2006 Honda Odyssey

DURING 9/2009, I WAS INFORMED BY OTHER DRIVER'S OF MY HONDA ODYSSEY 2006 OF DIFFICULTY TURNING MY STEERING WHEEL AT LOW SPEEDS. I WONDERED ABOUT IT AND BEGAN TO NOTICE THAT I ALSO HAD DIFFICULTY TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL AT LOW SPEEDS ESPECIALLY WHILE ENTERING OR LEAVING A PARKING SPACE. IN 9/2011, I HAD THE STEERING EXAMINED AND WAS TOLD BY THE HONDA DEALERSHIP THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND IS INOPERABLE AT LOW SPEEDS. APPARENTLY, AMERICAN HONDA ISSUED A WARRANTY EXTENSION FOR THIS ISSUE OF WHICH I WAS NOT INFORMED. THIS WARRANTY EXTENDED THE TIME FRAME FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE POWER STEERING PUMP TO 100,000 MILES OR 7 YEARS. BY 2011, I HAD 160,602 MILES ON MY VEHICLE AND WAS CLOSER TO THE 100,000 MILE MARK BACK IN 2009. IN 2012, I WAS INFORMED BY ANOTHER CAR REPAIR SHOP OF THE WARRANTY EXTENSION WITH ENCOURAGEMENT TO CALL AMERICAN HONDA. I DID AND WAS TOLD THAT I DIDN'T QUALIFY, BUT COULD FIND DOCUMENT OF THE DIAGNOSIS AND CALL BACK. IN 2015, I FIND MY RECEIPT FROM HONDA DEALERSHIP FROM 9/2011 DIAGNOSING THE PROBLEM. I CALL AMERICAN HONDA. THEIR REPRESENTATIVE IS POLITE, LISTENS TO MY STORY, PLACES ME ON HOLD THEN RETURNS TO THE LINE AND TELLS ME THAT THIS WILL STILL NOT BE COVERED. I HAVE BEEN "NEGLIGENT" SINCE NOT CONTACTING AMERICAN HONDA BACK AFTER MY FIRST CALL IN 2012 OR HAVING THE CAR REPAIRED FOR THIS ISSUE. OBVIOUSLY, I WANT AMERICAN HONDA TO ASSIST SINCE THIS IS NOT AN INEXPENSIVE REPAIR. I UNDERSTAND THEIR STANCE AND WISH THEY WERE MORE RESPONSIVE TO LOYAL CUSTOMERS. I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCED AN ACCIDENT DUE TO THE POWER STEERING PUMP NOT WORKING CORRECTLY, BUT HAVE WORRIED AT TIMES ESPECIALLY WHEN MAKING TURNS AND BACKING OUT OF SPACES. THROUGH THIS COMPLAINT, I AM HOPING THAT FURTHER INVESTIGATION MIGHT OCCUR WHICH WILL CAUSE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE POWER STEERING PUMP TO BECOME A RECALL VERSUS A WARRANTY EXTENSION.

WHILE DRIVING IN LIGHT RAIN, MY STEERING COMPLETELY FROZE. I WAS MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN TO CROSS AN INTERSECTION AND COULD NOT STEER AT ALL. THIS HAS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. I SPOKE WITH HONDA INTERNATIONAL AFTER HEARING FROM THE LOCAL DEALER THEY HAVE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. SO MUCH SO, THAT A MECHANIC FROM THE SHOP WAS FIXING CLIENTS CARS ON THE SIDE. HE STARTED INSTALLING SOME SORT OF SPLASH GUARD AFTER IT HAPPENED TO HIS WIFE'S ODYSSEY. I WAS TOLD BY HONDA INTERNATIONAL, NOT TO DRIVE WHEN THE ROAD IS WET. *TR

POWER STEERING FAILED AT CAR PARK, DIFFICULTY STEERING THE VAN OUT OF PARKING SPOT,POWER STEERING RESUMED WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEED. PROBLEM RECURRED MULTIPLE TIME USUALLY FROM STARTING THE VAN AND STEERING IT OUT OF PARKING SPOT. HONDA FOUND THE POWER STEERING PUMP TO BE FAULTY AND REPLACED IT WITH ME FOOTING THE BILL OF $687.13,AS THE VAN WAS JUST OUT OF THE SEVEN YEAR EXTENDED WARRANTY. SIMILAR PROBLEM WAS NOTED WHEN THE VAN WAS ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD BUT HONDA COULDN'T REPLICATE THE PROBLEM AT THEIR CENTER....THEY NEVER MADE A NOTE OF THIS IN THEIR RECORDS! *TR

LACK OF POWER STEERING. WE BOUGHT THIS VAN AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, 2012. WE NOTICED THIS ISSUE WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF OWNING IT. THIS CONTINUES TO BE AN ON-GOING ISSUE AND IS HAPPENING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS AND AT VARIOUS TIMES. NOT JUST IN PARKING LOTS. THIS HAPPENS WHEN SLOWING DOWN TO MAKE TURNS IN NORMAL DRIVING SETTINGS. IT ALSO HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING INTO ROUND-ABOUTS. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE! I TRIED TO CONTACT HONDA VIA EMAIL ONCE WE BEGAN TO NOTICE IT AND GOT NO REPLY. I HAVE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT COMPLAINT WEBSITES AND SEE THIS A LOT. RECENTLY, WITH THE FUEL PUMP RECALL, I CALLED INTO HONDA DIRECTLY REGARDING THE FUEL PUMP. DURING THE CALL, I DESCRIBED THIS STEERING ISSUE TO THE REP. SHE SAID HONDA KNOWS OF IT AND WHAT THEY DID WAS TO EXTEND THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY ON THE VEHICLES TO 100,000 MILES TO REPAIR IT. HOWEVER, IT WAS NOT REPAIRED IN ALL VEHICLES. THE ISSUE IS THAT PERIODICALLY THE POWER STEERING SYSTEM STOPS WORKING AND YOU MUST MANUALLY TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. WE HAVE SEVERAL CHILDREN IN OUR FAMILY. IT IS SCARY TO KNOW THAT THE STEERING COULD CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT & CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. MANY HIGHWAYS NOW HAVE ROUND-ABOUTS AT THE EXITS. MANY TOWNS & CITIES ARE PUTTING IN ROUND-ABOUTS FOR TRAFFIC FLOW. I HAVE BEEN NOTICING THIS ISSUE WHEN COMING INTO ROUND-ABOUTS AT VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE NHTSA NEEDS TO GET INVOLVED AND GET HONDA TO RECALL THESE BEFORE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH OCCURS. THANK YOU. *TR

DRIVING IN A PARKING LOT TO FIND A PARKING SPACE. ENVIRONMENTALS: TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR, BUT ROAD AND PARKING LOT SURFACE NOT FLOODED. ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LEFT TURN INTO A PARKING SPACE, THE POWER STEERING (ASSIST) FAILED. COULD NOT TURN STEERING WHEEL. STOPPED VEHICLE. TURNED OFF AIR CONDITIONING. ENGAGED FOOT BRAKE. PUT VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL. LIFTED FOOT OFF OF BRAKE PEDAL. WAITED APPROXIMATELY 1 MINUTE. FOOT ON BRAKE. PUT VEHICLE IN DRIVE. AIR CONDITIONING REMAINED OFF. POWER STEERING ASSIST HAD RETURNED. ABLE TO PARK INTO PARKING SPACE. SEE ALSO: NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10616212 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10592737 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10578624 NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10036938 HONDA [XXX] HONDA [XXX] (WAS NEVER NOTIFIED BY HONDA OF THIS WARRANTY EXTENSION-VEHICLE IS NOW 8 YEARS OLD). INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

POWER STEERING STILL DOES NOT WORK AT SLOW SPEEDS. I HAD THE FIX DONE AT THE DEALER BACK WHEN HONDA OFFERED TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY AND FIX THE PROBLEM FOR THOSE VEHICLES HAVING ISSUES (2012), BUT IT IS ALREADY DOING THE SAME THING AGAIN. NOW HONDA WANTS ME TO PAY TO REPLACE THE POWER STEERING PUMP. I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT TROUBLE AND NOISE OUT OF THE POWER STEERING IN THIS VEHICLE SINCE DAY 1 AND I BOUGHT IT BRAND NEW. HONDA POWER STEERING PUMPS MUST BE DEFECTIVE FOR THERE TO BE SO MANY PEOPLE WITH TROUBLE. *TR

WHILE THERE IS ALREADY A HONDA SERVICE BULLETIN ISSUED CONCERNING PROBLEM (BULLETIN #: 11-039). THE RESPONSE BY HONDA IS NOT ADEQUATE. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE STEERING WHEEL IS HARD TO TURN AT LOW SPEEDS (SUCH AS TURNING INTO AND OUT OF PARKING SPOTS). ALTHOUGH THIS DEFECT WITH THE POWER STEERING PUMP ONLY OCCURS AT LOW SPEEDS IT STILL A SAFETY ISSUE. THE FACT THAT IS VERY HARD TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL CAN REASONABLE LEAD TO PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENT SUCH AS PEDESTRIAN BECOMING PINNED AGAINST A CAR. HONDA EXTENDED THE WARRANTY ON THIS PART TO 7 YEARS / 100,000 MILES. I HAVE UNDER 80,000 MILES ON MY CAR BUT HONDA CLAIMS I AM A FEW MONTHS BEYOND THE 7 YEAR DATE. HONDA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO FURTHER EXTEND THIS WARRANTY AS MANY PEOPLE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD THIS EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND IT COULD LEAVE TO INJURY TO PERSONS IN PARKING LOTS. *TR

2066 HONDA ODYSSEY AND 2005 HONDA ACCORD. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO THE POWER STEERING HOSE AND THE 2006 HONDA ODYSSEY FUEL PUMP COVER RECALL NOTICE AND STEERING FAILURE.. *SMD THE CONSUMER DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE SAME RECALL WASN'T ISSUED FOR HIS WIFE'S VEHICLE, SINCE THE POWER STEERING PUMP FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. ALSO, THE GPS NAVIGATION UNIT WA REPLACED, BECAUSE THE SCREEN WENT DEAD. *JB

THE POWER STEERING PUMP IN OUR ODYSSEY STARTED MAKING A LOUD SQUEALING NOISE, AND AT SOME LATER TIME, THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO VIBRATE. THE STEERING PUMP NOISE WAS INTERMITTENT, AND OCCURRED AT LOW AND IDLE SPEEDS ONLY. THERE WAS NEVER A LOSS OF STEERING CAPABILITY, BUT THE SHIMMY IN THE STEERING WHEEL LEADS TO DRIVER DISCOMFORT AND DRIVER FATIGUE. HONDA HAS SINCE REPLACED THE POWER STEERING PUMP AT A REDUCED COST TO US, BUT THE NEW PUMP HAS NOT SOLVED THE STEERING WHEEL SHIMMY. THE SHIMMY IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE EFFECTS OF A BENT WHEEL OR A OUT OF BALANCE TIRE, BUT DIFFERENT WHEELS AND DIFFERENT TIRES, IN ADDITION TO MULTIPLE TIRE RE-BALANCES HAVE FAILED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE STEERING SHIMMY OCCURS ONLY AT SPEEDS ABOVE APPROXIMATELY 62 MPH, AND SEEMS TO OCCUR AFTER ABOUT 70 - 100 MILES OF DRIVING. WITHIN THIS DRIVING SCENARIO, THE SHIMMY CAN GET VERY BAD, AND THEN AT TIMES COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR. BUT FOR MOST OF THE TIME, THE SHIMMY IS PRESENT. AT SPEEDS BELOW 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEHAVES VERY WELL. I'M NOT SURE IF THIS PROBLEM IS UNIQUE TO MY VEHICLE, OR IF OTHERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUES. IF IT IS GENERIC TO THE VEHICLE DESIGN, THEN HONDA NEEDS TO PROVIDE ODYSSEY OWNERS WITH AN ECONOMICAL SOLUTION. SHOULD THE PROBLEM PERSIST, I WILL HAVE NOT CHOICE BUT TO SELL THE VEHICLE BECAUSE, ASIDE FORM THE POTENTIAL SAFETY ISSUES, IT DOES NOT PROVIDE THE DRIVING COMFORT THAT WE NEED. *TR