2003 HONDA ODYSSEY Complaints

AS MY WIFE WAS PREPARING TO ENTER AN EXIT RAMP FROM THE HIGHWAY, THE VAN EXPERIENCED SEVERAL HARD SHIFTS OF THE TRANSMISSION WHICH CAUSED HER TO ALMOST LOSE CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. SINCE THAT INSTANCE, EVERY TIME THE VAN SHIFTS GEARS, IT IS A VERY HARD SHIFT THAT JERKS THE OCCUPANTS AROUND. VAN WILL NOT SHIFT ABOVE THIRD GEAR OR INTO REVERSE. MECHANIC HAS DIAGNOSED THIS AS A TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *TR

TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE TRAVELING 40MPH AT 130000 MILES. IT WAS REPLACED. THERE WAS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT REGARDING 2003 TRANSMISSIONS, BUT THE WINDOW HAD CLOSED, SO I HAD TO PAY FOR IT FULLY. NOVEMBER 20, 2011, WHILE DRIVING 45MPH, DASH LIGHTS FLASH, RADIO LOSES POWER. WHEN I TURN THE IGNITION OFF, THE CAR IS DEAD. RESTARTS ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, AFTER LOTS OF CLICKING IN THE DASH. AT VARYING SPEEDS THE DASH LIGHTS WILL FLASH, AND THE CLOCK AND RADIO GO DEAD BRIEFLY. SOMETIMES THE DOOR LOCK AND THE SLIDING DOOR BUTTONS DON'T WORK, BUT IF I WAIT 2 MINUTES, I HEAR THE CLICKING IN THE DASH, AND SUDDENLY THERE IS POWER. LEFT IT AT THE DEALERSHIP TO BE CHECKED OUT OVER 4 DAYS, AND THEY SAY NOTHING IS WRONG. TO BE TRAVELING AT 40+ AND HAVE THE CAR GO DEAD IS A HAZARD TO ME AND MY FAMILY, AS WELL AS EVERYONE ELSE DRIVING WHILE I AM DRIVING. IT IS CURRENTLY AT ANOTHER SHOP TO BE EVALUATED. *TR

2003 HONDA ODYSSEY TRANSMISSION FAILURE - WHILE DRIVING ON I-65N IN INDIANA, AT 70 MPH, TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP IN THE FAST LANE AT 8:00 P.M. VEHICLE SKIDDED ABOUT 30 FEET, STOPPED AND MYSELF AND FAMILY QUICKLY EXITED VEHICLE. I CALLED 911 TO GET TROOPERS TO ALERT OTHER DRIVERS ABOUT IMMOBILE VEHICLE IN FAST LANE OF INTERSTATE. RAN BACK ABOUT 70 YARDS TO FLAG TRAFFIC OVER TO SLOW LANE TO AVOID SOMEONE GETTING KILLED. MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER ARE STANDING OUT IN THE MEDIAN WAITING FOR HELP TO ARRIVE. THANKS TO SOME KIND INDIANA DRIVERS FOR STOPPING AND ATTEMPTING TO PUSH VAN OUT OF ROAD BUT WITH TRANNY LOCKED UP, NO MOVEMENT WHATSOEVER. TORQUE CONVERTER LOCKED UP. TRANSMISSION IS COMPLETELY RUINED, NEED NEW UNIT. ESTIMATED COST TO REPAIR $ 3,580. *KB

MY HONDA ODYESSY'S TRANSMISSION OVERHEATED WHILE ON A FAMILY TRIP. I HAVE KEPT UP WITH THE SERVICE SCHEDULED OUTLINED BY HONDA. VAN HAS 122K ON IT NOW. I BOUGHT A HONDA EXPECTING TO GET THE LONG HAUL OUT OF IT! 122K IS NOT MY IDEA OF THE LONG HAUL! THE ESTIMATE IS A $4000 COST TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION! I HAVE READ ABOUT THE LAW SUIT THE WAS WON AND WANT TO KNOW WHY THIS WAS NOT A RECALL OF SOME SORT! THERE IS CLEARLY A BIG PROBLEM, THERE IS A WEBSITE CREATED JUST FOR THIS ISSUE! IF I HAD NOT DONE ALL OF THE MAINTENANCE OR DID NOT TAKE CARE OF THE CAR I WOULD NOT BE SO UPSET. CODE P0730, GEAR RATIO FAILURE. *KB

I WAS TOLD APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS AGO THAT THE REASON THE SHIFT WAS HARD WAS BECAUSE I HAD TWO BROKEN MOTOR MOUNTS. THEY WERE REPAIRED AND THEY SUGGESTED CHANGING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. THEN RIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING I NOTICED MY CAR HAVING DIFFICULTY SHIFTING BETWEEN 2ND & 3RD GEAR AND THE RPMS WERE GOING CRAZY SO I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER. I WAS INFORMED THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED FOR $4200. I HAVE SPENT ABOUT $1500 THIS YEAR ON REPAIRS FOR THIS VAN. I ALWAYS HAVE DRIVEN HONDAS AND TOYOTAS AND FULLY EXPECTED TO GET OVER 200,000 MILES OUT OF THIS VAN. I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED TO FIND MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND THAT HONDA IS NOT HELPFUL. THIS IS MY LAST HONDA. *KB

VAN HAD DIFFICULTY SHIFTING FROM 2ND -3RD GEAR WITH SLIPPING AND REVVING EXCEPTIONAL HIGH BEFORE TRANSITIONS SUDDENLY INTO NEXT GEAR. VAN WAS RECALLED AT 24,000 MILES FOR REPAIR TO FIX THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, WHICH WAS COMPLETED IN 2004 AS REQUESTED. THIS VAN HAD BEEN DILIGENTLY MAINTAINED ONLY AT DEALERSHIP, OTHER THAN ROUTINE OIL CHANGES, AND WE ARE THE ORIGINAL OWNERS. SERVICE DEPARTMENT AT DEALERSHIP STATES THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS SHOT AND NEEDS TO BE REPLACED, COSTING $6600. HONDA OF AMERICA IS NOT HELPFUL AND UNWILLING TO HELP IN ANY MANNER. *TR

WHILE DRIVING MY DAUGHTER TO SCHOOL, ACCELERATING FROM 35 TO 40+, TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP! EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!!! COULD HAVE BEEN IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT SINCE WE WERE MERGING ONTO A BUSY HIGHWAY. NEXT DAY, ANOTHER LOCK UP + SLIPPING BETWEEN 25 & 35 MPH AND @ 50 PM. TRANSMISSION SLIPS AND GEAR SHIFT WILL GET STUCK IN PARK, REVERSE & DRIVE. RPM REVS HIGH. HONDA DEALER DIAGNOSED TODAY AS "INTERNAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE" 164,000 HIGHWAY MILES, SERVICED @ DEALER, BABIED WITH OIL CHANGES, ETC. NOW $4,000 QUOTE FOR TRANSMISSION 3 YRS/36,000 MILE WARRANTY. I HAVE BEEN A LOYAL HONDA OWNER SINCE 1990, BUT WILL NOT CONSIDER BUYING ANY FUTURE HONDAS. *TR

KNOWN TRANSMISSION FAILURE FOR 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY. NOTED AND CASCADED BY AMERICAN HONDA. REPAIRS COULD BE DONE UNDER GOODWILL AT HONDAS DISCRETION. COVERAGE WAS EXTENDED TO 7 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES. IT APPEARS THAT INTERNAL DAMAGE COULD HAPPEN BEYOND THE SAID YEARS/MILEAGE RANGE FOR WARRANTY REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT. FROM A CONSUMERS PERSPECTIVE, IT IS A CLAUSE OR LANGUAGE USED TO LEVERAGE HONDAS GOODWILL DISCRETION. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN MADE PUBLIC BY THE NHTSA, WHILE HONDA SETTLED OUT OF COURT, YET DID NOT TAKE FULL ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE KNOWN AND VALIDATED TRANSMISSION DEFICIENCY. GEAR SLIPS BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND GEAR IN THE RANGE OF 20-30MPH. ENGINE LIGHT AND TCS LIGHT TURNS ON, AS WELL AS THE DRIVE LIGHT FLASHING (INSTEAD OF BEING SOLID LIGHT). ACCELERATING AFTER A COMPLETE STOP IS VERY DIFFICULT WHEN CROSSING THE INTERSECTIONS. REPAIRING THE PRESSURE SWITCH ON 11/2/11 DID NOT RECTIFY THE SITUATION.

THIS VEHICLES CAME EQUIPPED WITH P225/60R16 TIRE SIZES. THE NORMAL LOAD INDEX OF THIS TYPE OF TIRE 98, WHICH CAN CARRY A MAXIMUM LOAD OF 1653 POUNDS. THE MAXIMUM LOAD THE FRONT TWO TIRES CAN CARRY IS 3,306 POUNDS. THE CURB WEIGHT OF HONDA ODYSSEY IS 4.509 POUNDS. NORMALLY 70 % OF THE GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT IS ON THE STEERING AXEL. THAT MEANS THAT FRONT OF THE VEHICLE SHOULD HAVE ABOUT 3,200 POUNDS OF WEIGHT WITHOUT ANY DRIVER OR PASSENGER IN THIS VEHICLE. A NORMAL DRIVER AND PASSENGER WOULD WEIGH ABOUT 350 POUNDS TOGETHER. THUS IT CAN BE SEEN THAT HONDA ODYSSEY TIRE SIZES WAS SELECTED INADEQUATELY TO MEET ITS LOADING REQUIREMENTS. THE TIRE SIZE WERE DESIGNED INADEQUATELY TO CARRY THE DESIGN LOAD OF THIS VEHICLE RESULTING IN PREMATURE WEAR OUT OF TIRES OR POSSIBLE TIRE BUSTING DUE TO CONTINUOUS OVER LOAD ON DESIGNED CAPACITY. THIS VEHICLE SHOULD BE RECALLED FOR CORRECTIVE ACTIONS. FOR YOUR INFORMATION NEW HONDA ODYSSEY NOW COMES STANDARD WITH 235/65R17 TIRES, APPROPRIATE TIRE SIZE OF LOADING CAPACITY. WHY CONSUMERS OF 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY ARE PUNISHED FOR MANUFACTURING DEFECTS AND POSSIBLE HARM IN OPERATING IT.? *TR

I WAS STOPPED @ A RED LIGHT ON A 50 MPH SPEED LIMIT ROAD & WHEN THE LIGHT TURN GREEN I PUSHED THE ACCL THE VAN ROLLED ON BUT WILL NOT ACCELERATE FURTHER ENGINE KEPT REVVING & A BIG CONSTRUCTION TRUCK ALMOST REAR ENDED ME LOOKS LIKE THE TRANSMISSION STALLS THE VEHICLE. *TR