2001 Honda Odyssey

IN SEPT 2002 WE PURCHASED A USED 2001 HONDA ODYSSEY WITH 12,500 MILES FROM A DEALER IN GRAND RAPIDS MICHIGAN. IN MAY 2008, WITH ABOUT 78,000 MILES ON IT (AND A VEHICLE INSPECTION BEFORE OUR TRIP)ON AN EXTENDED TRIP OUR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND 'TCS' LIGHT CAME ON. WE DROVE IT BACK HOME. AFTER THAT WE WOULD NOTICE AFTER EXTENDED DRIVING TIME THERE WOULD BE SHIFTING ISSUES. WE THEN TOOK IT TO THE DEALER, WHO TOLD US WE NEEDED A NEW TRANSMISSION, APPROX $3000. AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH ONLINE, WE FOUND OUT RATHER QUICKLY THAT THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS HAD BEEN A WELL DOCUMENTED ISSUE WITH THE 2001 ODYSSEY AND THAT NOT UNTIL AFTER A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, HONDA AGREED TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY ON THE TRANSMISSION. WE HAD NEVER BEEN CONTACTED ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION ISSUE. WE THEN FOUND OUT BECAUSE OUR VEHICLE, WHICH HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN TITLED IN CANADA, BEFORE WE PURCHASED IT, WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THIS RECALL. WE CONTACTED HONDA AMERICA & WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR US. THE DEALER WHERE WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE WILL NOT RETURN OUR CALLS. THIS IS A TOTAL SAFETY ISSUE - HONDA IS NOT STANDING BEHIND ITS PRODUCT. WE FEEL THAT HONDA SHOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THIS TRANSMISSION - THEY BUILT IT ORIGINALLY - IT SHOULD NOT MATTER WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS ORIGINALLY TITLED. CAN YOU HELP US?*TR

ON MARCH 14, 2008, WHEN STARTING 2001 HONDA ODYSSEY, A LOUD BANG SOUNDED. VEHICLE WAS NOT MOVING WHEN BANG SOUNDED. MILEAGE 39,139. VEHICLE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE, PULLING STRONGLY TO RIGHT. HUSBAND CHECKED VEHICLE, FOUND RIGHT FRONT COIL SPRING BROKEN. ORDERED NEW COIL SPRING AND STRUT AND REPLACED. ON DECEMBER 17, 2008, UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE HEARD ANOTHER LOUD BANG, WHILE VEHICLE NOT MOVING, AND HAD GREAT DIFFICULTY DRIVING IT, AS IT WAS PULLING STRONGLY TO THE LEFT. HUSBAND FOUND LEFT COIL SPRING BROKEN. MILEAGE 43,743. TALKED TO HONDA USA, AND REPORTED PROBLEM. TOOK TO DEALER TO CONFIRM LEFT COIL SPRING BROKEN. BOTH BROKEN PARTS HAD NO CORROSION, IT WAS A CLEAN BREAK. PARTS CURRENTLY ORDERED THROUGH HONDA ESTORE. HONDA REVIEWING CASE. FOUND MANY COMPLAINTS FOR SAME PROBLEM ON YOUR SITE, AND OTHERS. HOW SERIOUS OF AN ACCIDENT MUST IT BE BEFORE YOU WILL FIND THIS IS A PROBLEM WITH THE COIL SPRINGS? THANK GOODNESS MY CHILDREN WEREN'T IN THE VEHICLE, AND I HADN'T BEEN MOVING WHEN THE COIL SPRINGS BROKE. *TR

2001 HONDA ODYSSEY MINIVAN POWER SLIDING DOORS KEEP FAILING ESPECIALLY IN ICY CONDITIONS. SEVERAL TIMES I HAVE HAD MY CHILDREN IN MY CAR WHEN THE DOORS FAILED TO OPERATE FULLY. I HAD TO CRAWL TO THE BACK THROUGH MY FRONT DOORS TO REACH MY VERY YOUNG CHILDREN TO PUT THEM IN AND OUT OF THEIR CAR SEATS. THEN I NEEDED TO DRIVE HOME IN ICY CONDITIONS WITH THE DOOR PARTIALLY OPEN NEXT TO ONE OF MY CHILDREN. IN ADDITION, ONE OF MY CHILDREN HAS A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT MAKES GETTING TO THEM AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE VERY IMPORTANT FOR THEIR SAFETY. THESE POWER DOORS ARE SIMPLY HAZARDOUS AND THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL TO FIX THESE. FROM THE DISCUSSIONS ON OWNER FORUMS, THIS IS HAPPENING TO QUITE A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH THIS MODEL OF CAR ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF YEARS. AFTER SPENDING A COUPLE OF HUNDRED DOLLARS WITH THE DEALER TO TRY TO FIX THIS, THE DEALER GAVE ME A NEW 'FIX'. I NEED TO REMOVE A FUSE FOR 30 SECONDS AND THEN REPLACE THE FUSE. THE DOORS NEEDS TO BE 'RESET' I.E. IT APPEARS TO BE A DESIGN DEFECT IN A SENSOR RATHER THAN AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL PART NEEDING REPLACED. I HAVE REPLACED NEARLY EVERY PART OF ONE OF MY SLIDING DOORS AND STILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM AFTER IT HAS BEEN ICY. USUALLY MY HUSBAND CAN MANUALLY OPERATE THE DOOR AFTER THIS HAS HAPPENED, BUT I AM NOT AS STRONG AS HE IS AND I CANNOT FULLY OPEN OR CLOSE THE DOOR. RESETTING THE DOOR BY REMOVING THE FUSE FOR 30 SECONDS MAKES THE DOOR START WORKING AGAIN UNTIL THE NEXT OCCURRENCE. UNTIL RECENTLY, MY DEALER DID NOT TELL ME THE TRICK WITH THE FUSE SO WHEN THIS WOULD HAPPEN, I WOULD BE FORCED TO DRIVE MY CHILDREN HOME WITH THE DOOR PARTIALLY OPEN. *TR

MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY DISCOVERED 2 ERROR CODES - P1676(IGNITION SWITCH) AND P0740(TRANSMISSION), THEY SUGGESTED REPLACING IGNITION, WHICH I OK'D AND THEY DID FOR $286.58. THEY HOPED THE SECOND ERROR CODE WOULD GO AWAY, BUT IT DIDN'T. NOW I AM LOOKING AT A FEW THOUSAND DOLLARS EXPENSE TO REPLACE TRANSMISSION. THE CAR ON THE DAY OF THE VISIT 9/26/2008 HAD 80,702 MILES ON IT. I AM LOOKING ONLINE AND IT SEEMS THERE ARE A LOT OF SUCH TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS OTHER PEOPLE HAD WITH HONDA ODYSSEY AND THERE WAS A SUCCESSFUL CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IN CALIFORNIA AGAINST HONDA FOR 1999-2001 ACCORD TRANSMISSIONS THAT SHOWED THE SAME MALFUNCTION CODE. I AM THINKING HONDA SHOULD PAY FOR ODYSSEY TOO, SINCE THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE MORE WIDESPREAD IN THEIR VEHICLES. *TR

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO STOP OUR 2001 ODYSSEY IN MY SON'S SCHOOL PARKING LOT THE BRAKE PEDAL--WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING--WENT TO THE FLOOR AND I COASTED PAST MY INTENDED STOPPING POINT BY ABOUT 20 FEET. LUCKILY NO PERSON OR VEHICLE WAS DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME AT THAT TIME. I WAS ABLE TO RESTORE BRAKE FUNCTION BY PUMPING THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE NEXT DAY MY MECHANIC EXAMINED THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER AND FOUND BRAKE FLUID LEAKING INTO THE BRAKE BOOSTER. HE EXPLAINED THAT WHEN THE SEALS ON THE MASTER CYLINDER LEAK THE FLUID COLLECTS IN THE BRAKE BOOSTER. TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM HE HAD TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE MASTER CYLINDER. HE THOUGHT THAT THIS PROBLEM WAS VERY VERY UNUSUAL. HE SPECIALIZES IN IMPORTED VEHICLES AND HAD NEVER BEFORE REPLACED A LEAKING MASTER CYLINDER ON A HONDA ODYSSEY OF ANY MODEL YEAR. OUR ODYSSEY IS A 2001 MODEL, IS VERY WELL MAINTAINED AND HAS BEEN DRIVEN LESS THAN 64,000 MILES. *TR