2003 HONDA ODYSSEY Complaints

2003 HONDA ODYSSEY WITH APPROX. 74,000 MILES - PURCHASED NEW IN LATE 2002. WITHIN THREE DAYS AND A TOTAL OF 15 MILES AFTER NOTICING A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE IN SMOOTHNESS OF TRANSMISSION SHIFTING, MY WIFE'S ODYSSEY WILL NOW LOCKUP THE SEATBELTS WHILE REPEATEDLY SLAMMING THE DRIVER AND ALL PASSENGERS FORWARD WHEN DRIVING BELOW 20 MPH DURING BOTH UP-SHIFTING AND DOWN-SHIFTING, OR ATTEMPTING TO HOLD A CONSTANT SPEED AROUND 40 MPH. THERE WERE NO WARNING LIGHTS DURING ANY OF THIS, UNTIL THE DRIVE INTO THE DEALERSHIP. THE TRANSMISSION WAS SO ERRATIC IN SHIFTING THAT I'M SURPRISED WE DIDN'T HYDROPLANE ON WET ROADS DUE TO THE ABRUPT AND VERY HARSH SHIFTS/LOCKUPS. WE WERE VERY LUCKY THE HARSHEST SHIFTS OCCURRED ON STRAIGHT-AWAYS AND NOT WHILE ROUNDING WET CURVES. APPARENTLY, THE DEALERSHIP INSPECTED AND INSTALLED THE "OIL JET KIT", PER THE RECALL, IN JUNE OF 2004. I STATE APPARENTLY ONLY BECAUSE I DO NOT RECALL THE SERVICE WORK. IN ANY CASE, AFTER ONLY 74,000 MILES IT IS VERY OBVIOUS BY THE NUMBER OF OTHER ODYSSEY TRANSMISSION FAILURES THAT THIS "OIL JET KIT" WAS ONLY A PATCH TO GET VEHICLES OUT OF THEIR WARRANTY PERIOD BEFORE THE TRANSMISSIONS COMPLETELY FAILED. WHO PRODUCES VEHICLES WITH TRANSMISSION FAILURES AT 74,000 MILES??? THE DEALERSHIP STATES I HAVE USED 75% OF THE LIFE OF THE TRANSMISSION, SO I MUST PAY 75% OF THE REPLACEMENT COST (APPROXIMATELY $3600 OF MY OWN MONEY TO REPLACE A KNOWN MANUFACTURING DEFECT). I WAS "WARNED" BY HONDA'S HELP LINE THAT IF I TELL THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE CENTER MANAGER I'LL NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER HONDA AGAIN, THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE MANAGER WOULD PROBABLY PULL THEIR 25% REPLACEMENT COST ASSISTANCE OFFER. SOUNDS LIKE A THREAT AND STRAIGHT FROM CORPORATE HONDA. THEN, THE CORPORATE HELP PERSON STATED THAT MANY OF THE PROBLEMS SOUND SIMILAR, BUT MY PROBLEM "MAY' NOT THE SAME. CALL HONDA'S HELP LINE ONLY IS YOU WANT TALKED DOWN TO AND THREATENED. MY ODYSSEY IS CURRENTLY SITTING AT GERALD JONES HONDA IN MARTINEZ, GA (AUGUSTA AREA). *TR

TOTAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE ON 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY VAN HTTP://WWW-ODI.NHTSA.DOT.GOV/CARS/PROBLEMS/RECALLS/RESULTS.CFM?SEARCHTYPE=QUICKSEARCH&RCL_ID=04V176000&SUMMARY=TRUE. *TR

PURCHASE 03 HONDA ODYSSEY NEW AND HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED. IN 4/04 TOOK VEHICLE IN FOR THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION RECALL...UNDER 14K MILES. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING IF IT WAS OVER 15K MILES THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD BE REPLACED IF THE INSPECTION DEEMED NECESSARY BUT UNDER 15K MILES THEN THE DEALER WILL UPDATE THE TRANSMISSION WITH A SIMPLE REVISION TO THE OIL COOLER RETURN LINE. AT 89,000 MILES CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON AS WELL AS THE TCS LIGHT, THEN THE "D' WAS BLINKING. TOOK INTO DEALER AND WAS ADVISED THAT A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS NEEDED AS WELL AS THE POWER CONTROL MODULE---THE PCM IS REQUIRED WHETHER IT NEEDS IT OR NOT BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HONDA REQUIRES. PRICE QUOTED $4961. THE CAR ONLY HAS A BLUE BOOK VALUE OF $5K-7K +/-. THIS WAS MY FIRST HONDA AND WAS PURCHASED FOR THE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY FACTORS---I AM AMAZED THAT THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS REPLACING ALREADY. HONDA NEEDS TO STEP UP AND ADMIT AN ISSUE WITH THE 03' ODYSSEY TRANSMISSIONS LIKE THEY DID FOR THE 99-01'. *TR

IN JANUARY 2005, ACCORDING TO THE HONDA DEALER, THE OIL JET KIT WAS PLACED IN MY HONDA ODYSSEY AS PER THE RECALL, NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 04V176000, FOR THE HEAT BUILD-UP BETWEEN THE COUNTERSHAFT AND SECONDARY SHAFT SECOND GEARS IN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OF MY 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY . HOWEVER, 4 YEARS LATER, THE 2ND, 3RD AND REVERSE GEARS OF THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED REPLACEMENT. THE DEALER HAS AGREED TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION AT A COST OF $2500. IN SPEAKING TO THE DEALER AND OTHER TRANSMISSION SHOPS IN MY AREA, I'M BEING TOLD MANY, MANY HONDA ODYSSEY'S ARE COMING IN FOR NEW TRANSMISSIONS REGULARLY. COULD THE FIX DONE IN MY CAR AND OTHERS HAVE NOT CORRECTED THE PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION? COULD YOU PLEASE REOPEN THE CASE AND INVESTIGATE IF AN ADDITION RECALL IS NECESSARY TO FIX THE APPARENT PROBLEM AND AVERT THE CONSEQUENCES, AS STATED IN THE ABOVE REFERENCE RECALL, OF GEAR FAILURE RESULTING IN TRANSMISSION LOCKUP, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH AND POTENTIAL LOSS OF LIFE. THANK YOU. *TR

THE BOOSTER SEAT SHOULD INCLUDE A TETHER STRAP TO KEEP THE SEAT IN PLACE. JUST USING A SEATBELT AROUND THE BOOSTER IS NOT ENOUGH TO HOLD IT IN PLACE IN AN ACCIDENT. I HAVE TRIED TO FIND TETHER STRAPS ONLINE, BUT HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. (RELATED VEHICLE INFORMATION: MODEL YEAR=2003, MAKE=HONDA, MODEL=ODYSSEY). *TR

FAILURE OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION IN 2003 HONDAY ODYSSEY - NHTSA CAMPAIGN 04V176000. *TR

2003 HONDA ODYSSEY TRANSMISSION FAILURE AT 88,000 MILES. CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED WITH PROPER TRANSMISSION FLUID REPLACEMENTS. AT 82,000 MILES THE TRANSMISSION HAD A 4TH CLUTCH SOLENOID FAILURE WHICH WAS REPLACED AT A HONDA DEALER IN BRUNSWICK, GA. THE TRANSMISSION FLUID HAD BEEN REPLACED AT 79,000 MILES, BUT WE HAD IT REPLACED AGAIN AT THE TIME OF THE REPAIR AT 82,000. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITH A CODE DTC P0740 AT ~88,000. THE HONDA DEALER IN MARIETTA, GA DIAGNOSED THIS AS COMPLETE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. I HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON FAILURE FOR HONDA ODYSSEY'S. THERE IS AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OFFERED BY HONDA FOR 2001 AND OLDER ODYSSEY'S, BUT THAT DOES NOT EXTEND TO THE 2003 MODEL EVEN THOUGH THE TRANSMISSIONS ARE VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL. THE REPAIR HAS BEEN QUOTED AT $4,630 PLUS 7% SALES TAX WHICH IS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT. HONDA CONTINUES TO ADVERTISE HOW RELIABLE THEIR VEHICLES ARE WHICH IS COMPLETELY FALSE AS IT RELATES TO TRANSMISSIONS IN THE ODYSSEY. 88,000 MILES FROM A MAJOR DRIVE TRAIN COMPONENT IS RIDICULOUS. AMERICAN HONDA HAS OFFERED A DISCOUNT OF 25% ON THE PARTS ONLY (THE DEALER SAID THIS IS ABOUT $900). THE BULLETIN BOARDS INDICATE 50% HAS BEEN COMMON AND IN MANY CASES THEY HAVE COVERED THE ENTIRE AMOUNT, BUT NOT FOR ME. HONDA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO COVER THIS FAILURE IN FULL. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 HONDA ODYSSEY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT GEARS IN REVERSE AND EXPERIENCED RESISTANCE WHEN SHIFTING FROM ONE GEAR TO ANOTHER. NHTSA RECALL# 04V176000, COMPONENT: POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION REPAIR WAS PERFORMED ON THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT THEY ARE WILLING TO MAKE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS AT THE OWNER'S EXPENSE. THE RECALL WAS COMPLETED AT 36,000 MILES AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 71,000.

1. VEHICLE STARTED JERKING VERY BAD BECAUSE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT GO INTO THIRD GEAR. 2. TRANSMISSION FAILURE DISCOVERED WHEN TAKEN TO DEALER. 3. DEALER QUOTED A PRICE OF $5800.00 DOLLARS TO REPAIR. *TR

WE ARE THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THIS CAR BOUGHT NEW IN 2003 AND IT HAS BEEN MAINTAINED VERY WELL. THE CAR WAS SUBJECT TO A RECALL FOR THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS BUT WHEN WE CALLED HONDA THEY CLAIM NO RECALLS ON THE TRANSMISSION. IT WAS INSPECTED FOR PROBLEMS RELATED TO THIS DEFECT AT THE TIME OF THE SERVICE AND WAS PASSED AS CLEAN. AT 107,000 MILES, A BLINKING "D" ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD GEAR DISPLAY AND IT WAS TAKEN IN FOR SERVICE TO HONDA. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE 4TH GEAR SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED AND THIS WAS DONE. THE TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY STARTED SLIPPING ON SHIFTS AND DOWNSHIFTING AT SPEED. AGAIN, TAKEN FOR SERVICE AND THE HONDA GARAGE DETERMINED THAT A NEW TRANSMISSION WAS REQUIRED AT A COST OF $5800 WITH TAX. I CONTACTED AMERICAN HONDA, OPENED A CASE AND WAS DENIED MY REQUEST FOR THEM TO SHARE THE COST OF FIXING THIS. RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE ONLINE HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT IT IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE THIS CAR AS IS BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION COULD DOWNSHIFT INTO AN INCORRECT GEAR AT HIGHWAY SPEED, CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL AND/OR IMMEDIATE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THAT'S FUNNY SEVERAL OF OUR FRIENDS OWN HONDA ODYSSEY AROUND 2003 AND THEY SEEM TO HAVE ONE MAJOR REPAIR TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION BUT HOW COME NO RECALL???? PAID ALOT FOR ODYSSEY BUT WOULD NOT HAVE BOUGHT TWO TRANSMISSION @ AROUND 5,000 FOR EACH. HOW DOES HONDA GET AWAY WITH THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS. I HAVE PAID FOR A HONDA BUT WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER HONDA. HAVE LEARNED MY EXPENSIVE LESSON. NOT HAPPY HONDA OWNER! *TR