2003 HONDA ODYSSEY Complaints

MY WIFE DROVE THIS MINIVAN, HONDA ODYSSEY 2003, AND JUST BEFORE ENTERING THE INTERSTATE FREEWAY THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT TURNED ON, THE TRANSMISSION BECAME "SLEEPY" OR LAZY AND THE CAR JUST STOPPED. SHE PANICKED BECAUSE THIS WAS DURING HEAVY TRAFFIC AND THE SITUATION BECAME DANGEROUS. SHE SLOWLY DROVE TO HER FRIENDS' HOUSE AND LEFT THE CAR OVERNIGHT. THE NEXT DAY, I CHECKED THE DIAGNOSTIC CODES AND HAD P0730 AND P0780 (TRANSMISSION FAILURE). POWAY HONDA DEALERSHIP, IN SAN DIEGO, CA, WAS ASKING FOR $4,565.00 TO REPLACE THE BAD TRANSMISSION WITH A REFURBISHED UNIT. I AM VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH HONDA'S "HIGH" QUALITY PRODUCT. THIS VEHICLE HAS ONLY TRAVELED 108,000 MILES AND NOW REQUIRES SUCH A HIGH REPAIR COST. I FOUND ONE PRIVATE REPAIR COMPANY THAT WILL REPAIR THIS PROBLEM SOMEWHAT CHEAPER. MY QUESTION TO HONDA IS, IS THE MECHANICAL DESIGNER IN CHARGE OF THIS BAD DESIGN PART STILL WORKING FOR YOU? *TR

MY WIFE DROVE THIS MINIVAN AND JUST BEFORE EXIT TO 15 FREEWAY "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT TURNED ON, TRANSMISSION STARTS SLEEPING AND CAR JUST STOP. SHE GETS IN PANIC BECAUSE IN THIS TIME WAS HEAVY TRAFFIC AND SITUATION BECOME DANGEROUS. SHE SLOWLY DROVE TO FRIENDS HOUSE AND DROPPED THE CAR OVERNIGHT. NEXT DAY I CHECKED CODES AND HAD P0730 AND P0780 (TRANSMISSION FAILURE). "POWAY HONDA" IN SAN DIEGO, CA WAS ASKING FOR $4,565.00 TO REPLACE BAD TRANSMISSION WITH REFURBISHED UNIT! I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTING WITH HONDA "HIGH" QUALITY PRODUCT (ONLY 108K MILES AND ~$5,000.00 HAVE TO PAY FOR USED TRANSMISSION!) I FOUND ONE PRIVATE COMPANY FOR $3,300.00 TO REPLACE THIS JUNK FROM HONDA. *TR

2003 HONDA ODYSSEY; TRANSMISSION SHIFTED ERRATICALLY FOR SEVERAL WEEKS PRIOR TO FAILING COMPLETELY, AND LEAVING MY IN-LAWS STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY. *TR

WE OWN A 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY EX WITH 89,000 MILES ON IT. WE BOUGHT IT USED IN 2007. LAST WEEK THE TRANSMISSION "SHUDDERED" FOR TWO MILES WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY. I PULLED OVER, TURNED OFF THE VEHICLE, RESTARTED IT, AND CONTINUED. ABOUT 50 MILES LATER, THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED OUT OF GEAR WHILE I WAS TRYING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC ON AN INTERSTATE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OVER, GET THE VAN INTO A GEAR, AND "LIMP" HOME. I HAVE NOW STUDIED THIS ISSUE AND LEARNED THAT HONDA HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WITH TRANSMISSIONS WITH THEIR V-6 ENGINES. THE VAN, IN FACT, DOES REQUIRE A NEW TRANSMISSION - AND IT WILL ME SIGNIFICANT DOLLARS. FORTUNATELY I WAS ALONE IN THE VAN AT THE TIME, AND NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED, BUT ONE VERY CERTAINLY COULD HAVE. LOSING ALL POWER AT THE WRONG TIME COULD BE DISASTROUS(GOES WITHOUT SAYING). I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT HONDA KNOWS ABOUT THESE PROBLEMS, AND HAS NOT TAKEN PROACTIVE STEPS TO PREVENT THEM. I WOULD HOPE THAT NHTSA WOULD COMPEL THEM TO. *TR

MY 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY STARTED EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS IN AUGUST 2010 AT AROUND 62,000 MILES. MOST OF THE PROBLEMS WERE OBSERVED WHEN SHIFTING FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEAR. DUE TO THE UNPREDICTABILITY IN SHIFTING, IT CREATES A HAZARDOUS SITUATION WHEN MERGING INTO TRAFFIC. *TR

I WAS IN MY 2003 ODYSSEY WITH MY DAUGHTER WHEN THE VAN LOST ALL POWER MERGING ON TO THE FREEWAY. THE TCS AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON AND THEN THE VAN WOULD NO LONGER ACCELERATE. WE CAME EXTREMELY CLOSE TO HAVING AN ACCIDENT. I TOOK THE VAN TO THE HONDA DEALER AND THEY REPORTED BACK THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD COMPLETELY FAILED WITH ONLY 73K MILES. IN 2004 I TOOK THE VAN TO THE DEALER FOR THE TRANSMISSION RECALL (NHTSA CAMPAIGN #04V176000), BUT IT DID NOT PREVENT IT'S FUTURE FAILURE. I HAVE REGULARLY PERFORMED THE FACTORY REQUIRED TRANSMISSION MAINTENANCE, BUT THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR THE FAULTY TRANSMISSIONS IN ODYSSEYS FROM 2001-2004. HONDA SAID IN A RECENT REPORT THAT INSUFFICIENT COOLING CAN LEAD TO HEAT BUILD-UP AND BROKEN GEARS IN THE TRANSMISSION. IN RARE INSTANCES, GEAR BREAKAGE COULD LOCK UP THE TRANSMISSION. GEAR FAILURE COULD RESULT IN TRANSMISSION LOCKUP, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH. HONDA OF AMERICA WILL NOT COVER THE REPLACEMENT OF MY TRANSMISSION EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW THAT THERE HAVE BEEN PERVASIVE FAILURES WITH TRANSMISSIONS ON THE 2003 ODYSSEY. HONDA HAS NOT TAKEN FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE EPIDEMIC OF ODYSSEY TRANSMISSION FAILURES. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL OF ALL 2003 ODYSSEY TRANSMISSIONS!

NO ADVANCED WARNING FOR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE. TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE DRIVING ON BUSY PARKWAY AT ABOUT 9:00PM AT NIGHT. VEHICLE SUDDENLY DECELERATED AND HAD NO FORWARD DRIVE. FORTUNATELY, THIS INCIDENT OCCURRED AT NIGHT IN LIGHT TRAFFIC AS IN HEAVIER TRAFFIC THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY BEEN STRUCK FROM THE REAR BY A FOLLOWING VEHICLE GIVEN THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED DECELERATION. CAR WAS SAFETY HAZARD AS IT WAS DRIVEN HOME IN A SINGLE GEAR AT NO MORE THAN 25-30 MPH. THE TRANSMISSION FAILED TO ENGAGE IT "LIMP-HOME" GEAR (1ST??) ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS ON THE DRIVE BACK HOME AND BECAME STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTIONS. THIS WOULD OCCUR WHEN THE VEHICLE WOULD ENGAGE THE "LIMP-HOME" GEAR FOR A MOMENT (ENOUGH TO PULL INTO THE INTERSECTION FROM A STOPLIGHT) AND THEN FAIL OR IF THE INTERSECTION WAS SLOPED DOWNHILL, RELEASING THE BRAKE WOULD PERMIT THE TRANSMISSION TO "FREEWHEEL" LIKE THE TRANSMISSION WAS IN NEUTRAL (BUT IT WAS NOT)AND THE VEHICLE WOULD ROLL INTO THE INTERSECTION. THE CAR HAD TO BE TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED SEVERAL TIMES BEFORE THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION COULD RE-ENGAGE THE LIMP-HOME GEAR. MANUAL SHIFTING OF THE GEAR LEVER WAS EITHER IMPOSSIBLE (I.E. GEAR SELECTOR WOULD NOT CHANGE) OR INEFFECTIVE (I.E. LIMP-HOME GEAR WOULD BE SELECTED BUT NOT ENGAGE AND THE VEHICLE DID NOT MOVE FORWARD). VAN HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED AND IS LOCATED AT MY HOME AS IT IS NOW DANGEROUS EVEN TO DRIVE ON A PUBLIC ROAD. *TR

2003 ODYSSEY WITH 93,000 MILES HAD THE TRANSMISSION GO OUT ON IT. I WAS BARELY ABLE TO GET IT HOME. AFTER GETTING THE ENGINE LIGHT, THE VAN WOULD OPERATE FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES AFTER EACH START AND THEN IT WOULD DECELERATE UNTIL IT WOULD NOT MOVE. THE DEALERSHIP EXAMINED THE VEHICLE AND DETERMINED THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION AND SOLENOID PACKAGE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED TO THE AMOUNT OF $3,000. AFTER INITIALLY CITING A REPAIR ESTIMATE OF $4,700. WE HAD THE REPAIR COMPLETED BY THE HONDA DEALERSHIP. *LN

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE DRIVER SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED SUDDENLY. HE THEN TOOK THE NEAREST EXIT WHEN THE AIRBAGS EXPLODED AGAIN FOR A SECOND TIME. AFTER THAT, HE GOT OUT OF THE VEHICLE TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE HAD HIT HIM TO CAUSE THE AIR BAGS TO DEPLOY BUT THERE WERE NO SIGNS OF IMPACT. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE AND THAT IT MAYBE A MECHANICAL FAILURE BUT THAT THE AIR BAGS SHOULD NOT HAVE DEPLOYED UNLESS THERE WAS AN IMPACT. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 67,200.

2003 HONDA ODYSSEY TRANSMISSION FAILURE. STARTED WITH LONG SHIFTS FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEAR, THEN EVENTUALLY WITHIN 2 MONTHS (MAYBE 1000 KMS LATER) FAILED TO SHIFT FROM 2ND TO 3RD AT ALL. ULTIMATE FAILURE AND REPLACEMENT OCCURRED AT 165,000 KILOMETERS. NO INJURIES/DAMAGE TO PERSONAL PROPERTY. *TR