2003 HONDA ODYSSEY Complaints

TRANSMISSION FAILURE: TRAVELLING UP A HILL ON A FREEWAY AT 70MPH WITH FAMILY/CHILDREN IN THE VEHICLE, SUDDENLY & WITHOUT WARNING, TRANSMISSION WILDLY SHIFTS FROM 4TH DOWN TO 2ND/1ST, BACK TO 3RD, CONTINUES LURCHING/SHIFTING BACK AND FORTH AS RPM'S FLUCTUATE WILDLY; HOBBLED TO NEXT EXIT, SMOKE & TRANS FLUID COMING FROM UNDER HOOD. CALLED LOCAL DEALER WHO "HAS NO IDEA" WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT BUT FOR $100 WILL CHECK IT OUT. RESULT: THEY TELL ME THAT TRANS OVERHEATED & MELTED DOWN, BURNED OUT CLUTCHES, NEEDS NEW TRANS -> $4800 (REBUILT). TRANS WAS JUST FINE & TRANS FLUID WAS FINE PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, CAR WAS MAINTAINED, ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING OF ANYTHING AMISS. NOW I FIND OUT VIA THE INTERNET THAT MANY, MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS PROBLEM W/2003 ODYSSEY'S. CALLED HONDA, THEY TELL ME, "THERE IS NO KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THIS MODEL YEAR" (LIE) AND THEY WON'T DO ANYTHING TO HELP WITH THE REPAIR BECAUSE THE CAR CAME W/36,000 MILE WARRANTY AND WE ARE BEYOND THAT. HE ACTUALLY ASKED ME, "IS THIS THE FIRST TIME YOUR TRANSMISSION HAS BLOWN ON THIS VEHICLE? ARE YOU STILL ON YOUR FIRST TRANSMISSION?" WHICH IS A FUNNY THING TO ASK IF THERE IS NO KNOWN PROBLEM. INTERNET INDICATES THAT WHEN PEOPLE HAVE TRANS REPLACED, 2ND TRANS FREQUENTLY BLOWS ALSO. THIS CAR HAD A RECALL FOR TRANS OIL COOLING, WAS COMPLETED BEFORE WE BOUGHT (NEW FROM DEALER) & WE WERE NOT INFORMED ABOUT IT. THIS IS DEFINITELY A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN YOUR TRANS EXPLODES AT 70MPH WITH YOUR CHILDREN IN THE BACK SEAT. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) *TT

WHILE DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY 65 MPH WITH MY KIDS IN THE CAR, THE DRIVERS SIDE AUTOMATIC SLIDING DOOR OPENS ALL BY ITSELF. WE HAD TO FIND A PLACE TO PULL OVER AND SHUT THE DOOR. THE DOOR OPENS FINE BUT WILL NOT LATCH ON AND CLOSE PROPERLY ANYMORE. THE INTERIOR CALL LIGHTS GO ON AND EVERYTHING STARTS BEEPING AND DASHBOARD STARTS FLASHING. IT IS NOT ONLY VERY DISTRACTING BUT ALSO VERY DANGEROUS. THE DOOR JUST WON'T SHUT ANYMORE. *KB

THIS CAR HAS A PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND THERE WAS A TEST DONE WHICH GAVE THE DIAGNOSTIC CODE PO743. THE HONDA ODYSSEY HAS KNOWN ISSUES WITH THE TRANSMISSION AND IS NOT WILLING TO HELP ASSIST WITH THE REPAIR. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND WANT TO KNOW IF THERE IS ANY RECOURSE WITH HONDA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP IN THIS MATTER. *TR

MY TRANSMISSION FAILED ON MY 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY SHORTLY AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRED. IT HAD THE RECALL UPDATE DONE YEARS BEFORE BUT THAT DIDN'T WORK. THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS BURNT CAUSING THE TRANSMISSION TO SLIP. THERE WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT, JUST A TRANSMISSION THAT WAS FAILING. IT SEEMS THIS IS MORE THE RULE THAN THE EXCEPTION WITH THE ODYSSEY. I HAD TO GET IT REPLACED AND AFTER DOING RESEARCH, I DECIDED TO GET A JASPER TRANSMISSION INSTEAD OF HAVING THE DEALER REPLACE IT WITH ANOTHER FAULTY HONDA TRANSMISSION. *TR

VEHICLE POPPED OUT OF GEAR WHILE MOVING AT 50MPH AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE. UPON STOPPING ON SIDE OF ROAD AND SHIFTING FROM D TO PARK AND BACK TO D, THE VAN WAS ABLE TO MOVE FOR A FEW HUNDRED YARDS. AT 35MPH IT POPPED OUT OF GEAR AGAIN. DID SAME THING WITH TRANSMISSION AND WAS ABLE TO "LIMP" HOME AS LONG AS VEHICLE STAYED UNDER 30MPH. TOWED VEHICLE TO DEALER AND FOUND OUT TRANSMISSION IS BAD. I HAVE A 7YR/105,000 MILE WARRANTY, BUT IT EXPIRED LAST YEAR. I ONLY HAVE 103,000 MILES ON THE VAN. THE REPAIR IS QUOTED AT $4200. I HAVE COMPLETE AND TIMELY SERVICE RECORDS AT A HONDA DEALERSHIP FOR THE LIFE OF THE VAN. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE CONTACT NOTICED BLACK SMOKE FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE ALSO DECELERATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTICS, WHERE THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON TWO DIFFERENT PRIOR OCCASIONS AND THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT AGAIN REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A TWO LANE ROAD AND THE TRANSMISSION DOWN SHIFTED ON ITS OWN IN A VIOLENT MANOR. THE RPS JUMPED UP. I LET OFF THE GAS AND THE AUTO WENT BACK TO NORMAL. 10 MINUTES LATER I WAS ON THE HIGHWAY RUNNING 70MPH AND THE AUTO DOWN SHIFTED AGAIN IN THE SAME FASHION AS DESCRIBED BEFORE. I BROUGHT IT TO TWO SHOPS AND THE TECHNICIAN WAS ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. BOTH TECHNICIANS STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS THE PROBLEM AND IT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AFTER DOING RESEARCH I FOUND THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED TO MANY HONDAS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY. THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE WHEN THE DEALER ADVISED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE AND RECOMMENDED REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID. THE DEALER REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND LATER, CAUSED THE TRANSMISSION TO FAIL COMPLETELY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALE WHERE THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING DIAGNOSIS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 162,000.

MINIVAN STARTED TO ACCELERATE UPON PUSH OF ACCELERATOR (RPMS JUMPED SIGNIFICANTLY). JERKY/HARSH ACCELERATION FROM 0-40. SEVERE SHUDDER OF VAN WHEN DECELERATING BETWEEN GEARS. MALFUNCTIONING OVERDRIVE (WILL NOT DOWN SHIFT TO D3, 2, OR 1ST GEAR WHILE ROLLING. REVERSE GEAR DID NOT WORK UNLESS THE CAR WAS STARTED AGAIN. *KB

AT 101,500 MILES AND LESS THAN 2 YEARS AND 20,000 MILES AFTER THE FIRST TRANSMISSION REBUILD, OUR 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY VAN IS ONCE AGAIN IN NEED OF A COMPLETE TRANSMISSION REBUILD. THIS IS THE SAME PROBLEM THAT THOUSANDS OF OTHER HONDA OWNERS ARE REPORTING. WE PURCHASED THE VAN NEW FROM HONDA IN DECEMBER 2002 AND HAVE RELIGIOUSLY MAINTAINED IT (OIL CHANGES, TIRES, BRAKES, TUNE-UPS, CHECK-UPS, ETC.). AT 82,289 MILES, THE ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION "CAME APART" WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING ONE DAY. PRIOR TO THAT, THE GEARS SEEMED TO BE SLIPPING. FRUSTRATED WITH THE POOR SERVICE FROM THE DEALERSHIP AND THE RUN-AROUND HONDA HAS BEEN GIVING THEIR CUSTOMERS (SPECIFICALLY WITH ODYSSEY OWNERS), WE HAD THE TRANSMISSION REBUILT BY AAMCO ($3500) AND WERE "ASSURED" THAT WE WERE GETTING A BETTER TRANSMISSION THAN THE ORIGINAL. HOW IS A TRANSMISSION THAT LASTS 1/4 OF THE TIME THAN THE ORIGINAL A BETTER ONE? THIS 2ND TRANSMISSION WAS FINE UNTIL FRIDAY 7/22/2011, WHEN WE WERE TAKING A TRIP DOWN TO NAGS HEAD, NC. SUDDENLY, I NOTICED WHEN WE WERE APPROXIMATELY 45 MILES AWAY FROM HOME (ON I-95) THAT THE RPM WAS UP AROUND 6X, THE VAN WAS NOT SHIFTING GEARS, AND THERE WAS SMOKE COMING OUT THE BACK. I QUICKLY GOT OFF THE INTERSTATE, CAME TO A STOP AND THEN IT WOULD NOT SHIFT AT ALL. WE HAD IT TOWED BACK TO FREDERICKSBURG, VA AND WERE INFORMED THAT THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS "BURNT," THE TRANSMISSION ITSELF WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED, AND THE RADIATOR WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED. WE ARE ONCE AGAIN LOOKING AT SPENDING $4-5K FOR A VEHICLE WE BOUGHT NEW, KEPT WELL-MAINTAINED, AND HAS RELATIVELY LOW MILES FOR ITS AGE (101K). WHEN WE BOUGHT THE ODYSSEY, WE ALSO PURCHASED A CR-V AND DECLARE WE WERE HONDA PEOPLE. THIS IS WHY WE ARE NO LONGER HONDA PEOPLE. THE HONDA ODYSSEYS HAVE A WELL DOCUMENTED HISTORY OF PROBLEMS WITH THEIR TRANSMISSIONS, AND HONDA HAS NOT STEPPED UP TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS. HONDA OWES EVERY ODYSSEY OWNER AN APOLOGY! *TR