2001 HONDA ODYSSEY Complaints

AT AROUND 120K OUR ODYSSEY WOULD OCCASIONALLY HAVE A "FUNNY" SHIFT WHERE IT CLUNKED A BIT. THIS HAPPENED ONLY OCCASIONALLY. THE SYMPTOMS WOULD MYSTERIOUSLY GO AWAY WHEN THE CAR WAS AT THE DEALER OR IN THE SHOP. WITH 149K, WHILE DRIVING AT 65MPH THE TRANSMISSION ABRUPTLY DOWNSHIFTED INTO SECOND GEAR CAUSING THE SPEED TO BE QUICKLY REDUCED WITHOUT THE BREAKS BEING APPLIED, CREATING AN UNSAFE AND INOPERABLE VEHICLE. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT IT HAPPENS WITHOUT WARNING. YOU ARE DRIVING NORMALLY, THEN OUT OF NOWHERE YOUR CAR'S TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS TO A LOW GEAR. *TR

THE HONDA ODYSSEY & PRELUDE TRANSMISSIONS HAVE EXPERIENCED MANY EARLY (AND LATE) FAILURES DUE TO HIGHER THAN NORMAL PROBLEMS DUE TO DEFECTS IN MATERIAL OR WORKMANSHIP. (HIGHER THAN NORMAL DEFECTS DUE TO WORKMANSHIP IN MATERIAL... ARE EXACTLY THE WORDS USED IN THE WARRANTY EXTENSION NOTICED I RECEIVED A FEW YEARS AGO. THE WARRANTY WAS EXTENDED TO 7 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES HOWEVER MANY CUSTOMERS LIKE ME ARE CONSERVATIVE DRIVERS, NOT PUSHING THEIR VEHICLES TO EXTREMES, SO FAILURES OFTEN OCCUR AFTER THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. I CALLED HONDA TO ASK FOR ASSISTANCE (DISCOUNT OR WHATEVER) HOWEVER THEY HAVE DECLINED. CASE NUMBERS [XXX] & [XXX]. I WOULD LIKE TO FILE A COMPLAINT AND ASK FOR ASSISTANCE GETTING HONDA TO OWN UP TO THE ISSUE BEYOND A SIMPLE WARRANTY EXTENSION AND ASSIST WITH REPAIR EXPENSES AT A HONDA DEALERSHIP. *JS INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

2001 HONDA ODYSSEY AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 3 SEPARATE OCCASIONS AS FOLLOWS: FIRST TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 20 MAY 2003 AT 37,531 MILES. SECOND TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 14 MAY 2007 AT 119,849 MILES. THIRD TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 23 APRIL 2012 AT 193,820 MILES. THESE FAILURES ARE DUE TO A DEFECT IN THE MATERIAL OR WORKMANSHIP OF THE TRANSMISSION FOR THIS VEHICLE AS ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR COMPANY IN THEIR LETTER TITLED "AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION N WARRANTY EXTENSION" IN THE WINTER OF 2002. THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED WITH HONDA FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND TRANSMISSION FAILURES; HOWEVER HONDA WILL NO LONGER PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN THE CASE OF THE THIRD TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE FAILURE OF THIS TRANSMISSION ON THE OPEN ROAD WILL CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO COME TO A STOP. THE LATTER CONDITION IS HAZARDOUS ON ROADS WITH HEAVY TRAFFIC AND HIGH ROAD SPEEDS. YOUR ASSISTANCE IS REQUESTED TO ENCOURAGE HONDA TO FIX THIS DEFECTIVE TRANSMISSION. *TR

WHEN PULLING INTO A PACKING SPACE, THE CAR HAD A SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION. THE CAR THEN LEAP OVER CURB AND BUSHES AND HIT THE WALL AT FRONT. FRONT BUMPER DAMAGED AND AIRBAGS WERE DEPLOYED. *JS

ERROR CODE PO74Q TRANSMISSION STOPPED WORKING WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY TRANSMISSION FLUID SPRAYED ALL OVER ENGINE, LOTS OF SMOKE BUT NO FIRE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY VAN. IT SHOWED NO PROBLEMS AT ALL BUT THE ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED WHILE DRIVING HOME FRIDAY EVENING. I HAD THE SHOP PICK IT UP AND CHECK IT OUT ON MONDAY. THEY FOUND TWO CODES BUT NO SUPPORT FOR THE PROBLEM IN THE TEST DRIVE. APPROXIMATELY 20 MINUTES AFTER I LEFT THE SHOP, THE FIRST SIGN APPEARED WITH MY RPM REVVING UP TO 5K BEFORE SHIFTING INTO 2ND GEAR. I STOPPED AT A STOP LIGHT BRIEFLY. WHEN I STARTED TO GO FORWARD, THE VAN BUMPED AND HESITATED BEFORE GETTING IN TO GEAR AND BEING ABLE TO ACCELERATE FORWARD. THIS CONTINUED AT THE NEXT TWO STOP LIGHTS BACK TO THE SHOP. SINCE IT IS MY ONLY VEHICLE AND I AM A SINGLE MOM, HE HAD ME KEEP THE VAN UNTIL MONDAY. THE CAR DROVE FINE HOME AND THEN WOULD NOT ACCELERATE ABOVE 20 MPH ON THE WAY HOME FROM CHURCH. READING A HONDA FORUM INFORMED ME THIS IS NOT A UNIQUE SITUATION. *TR

AT APPROX. 70,000 MILES TRANSMISSION WENT OUT. WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AT THE TIME AND WAS REPLACED. NOW AT APPROX. 105,000 TRANSMISSION HAS GONE OUT AGAIN. HONDA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM OR TO HELP RECTIFY A POTENTIAL DEFECT IN TRANSMISSION BECAUSE THE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED. *JS

MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT A USED 2001 ODYSSEY WITH 104,000 MILES. WITHIN A MONTH THE TRANSMISSION BEGAN TO SLIP. WE LOOKED ON LINE AND SAW THAT THE TRANSMISSION FOR THIS YEAR WAS ON RECALL. WE TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP WHO INFORMED US THAT WE HAD EXCEEDED THE RECALL LIMIT BY 3000 MILES (WE WERE THEN AT 118,000). WE COULD HAVE A REBUILT TRANSMISSION INSTALLED FOR $4000. WE TOLD THEM THAT WAS INSANE CONSIDERING IT WAS ONLY A 3000 MILE DISCREPANCY FOR THE RECALL.....THEY SHRUGGED. WE TOOK IT TO AAMCO, WHO REBUILT IT FOR $2600, A SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS. HOWEVER, HERE WE ARE, TWO YEARS LATER AND IT GOES AGAIN....SUDDENLY! I WAS DRIVING IN TAMPA RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC WITH MY TWO CHILDREN IN THE CAR, WHEN MY TCS LIGHT COMES ON, AND MY D4 STARTS FLASHING. I FELT THE TRANSMISSION DROP WHEN I PULLED TO A STOP AT THE LIGHT. WHEN I BEGAN TO GO AGAIN, IT BARELY CRAWLED, THOUGH REGISTERING 2500 RPM. I STOPPED AT AN AUTO PARTS STORE, WHOSE COMPUTER READ VARIOUS CODES: DRIVESHAFT, O2 SENSOR, SOLENOID, AND TWO OTHERS WHICH HE SAID WERE TRANSMISSION RELATED. SO I BEGIN TO DRIVE THE CAR TO AAMCO WHICH IS 1 MILE AWAY. I HAD TO MAKE A U-TURN, AND TWO LEFTS WITH THE CAR BARELY MOVING WITH BOTH OF MY CHILDREN IN THE CAR. I GET TO AAMCO, AND HE TELLS ME THAT I PASSED MY WARRANTY WITH HIM 7000 MILES AGO AND I'M OUT OF LUCK. SO I DANGEROUSLY CHUG THIS THING AND MY CHILDREN HOME, HOPING WE MAKE IT. WE DID, BUT NOW WHAT? *TR

WHILE I WAS DRIVING, THE VEHICLE HESITATED AND THEN CAME TO A FULL STOP WITH ENGINE STILL RUNNING BUT THE VEHICLE WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD OR BACKWARD. *TR

I PURCHASED OUR 2001 ODYSSEY VAN IN NOVEMBER OF 2000. I USED THE VAN ONLY IN THE CITY WITH LOW MILEAGE ABOUT 83,300 MILES. RECENTLY, I HAD MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GO ON, AND SOMETIMES THE TCS LIGHT TO GO ON AND D4 LIGHT FLASHING. I FELT THE VAN WAS SLIPPING IN/OUT OF GEAR AND NOT UNDER CONTROL. I HAD MY LOCAL MECHANIC CHECKED THE VAN AND TOLD ME THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSIONS AND PROBABLY NEED A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION. AFTER RESEARCHING HONDA COMPLAINTS FOR 2001 ODYSSEYS THERE IS DEFINITELY A DESIGN PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSIONS. *TR