid every 7.5K miles (recommended by the transmission rebuilder). Turns out, with a lot of research, that there are filters at the relays that clog and restrict fluid flow. You can take out and clean them and that will prevent failure. Honda didn't figure this out, but some dedicated Odyssey owner did. You can find all of this on the Odyssey boards. We had to junk the Odyssey, despite the fact that everything else worked great! Too much $$$ to rebuild the transmission again. Then within a few weeks my 2001 Civic also had it's second transmission failure at 136K miles. It went to the junkyard as well. Very frustrating...especially since we got no help from Honda for either car. So, no more Hondas for us, despite the fact that I have owned Hondas for over 30 years. My wife is a dog trainer, and we own German Shepherds, so we did look at the Pilot just to be fair. Turns out it will not hold two XL size dog crates. So, if you want to transport large dogs, and have them safely in crates that are tied down, the Pilot will not work. The only vehicle that we could fit the crates in was a Toyota RAV4. Has to be gas, can't be hybrid, as the battery takes up space. Even the Highlander couldn't fit two XL crates. If you are seriously considering an Odyssey do a search on Odyssey transmission issues and you'll see why the nickname for these vehicles is "trannybomb."

The 06 ford ranger fits 1 xl crate and 1 med crate almost between the wheel wells . and still has a free space for about 3 more dogs to travel with a camper shell.



But the odyssey would appear to hold 2 xl crates
And have space for 3 dogs to be behind the driver area.
Total of 5 dogs and in air con

And that would really offer me the ultimate flexability
And let me make a bunch of $ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)