2015 Honda Odyssey

On December 31 at approximately 300 p.m., our 2015 Honda Odyssey experienced a sudden and complete loss of motive power while traveling eastbound on the Sam Houston Parkway South just after crossing the Buffalo Bayou Toll Bridge at highway speed. While driving normally, the Check ABS warning light illuminated. Immediately afterward, multiple dashboard warning lights began flashing and the engine abruptly shut down with no warning. The vehicle lost all ability to accelerate and became disabled in active traffic lanes. Steering and braking were severely affected due to the sudden loss of power. Hazard lights were activated while the driver attempted to move the vehicle from the middle lane to the shoulder. We narrowly avoided a collision and were able to stop near the Pine Avenue on-ramp. Once stopped, the vehicle completely shut off and would not restart. All vehicle systems appeared inoperative except for the hazard lights, indicating a possible electrical system failure. Emergency services were required due to the dangerous location. The vehicle was occupied by five people, including three children. The sudden loss of motive power at highway speed created an extreme safety hazard and could have resulted in serious injury or fatality.

A spool valve leak occurred leaking oil onto the alternator which caused it to fail when driving. When it failed, electrical systems started to shut down. At first, the ABS system indicator lit up. Multiple systems started to fail soon thereafter. Upon pulling over on the freeway, the vehicle was unable to go in reverse. The root cause was a spool valve leak that is well known and consequently puts drivers at risk when driving at high speeds. When driving down the interstate, all the electrical systems started to shut down. The ABS system was the first indicator, along with multiple electrical systems soon thereafter. Once pulled over, the vehicle could not go in reverse as well. I now understand this to be a well known issue as published in Honda Technical Service Bulletin TSB [XXX] However, no information was sent to owners even though Honda has known about the issue since at least March 2020. This puts unnecessary safety risks for those driving with oil leaking onto the alternator resulting in electrical system shutdowns and issues driving. I believe a recall and safety notice should be issued. Yes, the component was inspected by Honda and replaced. The first indicator was the ABS system warning light along with many other systems shutting down. This occurred at a high-rate of speed on the freeway. Upon pulling over, the vehicle also could not go in reverse. I am frustrated Honda has known abut this issue for many years, but has not informed owners nor offered to correct the issue leading to safety issues and costly repairs. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

SOME LATE MODEL HONDA 6 SPEED TRANSMISSIONS CAN NOT BE DOWNSHIFTED! ON A LONG DOWNHILL GRADE, THE BRAKES WERE NOT ADEQUATE AND ARE NOW BURNED AND VIBRATE. I KNOW NOT TO 'RIDE' YOUR BRAKES BUT THERE WAS NO ALTERNATIVE, EITHER TRAVEL AT A CRAWL WITH TRAFFIC BACKING UP BEHIND ME OR HAVING A RUNAWAY CAR. I LEARNED TO DRIVE IN COLORADO AND KNOW THE SAFETY PROVIDED BY DOWNSHIFTING THE TRANSMISSION TO CONTROL YOUR DOWNHILL SPEED AS LONG (7 OR 8 MILES IN PLACES) DOWNHILL ROADS WILL RUIN YOUR BRAKES. TRUCK TRAVEL IS RESTRICTED ON MANY COLORADO ROADS AND THERE ARE NUMEROUS 'TRUCK RUNAWAY RAMPS' IN COLORADO FOR THIS REASON. I NEVER WOULD EXPECT A MANUFACTURE TO TAKE AWAY SAFETY ISSUES BUT HONDA TOOK AWAY THE ABILITY TO DOWNSHIFT THEIR 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION! THEY'VE ADDED MANY OTHER SAFETY DEVICES BUT I WOULD NEVER EXPECT THEM TO TAKE AWAY A SAFETY DEVICE WHERE THE COST OF DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN ABSORBED, THE COST OF PRODUCTION IS NOW LOW AND IS SO NECESSARY FOR SAFETY. BEING ABLE TO SLOW OR STOP IS THE PRIMARY SAFETY FACTOR IN DRIVING! HONDA'S RESPONSE TO MY COMPLAINT IS THAT IT IS MY FAULT FOR NOT STUDYING THE VEHICLE MORE BEFORE I PURCHASED. IT SHOULD BE THE PRODUCER OF A PRODUCT WHO IS HELD TIGHTLY TO CONSUMER SAFETY. HONDA IS NOT PROVIDING A SAFE VEHICLE. THEY MAINTAIN IT IS NOT THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO INFORM BUYERS OF CHANGES THEY HAVE MADE THAT MIGHT ADVERSELY AFFECT SAFETY. THIS IS AN ISSUE THE AVERAGE CITIZEN CANNOT HANDLE AND IT NEEDS GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION. THE ONLY CONCERN HONDA HAD WHEN THEY RESPONDED TO MY EMAILED COMPLAINT WAS A REQUIREMENT TO RECORD THE CALL AND NOT ALLOW ME TO RECORD IT OR TO GIVE ME A COPY OR TRANSCRIPT OF THE CALL. ALL OF THEIR CONCERN WAS ABOUT PROTECTING THEMSELVES LEGALLY, NOT PROVIDING A SAFE VEHICLE! MAYBE HONDA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO BUILD 'CAR RUNAWAY RAMPS' ON LONG DOWN GRADES.

THE BRAKES ARE GETTING LOWER EVEN WITH A FULL RESERVOIR. AFTER HONDA DEALER FLUSHED, BLEAD AND RESTORED THE BRAKE FLUID, THE VSA MODULE FAILED AND CAUSED AUTONOMOUS BRAKING AND WORSENING OF PEDAL SOFTENING AND BRAKING CONTROL ASSIST. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN RECALLED WITH PREVIOUS YEARS AND SHOULD BE ADDRESSED AGAIN BY NHTSA AND HONDA. BRAKES CAME ON WHILE DRIVING CAUSING BURNING UP OF PADS AND ROTORS. VERY BAD SMELL COMING FROM BRAKE AREA.

CAR HAS LOW MILEAGE OF 12,800 MILES AND THERE IS VIBRATION WHEN BRAKING. THIS IS NOT NORMAL AND I HAD THIS ISSUE ON MY LAST ODYSSEY. THERE ARE HUNDREDS IF NOT MORE COMPLAINTS OF VIBRATIONS WHEN BRAKING AT HIGHER SPEEDS. HONDA RECALLED CARS IN THE PAST FOR THIS. IT SEEMS THE DEALERS CANNOT EVEN FIGURE IT OUT BUT SAY TO REPLACE THE ROTORS WHICH MAKES NO SENSE GIVEN HOW LOW MILEAGE THE CAR HAS.

AS I WAS DRIVING SLOWLY APREACHING A STOP SIGN, I PLACED MY FOOT ON THE BRAKE PEDAL, WAS TOTALLY OFF THE GAS PEDAL, AND THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT STRAIGHT TO THE FLOOR. THIS WAS SCARY, LUCKILY THERE WAS NO ONE I FROM THE OF ME AND I HADN'T YET HIT THE STOP SIGN MARK, I HAD TO PUMP THE BRAKE MANY TIMES, SWIFTLY,IT FINALLY CAME BACK UP BEFORE REACHING THE STOP SIGN. TWO DAYS BEFORE THIS I DROVE OFF FROM HOME AND THE VAN LOST POWER AND WAS BUCKING AS IF THE FUEL PUMP WAS BLOCKED. THESE VANS NEED TO BE CHECKED THOROUGHLY, HONDA NEEDS TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THEIR CUSTOMERS COMPLAINTS. I HAVE CHILDREN AND I PRAY THIS VAN DOESN'T LEAD ME IN TO AN ACCIDENT OR FATALITY.

I WAS DRIVING INTO THE GARAGE AND BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR WITH NO RESISTANCE AND CAR CRASHED INTO A CABINET IN THE FRONT OF GARAGE CAUSING DAMAGE TO CAR, CABINET AND GARAGE WALL. TOOK CAR TO DEALER AND WAS TOLD EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT OK AND THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG. THEY STATED THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO FOR ME. THEY SAID I COULD CALL HONDA CORPORATE BUT THEY WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING EITHER. I HAD TO PAY TO GET CAR REPAIRED, BUY NEW CABINET AND PAY TO HAVE GARAGE WALL REPAIRED. I THEN HAD TO TRADE CARS BECAUSE MY WIFE REFUSED TO DRIVE THIS ONE. I HAD THE VEHICLE FOR APPROXIMATELY 4 MONTHS WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I BOUGHT IT NEW. AFTER 4 MONTHS I WAS FORCED TO BUY ANOTHER NEW CAR. I REALIZE THIS MAY NOT BE A BIG DEAL TO SOME BUT WHAT IF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED AT STOP SIGN AND I WOULD HAVE WENT THROUGH AND SOMEONE WAS HURT OR EVEN KILLED. THIS CAR WILL BE SOLD TO SOMEONE ELSE AND WE CAN ONLY HOPE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN. THERE WAS ANOTHER COMPLAINT IN THIS FORUM WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. FOR HONDA CORPORATE TO JUST PUSH THIS ASIDE AND NOT MAKE IT RIGHT I THINK IS JUST TERRIBLE.

IT WAS LITTLE COLD NIGHT. I DROVE ON FREEWAY FOR 40MINUTES WITH KIDS WITHOUT CENTRAL HEATING. WHEN WE GOT HOME, I WAKE THEM UP.I FOUND MY YOUNG DAUGHTER AT BACK SEAT, SHE COULDN'T WAKE UP UNUSUALLY. SHE WAS SLEEPING, LEANING TOWARD RT. SIDE CUP HOLDER SIDE AT BACK SEAT. I SAW HER FACE WAS SO RED LIKE FIRST DEGREE BURN AND HER HAIR WAS ALL WET AND HER BODY WAS SO SWEATING. IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE THAT THE WHOLE SURFACE NEXT TO RT. BACK SEAT WAS EXTREMELY HOT!!! EVEN THOUGH THE VAN ENGINE WAS STOPPED. I IMMEDIATELY TRIED TO HER COOL DOWN. MY KIDS TOLD ME. "EVER SINCE WE BOUGHT THIS VAN, WHEN THE VAN'S ENGINE WAS TURNING ON, BACK SEAT RT. SIDE BODY WAS ALWAYS HOT." NEXT MORNING, I TOOK THE VAN TO HONDA SERVICE. BUT IT COULD NOT FIXED FOR 3DAYS AND NO ONE CALLED ME FOR UPDATING INFO. THE VAN IS STILL IN THE SERVICE. ONE OF TECHNICIAN TOLD ME FROM THE SERVICE, IT HAS BEEN PROBLEMS FOR 4YEARS. I CALLED HONDA CUSTOMER SERVICE, BUT NO ANSWER. I AM TRYING TO ASK THEM BUY BACK PROGRAM. IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR FAMILY WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. THIS IS NOT FIRST TIME PROBLEM FOR THIS NEW VAN. I ALREADY HAD SEVERAL PROBLEMS. 1. IT WAS NOT STARTING ENGINE SEVERAL TIMES ON THE 1ST WEEK OF PURCHASE. 2. BRAKE WAS COMPLETELY NOT MOVING MORE THAN ONE HOUR AND NOT STARTING ENGINE TOGETHER ON THE 2ND WEEK OF PURCHASE IN THE PARKING LOT. 3. CLICKING AND CLUCKING NOISE AT REAR OF LT. SIDE WITH RT. TURNING WITH BRAKE ALL THE TIMES. 4. THE VAN'S HORN BY ITSELF MAKING NOISE FOR 20MINUTES ON FREEWAY DRIVING. THE HONDA SERVICE COULDN'T FIND THE CAUSES. THEY JUST REMOVED VAN'S SECURITY ALARM. HONDA SERVICE DIDN'T ALLOW ME FOR A RENTAL VAN. I AM EXPECTING HONDA'S IMMEDIATE AND APPROPRIATE CUSTOMER CARE FOR BUY BACK PROGRAM. UNTIL NOW, THIS BRAND NEW VAN WENT TO 9TIMES SERVICES FOR 3MONTHS WITHOUT FIXING, 11DAYS IN THE SERVICE, OUR FAMILY ARE VERY HAVING HARD TIME FOR NORMAL LIVING LIFE WITH KIDS. *TR